New Phones in our Future

We arrived at Seal Beach Naval Weapon Station and had to have our licenses and insurance, on both vehicles, checked and stickers issued prior to allowing us to enter. This is a different experience for us as this has never occurred before. Usually we show our military IDs and this grants us access to the base. Welcome to California. First we are inspected for Gypsy Moths and now our licenses and insurance to enter a base. Our friends were at this Base last year and told us about the car/RV wash as soon as you enter the FamCamp. Were we ever looking forward to getting the old girl clean. 4000 miles is a lot of miles. We pulled in and there is caution tape all around it. Broken. Bummer. Supposed to be fixed by tomorrow. So we get set up in the FamCamp and decide that Tommy’s cell phone can’t make it another day. Actually it’s Tommy who can’t make it another day with his cell phone. So it’s off to Best Buy to get him a new phone. We go to get Tommy a new phone and, of course, we walk out with two phones. Tommy’s is a LG Xenon, mine an iPhone.       We will see if I like it. I am concerned about the battery life but not having internet is getting on my nerves. I can’t write the blog with it but at least I can check email and look up things to do when coming to a new area. We kept a low profile today using the day as a rest day. Tomorrow – Hollywood here we come.

What Does it Take to be a Hero?

What does it take to be a hero? That depends on your definition. There are some that have changed the course of history. Some will go down in the history books. Others are the quiet type that with their courage and action, may not change the world, but changes the world for someone and their family.

This person today is Tommy’s daughter Kerry Mackie.

John Mackie, Kerry’s father in law, was suffering a slow death from Hepatitis he contracted from eating raw oysters. He had been deteriorating for several years. His one son, Scott, tried to donate a piece of his liver but was not a match. John had been on the nearly impossible to obtain transplant list and, as we all know, to move up on the list your health has to go down. John was becoming more and more frail, his weight plummeted. Time wasn’t long for John, he was dying.

Kerry decided to see if she was eligible for donation and went through the months of testing at University of Pennsylvania with numerous all day trips back and forth to Philly. She was a match!

Now to make this decision to donate knowing there are risks to you own life when you have two small children at home is a selfless act of love.

Less than one day after receiving his gift of life, John, who prior to this surgery was getting to weak to talk, was chattering away. A new lease on life, talks of what his future plans were and where he wanted to go and do, knowing full well that just one day earlier there was no future. How do you say Thank You for giving someone back his life, for giving a wife her husband, for giving children back their father and grandfather. How?

This quiet hero, Kerry Mackie, has changed the lives of a whole family and that has a positive effect on the world.

California or Bust

We made it: from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Hello San Diego. Hello Coronado. We could not wait to dip our feet into the Pacific for the first time.  

All I can say is this roughing it is getting hard to take! Look at the conditions we have to suffer with. I am not sure how long I can endure this…maybe the rest of my life! Coronado Bay is 20 yards from our front and the Pacific Ocean is 100 yards to our rear. Surrounded by these waters for a whopping $12.00 per night at Fiddlers Cove Navy MWR facility. 

         Our first Pacific sunset                                                                                        Flowers, palm trees, immaculately groomed  grounds, the smell of chocolate wafting in the air- The Hotel Del Coronado is spectacular.                            Hooptie thought she   was      pretty outiside the Del                                                 The shells were plentiful, Sand Pipers too. The beach here sparkles with so much gold fleck, it makes you want to pan for gold. It almost looked like a vat of gold glitter was dropped into the water and with every wave the beach was decorated a little more.

We decided a picnic on the beach was in order. I wished Tommy had a camera. This Seagull wanted some of our lunch and I had to chase the bird down the beach to get our sandwich back. After lunch we walked down the beach to find this pretty sand castle. Now you know what I meant when I tried to describe the Hoo Doos at Bryce Canyon.     In town there were bike shops,  clothing stores,  a guy grooming the palm trees,               and a flower lady.

La Jolla is a nice little town, seals like it too. La Jolla cove was built to protect children from the oceans undertow. Little by little the seals took refuge here. Now it’s known as Seal Beach.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             These are all seals sunbathing                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

There is so much more I would like to have shown you but this is where my batteries died in my camera. I have been carrying two cameras with extra batteries, a point and shoot and a SLR, this whole trip. Today I decided to go light. I took the batteries off the charger, put them in the point and shoot and out the door we went this morning.  We walked over a mile to find a open store that carried batteries. I always try to buy the rechargeable type of batteries and found two of them for $9.70 (ouch), bought them, put them into the camera, and you guessed it….dead too. They needed to be charged! The flowers were pretty, different types of trees, porpoises, surfers dudes. The Old Town Gas Lamp District again another nice area with pretty lamp posts and shops. Wish you could see it. Lesson learned.

