Clam Digging, Skiing and Skydiving

You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. 

The weekend is over and things are getting back to normal. Terry’s flight arrived back in Las Vegas Sunday evening.  In addition to the Doctor’s appointment he was very busy with our family.  The pictures here give you an idea of what he did.  My time wasn’t quite so adventurous and I took no pictures.

-- Clam Digging on the Washington coast  (photo is small because it was taken with a phone and it’s a little out of focus but certainly a great shot!  I hoped to get a better picture to post but this will have to do.

The time has certainly flown by.  It always seems to do that.  It’s amazing how when you’re a kid in school and can hardly wait for the summer to arrive that time seems to crawl.  Then, it would crawl if you were looking forward to Christmas or a vacation.  Now time just flies.

Sandi & Michael - Razor Clam Catch

Sandi at work digging clams

Remember Stop the World, I want to Get off?  Sometimes I wish we could control time just so we had more of it on certain days and less of it on other days.  However, that’s a dream and not reality.

Sabrina and Jordan

I didn’t go back to the Strip.  I wanted to but I was so busy doing everything else that I just didn’t have time.  I was busy cleaning.  Boy, did I clean.  I also moved furniture around.  Now I know that’s hard to do in a motorhome because there aren’t a lot of options and, of course, not a lot of furniture either.  I organized my computer table by turning it sideways.  It seems there is so much more room now.  However, that took a bit.

Jordan snowboarding

Sabrina on skis

Cleaning out my drawers and closet was another big task.  I had been wanting to do this for some time.  I figured now was the time.  There were many items I either no longer liked or just didn’t wear.  They are now in the Goodwill donation bag.  All in all I trashed 21 tops, 12 bottoms and 1 pair of pajamas!!  Oh, I still have more to go but this was a great start. 

The expensive paint we had mixed for the motorhome was also put to use.  I touched up the outside scrapes and gashes. 

Justin skydiving in Florida

The parachutes opened

Now that’s been a busy few days not just for me but for the rest of the family from the state of Washington to Florida!  However, I think they had much more fun that I did.

The area of the RV park  we are currently at is pretty tight.  We've been in this park several times but not on this short row.  Some of the RVs  across the road have just enough room for the RV and no room for the vehicle.   

Actually, we were pretty lucky with our site in that it was wide but only because we are parked next to the laundry.  Some sites empty out in the morning but are usually full again by evening.  After being spoiled this winter by some wide open spaces, this is just a tad too cramped. There is entertainment here though as we watch other RVs struggle to park.  We're anxious to get on the road but dragging our feet because where we are at is free.  Free is good.  We're taking it just one day at a time and eventually we'll pull those levels up and get on the road again.

Late additions:

‘Tis just life on the road.

Caesar’s Palace, Bellagio and Claude Monet

Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.

Wednesday morning it was a trip to the airport.  Terry was off to Portland for a doctor’s appointment and to spend some time with the kids and grandkids.  That meant that I was on own to do whatever I wanted.  And, that’s what I did.  I did a lot of things.  First of all I headed to the Strip.

I have been a fan of the paintings of Monet for quite some time.  Most of you probably know all about Claude Monet.  His paintings have been on exhibit around the world in many of the most famous museums.  He was a French Impressionist painter and the founder of “ Impressions of Light".   Bellagio's had an exhibit of Monet’s paintings.  I figured this was something Terry wouldn't be the least bit interested in so I wanted to go while he was out of town.

The exhibit had been borrowed from the Boston Museum of Fine Art.  Terry was in an airplane and on his way to Portland.  This meant, of course, that I could go and view the exhibit.  That was the plan and that was what I was going to do.  After all, if I would travel all the way to Paris to go visit Monet's gardens, a mere five miles and $10 was a no brainer.

My first real introduction to Monet’s paintings was on a tour of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.  I was in awe of the beauty of his work.  I loved the landscape paintings and became a real fan.  No … I didn’t buy any paintings.  Heck, I couldn’t afford that but at least I could look and enjoy the works.

Hermitage Museum

It wasn’t long after that I was looking at photos a friend had taken when he was in Paris.  He had made the short trip from Paris by train to Monet’s gardens In Giverny.   It was then, I decided I had to visit the garden and see it for myself.   That I did along with my cousin and sister-in-law.

Monet's Garden

Home at Giverny

When I was in New Jersey a little over a year ago, I went with my daughter’s family to the Garden of Sculptures.  In that garden there was a replica of Monet’s Garden right down to the bridge and his boat, Lily.

 

Thus, the trip into the Bellagio's was not a choice. It was a necessity.  Obviously I’m a fan of Monet’s paintings.  I had to go.

Since I was already on the Strip I also did a little walking around.  The casinos in Las Vegas are fantastic.  They are huge, huge.  Each one of them is like a little city.  In addition to gambling tables and slots, they have many restaurants and shops.  You’re not going to find Sears or Penney's or even Dillard's in these casinos.  You’ll find Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton along with many others.  However, I’ve been in their outlet stores and thought they were expensive so figured there would be no reason for me to even walk in the retail ones.

We had visited Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace before but it still was a fun thing to do.  It almost makes you feel like you're on vacation because everything is so festive.

There are several free shows in Las Vegas.  One of those is the water display at the Bellagio’s.  When we visited last year we had to stand behind a crowd of people to view it.  This year that wasn’t the case.

‘Tis life on the road.

