Lodging Fun

The kids had tons of fun while we were "lodging" at Roche Lake. Reagan loved the loft where we slept, and would climb to the top of the stairs and holler down at us through the wooden slats. There was a (very) small playground for the kids to enjoy, along with a freezing cold pool. It didn't stop any of us from getting in though! I think they had the most fun watching the gophers run in and out of their holes and through the resort. I couldn't resist taking the picture of them looking out the window for the critters, and then going out to get the shot of them from the outside as well.

Roche Lake

Now you may think that we are crazy for the way we planned it (I must say that I would agree with you!) but less than 36 hours after we returned home from The West Coast Motor Home Adventure, we left to go on a weekend trip to Roche Lake Resort with Ryan's brother Kyle and his wife and son, Denise & Brady. We joined Ryan & Kyle's cousins once we got there, and it was a family weekend of fishing for the guys. Ryan and I had a good laugh... we thought we were going camping. To us this means pitching a tent, using the woods for an outhouse, and cooking by the fire or on the Coleman stove. Ah, no... this is not what we did. We went lodging! We stayed in cabin by the lake with all the modern conveniences. Well almost all of them... no cell phone service and no television. Not to worry because I had brought along our portable DVD player. It was a nice relaxing weekend, and the views of the lake were really amazing. Ryan caught a couple fish, so that made the weekend a huge success in his eyes! The kids tried all weekend to catch one of the thousands of gophers that were running around, but thankfully never met with success. We've decided this will become a yearly event at different locations for all who were involved. Who knows... maybe one day we'll convince them all to actually go CAMPING!

San Francisco

Our return trip to Canada was via a flight out of San Francisco, so we left from Bodega early that morning in order to have time for a little sight seeing. We crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge and went directly down to Fisherman's Wharf. Reagan was excited to see a "pirate ship" and of course we had to go aboard. Pops even got us all on board for free by using his old age pass. Ryan was impressed with Alcatraz... he said he felt like he belonged there! We all had a great time, but it didn't make saying goodbye any easier. The only comfort was knowing that Pops and Momsey would be going back to Bodega for just a few more days and then they were heading north to Canada!

Happy Anniversary Pops & Momsey

Our last night at Bodega was also Pops & Momsey's 36th wedding anniversary, so we all went for dinner to celebrate. We were so pleased to be able to share this evening with them. Retirement is treating them well... they are happier than I have every seen them. And of course, that makes me happy as well! I am lucky to have grown up in such a loving home... in all my life I have never seen my parents fight or even speak harshly to one another. Their marriage is the example that I now try to follow in my own family so that 36 years from now, Reagan will be able to say the same thing about her parents!

Bailey

Bobby's grand-daughter, Bailey, became Reagan's best friend while we were in Bodega. At first, she couldn't figure our what to call Bailey... at first it was Abby, then it was Bady, then finally Bailey. But Bailey didn't care; she would answer to anything!

Fishing at Bodega

Bobby brought his boat to Bodega, (as he has done for the past 15 years or so) and the men were excited to go fishing and crabbing. After a successful trip out the first day, the men came back to pick up Bailey, Reagan and me to join them on the boat. Reagan loved helping Bobby drive the boat, and she was amazed by the starfish. That was the only day that we joined the guys (if you have read my dad's blog, you will understand why this did not disappoint me... I'm not a big fan of getting seasick!) so the rest of the time Reagan would watch for her Daddy through the binoculars to see when he was coming in from fishing!

Bodega Bay

We left from Vegas, and we were off to Bodega Bay, California. We joined up with Pops' cousin Bobby and Bobby's grand-daughter Bailey. Also with the group was Bob's best friend Fred and his wife Pat. They are all from Carson City, Nevada. Bodega Bay is where Alfred Hitchock's “The Birds” was filmed in 1961. He used a private home that was the school house in the movie and the Bodega Church in his thriller, so of course we had to put them on our list of things to see. Bodega Head was another must see. The view was spectacular!

