Good Bye to Old Friends and Welcome to New Ones

On February 9th we went to a UT Exes Game Watch Party for a basketball game.  It was also one of the last parties that Bill and Mary would be able to attend as they are moving to the Orlando, FL area.  They are a fun couple and we have enjoyed doing things with them over the past several years.  We ill miss them.  Another reason to make a trip to Florida in the future.

On Monday we toured North Padre Island and Mustang Island with Ron and Pat.  We met them in Red Bay, AL at the Tiffen Repair Facility and convinced them that they needed to visit Texas.

   

They couldn’t get over the fact that you can drive on the beaches here in Texas.  After lunch we went out to the jetties at Port Aransas and were lucky enough to see a tanker coming through the pass.  I had never see that before.

Crossing over from Port Aransas to Aransas Pass we saw lots of pelicans skimming the water.

 

Or just floating around.  There were both grey and white pelicans to be seen.

 

Of course we saw our share of cormorants and sea gulls.

The sun was starting to set as we arrived at Aransas Pass after taking Ron and Pat back over to the Navel Air Station.  It was a full and fun Valentine’s Day.

Las Vegas – Just the two of us.

Sunday we met the girls before they had to leave to fly home. Later we walked from the Excalibur through the Luxor to the Mandalay Bay all without going outside. We had champagne brunch at the Mandalay Bay and waddled home.

Monday morning we felt energetic and started walking down the Strip on the side that our hotel was on. We walked all the way to the Palazzo which we were told later was two miles. We stopped several times along the way and had lunch at Imperial Palace which was about half way. While at the Palazzo Wayne checked on tickets to “Jersey Boys” and got us two great seats for that night Needless to say we caught a cab back to our hotel.

After resting up we dressed and took a cab to the Palazzo. We were early so we went into the bar next to the theatre and sat and had a drink before the show. The drinks were very pricy but we were probably paying for the piano playing duo that entertained us while we slowly drank our drinks.

The chandeliers in the bar were particularly pretty and interesting.

On the way back from the show which was wonderful I took some pictures of Las Vegas at night.

We even got to see the fountains at the Bellagio.

Here is our hotel at night.

Here is New York New York across the street.

We flew home the following day after a wonderful time in Las Vegas.

These are late as both Wayne and I had been feeling poorly. Much better now.

Las Vegas Freemont Street

On Friday we all went our separate ways until that afternoon. A friend of ours, George and his daughter came over to our hotel for a visit prior to their going to the Luxor to see a show. It was good to see him again and to meet his daughter.

Later that evening we took a taxi down to the Freemont Street Experience. Here are Nola and Catherine taking pictures.

There were lots of people milling around in the area with casinos on both sides of the street.

There was a street entertainer playing jazz saxophone and the girls really got into it.

There were two separate shows that we saw: "A Tribute to Queen" and “Doors Strange Days".” They project moving pictures and designs on the canopy above the street.

People were really grooving to the music on the speakers.

We went into the Golden Nugget to see the largest gold nugget ever found.

Below it was the Robin’s Nugget that was previously the largest nugget. I remember seeing this one years ago when I was in Las Vegas.

Saturday Wayne and I took the Monorail from the MGM to the Sahara and played blackjack for $1. We met the girls for dinner that night.

Las Vegas for Wayne’s Birthday

Wayne and I flew to Las Vegas on Thursday, January 19th. We flew out with out daughter, Nola, and her step-sister, Catherine. We stayed at the Excalibur Hotel below.

It was late when we got there and so we didn’t do anything that night. But the next day we walked across the street to the MGM to see the lion habitat. There is a walkway under the habitat where the lions often lay.

They look really dead from below.

After awhile they got up and started moving around.

One of the wildest things is that there were trainers in the habitat with the lions at all times.

Here is one of the lions with a big bone.

They also had a lion cub that you could have your picture taken with for a price.

Walking back to the hotel we could see the cute gnome house on the moat.

No gnomes but there were two Mallard ducks on the pier.

The 20th was Wayne’s birthday so he got dressed up. Here he is waiting for the girls to get ready for dinner.

We went to the Bellagio early enough to see the sights in the conservatory before dinner. The current theme is Chinese.

These warrior replicas were covered in seeds.

It was a spectacular display of flowers and statuary.

Here we are at dinner. Wayne, Nola, Catherine, and me. The waiter didn’t do the greatest job taking the picture.

I had made it known that it was Wayne’s birthday so they brought him out some cake and ice cream which we three women devoured.

After dinner it was back through the conservatory with more pictures of the displays.

The fuzzy bunnies were really cute.

We were at the Bellagio to see the Cirque du Soleil show “O”. I took a picture of the opening act and then the usher yelled at me that I couldn’t take pictures. They want you to buy their program, etc.

Took a cab back to the hotel.