Pelican Pub.

Pelican Pub for lunch...very cold and breezy, right on the beach in Pacific City, OR...they promised the best Fish Tacos you've ever tasted and delivered in spades...highly recommend. Good food, location and company, another perfect afternoon of travel.

Oregon trail

Deck overlooks the Golf Course...scores of little animal and birds everywhere.

House has a great design...lots of windows for light.

Their "House in the Trees", just to get in you have to survive the bridge.

Oregon Coast in July can be cold...

I can see why so many left there homes back east to follow their dream on the Oregon Trail...the tales they must have heard about the paradise out west that awaited them...driving up the coast today we saw the dreams of 1000's of our ancestors. The beauty and bounty of this State are tremendous. Just think of the great adventure, hardship, anxiety, and promise people must have felt as they toiled on the road. I really think the world was a better place when it was bigger and held more hope for people. Look around today,  where is the adventure, where is the hope, where is the excitement, and where is the promise. Just sayin.

Today we made it to Rog and Deidre's. Cocktail's and a wonderful freshly (that morning) smoked salmon were served on the deck with lots of laughter and conversation. Roger is a master chef and Deird's is his help...together they put a wonderful meal on the table for Nanc and I...such wonderful friends are had to come by.

Brick Fire Bistro

We decided tonight to find a funky little restaurant to have dinner...we got on travel advisor and came up with the Brick Fire Bistro...a little calamari, an arugula green salad, brick oven cooked game hen, veggies and a little cheesecake...and here we are, fat and happy! Early night for us so we can take on Hwy 101 up the Oregon Coast...can you say twisty turny! Of course I'll have to stop so I don't get dizzy...this will give me a chance to get some fabulous pic's! We always look forward to seeing Roger and Deidre, Roger is the best cook and Deidre is just the best...Happy Trails!

We give this place high marks...if you get to Eureka try them out. 

OLD GROWTH NORTHERN COASTAL REDWOODS...WOW

     This morning Nancy and I slept in late, stopped at the store to buy some fruit, and headed out to the Avenue of the Giants. This is a 30 mile drive thru the Northern Coastal Redwood Forest. I never knew that redwoods could reach 360' in height and live to be over 2000 years old. For an example of their size and girth, in 1991 one of the largest trees in the Forest fell, no one was their to see it but a neighbor, some distance away, heard a massive/thundering crash and called 911 to report a possible train wreck. These puppies are huge! Today was inspiring and I really need to think of what I'm going to say here........

     As we were leaving Founders Grove today(one of the many sites along this drive),  Nancy was telling me how days like this, seeing wonders like these, were the real gifts of her life. How right she is...we work hard to buy nicer cars, better furniture and grander homes mostly to please ourselves. But I have to say that in the face of these 2000 year old wonders of the earth, none of those things really hold a candle. Anyone who knows me will attest to my absolute lack of religiosity, but I'm telling you the beauty and grandeur of this planet would leave (I think) anyone considering spiritual possibilities. So there you go...a short, skinny, mumbling Elvis and now the Great Redwoods!!! What's next.  

Up the Coast of California.

We left Don's yesterday, he and Nic were such wonderful and gracious host and we had such a good time. Don's house on the ocean is a tonic in itself. Our next stop was Pier 39 (about 1 hour), to meet up with our old friend Lucia. Lucia is the colleague of mine who helped with our plans in Italy, she arranged for our flat in Alviano for 2 months with an old friend of hers. We had a nice breakfast, good conversation (with lots of laughs) and then motored up and headed for Eureka. After checking a couple different routes we had decided to follow the coast as much as possible. So over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Muir Woods and down to Stinson Beach, we got on Hwy 1 and started our slow crawl up the coast. Many people believe Southern California is the jewel of this state but that is only because they haven't been up North, what beautiful scenery we passed through. My only problems with the day were 1) how slow the drive is and 2) how slow the drive is! At one switchback the speed limit is actually 10 MPH...after 4 1/2 hours we had only gone 137 miles. I mean come on, this is a trip around the world and I'm already 60 years old, at this pace it would take us 100 years! Just kidding, the real problem is the road is so twisty and has so many turns that, if your driving, you aren't able to enjoy all the beauty that surrounds you. There are so many wonderful small communities, postcard ocean scenes, and then at the end of the day we start seeing the mighty redwoods. Hit the sack about 10 pm and just got up at 8 am...I must have needed the sleep after all that work twisting and turning. Today we will really get out and see the Forest...can't wait.