On Our Way

We are leaving Las Vegas, heading towards California. We reached Yermo, CA when we were stopped for a Gypsy Moth inspection. Our inspector instructed us to pull up to the designated area and kill the engine. Armed with a flashlight and a creeper, so he could lay and roll under our vehicle, the inspection began promptly. He went to work, starting on the RV’s left front side, crept around the back, and up the right side.     When he popped his head out below my window I told him we have been on the road for over a month and I asked how long does it take for the cocoons to hatch? He stopped, looked at me for what seemed to be a full minute while still laying on the dolly, and said “it depends, now that it is getting warm”. I asked if this helps protect the California forest, he stayed straight faced and said “we don’t want em in California”. OK – no more questions.

Now it is time to search the inside of the RV, especially the refrigerator. He wanted to know where we got the produce, the red bell peppers in particular. I told him at Nellis AFB commissary. He saw a melon in the sink, stopped, looked at it for a minute, then he wanted to know where was the citrus? I told him I had no citrus. He hesitated, “really, no citrus?” He started opening the refrigerator drawers, saw the beer and cheese in one of them, and looked up at me. I said I did not buy the cheese at the AFB. He said “sure no citrus? You have bananas”.  “Yes, I do have bananas”. “Hmmm” he said. Even after heavy interrogation, I did not give in. I have no citrus. Tommy kept an eye on the guy at all times while he was in the beer drawer thinking he might snatch a cold one. He finally seemed satisfied we had no citrus. I asked him if I could get his picture for the blog and he lightened up a bit.   I told him we never had an inspection like this before. He asked “ever been to California before?” “No” I said. His reply, “that’s why”. Wow this is a man of many words! I requested something in writing to show that we passed  this inspection. His name is M. Tracy. I said “Hey I would be in trouble if we got married”. He just stared at me. I told him my name would be Tracy Tracy. Finally a smile.

He did not  inspect our tow car at all. How did he know that Hooptie wasn’t a Gypsy Moth Cocoon infested vehicle? I guess they only want the RV Gypsy Moths. LOL

About 45 minutes down the road I remembered… the LIME, Oh my God, I have a lime. I needed to take corrective action, I needed to make this right. But how? What now? It came to me in a flash. Tequila could wipe out a Gypsy Moth cocoon. Margaritas it is!

Sin City – Las Vegas 4/21-4/24

What a change from clean and pure nature to Sin City, Las Vegas. I personally recommend easing into this if you are not “city people”. Lights, lights, and more lights at night. Even Micky D’s was lit up.  

 

 

The fountain show outside of the Bellagio.

 

 

 

It’s really pretty in a neon kind of way. The architecture is beautiful. Many hotels are so ornate with decorated ceilings                   marble columns, and flower displays. I loved he Bellagio’s spring display made up of flowers and bronze. The bumble bees,  mushrooms, 

snails,       and ants were fantastic.       It Smelled so good!                                                                                                                                                                      

 

A Gondola ride inside the Venetian

 

 

         

 

 

Made all from Jelly Beans                                                                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Nine Million dollar Cat House!

 

 

 

We  drove down to the Old Las Vegas on Fremont Street.  I preferred it there. It had the largest LED screen in the world covering the street for several blocks with light shows and tributes to Queen, Kiss, and Delaware native – Bad to the Bone- George Thorougood. Fantastic light show.                Bars are wheeled out onto the street for easy access. Bands are on each corner. Show girls were casually walking down the street.    People  galore.

You have heard of the Wedding Chapels in Vegas. I had no idea how many. There is almost one on every corner for a good stretch of the strip. Do that many people come here to get married by Elvis? Must be cuz there isn’t a shortage of chapels. Each hotel also had there own chapel. Here are a few on the strip.

I love these two.

You don’t even have to get your fat ass out of the car, just drive up and you are hitched. Kind of says something to me that you can’t stand up to get married. I mean you have to be that drunk, right? Oh yeah but not to drunk cuz you are driving. Ahh Lifetime commitment.

Oh and Elvis lives, not only in Graceland but here in Vegas too.

We took in a show, LeReve. Wow was this sensational! It was like a Circus de Soleil but in water. The stage was raised and lowered, the people jumped, flew, and dove from a recessed area way above the ceiling. Fabric displays were dropped from the ceiling and, like magic, were whisked away in a blink. The actors, actually  phenomenal athletes, were nimble, quick, with super strength, and grace.  They flipped, tumbled, and lifted each other with no sign of strain. Fluid in motion. How did they accomplish some of these amazing feats? They defied the laws gravity and physics. Great show. This was the last display as the show ended.         I wish I could have taken pictures during the show. This was not permitted as the flash may have distracted the actors and may have caused injury.

Ok, I came, I saw, and I’m outta here. Vegas is not me.