Thursday January 30, 2014, Carlsbad, CA

Today started pretty much like yesterday ended, overcast and foggy.  We  had no plans for the morning.  We had our coffee and caught up on computer time.

We got ready for our drive to Coronado to visit Montyne and John.  We left Carlsbad at 1:30 and drove to the marina where they live on their boat.  The drive took about forty five minutes.  We had a long meal and visit.  The meal started with a vegetable tray and chips with guacamole.  Then we had shrimp with two sauces, followed by cheese and crackers.

Montyne and John are getting ready for another art show in Palm Springs. We left Coronado Cays and were back in Carlsbad by 8:45.  We passed the LDS temple which was lit up on I-5. 

LDS Temple in San Diego

A beautiful sight but no place to stop.  I got this picture off the internet.

We relaxed for awhile and then had our nightly game of Mexican Train dominoes.  I won again.  The record stands at me 3, Gerri 2 and Neva 0.

This is what the resort pool would look like if the sun came out

As usual we finished the evening wit computer , TV and reading.

Wednesday January 29, 2014, Carlsbad, CA

It was another lazy morning with no plans for the day.  After coffee and computer catch up I went geocaching.  The ladies stayed at the timeshare computing, reading and watching the fog roll in.

I drove and walked over a lot of the nearby hills, I managed to find eleven caches and didn’t find another five.  Two of my DNFs had a previous log of DNF.  A lot of my time was spent trying to find a point to start the walk to the cache area.  I got my afternoon steps while hunting caches.

Oh say can you see?  Just barely!
Old Glory waves in the fog

Before returning to the timeshare I stopped at Costco for gasoline.  By the time I got back to the room, the fog was quite heavy.

For supper we had more of the seven bone roast with onions, potatoes and carrots.  Tonight we also had a salad.

After supper we played a game of Dominoes which I won by a large margin.  Neva is still to get on the board with a win.

After dominoes I went for my evening walk.  I had to count the steps because my Basis watch battery went dead.

TV, computer and reading finished the day.

Tuesday January 28, 2014, Carlsbad, CA

A lazy morning with an overcast hiding the ocean.  We had our coffee and computer time.

Kevin Mallory called and told me he was on the way to Las Vegas from Quartzsite.  He is working at an ACC Rally at the Las Vegas RV Resort on Arville, a Super Bowl party.  We will be in Las Vegas on Monday the third and he will fix some of the problems we had last year, I hope he fixes them all.  We ordered parts to replace the Navion 5000, the backup camera, entertainment, information system in the dash.  The leveling and charging systems have to be checked before ordering parts for those. 

I again combined my morning walk with the afternoon one.  There was a cache listed along the way I was walking.  I walked past it to complete my morning steps and walked back to find the cache as part of my afternoon steps.  I walked a little over two miles. Gerri and Neva stayed at the timeshare relaxing with the view, computers and Kindles.

We all got ready for our visit with cousins Bill and Arlene in Dana Point.  We left for Dana Point at a little after two.  It is only about a half an hour drive so we got to their house in plenty of time for visiting before going to dinner.  Bill and Arlene have a beautiful home overlooking the Dana Point Harbor with the ocean beyond.  We had visited with them at Lake City, FL in November, but it seems there are always family activities to catch up on.  By the time it was time to go to dinner the sun was setting.  I said their house overlooks the harbor and ocean.  You would think that was west, wrong.  The way the coast turns here their view is actually south.  It takes a little adjustment to realize that the sun isn't really setting in the north.

Cousins

We drove to Sonny’s Pizza and Pasta in San Clemente.  This is one of our favorite restaurants in the area and we try to go there every time we visit.  As usual we had a great dinner and more visiting.  The food is good and plentiful so we took leftovers home.

Since San Clemente is between Dana Point and Carlsbad, we had driven to the restaurant in two cars.  We said our goodbyes in the parking lot and went our different ways.

We got back to the timeshare before eight.  We had one domino game which Gerri won.  That makes her winner of two out of three games.  It was too late for my evening walk so I settle for reading the newspaper that the resort delivers to our door.   We wound up the evening with computer time and reading with a little TV thrown in at the end.

Monday January 27, 2014, Carlsbad, CA

We started our morning with coffee and catching up on computer things.

In the late morning Gerri fixed breakfast adding to the left overs from IHOP for a good meal.