Night Night Reagan

Reagan was a trooper all day long, but she finally gave up the fight and fell asleep. Once she was out for the night, (in her stroller no less) we decided it was time to donate some money to the economy of Las Vegas. I really wanted to play Texas Hold 'Em, and I wanted to play at the Bellagio. As luck would have it, the World Series of Poker was taking place at the Bellagio at that time, and my pockets weren't quite deep enough to be able to afford the $10,000 buy-in. So I just watched. A little while later, as we were walking through the casino, I see Sammy Farha. (If you don't know much about poker, just skip to the next posting! He has won the bracelet three times I think... famous player) I couldn't resist... I had to have his autograph. The only paper product that I had on me was a diaper, and that would just not do. So Ryan pulled one of Reagan's pictures out of his wallet for me to get signed and watched as I went to meet Mr. Farha. Sammy was extremely nice and even wanted to meet the beautiful young lady in the picture. Reagan was asleep, but he still oohed and aahed over her. He is now officially my favorite poker player. Once that excitement was over, we all took turns throwing money into the slot machines. That lasted about 10 minutes and then we were tired of losing money! We all needed to go to sleep like Reagan anyway... we were hitting the road for California the next day.

The Bellagio

Once we were done with dinner, it was off to the Bellagio to see the water show. As big fans of the Ocean's Eleven movies, Ryan & I were excited to see the closing scene in person. Reagan was pretty impressed as well.

The Excalibur

We had dinner at The Excalibur so that we could enjoy the joisting match. This was the same dinner show that my parents took me to 15 years ago. If you have never been, it is quite an experience. Dinner consists of soup, a small chicken, roasted potatoes, and vegetables... but no silverware. That's right, you eat with your hands just as you would have done had you been living in medieval times. The show is based on King Something's court and all his knights that fight to defend the honor of his castle against the bad guy. Each section of the crowd is given a knight to cheer for... we were cheering for the green knight. Reagan really got into it... she was yelling "Kazaa!" on cue, banging on the table, and toasting her sippy cup. The only problem, she is still continuing to do this at times! Her favorite part of the show was the horses. She loved them and is still talking about them a month later.

The Secret Garden

Siegfried & Roy now have a Secret Garden in Vegas, and for a price (like most anything in Vegas) they will let you in on their secret! It is the home to a lovely dolphin habitat, and to many other wild animals (lions, tigers, and bears oh my!) Reagan loved seeing the dolphins swim, splash and jump in the water. I think she was studying them so closely so she could imitate them in the pool later. But she really loved it when one of the dolphins decided to play ball with her. She literally played catch with this dolphin for a good five minutes. He would toss the ball out of the water... she would catch it and throw it back. It was the kind of thing that you feel so lucky to be able to see take place because you know that not many two year olds (or people of any age for that matter) can say that they have played ball with a dolphin! Once we moved from the dolphins, we went into the jungle to see the lions, tigers, llamas, jaguars, etc. It was crazy! And hot! Reagan's only relief was when we would hold her stroller up under the water misters. She was quite impressed with the baby tigers, and she even tried to convince her that we needed to take one home. "I need one" she said. Uh, no! As cute as it may look, Dixie would be dinner to that thing. She finally settled on a baby tiger stuffed animal instead.

A Few Fun Things

Doing Vegas with a two-year old is probably a little different than how most people "do" Vegas. But not to worry, we still found plenty to keep us ALL entertained. Our first day there, we drove the entire strip just taking in the sights and sounds. We had a dinner buffet at the TI (Treasure Island) and then went outside to check out their Pirate Ship Show. Reagan especially liked the girl dressed in purple. Pops and Ryan especially liked any and all of the girls as they all barely had anything on to begin with! It was all good clean fun, just pushed to the limit for family viewing! We then went over to the Venetian to be amazed by the outdoors brought indoors. The gondolas and cityscapes were amazing. Reagan's favorite part of the Venetian was the giant fountain that we let her put her hands in. The next day we went to Circus Circus for a few Midway shows and fun, and we then ventured over to the Mirage for Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden, and then to the Excalibur for the joisting match. We finished off the second night at the Bellagio. Details on all that to come...

And sorry Pops, but when you have a daughter who loves to take pictures, and who loves to post those pictures on a blog for the world to see, what happens in Vegas DOESN'T stay in Vegas! Reagan enjoyed "decorating" Pops with her stickers after we got back to the motor home that first night. He was a good sport about it, and kept them on most of the night!

Vegas Baby!

The last time that I was in Las Vegas, I was 15 years old. My oh my, how things have changed. It's still the same Vegas, but there is now SO MUCH MORE OF IT! Here's a few pics of the strip for you to enjoy.