Back Home in NC

I landed in Raleigh NC Thursday at 10 in the morning and my Aunt Ruthie picked me up at the airport and then we drove back to her house in Bracey VA.  I now know why they call it the "Red Eye", ugh.  All in all it was a good flight except for the 30 minute delay for take off, our pilots were flying in from Sacramento and ran into bad weather, so it was kind of important to wait for them.  I got about 2 hours sleep on the plane.

We had a wonderful visit and stayed busy the whole time.  Friday we drove into Richmond to go thrift storing.  Years ago my Aunt Ruthie introduced me to thrift storing and I have been hooked ever since.  As a matter of fact I ran my own store for 3 years.  A few treasures were found but now I am very selective about what I buy because: I don't need anything and have limited space in my suitcase.  Living this wonderful lifestyle changes the way you think about alot of things especially - where to put things.  Anyway, I had a wonderful time visiting her and my uncle Cliff, she has been an important part of my life for many years as well as an inspiration.  There is nothing that she can't do or over come, when I grow up I want to be like her.

On Sunday we drove to Smithfield to meet my BF Tammy who I will be staying with for a week.  On the way to her house in Rocky Point we stopped in my old neighborhood to visit with the Flamingo girls.  The flamingo girls are a group that the ladies and I started years back and continues today.  The woman that bought my house has replaced me but I will always be a Flamingo sister, I am so glad that she was welcomed into the neighborhood with open arms.  Flamingo Ellen hosted a little party in my honor and it was wonderful visiting with the girls and catching up on their lives.  Sons and daughters are getting married and have children of their own, life continues on.  Ellen spoke with the man that bought my house the night before and asked him if it would be alright for me to walk around the yard and of course he said yes, they are a very nice couple and it warms my heart to know they are happy.  Ellen mentioned this to me saying "if you don't want to that's fine" as she did know if it would upset me.  Well I had no problem with it so we all wondered over.  I am happy to report that I have no regrets about selling and know that we did the right thing.  As I looked around the only thing that kept popping into my head was "OMG look at all that work and maintenance".  I was an avid gardener spending tons of time in the yard and found great joy in it but don't miss it now.  The 3 potted plants that I have now are enough.  I have wonderful memories of what Mark and I created by don't miss my old life for one second.  It is kind of strange the first time you return home not knowing how you will feel but we have never second guessed our decision for one minute.  Thank you Ellen for hosting the get together it means alot to me.

Tammy took Monday off from work and we did some running around in town.  I scheduled a hair appointment with my daughter in law a week before I flew home.  Brenda is a great stylist and fixed my bad hair cut, oh how I miss you girl!  Once home we walked around Tammy's yard to check out her gardens, she and I have been gardeners for years.  With a glass of wine in hand we started exploring and one thing lead to the next and before I knew it she had me pulling weeds.

Glad I could help, now get me some more wine please...

It turned out to be a very busy week tyring to visit with everyone coordinating around their hectic schedules.  Tuesday I saw both of my grand kids.  It was hard leaving them but that's what planes and skype is for.  They are both growing like weeds and talking up a storm.

                                                                       Ella Grace 3yrs

                                                                      Reed  Michael 3 in June

Wednesday I went to lunch with a dear friend and past associate of mine, Shirley.  We have stayed in contact since I left and it was so nice to sit across from her and catch up on life.  You are a great person Shirley and I am honored to have you in my life.

Shirley, me and Lori

Thursday I went to dinner at Greg and Lori's house.  When we sold the house we rented a lot next door to them for 2 months which was just wonderful being close to them and considering the fact that we had no where else to go.  We enjoyed good food, good wine and conversed about past and present changes in our lives.  Dixie who is the other next door neighbor joined us as well.  I have fond memories of our short stay with these great people. 

Friday Karen and Stuart hosted an engagement party for Sistah Gini's daughter Blair.  It was a perfect evening for a party and if you go to their house and don't have a good time then shame on you.  I can't tell you how great it was to see all my Sistahs again and what a great way to start Peep Week.

