Author: Mary-Ann Knight

Vacation is so much fun, another mostly sit and soak up the sun.  We visited our first Fry’s for groceries.

The flecks we encountered in Bailey last trip are trying to come back.

Then sat around again into the night.

 

Today was a hang around, soak up sun go to Sam’s Club and Walmart kind of day.

It was also Wilf & Allan tinker around to figure out some of Bailey’s mysteries.

When all else fails RTFM (read the fuc$%#@ manual)

We are relatively close to train tracks, getting used to the whistle 2 long, 1 short, 1 long.

 

 

First full day!  

We are all set up.  🙂

Lazing around a bit before heading to flea markets.

First Arizona Flea Market where I bought a super duper scrubber for pans then off to the Yuma Swap Meet where we purchased nothing.

Then off the to the Verizon store.  Allan and his gadgets!

Back home to the best time of the day.

 

Reunited and it feels so good!

Left Toronto Pearson at 945a, were scheduled to leave at 925, late again that is why Air Canada has so many little planes, cause they do not pull out on time.  Arrived in Phoenix about 1240p local time.  Uber to Goodyear to pick up Bailey from storage at Palm Gate Storage.  Starting km 47,625.

2p We are now enroute to Yuma for an exciting week with 3 other RV couples.  Wilf (childhood friend) & Brenda, Wilf’s parents Tom & Irma who spend Winters in Yuma, and Wilf’s sister and husband Shelley & Jim.  I’m pretty sure the park will not be the same when we leave.

We arrive in Yuma proper around 4 and head to Walmart for much needed groceries.  We buy the essentials enough for dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning.

We arrive at the park, McCoy Mobile Home/RV Park about 6p to our second back in spot.  Of course this time we are amongst friends and mostly everyone else in the RV park watching us back in.  Got in but took 3 attempts.

Everyone is here except Wilf & Brenda who arrived closer to midnight and exhausted.

 

 

 

 

On the road again heading to Goodyear! Starting km 47,605.

Lots of beautiful scenery. Desert, hills, mountains lots of rocks. Huge elevation changes, ear popping!

Fun is over for now 🙁  We drop Bailey in storage and Uber it to the airport for our midnight 30 flight.  First a beverage or two!

 

Another walk to Fremont St. A friend, Leigh (Leslie to us) had explained what Pawn Stars was. Walking by today there wasn’t a lineup so in we go. Tons of stuff & people, we walk down the aisle and back.  We left pretty quick.

This time we notice a place called “Heart Attack Grill, Over 350 lbs eat for free”. What a gimmick!

Back to Circus Circus we go.  On the road again tomorrow heading to Chandler.

We decide today we will gamble on the strip. I’m very cheap but in honour of my Mum who loved to gamble we sit down at a $1 slot machine at Casino Royale.

Our big time gambling limit is $20 a day, by then we’ve normally lost interest.  The machine we select has a Spin to Win wheel, $18 with little return, last 2 bucks YAHOO a spin comes up, spin, spin, spin  WIN $500. Cash out immediately!! Such fun winning.

Tonight’s show, Paranormal – Mind Reading Magic.  Frederic Da Silva is truly amazing. He calls people to stage by randomly throwing 3 Frisbees in the audience the 3 catchers then through them.

Allan caught one! Allan on stage really stole the show 😊

A must see show when in Vegas.  It was our favourite of the 3 we saw this trip.

We spent a quiet day because tonight is showtime! Zumanity Cirque du Soleil, in New York New York Casino.

Chef Allan makes us a delicious breakfast, complete with his famous Caesar beverage and beer 🙂  Chef Ramsay beware!!

The show was entertaining, fun, lots of laughs even saw 2 near naked ladies swimming in a fish bowl.

Now for after the show dinner.  We see a Ginseng Korean BBQ off the strip.  We enter and quickly determine it must be authentic as we are the only non Koreans. We stumble through ordering as there is a language barrier but do surprisingly well. They put scissors on the table, I say “She forgot her scissors isn’t that weird?” Turns out the scissors are used to cut the meat. Chop sticks don’t come with knives!

Food was delicious, restaurant a great find.   All in all a fabulous day!

We head out to the Strip about 7pm, drink in hand. It is so much colder than we thought it would be, turns out it is unseasonably cold, we soldier on… here we come!!

The Strip is closed to vehicular traffic, the centre median has more police officers and vehicles that we ever saw in one place.  Buses and tanks are being used to barrack streets.  They must have every Nevada State police officer here. At least we feel safe.

We are having fun, lots of people. Many ladies dressed or undressed to the nines with CFM heels, oh to be so young again!!

Because every celebration requires the crazy ones, we offer

We decide an indoor drink is in order to warm up, we thought perhaps New York New York would be the casino to be at Times Square and all but whoops you need a wrist band.

 

 

Plan B:  We stayed at the Luxor when we got married 24 years and 2 days ago they will welcome us and YES they did. Warm up & drink time. Our sweet server said Caesar’s Palace is the place to be come midnight for the fireworks and festivities.

Off we go, what an adventure we are on. OMG, there are so many people we are making progress and finally we are in the throws of way too many people in front of Caesar’s awaiting the fireworks.  This photo doesn’t give justice to the 300,000 celebrating people.

There are warning that due to heavy winds the fireworks may be delayed.

Way too many people, we can’t move, everyone is sandwiched. There is a barricade behind us, people start jumping over it to escape – a fight breaks out. Fortunately on the other side of the barricade.  This side, a very drunk man standing on the barricade falls back on Allan.

All those police who made me feel safe earlier are not responding.  2 officers standing on a nearby staircase are witnessing the flight and all they do is shine their flashlights making it easies for the combatants to view each other to land their punches.

I fear the crowd will become even more unruly and we’ll be stampeded.

Finally the fireworks ring in the new year.  That calms the crowd down.  It was a good show, not great, but good.

We hope the crowd will dissipate but no we end up having to make our escape over the barricade to escape and head back to Bailey.

Motto – Be careful what you wish for!!

Freezing, fear for your life but another bucket list item done.

We walk to Fremont St and come upon “World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop – Pawn Stars” The lineup was snaked around the block to get in.

Neither of us knew why, Allan’s theory! These were people pawning items they stole over the weekend.

Some of the sights.​

One of the things we having a hard time with is…drum roll… remembering here they have no clue what a washroom is. We’ve had several blank stares when asking for directions to one. SO to remember RESTROOM not washroom. Allan found his and had to share as it is full of Marilyn Monroe prints.