Las Vegas, Here We Come!!

December 27-30, 2018
Thursday-Sunday

Joe has never been to Las Vegas, so as part of his Christmas present we took him to Vegas.  Vegas is like no other city that I've ever been too.  It's hard not to feel the excitement and energy of this sparkly city.  It's not just the energy of the people or the lights, it's also the various themed casinos.  You can walk a few hundred feet and be in Rome, then Venice or you can find yourself in the world of pirates or at a circus...it's all very magical.  It was nice to feel the magic through someone elses eyes, it brought a little more life to the city for me as I had lost some of that magic a few years ago. I was in Vegas when I got the news that my father had passed away.  It's hard not to think of that when I go there now, but having Joe with me and watching him absorb the city helped soften the association I have with the city.

We stayed at Harrah's for two nights.....Harrah's is not kind to me....but I went to the Venetian as a new rewards member and received $20 slot play which turned into $150 which was fantastic!  I won it on a Family Feud machine, where I actually got to play fast money....how cool is that, considering we have a very real possibility of being on the show.

We had tickets for Cirque du Soleil The Beatles LOVE show at The Mirage which was fabulous, one might say really groovy, man 😊.  It certainly was a show for the senses, sometimes I felt a sensory overload but it's Vegas and one should expect that.

 

Google Photos is really cool.  I can now make collages & animate my photos thus saving space & time in the uploads - Just use your imagination or turn on some Beatles music to get the full effect 😁

On Saturday, we left the strip and went to a Comfort Inn in Henderson where we had stayed on previous trip.  Joe was leaving that evening and it wasn't worth the money for Wilson and I to stay on the strip Saturday night, plus we like the Comfort Inn and it's right in front of the Sunset Station Casino so if we wanted to gamble a little more we had the option.  We arrived prior to being able to check in, so....we spent an hour or so at the casino.  I was happy because I finally found my beloved Mr. Cashman machine which I found quite elusive on the strip...it's an older game and it seems that its being fazed out on the strip.  I enjoyed myself playing the machine (I didn't even lose) while the boys found a tv and watched football games.

Leave 12/27- Pasadena, CA 10:38am, 50° sunny
Rte. 210E►15N
MUSIC - Joe puts on Travelling Wilbury's, our official travel song
Gas - Barstow, CA - Arco $3.33/gal
2:48pm NV Welcomes us 
Arrive Harrah's, Las Vegas, NV 3:48pm
Miles traveled 256.3
Leave 12/29 - Las Vegas, NV
Arrive Comfort Inn, Henderson, NV
Time - early afternoon
Miles Travelled - 10?

Pasadena Visit with Taleen

December 25-27, 2018
Tuesday-Thursday

Taleen is a friend of Joe's from Boston College and our next stop was a visit with her before heading to Las Vegas.  Her family has a condo in Pasadena, practically right on the route of the Rose Parade which, by the way, the city was preparing for while we were there.  Wilson and I almost made it to the parade the first year that we were on the road but because of the way the holiday landed it was a day later then what we thought it was so we missed seeing it.  It's not as if I love parades but the Rose Parade is iconic and it brings up memories from my childhood that I would certainly want to go to it if the opportunity arose.
Okay...I digress...back to Taleen.  She is dancer and a theater person and is working to make it in that industry.  She is currently in a production of Evita which will be heading out on tour within the next couple of weeks.  Of course Wilson and I looked at the schedule and plan to attend her performance while she is in Macon, GA.  We had no plans to go through Macon, but our schedule is such that if something sparks our interest we can always change direction and do/see whatever sparks our interest.

While Taleen was at rehearsal Wilson, Joe, and I took a drive to Santa Monica.  I'm not sure what it is but it seems as if every time we are in the LA area we end up in Santa Monica.  We wanted to go to the beach and because S.M is tradition we headed in that direction.  It has also become a bit of tradition to eat at a Mediterranean restaurant, Hummus Bar Express, on the Promenade (a street in downtown S.M. that is closed off to cars, sort of like Church Street).  It doesn't look like much from the outside but the food is really good.  They have the best babaganoush and bread.  I always get the Veggie plate with falafel and babaganoush and this time I had the beets...DELICIOUS!  I could eat this way all of the time...in fact, when we go out we often go to Mediterranean restaurants because I like the food so much.

We have spent time with Taleen and her mother, Michelle, on a couple of different occasions.  They always make us feel welcomed and this time was no different.  Michelle came to Pasadena and we all went out to dinner after one of Taleen's rehearsals.  We went to a fried chicken joint, the Crack Shack, in downtown Pasadena which was really good.  Afterward we headed out for ice cream frozen yogurt, which was a little crazy considering it was a bit cold....I opted for a coffee since Starbucks was right next door.  The next time we're in the area though I will have ice cream as there is a spot that my friend Mike (Waterbury neighbor who lives outside LA - we had lunch with his family and mother in Santa Monica the first year of our trip) suggested.  The place is called Carmela Ice Cream in Pasadena and apparently their specialty is crazy flavors, which intrigues me.

Leave Santa Monica, CA 3:32pm, 60° cloudy
Rte. 5N►101N►I10E►5N►110N►Orange Grove Ave Exit
Arrive Taleen's, Pasadena, CA 5:32pm
Miles traveled 109.3

San Diego Christmas

December 17-25, 2018

The pet/house sit in San Diego was really nice.  Milo and Chloe were the two dogs that we took care of and they were both extremely sweet.  We got into a nice routine of waking up, walking to our local Starbucks where we had coffee and did puzzles then returned to feed the dogs and took them for a walk.  The house was comfortable but the best part of the sit for me was that we were so close to Gabriela.

Joe flew in to San Diego on the 22nd so we had over three days where our whole family was together.  It seems like forever since that happened.  The homeowners were more than happy to allow us to have the kids stay with us which was great!  The vagabond life that Wilson and I live really seems to suit us, we enjoy the travel, staying in other peoples homes, and especially taking care of "our" pets.  As I said previously the pets often feel as if they are our own which has been really nice.  We enjoy having the opportunity to have pets without having to travel with them.

When we are housesitting we make the house our home for the period of time that we are there.  It almost always feels like "home" to us....the kids, however, don't feel that way.  This was the first time Gabriela spent time with us in our temporary home and the third time that Joe did and neither of them truly felt comfortable there.  The fact that it was Christmas time accentuated that for them but they made the most of it, after all it's the fact that we were together that was important.  Our hosts were Jewish so the only thing that was Christmas like was the poinsettias by the front door, but I did my best to create a bit of holiday cheer....
What did I do you might ask....I made a Christmas tree.  This is not the first year that we didn't have a real tree, there was one year that I pinned lights on the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree, which to this day is one of my personal favorite trees.  This year we went to the 99 cents store and I picked up supplies to make a tree.  I must say I was quite proud of the results and I think that the kids were appreciative of my efforts.  We also continued our Christmas Eve tradition of watching White Christmas while having a snack dinner.

Christmas morning was pretty low-key.  Gabriela and Wilson went to Starbucks, picked up our coffee to go and when they came back we had breakfast and opened gifts.  It was really very nice despite the fact that we were celebrating in someone else's home.
Once the gift giving was over we set out to cleaning the house getting ready for our departure.  Gabriela was off to Belgium later in the day and we were off to Pasadena with Joe.

Leave Santee, CA 8:58am, 50° the truck is wet from dew
Rte. 52W►805N►5N
Gas - Solana Beach, CA - Arco $3.35/gal - we didn't really need it but we heard on the news that gas prices were going to increase the next day so we filled up
Arrive House Sit, San Diego, CA 9:41am
Miles traveled 22.9