We came to Las Vegas because we needed a little vacation after our Gypsy Gathering rally in Yuma, Arizona a couple of weeks ago. As it turns out, relaxing is hard work!

We have been playing tourist with our friends Greg and Jan White, and between seeing the sights of Sin City, and the time we spent replacing the motor for our HWH leveling jacks and slide rooms, we’ve been busy every day. But we sure are having a lot of fun!

Yesterday started with lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings in Henderson, and then a walk across the parking lot to Panera Bread, where we bought a dozen Asiago cheese bagels. Our friends Barry and Jan Kessler introduced us to Panera Bread back in North Carolina last fall, and we immediately became hooked on their delicious bagels. We’ve been looking for another Panera Bread ever since.

Our next stop was the Atomic Testing Museum, just a couple of miles off the Las Vegas Strip. Since 1951, the government has been conducting tests with atomic bombs and experiments in nuclear technology at a location north of Las Vegas. The museum had some very interesting exhibits, and we learned a lot about how the world was changed as a result of the work that was done here.

One of the things I have wanted to do was to visit Fremont Street, the famous Glitter Gulch area of old downtown Las Vegas, to see the light show. We decided that last night would be a good time for that, but when we arrived, there was some kind of big rally or cultural event going on, and the streets nearby were packed. Even more so than on a weekend night. We all mutually decided that we’d skip the Fremont Street Experience, and hope to come back another night.

Several people have written to suggest that we see different shows in Las Vegas, but after looking at the cost, we just cannot justify it. Prices per ticket for Blue Man Group start at $100 and go to $142; tickets for The Lion King start at $66 for marginal seating, up to $170; and if you want to see Phantom, you’ll pay anywhere from $78 to $174. Our budget won’t handle that, and even if it could, we’re too frugal (read cheap) to spend that kind of money when there are so many things to see and do for much less. We’ve had a great time just cruising the Strip and enjoying all the sights, people watching, and checking out the local eateries.

We’ve got a few days left in Las Vegas, and we’re watching the weather reports for our old hometown of Show Low, Arizona. We hope to get there sometime around the first week of April,  to spend some time spoiling those granddaughters of ours. But this weekend, the overnight temperatures are supposed to drop into the upper 20s. We really, really don’t want to be anywhere that cold!

We plan to spend a few weeks in Show Low, and then our schedule is kind of up in the air. We had planned to visit Branson, Missouri on our way to Forest City, Iowa for the Winnebago Grand National Rally in July. But, we learned a couple of weeks ago that Terry’s son, Casey, is getting married in Vail, Colorado in mid-July, so that changes everything.

We’ll probably hang our here in the western half of the country until after the wedding, and then we’ll have to make a beeline for northern Michigan to get Terry’s annual checkup with her oncologist out of the way, and then scoot right down to Elkhart, Indiana to get things in place for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally August 30 – September 3. I hope to have the rally registration page uploaded to our website in the next few days, if I can find time in my busy vacation schedule.

Thought For The Day – Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t. -Erica Jong

Sunday we drove 35 miles east to New Bern, North Carolina and stopped at the KOA campground to drop off a bundle of sample copies of the Gypsy Journal, and to visit with our friends Barry and Jan Kessler, who are staying there a few days.

We first met Barry and Jan soon after we started fulltiming, and have crossed their path many times in our travels, but it has been a couple of years since we saw them last. We had a good time visiting, and getting acquainted with their two fun puppies, Jack and Molly.

We wanted to check out the Elks Lodge in Morehead City, our next stopping place, so Barry and Jan followed us another 35 miles to the lodge. It would have been fun to ride together, but our van and their truck both seat only two. The lodge was closed, but we saw that there was a lot of room to park our 40 foot motorhome with no problem. As we were leaving, one of the lodge members arrived on his motorcycle. We introduced ourselves, told him we were Elks from Arizona, and wanted to be sure there was room for us to park at the lodge. He assured us that we were welcome, showed us the best place to park our motorhome, and said they would run an electrical cord out from the building if we needed it.

We have stayed at a lot of Elks and Moose lodges in our travels. Some have full hookup RV parks, and others just offer a safe place to dry camp for the night. Our membership dues in both organizations helps them accomplish their many charity projects, and opens the door to lots of overnight parking opportunities for us.

From the lodge it was only a few miles to Atlantic Beach, where we walked along the water’s edge for a while, then strolled out onto the Oceana Fishing Pier, a privately owned pier adjacent to the Oceana Resort.

One of the things on my personal bucket list is to catch a saltwater fish off a pier, and this might be a good place to do it. There were quite a few folks reeling in several different species of fish, and one lady had caught this skate, an ugly looking critter if there ever was one.

There wasn’t much surf, but there were a couple of people out in the water trying to catch a wave, without much success. In fact, the water was so calm that I told Terry that if it were a little warmer, I’d consider dragging my kayak down to the beach to get some paddling done.

It was getting late and we had not eaten all day, so the four of us stopped for sandwiches at Panera Bread, and then went our separate ways, promising to meet up again soon, since we’re headed in the same direction.

Today we’ll drive the Winnebago back to Morehead City and spend a few days exploring the area, which locals call the Crystal Coast.

Thought For The Day – The beauty of life is that there is no predetermined formula. What ingredients are you adding to yours?

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