Rog, Lucia, Nanc

Touchdown Roger

Awesome...where'd they come from!

Coastline

Scenery

Sites along the PCH

Davenport Bakery...great cookies, muffins and scones. Very laid back and homey feel to the place...I wonder if they are hiring??

Wonderful Lighthouse and Park...Sherry this is for you. Everybody loves these places. I wonder if they need a ticket taker?

Slowcoast...not sure what they are selling, but they are open...I think they were just selling slow??? They are located right next to the Swanton Berry Farm (actually on the same property)...Swanton's has a retail store front...this place is great...walk in, pick out what you want and leave your money on the counter (where there was a ton of cash)...Don bought some wonderful jam, something called Olallieberry, a whole 10 oz. jar...and it cost $8.00??? That's like $1 per oz. Why is this so expensive...they have no overhead, not even any retail clerk to take your dough??? Why so much!! Another mystery of the road!! By the way..I know retail if they need a clerk!

Martin & Waddell & Beach Parks

These are not seagulls...we are driving down the PCH, turn the corner and see between 40 and 50 Kite surfers and scores of windsurfers...this is located where Waddell Creek meets Big Basin Redwood Park...I've only seen this many Kites, at once, a couple times before, at Kailua Beach Park on Oahu and the Beach Park outside of Paia on Maui. It really is something to behold, all those Kites in the sky at once and somehow not running in to each other. Wow!

 This is Martin Beach Park just south of Half Moon Bay...I only counted 2 people on this beach...overcast day, but still mid July and only 2 people? This is such a special place on the planet... happy I came to visit.

Evolve...

This from a wall along the shoreline...

Evolve...I'm trying. Not sure what I want or will end up being. Trying to resist the bad and embrace the good...in this goofy world it's hard to tell what's what. I will endeavor to persevere!

Alice's Restaurant.

The original...the place was packed with bikers, cyclist, travelers, tourist and us. Alice's is a great hangout place and was made for a slow and easy Sunday morning...we look forward to many, many more of these. The food was regular breakfast fare and everyone seemed happy with their choice...all in all a very cool time!

Sam's Lobster Roll

So after much discussion we all decide to dine at Sam's...as you see from the sign Sam is famous (and living off of it) for their Lobster Roll. I'm not sure what the criteria was for this award but I assure you it wasn't selected because it was one of the top 5 tasting sandwiches...I would give it 5 points out of 10 which actually puts it into about 12th place for sandwiches, for me, this month! Thank god the company rated a 10 and the location was an easy 9...it's always nice to spend time with old friends...good times and lots of laughs.

A perfect day at the beach...we spied these 2 hanging out under a Seaweed Tree...not sure why they are not wearing bathing suits?

We enjoyed the afternoon at Miramar Beach...a cold beer (in a cup), and a slight cooling breeze = a perfect day. Don spent his time trying to get Nicole in the water and she spent the day resisting...earlier we had an awesome breakfast at the original Alice's Restaurant, a scenic drive over Skyline Blvd., and a lazy afternoon hanging around the beach and Don's house...I seem to be getting better at this...unemployment? no goals? no quotas? Who'd of thought I would respond so well to all these negative vibrations!

The Itinerary.

I was asked to include this on the blog for readers reference...here you go.

Sun 7/11-15 Fly Phoenix Stay @ Mom’s house, Maybe Prescott (Pete)

Sat 7/16-22 Fly S.Diego Stay @ Joshua’s

Sat 7/23-25 Fly San Fran Stay @ Don’s, Rent car (Enterprise)

Tue 7/26-27 Drive Eureka Rodeway Inn 2 nights Redwood National Park

Thu 7/28-29 Drive Glen Eden Stay @ Roger-Deidre’s

Sat 7/30 Drive Battle Ground Stay @ Deb G’s

Sun 7/31-8/1 Drive Beaverton Stay @ Knepp’s

Mon 8/02-3 Drive Billings Stay @ Marriott 

Fri 8/04 Drive Denver Stay  Marsh-4th, Josh 5-7th, Turn in car 8/5

Mon 8/08-9 Fly KCity Stay @ Donna’s

Wed 8/10-11 Fly NOrleans Stay Tom and Sandy Rent car  Advantage

Fri 8/12-8/13 Rental car back Stay @ Marriott French Qtr. 

