Back from Paradise

Andy and Terry are back from their cruise on the Carnival ship, Paradise. They visited Avalon Harbor at Catalina Island, and they saw the sea gulls in Ensenada, Mexico.

They took walks along the ship's upper decks...

Where they saw schools of dolphins swimming by.

(click photo to enlarge)

And they saw some beautiful sunsets as they cruised among California's Channel Islands.

Terry and Andy are scheduled to cruise again on January 29 of the new year. Maybe they'll have some more photos to share then.

Paradise

Hello, Today is the day when Andy and Terry board the Carnival cruise ship, Paradise, to visit Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. 


They will return  in four days. 


See you then.

Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Before the Beach Boys concert begins, Terry wants to see the new Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge that was just completed last month.


So Andy takes her out past Henderson, Nevada to see this new piece of construction.


It is also called the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge after the Arizona Cardinal football player who enlisted in the army and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004.




The new bridge takes highway traffic away from the narrow road which runs across the top of the dam.

Here is what they saw on a windy day at the Hoover Dam.

Beach Boys

This Friday, Andy and Terry will be traveling back to Nevada to see the Beach Boys in concert at Buffalo Bill's Resort. It will be a short, weekend trip.


After Thanksgiving they are due to board the Carnival ship, Paradise for a four night cruise close to home. They will be stopping at Catalina Island and in Ensenada, Mexico... and "No" This is NOT the Carnival ship that was stranded off the coast of Mexico last week. Same company, different ship.


However, they WERE on the Carnival Splendor back on November 23 of 2009, a year before it became (in)famous for becoming stranded. It is a very nice ship.

Nevada and Utah

Terry and Andy are off again to the Nevada state line. Paul Anka is appearing in concert and Terry wants to be there. 

At Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino they are treated to two hours with Paul Anka. He still sounds great, maybe better than ever. 

Andy and Terry were surprised to learn what a prolific songwriter Paul Anka has been. He's written music for nearly every big star in the music business. 

He put on a very good show. Terry says it's one of the best she's been to.

Andy has made arrangements for them to stay closer to the Utah border for the next two nights, so after the concert they drive up to Mesquite, Nevada so that they can be closer to Zion National Park. 

The following day, Andy takes Terry for an afternoon hike around Zion. They try to visit sites they haven't seen before.

Here's a sample of what they saw:

This has turned out to be a five day trip. 

The fall weather here is just right. In the summer the normal temperatures are about 100 degrees, but today it's in the 60's.

Terry is already making plans to return to Buffalo Bill's because the Beach Boys are appearing there before Thanksgiving and she doesn't want to miss it.

Till next time...

Oregon

Terry and Andy have a spare week with nothing to do, so they have decided to take a drive north.



Andy wanted to do this back in June, but some of the mountain roads were closed due to snow. By this time of year the snow should be gone, even on the highest mountain roads.



They begin their trip by heading toward Oakland to try to meet up with Grandson, Aaron who graduated from college just a couple of months ago.

They eventually find Aaron, who is pretty busy with work these days, so they are able to spend a very short afternoon with him.



After Oakland, they find that the home of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans is in Fairfield, on the road to Sacramento. They just have to stop and take the factory tour.











The next destination is Lassen National Park in northern California, one of the places that was snowed in earlier this summer.



The roads are all clear this time, so they take a leisurely drive through the park, soaking up the mountain scenery.













After Lassen, they decide to head for the Oregon border.

Crater Lake National Park is the next destination.

Andy and Terry see a lot of dark clouds ahead of them to the north.

When they finally arrive at Crater Lake they learn that they have just missed a huge hail and rain storm.

They decide to stay over night in the park and hope the storms are finished for the time being.

The following day the skies are clear and they have a good look at Crater Lake.

Andy calculates that they will need to turn around and head for home soon, or they will have been gone longer than they planned.

They head south toward Highway 395 which takes them all the way home.

They find a little time to scout out a few camp sites that they can visit the next time they are in the eastern Sierras.

The long ride home is over, and after resting up, Andy and Terry will be planning another trip in no time.

Weekend with The Pointer Sisters

Buffalo Bill's Casino loves to send Terry postcards inviting her to come and play on their slot machines,

So on June 26 she and Andy drive up to visit Buffalo Bill's where they are going to see a live Pointer Sisters Concert.

The concert is fantastic. The Pointer Sisters put on a very lively show.

The following day Andy wants to take a drive to Downtown Las Vegas.