At about 11:30 I went for my morning walk.  I have been trying to walk 2000 steps in the morning afternoon and evening.  I often combine the morning walk with the afternoon or the afternoon walk with the evening walk.  Next month I want to up my goal, eventually reaching 10000 steps a day.  That would be about 4-5 miles.  When I was running I averaged over five miles a day for several years.  Today’s walk took me to the nearby Costco parking lot.  There was a cache listed there, but the last log was a did not find.  I looked in all the likely spots and had the same luck as the last cacher, DNF.

I headed back to the resort.  Oddly it took fewer steps to return.  I had to walk a way past the resort and back to reach the 2000 for the afternoon.

The sun had burned away the overcast and we had a good view of the ocean.  Of course I didn't think of taking pictures until the clouds rolled back in.

Sunset begins

Gerri planned to cook a seven bone roast for supper and borrowed a roasting pan from the resort.  We needed some other grocery items to complete the meal and others we will have at the resort, so Gerri and I went to the Albertson's in Carlsbad Village.  For a small store this Albertson's has a large selection of fresh vegetables, some that I never heard of.

By the time we got back to the resort the clouds had come in over the ocean.  The clouds changed the view and made for a great sunset.  Pictures don’t do the sunset justice.

Our supper was the seven bone roast cooked with potatoes, carrots and onions with sliced tomatoes and cottage cheese on the side.  It was another great meal by Gerri.  Plus we had enough leftovers for another meal later.

Day is done, gone the Sun,
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky,
 All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh

After supper we played Mexican Train. It was nip and tuck all the way but I managed to squeak out the win.

After the game I went for my evening walk.  It was darker than I had expected.  The sidewalk around the top of the flower fields didn’t have as many street lights as I had expected.

Computer time and reading finished off the evening.

Sunday January 26, 2014, Carlsbad, CA

Today is the first day of our timeshare week in Carlsbad, CA.  Gerri had packed a few things last night, so we didn't have to hurry too much today.  Gerri's mother Neva is going with us and she got to our house at about 10:00.

We were on the road a little after ten.  Our timeshare is the Grand Pacific Palisades in Carlsbad, at the top of the flower fields. Our route was I-215 to I-15 to the CA-241 toll road.  Then it was the CA-133 toll road to I-5.  I-5 to Palomar Airport Road in Carlsbad.  Then on to the resort which is above the Carlsbad flower fields.

We stopped at the IHOP in Victorville for lunch, we all ordered off the breakfast menu.  We had large meals and took the hash browns for later.  After our meal we filled the gas tank at Costco. We could drive all the way without filling up, but by stopping halfway and filling up we don't have to bother with gas just after arriving.

We got to the resort at 4:02, Gerri thought check in time was 4 but it was 5.  I waited in line to register, which was unusual.  On check in we were charged a $16 resort fee, for use of the facilities, parking and wifi.  Gerri had me go back and tell the desks we were Grand Pacific owners.  They did reverse the resort fee.  Our room wasn't ready until after 6 PM.  As some consolation for the wait, we were given coupons good for appetizers at restaurant on the property.  We went to the Activity Center to wait for our room, it was billed as a welcome party.  But, all they had were some M&M's, chips and salsa and a choice of grape juice or lemonade.

When our room was ready we were delayed further by the shortage of luggage carts.  They could take lessons from their sister resort, the Carlsbad Inn, and provide adequate carts.

We had pulled pork sandwiches for supper with cottage cheese and pineapple.

After supper we played a game of Mexican Train.  I was ahead the entire game until the last round. Gerri won  the game by a good margin.

It was after midnight when we got to bed.

Thursday, January 16, 2014, Las Vegas, NV

Ready for the operation

We were awakened this morning with news of Vanessa, our youngest grand daughter.  She had her tonsils and adenoids out this morning.  The operation went well and we talked to her and Brandon on Skype.

After the operation

A soothing treat for a brave girl

We got packed and checked out of the Vacation Club at about 10 AM.

Thus ended the adventure of being tourists in our hometown.  It was a good four days.  The weather was great and we did a few things and saw a lot that we hadn't done or seen before.

Actually the adventure continued in the evening.  We went to see the Terry Fator show at the Mirage.  It was a great show and we enjoyed it very much.  A good finish to several days as tourists.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014, Las Vegas, NV

This morning I picked up Bill Cavagnaro at his house and went to a meeting about insurance options. We, everyone over 65, are being forced out of the coverage we had in our previous careers.

