VIVA - Las Vegas!!!!

Today is departure day from Las Vegas. 

We left our RV site on the Colorado River two days back for the 2.5 hr. motorcycle ride to the city of sin.  We avoided getting into trouble though....so no worries folks!  Had it not been for a visit with Deb and Bob, we likely would not have traveled here. 

Heading out for Vegas

The ride was uneventful....always a good thing when motorcycling.  We arrived in Las Vegas shortly after noon on Saturday.

Las Vegas Boulevard

Always a very busy street, Las Vegas Boulevard was alive with thousands, upon thousands, of tourists.

All the glitter, sights and sounds abound.

Once settled into our accommodations, and once freshened up from our ride, Jeanette and I proceeded to our meeting place on the strip where we met Jeanette's sister Deb and her husband Bob.

We found Deb and Bob sitting in the sun and enjoying a libation.

It was nice sitting in the hot sun and catching up on our lives and their Vegas experience.

After a couple of hours in the sun, we joined their travel friends for a bus ride to Freemont Street in old Las Vegas - famous for its outdoor night time laser light shows.

Just one of the many signs advertising casino and cheap liquors.

Canada's (and the Province of Quebec's) Celine Dion is still headlining at Caesars Palace.

The night before our arrival, Deb and Bob attended Celine's show and they raved about how fantastic it was.

 The old Four Queens in all of its glory.

Although we've been to Las Vegas several times, it had been many years since we had visited Freemont Street.  It did not disappoint. The place was alive with entertainment.

The famous (or infamous) Freemont Casino....where Bugsy likely forced his many underhanded deals on the unsuspecting?

As expected, Elvis did appear....and the evidence is clear.  He posed with Deb!

With ZIP lines above us and an endless array of music blaring on street level, this place is alive.

 We cruised Freemont Street in search of a good place to enjoy dinner.  We found a really good restaurant and - having to wait 30-40 minutes to get in - we enjoyed a truly good prime rib dinner.

More gallivanting on Freemont Street - Bob is taking photographs as Jeanette an Deb look on.

Alive with light....

After dinner and more time spent enjoying the sights and sounds, we took the bus back to the Las Vegas Strip.

Pretty at night, isn't it?

The Paris Casino Resort where Jeanette and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner last night.

We ended our evening out enjoying the water fountains at the Belagio.

Deb, Bob and their friends headed for a tour of the Hoover Dam in Sunday.  Having been there before, Jeanette and I enjoyed a great day walking and touring the various resort style hotels on the strip.

Following coffee with Deb and Bob this morning, we'll be packing up and riding back to our southern California RV spot.  It is a beautiful and warm day so that bodes well for a wonderful motorcycle ride in the desert.

Thanks for dropping in.

A Walk...and VW Bus Show!

Yesterday was an ideal day to take a hike - between laundry loads - and just catching up with some reading while sitting in the sun.  You read right!  We were able to sit in the sun again.  Reasonably warm temperatures have returned.

We headed off to walk a two mile groomed trail.

These hills are interesting to watch because the colour on the face changes with the position of the sun.

Our shadows

RV friends - Patty and David, from Yuba City, CA, arrived two days ago. We were hoping they would be back. They also ride a nice Harley Davidson....and, yes....some rides are in the planning stages.

Today we headed off to Lake Havasu City, primarily to visit the VW Vintage Bus exhibit.  I am always attracted to vintage vehicles...and my very first car was a red, 1964 Volkswagen Beetle....similar to this one below.

I loved my first car....and I have great memories driving it.  My Beetle got me through my first year of university. I drove it for two years before selling it for something more modern and with a far better in car heating system.

A restored early 60's VW bus.  What a beauty.

There were at least 50+ VW bus type vans on  display on the Havasu Lake waterfront.  We paid our $2 each and enjoyed the wide scope of original to fully restored vehicles.

Bumper sticker says it all!

An unrestored German Police Paddy Wagon...dating back to the late 50's

Everyone was camping out on the waterfront....with several fires burning in the fire pits.

A beautifully restored and slightly modified bus.

Another of the better restored beauties....and my personal favourite.

