Coming Soon. Cruise Again, Jan. 10

Andy's calendar tells him that in three short weeks, he and Terry are due for another cruise!!! They are going back to the Mexican Riviera: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. This time the weather should be a little less hot and humid, and more comfortable than it was at the end of September.

On the last trip to Mexico, they sailed aboard Royal Caribbean's "Vision of the Seas." The "Vision" is leaving California any day now, and it will be operating in the Caribbean from now on.

Their upcoming one week trip will be aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line's "Star." They will depart from San Pedro/L. A. Harbor on Saturday, January 10, and return the following Saturday.



NCL STAR

They have sailed with NCL once before, so they are looking forward to doing so again.

Why return to the Mexican Riviera?

Andy says it is so very convenient to depart from San Pedro, with no airplanes or airports to deal with. Cruises are a lot of fun, and the ships are usually more entertaining than the port cities.

Besides, Andy says he got an outstanding price. It was an opportunity he could not refuse.

As for Terry, she rarely objects to an invitation to cruise.

Versailles Dining Room

Laughlin, Nevada

Today, Terry and Andy are driving to Laughlin, Nevada for a three day trip.

Laughlin is located on the southern tip of Nevada, near Bullhead City and Kingman, Arizona. They have not been to Laughlin for a long time and they've never been there in December. The weatherman predicts some rainy weather for the trip, so they pack some umbrellas and some jackets.

First, they drive east to catch I - 15 and then they head north, up the steep Cajon Pass, over the mountains, to Hesperia and Victorville, CA in the High Desert. The air is clean, cool, and clear up here in the desert. The are no clouds, and no sign of rain. They continue to Barstow, where they take their customary rest stop and have a snack. Then they find I - 40 and drive east toward the Arizona border.


After driving all morning they find Needles Highway which takes them 16 miles north, crossing into the state of Nevada, and into Laughlin, on the Colorado River.


Their hotel is the Tropicana Express, a very nice place located across the street from the river and the Colorado Belle, a hotel designed to look like a paddle wheel river boat.

After settling into their room, Terry heads straight for the slot machines to start "making money." After losing the $10 slot machine credit the Tropicana had provided, she starts winning. She returns to the room later to announce she has won some money. She wisely cashed out before she gave it all back to the machines.









Hilltop view of Laughlin



The following day, Terry and Andy take a drive around town, and then they head over to Kingman, in Arizona. Then they drive out into the hills to look for Oatman, a nearly abandoned gold mining town. It is a small, quaint place that appeals to tourists. Wild burros walk the streets of Oatman, and tourists can buy carrots to feed them. The weather gets a little wet and windy, so Andy and Terry drive on, back to Laughlin.





Click to enlarge





Downtown Oatman









Andy reads that the Riverside Casino has a free Classic Automobile Collection, so they stop in to have a look. On the third floor there is a nice selection of old cars in great condition.







Cool weather and a light rain convince them not to take the customary walk, from casino to casino along the river. Instead, they return to the Tropicana to enjoy the Prime Rib Buffet. It's very good. They spend time in the casino during the Monday Night Football Game. The casino gives away money every time either team scores in the football game, but they don't win any football money tonight.



On the third day, Terry and Andy check out of the Tropicana and start home. Andy wants to take the long way home, passing along the Colorado River in Arizona. They Stop off in Lake Havasu City to visit the famous London Bridge. To celebrate their visit to the British landmark, they decide to have fish and chips for lunch. However, no fish and chips shops are open, so they have to settle for a tostada in a Mexican restaurant.





London Bridge is still there.



Down river, they pass Parker Dam and they try to stop and tour the dam, but the man in the guardhouse says no tours are allowed for security reasons. Eventually they reach Quartzite, Arizona, home of large numbers of snowbird RV'ers from all over the country, and Canada. From then on, it's a straight shot home on the I - 10 to the San Gabriel Valley.

Quartzite, AZ


End of Story.

The Day at Disneyland

On Friday, when everyone else was at work, Andy and Terry decided to go to "The Happiest Place on Earth," Disneyland. Last week Andy had been cleaning out his desk and he found two Admission tickets which were about to expire.


There was no time to waste; the tickets had to be used.
Andy pointed his Honda Civic toward Disneyland and the adventure had begun!


First, they had lunch in the Whitewater Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel.
Then they used their fastpasses to try out the Soarin' Over California ride, one of the best attractions in the Disneyland Resort! It was a fantastic ride!






Both California Adventure and Disneyland were totally decorated for Christmas.



Next came the parades; they saw two parades, one in each park.

There were marching soldiers...




There were Dancing Snowflakes...

Dancing Snowmen...

And Dancing Reindeer...

It wouldn't be a proper Christmas Parade without Santa Claus.

After dark, things settled down a little.

Terry needs to rest up a bit after two parades, so they go to the beautiful lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel to sit by the fire place to wait for the fantastic Fireworks Show to begin over in Disneyland.

Stained Glass Double Sliding Doors at the entrance to the hotel.

After a grand fieworks display, Andy and Terry head for the parking lot tram. On the way out, passing through Downtown Disney, Andy hears beautiful guitar music. The song is "Paint It Black," by the Rolling Stones.

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He investigates and finds his favorite guitarist, David Wayne, who is just finishing up his live street performance in front of La Brea Bakery, in Downtown Disney.

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They talk for a bit, and David says he plays there nearly every weekend starting at

6 p.m. Andy recalls it's been two years since he's seen David perform.