Sun 8/14-18 Fly Orlando Disney Hotel 

Fri 8/19 Fly Ft. Meyers Marriott

Sat 8/20-24 Ferry KWest  Marriott  Rent Car 8/25 National

Thu 8/25 Drive Orlando Stay @ Marriott Football game

Fri 8/26-27 Drive Charleston Stay @ Marriott

Sun 8/28-9/1 Fly to DC Stay @ Marriott

Wed 9/2-30 Fly to Milan Italy Train to Corniglia 28 days Corniglia, 5Terre

Sat 10/1-11/29 Rent Car LaSpezia Drive to Umbria, Alviano 2 months 

Wed 11/30 Drive Rome Turn in car Stay Marriott

Thu 12/01 Fly to Sydney Arrive Sydney 12/3 @ 8:45am

Sat 12/3-5 Sydney Marriott 3 nights

Tue 12/6-16 Rhapsody RC Cruise 11 days east coast OZ

Sat 12/17-27 Fly Melbourne Stay @ Venetia’s  She will pick up

Tue 12/27-1/11 Fly Tasmania Arrive Hobart @12:55 Stay Orana House

Wed 1/11 Fly Melbourne Arrive Melbourne 11:15 Hotel Marriott 

Thu 1/12-13 Fly Emirates Air Auckland AR 13:45 Hotel Jucy

Sat 1/14-2/9 Flying Kiwi 27/28 day Ultimate Tour Traverse both Islands

Fri 2/10-28 Kathleen Arlie Gisborne ???

Wed 3/1 Fly Hawaii Oahu Stay @ TBA

Thu 3/15 Fly Denver Back to Real Life

HMB to Eureka, 296mi. 5 1/2 hrs., Eureka to LincolnCity, 340mi. 7 1/2hrs.

LincolnCity to BattleGround, 112mi. 2 1/2hrs., BattleGround to Portland, 25mi. 1hr.

Portland to Billings, Billings to Longmont 530mi. 7 1/2hrs. 4-5th JohnMarsh, 6th,7th Joshua’s in CO Springs

Mike Tyson

Just saw Mike Tyson at the San Diego Airport...right in front of us he was mobbed by picture takers...alas I was not fast enough to get a good pic...thank god everything worked out though because Nancy could care less about Mike and upon further consideration I could care even lesser! So Mike has come and gone from our lives...NEXT!

San Francisco or Bust

In the San Diego Airport heading to San Francisco...looking forward to a couple of days with our buddy Don and his girl Nicole...1 block from the beach in Half Moon Bay and just down the road from where the Maverick Surf Competition takes place...looking forward to easy days, great conversation and wholesome eats! Here we go.

Meet the GrandKids!

CJ, our thoughtful teenager...

Logan our witty, hugger.

Tony the math wiz.

and who could forget Marc the family clown. 

Goodbye Josh and Family.

Josh and Marianne...my son is a 20 year Marine and we couldn't be prouder...he, his wife and 4 kids are moving to Colorado Springs next week. Viva la retirement! We look forward to seeing friends Don and Nic tomorrow in Half Moon Bay...we ought to fit perfect in the Bay area...get that girl a flower for her hair!

Today is our last day in San Diego. Spent the day at the pool with the family. I was raised a good part of my life in SD (up to the age of 13)...it always reminds me of sun, surf, sandals, beads and good times. My son and his wife have been very gracious having us stay, my thanks to Tony for giving up his bedroom, to Marc for being as goofy and fun as always, to my lovely CJ (who makes me smile and reminds me why I want to stay young) and my grandson Logan who is always ready with a hug and his witty personality. We will think of all of you often while traveling. We love you.

Two Worlds Collide.

My son the Marine...he may be younger, stronger and better looking, but I'm pretty sure I'm Hippier!

PEACE

Beer and Guns

Here have another beer.

Be careful with that...gun!

A pacifist gone bad!!!

Another quiet day at Josh's house and shooting range...and the answer is "yes" she did hit the target...Logan will be better in a couple days.

Beds, Beds, Beds

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and even burrowed in for a few extra minutes. In the last 3 months I have slept on no fewer that 7 different beds and feel fine. I have slept on everything from a full size to a wonderful king size bed, some of the beds have been lumpy, some hard as a brick, a few too soft and on that great occasion one that's just right. Nancy and I have slept in our own bed in our own house, the bed in our carriage house, my daughters attic, her sisters guest room, the Marriott in Las Vegas, my mother's spare room and at my son's house, in his stepsons bedroom, where we enjoyed wonderful aquarium sheets (yes we slept with the fishes). Some places we slept were to hot, some to cold, some to light, some pitch black, some had great background noise, some were deathly quiet and in one case we woke in the middle of the night to a rain storm that found it's way inside right on Nancy's head . My point is, in each place I have slept fitfully and awoken feeling ready for the day. At one time in our lives we spent months searching for the right bed to buy and spent an embarrassing amount of money to get it just right, we needed a fan for the correct amount of white noise and just the right lighting. The only thing that's really changed is our attitude...how simple!    