After the meeting I went back to the Hilton Grand Vacation Club.  I picked up Gerri and we drove out to the outlet mall south of town to do some shopping.  But, before shopping we decided to have a hamburger at the Outback Steakhouse.  Once at the mall we went looking for some new brown dress shoes for me, which we ended up ordering my size from one of the stores.  I also got a new pair of walking shoes and Gerri got a new Coach purse.  I also got in a enough steps to meet my afternoon goal.

From the scenic elevator at the LVH

Back at the room, I took a walk to get the steps for my evening walk.  I went over my goals the last two days but not today.  While walking I also tried to find a nearby cache.  I didn't find it.  I have never done well hunting caches at night.

We finished our left overs from Battista's.  After some computer time and TV we called it a night.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014, Las Vegas, NV

We met the Cavagnaro's at the LVH and bought tickets to ride the Monorail.  Our plan was to get off at the stations and look for geocaches along the Strip.  The tickets we bought were good for 24 hours and allowed us to get off and on as many times as we wanted.  The plan sounded good.  In practice we did a lot of walking.  The monorail runs behind the hotels and most of the caches were closer to Las Vegas Blvd.  Getting to the caches involved a lot of walking.  Also the monorail doesn't stop at all of the hotels.

Caching on the Strip

We did find four caches and had lunch at Carlos and Charlies in the Flamingo Hotel.

Flamingos at the Flamingo

When we got to the LVH station Bill and Elaine headed home and we stayed on the monorail.  We went back to the MGM and went to the preview of a proposed new TV show.  I thought it was pretty bad, and a wasted 40 minutes.  We went back to the LVH and got our car.  We then drove to Battista's Hole In The Wall for dinner.  Battista's has been a Las Vegas fixture for 30 years.  Like most of the places we have been to this week, we have not been there for years. After dinner we went back to the Vacation club and called it a night.

One good thing about all of our walking, I got my 10,000 steps, 2 days in a row.

Near Caesar's Palace

Monday, January 13, 2014, Las Vegas, NV

We are on the second day of our not far away cation,  Even though I had went to bed early I slept in. I guess we needed to catch up on sleep.

I took a morning walk from the Hilton north to Sahara and found two geocaches.  It has been about eight years since I cached on the Strip.  Walking back south I stopped at a CVS and bought coffee filters. The coffee supplied by the Hilton is in small filter bags but only make about 16 ounces at a time.  So to use our own coffee I needed small cone filters.

When I got back to the room Gerri was ready to go to lunch.  We had decided to walk to the Peppermill.  The Peppermill has been at this location on the Strip since 1972.  I think the last time we were there was in 1978.  We had eggs and hash, and took our leftovers back to our room.

I have lived in Las Vegas for 51 years and except for a couple of brief times in the '60's it has been a boom town.  For many years it was the fastest growing city in the fastest growing state.  That all changed in 2008.  The effects of the downturn are visible as you walk along the Strip.

We had to mail some things to the grand kids in Texas, so we went by the house to pick them up and take them to the  post office.  Gerri dropped me off at the PO and I waited in line to mail the packages. After that I walked to the house.

Gerri had a Bunco game so I stayed at the house to catch up on mail,  I also went for my evening walk. This was the first time in over 8 years that I did over 10,000 steps.

After Bunco we went back to the resort.  I stayed up reading until 2 AM, Gerri was asleep quite a bit earlier.

Sunday January 12, 2014, Las Vegas, NV

Even though we aren't traveling, we are away from home most of this week.

Gerri chillin at the Hilton

After Church this morning we packed up and went to the Hilton Grand Vacation Club on the Las Vegas Strip.  A trip of about 8 miles.  All of you followers may not know this but we own several time shares.  We had built up points that were about to expire if not used.  So, we decided to be tourists in our own town.  It had been several years since either of us was on the Strip.  We went east on Flamingo Avenue and then north on Las Vegas Boulevard to the Hilton Grand Vacation Club just before reaching Sahara Avenue.
We we both amazed at the new buildings and the buildings that had been started and work has now stopped.
We checked in at about 5 PM.  We bought Pizza in the Marketplace Deli at the property and ate in our room.
We were both in bed before 10 PM.

The view from our room