The Mob Museum – Las Vegas

“This is truly the underworld uncovered. No embellishments. No glorification. We present the facts, and let you become the jury.”  - Mob Museum

Less than one month ago a new museum was opened in Las Vegas.  It was the Mob Museum.  We hadn’t heard about it but Sandie had.  She asked us to check it out for her.  That I did.  After going through it the first time, we’re already planning a repeat visit next week.  There is so much in this museum.  It’s not like some we visit and just skim through.  I wanted to read everything and view all the pictures but that takes time.  I had left Terry back at the motorhome with Duchess but I knew he’d want to see this one too.  That’s the plan for next week -  a return trip.

The mob was everywhere.  It was in everything where money could be had.  If you can think it, they were there doing it.  They also left a trail of dead behind them.  This museum was nothing short of fantastic and educational.  Many artifacts had been collected both belonging to the mobsters and those that brought them down.  One of the most popular was the brick wall from the bloody St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.  

Photos, stories and memorabilia are on display.  There are guns, pictures, personal items, videos and numerous stories and details.

Meyer Lansky - “We’re bigger than U.S. Steel.”

 

Mobsters were targets of each other.

Lucky Luciano - “There’s no such thing as good money or bad money. There’s just money.”

There have been many Mob bosses, but Lucky Luciano is considered the true father of modern organized crime

 

The mob had it’s hand in prostitution.  Money was there. The mob had it’s hand everywhere that money was.

Sam Giancana -“I own Chicago. I own Miami. I own Las Vegas.”

 

Many true-life displays were at the museum.

John Gotti - “I never lie because I don’t fear anyone. You only lie when you’re afraid.”

 

Al Capone – “You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.”

Deaths were common  Competition between families and power made targets of each other.

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel - “We only kill each other.”

 

Even John Kennedy had his own little corner and video at the museum.  For about three years JFK was having an affair with Judith Campbell or was it really just for convenient meetings to pass information?  Frank Sinatra had introduced JFK to her as well as introduced her to Sam Giancana.  Check out this blog titled Scandalous Women for more information about JFK,  Judith Campbell and Giancana.

Rudy knew members of the mob as did Oswald.   Draw your own conclusions after listening to the tape as to Kennedy’s connection.  Was it there?  Or, wasn’t it?

Las Vegas brought big money to the mob.  Howard Hughes with his vast fortune helped clean up Las Vegas by buying up hotels.  He bought his first one when his reservation ran out and he wasn’t ready to go.

 

The mob was into just about everything.

The Mob Museum is definitely worth the trip.  Matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much that I’m looking forward to going back again with Terry.  There was so much to see and I didn’t get to see it all.

‘Tis life on the road.

Rocking and Rolling in the Wind

Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

Even though we moved out of Laughlin, the wind found us again.  However, this time it wasn’t the norm.  It was an actual wind storm.  It’s amazing how noisy the wind can sound from inside a motorhome.   Straight winds rose to 44 MPH and gusts were hitting the 63 mph mark.  The winds started during the day and lasted all through the night.  Some parts of the city even lost power.  However, we weren’t in that part of the city.  At times we wondered if we should bring our satellite antenna down but we didn’t.  I think it’s still there.  Our slide covers flopped around all night and kept Duchess and I awake.  Now the cold front will follow and in a few days it’ll be back to where it should be – calm winds and nice temperatures.  At least that’s what we’re hoping.

The clocks in Arizona don’t change when daylight savings time hits the rest of the country.  Even though it is an hour ahead of Nevada, we did not adjust our clocks when we crossed the state line from Arizona into Nevada.  This weekend the people in Nevada will move their clocks ahead.  At that time they will catch up with us since we decided to stay on Arizona time until they did. 

--- Las Vegas New York, New York

Sometimes we have to think twice about the time but we had to do that in Yuma when we were just across the state line in California.  It seems we were always busy adjusting our internal time clocks.  This is no different.

Terry and I hit the outlet mall on Tuesday.  He was sorting through his clothes and wanted to replace a couple of shirts so that’s where we went.  There are lots of places to spend your money in Las Vegas from the casinos to the shopping malls and there are lots of each of those.  There are also lots of places to visit.  We’ve done some of those places but still more we’d like to take time to check out.  The exhibits, displays and shows just keep changing.

Terry heads to Portland Thursday morning for his three month check up leaving Duchess and I to entertain ourselves.  Our kids have lots of things planned over the weekend while he’s there including a trip to Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood and razor clam digging – from the mountains to the beach.  He’s going to take my little GoPro Hero camera so hopefully he’ll have  good pictures to share when he returns.

Las Vegas Paris ---

I also have a few things planned while he’s gone.  To begin with Bellagio’s has an exhibit of Monet’s paintings.  That’s on my list along with a suggestion Sandie made about checking out the new Mob Museum.  Then, there’s also the Missile Testing Museum I still haven’t had a chance to visit.  Keeping busy will not be a problem.  However, there is one museum I probably will not visit and that’s the Erotic Heritage Museum.

Our plan is to head towards Utah on Wednesday.  We’re still struggling with places to overnight around St. George, Zion and Kanab right now.  Some of the campgrounds I looked at are already full and it’s only March!  Not sure what time zone that is in so not even sure if we'll try to adjust to their clock or just keep our own.  Does it really matters anyway?

Last year when we were in Las Vegas we followed another one of Sandie’s suggestion and ate at Dessy B’s Restaurant.  We ate there again Wednesday night.  Terry now calls it Delcie’s because it sounds close.   We thought the food was fantastic before which meant we just had to return again.  We weren’t disappointed as it was just as good as we remembered.  It’s nothing special other than a great salad bar, perfectly seasoned steaks and at a great price.

Dessy B's Restaurant on Tropicana and Eastern

'Tis life on the road.