Quiet Day

Sleep in, hang out, help Josh and eat...just another easy day in the
life of homeless Vagabonds...there is no shame is this!

Picture is of Nancy at San Diego Airport...doesn't look like
this girl is in any kind of hurry or has any kind of worry. We
call this the perfect response to lack of stress.

RogerDodger and Fancy Nancy look-a-likes.

Looking more like their caricature everyday.

A sea Monster...YIKES!

Not sure what this is maybe a cross between a Crisanto and a Seaweed....a ahh Criseaweed-to!!

Buck gone wild!

As you can see Buck was very reluctant so CJ drug him into the water...this is definitely not a water dog but as you can see his swim lesson ended in success...no really can't you see his smile!

Buck goes to the Park.

If you keep up with the blog you'll see we had some sad, funny and enlightening moments in Sun City and are very happy to be in San Diego. I find I am happier than expected to be by this time in my holiday. Life is moving in the key of easy, today's big adventure is taking my son's dog to the dog park in Del Mar...it is on the beach and is great fun. Buck is this wonderful Golden Retriever that is like part of the family (which makes him my grandson??) On Saturday we head to Half Moon Bay and some serious beach time. Anyway, best to all, keep in touch and let me know how life is treating you.

Take me out to the Ballgame...what memories!

We arrived in San Diego just in time to go watch a Little League Baseball Game...see if you can follow this. My son's second wife's, ex husband's, sister's son (cousins to her children, my step grand children) was playing in a game this evening. For those of you that do not know, I was a very successful Little League baseball coach, in fact I was famous in a very small section of Billings, Montana during the 1983 season. My son's team coached by none other than me, was the league champion that year. So not only do I love Little League but I really know the game (at least as it was played in 1983). We found our seats in the bleachers and spent 2 1/2 hours yelling for our team and at the umpires...alas the boys lost 9-8 in a thriller but I think I've found my next career...what do you think about.....Coach Roger Paddock....Nancy would run the cheer squad. Now I just need to find a team and start negotiations. What a great night we had. My son Josh always finds the coolest things to do (maybe he could be my assistant).

Cell Phone's

Cell Phones...Is this a phenomena only in the US or is it world wide...I'm sitting in Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and for the last 15-20 minutes a young woman (early 20's) has been talking on her phone, she hasn't stopped, I mean 15-20 minutes straight, Only hearing half the conversation is usually a bummer but in this case, if we pay attention, we get the whole thing! Is this scene being repeated in Milan, London, Sydney or Auckland?? Scanning this crowd everyone looks to be involved with talking, texting, checking, scanning or blogging (in my case)...no kidding it is everyone!!! What did we do 15 years ago without these gadgets...and everyone speaks so loud that nothing is sacred...I mean if you talk on your cell phone it seems your allowed to yell anything about anything, and this in a crowd of strangers. Of course here I sit in judgement of others with my Mac balanced on my lap. Between Kindles, Cells, Ipods, Ipads, Laptops and god knows what else we seem to be losing the ability to sit in a crowd and converse with another person.
So with that said it's back to the kindle with my ipod buds firmly in my ears...viva the new millennium!!

Goodbye Sun City

Tomorrow we leave Sun City, my mom and my budding bingo career. Tough to leave with Lenny just out of the hospital but he's looking better, getting around pretty good and sounds like he'll fight hard to retain his health. It's sad to say goodbye to my mom, she is the toughest little Italian woman there is. Today we went for breakfast at JiMicheal's and had dinner at The Elephant Bar. Joining us for dinner were Bob, Angie (of bingo fame) and Marilyn, 3 of my mother and Lenny's best friends. Very nice, interesting people. I have always thought that seniors in this country were treated as irrelevant and now I understand it even less...these people are great to hang with, they know how to have fun and possess more wisdom in their pinkie than any 30 year old! As melancholy as our departure is we look forward to San Diego, our son Josh, and a little faster pace. Viva San Diego!

BINGO!!