We have a few friends who had the very similar VW camper bus as this burgundy coloured beauty. This camper van was likely in the best condition of all those on display.

Our first camper van was built on a Dodge van body....with a solid fiberglass raised roof.  We had a ton of fun with that rig, when our kids were younger.

I'm sure most of you have seen these VW powered, Winnebago, Class C, motorhomes.

Awesome crew cab truck style VW.

But this was my favourite truck.  It is pristine.

Camping in style......?

Early air conditioning....!

Do you remember Flower Power?

From my perspective, this was likely the older VW on site.  This is a 1958 single cab truck....in original condition.

It didn't take very long to tour the VW Vintage Bus site..but for $2, it was well worth the visit.  Hector and Diane were thrilled to see these old vans and trucks too.

We also spent a bit of time running a few errands and Hector wanted to pick up his computer from the Havasu Staples store.  He was having some problems that required geek squad intervention.  All cleaned up, the computer is zippy once again.

Hector and Diane on the Havasu waterfront

Token London Bridge shot....with flags

....and the marina at Lake Havasu Tourist Information Centre.

There is not a lot of substantive writing to this blog....but with all of the photos telling a bit of story...few words are necessary.

Oh.....and for the QUILTERS out there in blogland, here's one photo for you!

A quilter with a true love for anything VW BUS!

 Tomorrow we motorcycle north to Las Vegas.....and we'll report on the sins (if any) incurred while we are there. LOL

Thanks for dropping by.

Ah...Yes....The Good Weather Is Back!

And true to form, the good desert weather has returned following, what locals call, the worst cold weather in decades.  We say yea to that! The trend is warming daily... to return mid-70's temperatures in the days ahead.  We'll be enjoying mid-to high 60's today.  That is in stark contrast to the mid-40's highs we experienced most recently.

Just rock....and more rock.

While in Bullhead City last Friday, we dropped into a motorcycle shop and ordered a new front tire for the motorcycle.  It arrived on Tuesday and that's where I headed to.

It was still cool so I geared up with the heated riding clothes....and fired up the heated grips.

It was an approximately 50 minute ride to the Bullhead City Kawasaki motorcycle dealer.  I made really good time, avoiding the city core, by taking the Parkway around the city.

Leaving Pirate Cove / Moabi Regional Park RV area.

The motorcycle technicians were great.  I was invited into the shop and, once back on two wheels, I was back at the RV within three hours from starting out.  

Jeanette had prepared a scrumptious dinner and, together with Hector and Diane (Chico too), we enjoyed a nice evening in our 5th wheel - with the heat on!!!

Chico and Diane relax before dinner.  You can see the Colorado River out of the rear picture window.

Hector and I were anxious to get back on the links and with the good weather back - albeit kind of windy - we headed for El Rio Golf and Country Club in Mojave - about 30 minutes from our park.

Hector on the #10 Tee box.

The wind was making the round more difficult but to play the desert courses is to adapt...and we tried to do just that. We managed well, overall.

In the swing.

It's always interesting to aim a shot, either left or right (depending on wind direction) of one's intended target.

The tee boxes, greens and part of the fairways are watered.  The rest of the field is left to yellow.

This is a really nice golf course.  We played here many times last January and El Rio will likely be our regular golf destination during our stay in this area.

In the tough, windy conditions, we managed to score well on the front nine but finished the back nine 10 strokes higher than the front.  The wind was buffeting every which way and play seemed more difficult. 

Waiting for the groups ahead to push forward.

We have some options for today and tomorrow, with respect to activities.  We could (and are more likely to) do a few laundry loads in our fiver before heading out for a nice hike in the area today.   That is our most likely option.

Tomorrow's magnet is to ride to Lake Havasu City to take in the Volkswagen Vintage Bus fair.  It sounds like a really nice activity to take in.  We'll report on that if we go.

Saturday will have us pack up the motorcycle before heading off to Las Vegas (2 hours north of here) to meet up with Jeanette's sister, Deb and husband Bob, along with another couple, who will be flying in this evening from Calgary, Alberta.  We'll join them for a couple of days of Vegas fun.  We are looking forward to that.
  That covers things from here for now.  Thanks for dropping in.