The Happy Couple, Blair & Bret

                                                                Sistah Gini & Bob

Sistah Martha & Billy

Stuart, Sistah Karen's husband

Sistahs with attitude!!!

Sistah Julie

Sistah Kari

                                                                     My BF Tammy

                                    What a great party, you did an awesome job Sistah Karen.

                                                            Peep week starts tomorrow!

Spending Time in Kingman AZ and LasVegas

We have spent 2 weeks in Kingman, AZ visiting our friends, eating way too much and doing some exploring.

Danny took us out to do some metal detecting and meteorite hunting.

              It was a beautiful day and all though the guys didn't find much we had a good time.

I use to think that the desert was just brown and not colorful but I was very wrong.  Once you get out in it there is color everywhere such as these pretty little flowers.  I'm told that when the desert blooms in spring it is gorgeous.  Unfortunately I think we will miss it as we will be in CA before it blooms.

                  Mark and I hiked up this mountain and then we all checked out some old mines.

                                                         

                Some of these old mines were really something in their day but most were fenced off.

Our meteor wrongs.

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We went out to dinner one night to a very classy restaurant.

IN-N-Out Burger restaurants are located in AR, CA and NV.  The first one was in CA and was also the first drive-thru.  The food was really good and made with fresh ingredients.  I thought it was much better then McDonald's, Hardees or Burger King.  When in the west you will have to check it out.

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Come on along for a ride on Route 66 to Oatman, AZ

We finally had a pretty day to get out and ride.  Mark has always wanted to ride on Route 66 and today it happened.  Our destination was Oatman, we have been there before and it is a scenic ride, perfect on the bike. 

The last 9 miles to Oatman the road does some serious twisting and turning.  In the above picture to your right at the bottom of the cliff there some cars that have gone off the road and ended up at the bottom.  Nobody bothers to recover them as the task is impossible. 

There is a stop off point that you can view the country side and see CA.

Below where Mark is standing are grave sites.

Not sure what the stacked rocks are all about but we have seen them everywhere.  If anybody knows what the story is please let me know.

Just gotta love what AZ calls guard rails.

See the motor home on the left in the above picture, it followed us through all those winding turns and switch backs.  You won't catch us pulling the caravan through those roads.

Our ride on Route 66 was very enjoyable.

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We arrived in Kingman on the 1st and I fly home to NC on the 14th.  Terri and Danny hooked us up with 2 nights free at the Rio in Vegas so we went there on the 13th.  First off let me say that we didn't put a penny in a slot machine, Yeah!!!  We know we are losers before we start, I do much better at Bingo.  Anyway, there is so much to see in Vegas and the weather was great.  We headed down to Fremont Street which is my favorite part of Vegas.  Before getting there we pass Silver n Gold Pawn Shop and were going to stop in as Mark as never been.  I was there about a year and a half ago but since then it has really gotten popular as people were lined up for at least a 3 hour wait to get in the store.

                                                                  That's me and Rick last year!

We decided not to wait in line and continued to Fremont Street.  

Freemont Street is old Vegas.  There is a roof kind of thing that has been built over the street and they play a light show at night with music that is grand.  No cars are allowed and people roam freely watching the show.

                                                       The cowboy and cowgirl are famous.

                                    And of course one of the oldest casinos is the Golden Nugget.

                                                   I wish we could find a nugget like this one!

Click on the video below and enjoy the show.

Did you see the people zip lining at the end of the video?  Well I paid my $20 and did it, what a rush!  It was the second time that I have zip lined and I love it.

We had a wonderful time in Vegas and if you haven't been you have to go at least once as there is no place like LasVegas.

I fly out tomorrow night on the red eye to visit family, friends and be with my Peeps for a whole week at Topsail Island, NC.  Mark says it's alot cheaper for me to spend time with my YSA Sisters then it is for me to go to a therapist!

I'll leave you with this:

                                                         Thanks for following our travels.