     Today my mom took Nancy and I to her Senior Center for lunch and a session of bingo. She introduced us around to her friends and other center members. Couple things I noticed, first, the ratio of men to woman...the good news is if your a man and survive to 80, you will have your choice of women...the bad news is there aren't many men! Second, one of the cute little old ladies Mom introduced us to was 94 years old...they had to bring her lunch to her because she couldn't walk very well, but as we were leaving I saw her getting into her car to drive home...the roads in Sun City are not safe!!
    It's hard to believe but I have only played bingo once before, and that was 20 years ago. I mean how hard could it be if every 80 year old is playing. I mean it's not like a full contact sport. So, I got in line to buy my cards (following close behind my mother) and decided to get 2 packets for both Nancy and I ($30), next we paid to join the super number group ($4), and then paid extra for the last daily game ($4...which seemed to be different from the rest of the games???). I had no idea what I was doing and must have appeared confused to all my new Senior friends...thankfully one of my mother's friends, Angie, designated herself as my instructor of all things bingo. When we originally bought our packets I thought when they said 2 packets it meant 2 boards for each game...Wrong...each packet has a game board with 6 games per, so now I was going to try to dab 12 boards at once, yikes! What seemed easy going in was now getting a little more complex. Bingo is chaos! Let me repeat, Bingo is chaos!!They call a number and draw a number (that appears on a overhead screen) almost simultaneously, these are 2 separate numbers. I was new to the game so had a hard time just staying up with the numbers announced...I had no chance of working ahead with the newly drawn number...I mean this is hard, it is the only place where 80 year olds with experience can thrash someone much younger. I was sweating and dabbing and sweating and dabbing and had no clue if I was about to win because I could barely stay up with my furious dabbing. So we get to the second to the last game which was a $50 prize and included the the wild card number payoff, it was a 9 block game which means you need to get 3 rows of 3 to line up on each other anywhere on the card , so I'm sweating and dabbing and dabbing and sweating while Angie is diligently checking over my shoulder....she leans closer and yells BINGO, it yours it yours, you got Bingo!!! Yahoo a winner...I have to admit if left to my own devices I was so busy dabbing I had no idea I'd won. I was actually the big winner of the day $155...no talent, no plan just luck...Can't wait till I'm 80 so I can get better at this.

My Saguaro!

Took a couple hours off Hospital duty today, Nancy and I decided to drive by our old neighborhood in Scottsdale, AZ...I (yes I) planted  this Saguaro about 11 years ago...it was about 4 feet tall but now reaches 11 - 12 feet...between Oct. 1998 and April 2000 I actually managed a cactus nursery called Carefree Cactus Gardens...yes, I was the Cactus man of Arizona! Worked in over 100 degree heat everyday...long hair, long beard, shorts and sandals...the money wasn't good but it was a great 2 years.
Fun to remember.

Flexibility

The good thing about an 8 month holiday is it allows you a ton of flexibility, but who would have thought we'd need to use that card within the 1st week. Nanc and I had anticipated a nice visit with my Mom and Lenny (her boyfriend) and had looked forward to going to Sedona, maybe visiting our friends Pete and Sharon, and hopefully seeing our old neighborhood. Lenny was in the hospital when we arrived, the prognosis from his procedure was good and we figured a day or two and he'd be home. Not going to happen, we spent all day Monday at the hospital, all day Tuesday waiting at the hospital for his release, picking up pills and getting him settled. Wednesday was suppose to be "let the healing begin day" but Lenny was unsettled all day and really not able to get around, we did venture out for about an hour to get him a haircut but when we got home it was the same thing, "he just didn't feel right". At about 8pm last night we took him back to the Emergency Room and had him re-admitted. We have decided to extend our time here and give my Mom a hand for a couple of extra days. We are already learning to just relax and take what the day gives.

The road

This is a picture of me from 1994 on my 1st long road trip...this pic from Red Hook, St. Thomas USVI...Bob Knepp and I trying to make paradise fit (Nancy was lucky she was waiting in the wings)...as some of you know it was a poor fit so I headed home to Colorado and moved with Nancy to Hawaii...good times! This picture was taken on our patio.
2nd picture is the compass the NaHoku gang gave me as a going away gift...can't wait to get lost so I can use it. Thanks all.