On Las Vegas Blvd. they spy a crowd of people on the sidewalk.

They have found the location of the TV Series, Pawn Stars.

Andy watches that show all of the time. He parks the car and they get out to investigate. It's a very hot and sunny day in Las Vegas.

They walk around the parking lot where a lot of the outside scenes for the TV show are taped.

Andy wants to go inside, but the place is so popular people have to wait in line outside and take turns going into the store.

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Andy is not fond of standing in lines, and since the temperatures are so high he and Terry decide to visit on another day.

Maybe next time they will be able to visit the inside of the store.

Laughlin and Utah

Andy and Terry have a little extra time on their hands, so Andy wants to go for a short camping trip. Terry wants to go play with the slot machines.
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They figure out a way to do both.


First they drive out to Laughlin, Nevada for a two day stay at the Edgewater Casino on the Colorado River.


Terry gets to play on her slot machines and she wins a little extra spending money.

Next, Andy drives them up to southern Utah.

They plan to stay at Zion National Park, but it's a bit too crowded and there is no room to camp out, so they continue on to the mountains north of Zion.

Andy wants to try out a nice place called Duck Creek.

They find a nice campground up at Duck Creek with hardly anybody else around. It's a very attractive place in the woods.






After an overnight stay at Duck Creek they head toward Bryce Canyon National Park, elevation 8,000 feet.



They have not been here in five years, so it's time for another visit.











The unusual scenery here is always fantastic.



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They take a ride all around the place on the free park buses.

The weather turns cool and the weatherman predicts rain storms. After spending a night camping in a bit of rain, Andy and Terry decide to return home to wait for drier weather.

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They have a long pleasant drive back home. The weather is not hot and the scenery is very interesting.
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They make a stop in downtown Las Vegas so Terry can get her hands on the slot machines for one hour. She wins a few dollars and they continue on home.
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They do not stop at Buffalo Bill's at the state border because they will be coming back here at the end of the month.







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Check back then for some more stories.

San Francisco Graduation

Terry and Andy have received the big news at the last minute!


Grandson, Aaron, is ready to graduate from college on May 22!


Andy quickly makes plans to drive to San Francisco to be present at the graduation ceremony.


After a long drive they reach Oakland to visit Aaron at his home. Then they all take a tour of Oakland and Berkeley.









The next day Andy and Terry drive over to San Francisco State University to attend the big ceremony.

It is pretty cool and windy up here.

The school is very near the ocean.

Thousands of people are graduating here today! The stadium is packed.

The following day Terry and Andy return home, content in knowing that Aaron has reached a huge milestone in his life.

Primm Valley and Red Rock, NV

Terry has been invited back for a stay at the Primm Valley Resort at the Nevada state line.


She likes the slot machines there, and the resort is fond of inviting her back to play on them.


So, Andy and Terry decide to take a drive to Primm for a change of scenery.


The following day, Andy wants to get away from the casino, so they drive back up to Red Rock Canyon, southwest of Las Vegas.


The last time they were here there was a freak snowstorm.





This time they can concentrate on the scenery without a cover of snow.

Later that day, they are able to meet up with Terry's brother, who is in town for several weeks working on a construction job.


They have a nice time in Primm, and Terry has won a modest amount of money.

She already wants to come back.


The next visit here may be at the end of June, when The Pointer Sisters perform at Buffalo Bill's.

Hsi Lai Lunch

Just the other day, after Aerobics Class, Terry and Andy joined some friends to visit the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple for lunch.

Hsi Lai is the largest Buddhist Temple outside of Asia.

It's located on a hillside in Hacienda Heights.

At lunchtime they serve a vegetarian meal for $7, so Andy and Terry had to try it out. The cafeteria style meal was pretty good.
Quite a few people were there for lunch.

After eating they strolled around the grounds. This is a huge and impressive place.

Andy and Terry will be going back to the Las Vegas area in a few weeks. Check back later.

Return from Tucson

Terry and Andy have returned from their long drive to Tucson, Arizona and back.

In Tucson they were able to meet up with several of Terry's family members that she had not seen for a while.

It was great fun to spend time with everybody, and to enjoy the change of scenery that Arizona has to offer.



One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Air Show which was held at Davis - Montham Air Force Base in south Tucson.

There was quite a crowd of people there.

Terry's cousin, Bill came along with his grandson.

Another highlight was a return to the Saguaro National Park in north Tucson.

Andy and Terry always visit the giant saguaros here because it is such a peaceful place.