Andy and Terry make it a point to return to hear David play again. If you like guitar music, you'll LOVE David Wayne at Downtown Disney!

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This is the end of another mini adventure by Andy and Terry.

Arizona Again

Andy and Terry have been invited back to Tucson, Arizona. It has been six weeks since they were last there. Cousin Jennifer is in the Tucson Regional High School Finals for Women's Golf. So they return to Crooked Tree Golf Course in Tucson for the 5 - A Regional Tournament.

Jennifer places first in the tournament and her school also places first. The whole team will be invited to the State Finals in Phoenix next week.

The Tucson Regionals First Place Trophy.




On Saturday, Terry and Andy go for a drive and end up in the large Saguaro Rincon National Park. It is southeast of the park they visited in September.

Sunday is spent resting and visiting with relatives.

Terry and Andy decide to stay for the first day of the State High School Championship matches held in Phoenix. The best teams in the state are there. The results: Only three girls finish ahead of Jennifer. Her school takes second place in the state, not a bad showing in Phoenix.

It is time to start home. Terry wants to drive through Yuma, Arizona, so she starts out on I - 8, headed west, toward San Diego. They pass through Yuma and along the Mexican Border, past the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, toward El Centro.

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Border Patrol Agents are everywhere down here. Terry and Andy are stopped three different times at Border Patrol Checkpoints. Each time a Border Patrol Agent looks into the car, especially at the empty back seat and says, "Have a nice day!"

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They turn north on Highway 111, through the farming areas of Brawley and Calipatria, headed for the east shore of the Salton Sea. They pass Niland, and then see a sign for Bombay Beach. Bombay Beach is like a Ghost town on the edge of the sea. Lots of empty houses and businesses. Only a few trailers and houses look occupied.

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Further north there are a number of nice clean campgrounds on the beach.

Pelicans on the Salton Sea at Bombay Beach.


Terry and Andy nearly reach home before dark, but Terry insists on celebrating their safe arrival by stopping for dinner at Vince's, her favorite spaghetti restaurant in Ontario.

No, this is not their truck.

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End of story.

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Another Successful Adventure.

Nevada and Utah

Today, Andy and Terry will hit the road again. Andy wants to visit some more National Parks. He's never been to Great Basin National Park near the Nevada - Utah border. It's located a few hundred miles north of Las Vegas; it lies between Reno and Salt Lake City, in the middle of nowhere. Andy likes to go places he's never been to before. It's time to visit Nature!

They head their car toward I -15 and climb up Cajon Pass which puts them in Victorville, in the High Desert.

Their first stop is Barstow, where Terry likes to visit the Outlet Malls.

The next part of the road trip will take them to Terrible's Resorts in Primm Valley at the Nevada Stateline. Terry wants to visit the casinos there.








They also have a large indoor Fashion Outlet mall next to one of the hotels.




The next day, Terry and Andy drive through Las Vegas, then, 28 miles past Las Vegas they get off of
I -15 and travel north on Highway 93, The Great Basin Highway, to see places they've never seen before.

They drive for a hundred miles, gaining elevation the whole time. They stop for lunch in Caliente, Nevada, miles from nowhere. Several pairs of hunters stop by at the restaurant wearing camouflage suits. They talk about "the deer that got away."




The old Caliente train depot.





By late afternoon they arrive in Ely, Nevada, where they spend the night. There is snow on the mountains nearby. The elevation is around 7,000 feet.




Ely's mountains.






Andy and Terry finally reach Great Basin National Park, near tiny Baker, Nevada. There is a lot of scenery to enjoy up here.









Now it's time to make their way over to Utah, taking the back roads. Eventually they reach I - 15 again, at Cedar City, Utah, home of Southern Utah State College.



The following day, Andy insists on visiting his favorite park, Zion National Park, down near Saint George, Utah. The morning air is very cool here. They decide to take a hike up along the Virgin River.






Andy, at the Zion Visitor's Center.






The Virgin River is beautiful today, and pretty cold.



























End of the Trail.


After the hike, Terry and Andy take another drive. They fit in one more stop to Pipe Springs National Monument, an old Morman fortified settlement, just across the border in Arizona. This place is in a pretty isolated location, on Indian land.



They finally stop for the night in Saint George, Utah. They rest up for the four hundred mile drive home the next day. Their Great Basin, Nevada & Utah Adventure has lasted for five days.

Vision of the Seas

Today is the day when Terry and Andy will drive to San Pedro to board the Vision of the Seas at about noontime. They have never been on this ship before. It is owned by Royal Caribbean International.


The ship departs at about 5:00 p.m., so they have all afternoon to become familiar with the layout of the Vision of the Seas.


First stop is always the Windjammer Cafe on Deck 9 where they will have a nice lunch buffet.

Andy and Terry skimped on breakfast at home so it wouldn't interfere with their first buffet lunch aboard the ship. After lunch it's time to tour the ship.




Terry explores the ship's lounges.





The outdoor pool is on Deck Nine.





A Cooking Demonstration in the ship's Centrum Lobby.

Andy plans to use the indoor pool and spa.







Terry has no trouble locating the casino.


After becoming familiar with the ship, Andy and Terry spend the whole week taking advantage of all of the activities: contests, games, live shows, and amenities on board the Vision of the Seas.






Andy, anchored off Cabo San Lucas.

After the evening variety show, Andy and Terry say Good Bye to their favorite Activities Director, Susie, from Jamaica.