First night on the road...Mom's

For those of you who are not sure of our Itinerary, we start in Sun City, Arizona to visit my 81 year old mother Mary Ann and her 85 year old boyfriend Lenny. My crafty mother arranged for one of her young friends Bob (a mere 71 years old) to pick us up at the airport...now we haven't ever met Bob but he was supplied with a picture of us, our flight number and arrival time. We of course had offered many times to catch a shuttle but Mom wouldn't think of it and so she dispatched Bob. We arrived on time, made our way down to baggage, figured out which carousel our luggage was coming to and hoped to find Bob. Nancy is so good at these kind of things...she spied him out in record time, we collected our bags and were on our way. Bob turns out to be the kind of guy I'd like to hang around with!!! My mom has cool friends?? Lenny has been ailing for about a week from a procedure he had done, and was still in the hospital...but there not to my surprise was my little Italian mother cooking up lunch for us. This woman was renowned for her fried chicken back in the day and is directly responsible for my being overweight (having taught me the love of food). After lunch we piled into the car and went to visit Len. Hospitals now days have more computers than doctors and nurses put together...if they could only tell you what's going on you'd be a happy camper. Unfortunately these computers have taken a vow of silence so you sit and wait and wait and wait for one of the God like Doctors to make an appearance. We are almost giddy with excitement when this man of action arrives! How wrong can we be??? This Dr. knows nothing, shares nothing and makes no promises. He hasn't read the chart and is kind of like a hot air balloon...nothing inside. After we harassed him for 10 minutes he jumps into action doing what, we don't know. So here we sit the next day getting ready to go back for a little bit of the same! I promise I won't yell to much!!!

Cafe Moda

A good plan gone bad. Funny night...a going away party was planned for Nance and I on my last day of work. I had never heard of Cafe Moda but got the address, the time to meet and looked forward to going. We, as the guests of honor, decided to be fashionably late so planned a 6:45 show up for the 6:30 party. Away we go...arrived at the restaurant and noticed it was in a kind of seedy strip mall, throwing caution to the wind we made our way to the entrance where a number rascally fellows were hanging out by the door. As we made our way around the Limo, parked sideways in front of the entrance, we entered what looked like a wedding hall with a reception going on?? Noticing we were the 1st to arrive and not sure of our location, we inquired, if in fact, we were in the right place. After being hustled into a corner and offered drinks multiple times, by multiple people, we were informed that someone named Valerie had made reservations for 10 people. Huh, the place was packed, we were pretty sure about 30 people were coming and this place could not hold all of us. Keeping the faith we decided to wait outside and went on a stroll thru the seedy strip mall. Finally we see someone we know...there to our rescue comes Valerie herself, together with fear and loathing we make our way back to the Limo blocked entrance and reenter the restaurant. Now the fun begins...as guest slowly arrive we come to the realization that our corner will hold no more than 10 people. The powers that be at Cafe Moda, now see their dilemma and decide to seat part of our party within what looks like a cross between a wedding reception and a prom. We make our way to our seats and notice sideways glances from the other party goers who appear to be a well dressed group of Filipinos (it being a Filipino restaurant). We certainly can't blame them as we have intruded right into the center of their celebration (which actually was a birthday). Sheila, who was hosting this send off, looked at me and asked if I would be more comfortable going somewhere else. In a word I said, "Yes...please". So now it was decided we all drive down to Ellis Island to have dinner and what we hoped would be at a better location. Only problem was only half the guest had arrived. Arrangements were made to call all the managers and have them call their employees who wanted to come and thus spread the word.
 Now the fun really begins, Ellis Island is packed, we have zero idea how many are coming so there is no way to give a correct count for our party that may or may not be seated in 2 hours!!! Where's the bar!
Hooray the bar is empty...we secured two long tables (picnic style) and settled in for bar food, hopefully drinks and a little karaoke. And now the fun really begins because here comes Elvis. I have to admit I have seen one of the greatest wonders I will see during my trip...this guy was 5 ft. tall, weighed ninety pounds and didn't know 1 word to one Elvis song...he got up and just mumbled...funniest thing I've seen in years! A skinny, short Elvis who can't sing. All the frustration of the night melted away and I found myself laughing alot. Thanks everyone for a story I will be sharing for years.

The last dance...

Tonight the NaHoku crew have a get together planned for us...food, friendship and karaoke...should be fun. Sheila has officially taken over (today I gave her my phone), good luck to her and all the Las Vegas District. This will be our last dance in Vegas, tomorrow we head for Sun City, AZ and a few days with my mom. Leaving 110 degrees and heading into the real heat of Arizona...yikes! Time to start the vacation tan.

The Cake.

Went to my last General Sales Meeting yesterday, it was a great time filled with tears, laughs and memories. One of my employees spent hours making a world map cake...it was awesome. I was very touched, Thanks Chris! I also received a fabulous compass (from everyone), many wonderful words of praise and lots of well wishes and hugs. A fun day.