Adventure

30 Days of Thankful 2014 - Day 15 - ADVENTURE

Are you an ADVENTURE-seeker?  I love the idea of an ADVENTURE, but I'm not exactly a dare-devil, by any stretch of the imagination.  Several years ago, Valine and I set out on what we called our "Thelma & Louise ADVENTURE"--a side-trip to the Grand Canyon prior to our stay in Las Vegas.  Since I had just broken my arm and had surgery, our plans were turned topsy-turvy from the very start, but we didn't let it stop us.  After we picked up our rental car, Valine drove while I assumed the position of navigator.  One of the first things we did was stop by an old deserted ghost town, Chloride, AZ, with the intention to see the wonderful cliff murals.  We followed the signs painted on the rocks until we wound up on a rugged, dusty road that seemed to lead nowhere.  Our ADVENTURE began to spook us a bit and we finally turned around without ever seeing the murals, but we did end up with some great photos and another fun story to tell.

What does ADVENTURE mean to you?  Is it striking out on the "road less traveled", exploring a new antique store or going in search of something?  Can't wait to see your interpretation of the prompt and learn a little bit more about your life.

Can you believe we're halfway through this month?  There is so much to be thankful for, isn't there?

Thelma and Louise - Finale

Just as all my favorite USA shows are having their finales this week, this is a finale of sorts, too. The final post about the trip Valine and I took.

In between eating at great restaurants and seeing shows, we also took time to walk around the strip and check out some of the other casino/hotels. There are literally hundreds of places to stay on or near the strip and they range from the very nice to the pretty trashy (there are probably some REALLY trashy ones, too, but we didn't see them). Here are some of my favorites:

Our hotel, the Palazzo, was beautiful. The rooms are nice, the casino is more classy than some and the workers were personable and very helpful. There were also a couple of fountains that were really pretty. I especially like this one that had a summer theme of frogs and dragonflies.

Next door to the Palazzo, is the Venetian. They are actually part of the same resort and are connected through hallways and walkways, but their decor is completely different. The Venetian is decorated beautifully with the shops and restaurants located on hallways that are decorated to look like streets, complete with sidewalk cafes and street lamps.

This is the ceiling in one of the lobbies.

The Mirage has a sort of "island or rain forest" theme with lush green vignettes. They even have a dolphin pool in the back.

Caesar's Palace is quite ornate and beautiful. This is the one that made me think "wow, I can't believe the details that they include". I mean, look at the painted ceilings and the statues!

Manadalay Bay is at the complete opposite end of the strip from the Palazzo, so we took the bus down there. It is a very nice resort with a luxurious beach theme going on.

And the Paris hotel features . . . well, the Eiffel Tower, of course.

My very favorite was the Bellagio. Everything about it was just beautiful. In one of the smaller lobbies, these umbrellas were hung from the ceiling.

In the main lobby, was an area with huge floral arrangements. The ceiling was covered with these colored glass disks. It was so pretty!

The Bellagio also has a conservatory that features a seasonal display of flowers and objects made from plants. It was just beautiful!

(isn't this painting made of flowers great??)

Each evening, they offer a "dancing fountain" show out front. (imagine music playing as you see the pictures)

So long, Vegas!

In grand finale form, we finished our trip back in Manchac, Louisiana with a meal of the best catfish I've ever eaten (you were right, Valine).

Thelma and Louise - Part Three

I know--this is probably more than you ever wanted to know about our trip, but we did such a variety of things that it is all worth mentioning. For the next three days, Valine was tied up with her conference for the mornings and some of the afternoons. On the other hand, I had some free time. Our hotel room was beautiful with a nice view of the pool below and part of the Strip.

I spent some time out at the pool, which was quite pleasant in the mornings. Shortly after noon, the sun finally made it to that area and the chairs in each end of the pool became "prime seating".

Each of the days that I was there, people's attention was drawn up to the windows overhead, where window washers dangled precariously from cables.

Valine and I ate at some great restaurants in Las Vegas. One night was enjoyed a meal with her credit union cohorts at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio. It was really nice and the food was good.

On Friday, we went down to Mandalay Bay to eat at Fleur, a recommendation of my physical therapist who used to live in Vegas. She even sent me a coupon to use there. (and she was right---the food was great!!)

We also got to see a couple of shows while we were there. Jersey Boys was a great show highlighting the history of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Valine's favorite activity was definitely seeing Barry Manilow in concert.

She's been a fan for a long as I've known her so when she heard he would be there at the same time as us, there was no question that we needed to get tickets.

It was a fun show, full of music that we could sing along to and great showmanship. Despite the fact that he has aged considerably since his start in the music business, he was entertaining and didn't try to act like a 20-something (which is good since he's nearing 70).

Thelma and Louise (a.k.a.Valine & Linda)---Part One

Valine and I went on our first travel adventure last week---what we've been calling our "Thelma and Louise" trip. Instead of a cool convertible, we had a Ford Fusion and we never ran into Brad Pitt, but we stayed busy! We flew out of New Orleans

(that's the Grand Canyon from our airplane)

and right after arriving in Las Vegas, we picked up our rental car with Valine at the wheel and headed south. Driving in unfamiliar territory is not exactly Valine's idea of fun, but with my broken wrist, there weren't many options and she did great!

Our first stop was the Hoover Dam.

After enjoying the view from way up high, and marveling at the engineering, we drove across the new bridge and into Arizona.

I'd read about a few small ghost towns along the way, and since we're always on the lookout for a new scrapbook page, we decided to stop off in Chloride, AZ, which is advertised as "a ghost town that never really died--almost, but not quite".

On the day we were there, it seemed pretty dead--nothing was open. There were, however, some pretty desert wildflowers,

cactus,

lots of quail and a tiny bunny,

and LOTS of yard art,

some of which was actually kind of pretty, in a very odd sort of way.

We tried to view the advertised petroglyphs on the canyon walls, so we followed painted signs up a dusty, rocky "road" as far as we dared.

We parked and walked a good bit further down the deserted trail before giving up and heading back to the car.

Valine had visions of a toothless, old prospector jumping out from behind the rocks, but fortunately that never materialized either.

As we continued our road trip, a rainbow followed alongside for a while

and then there was an amazing sunset.

an amazing sunset

before settling in for the night in Williams, AZ.