Las Vegas 2012 ~ Day 1

We were in the air to Las Vegas at 7:00, we arrived in Las Vegas in only 3-1/2 hours and was in our hotel room at The Orleans off the strip by 9:30am

We have a king room with a obstructed view of the pool.

Our room is very spacious & clean.    Since the room was exactly the same as our last stay, I won't be doing a separate post on the room.

We unpacked then bought a few things @ Walmart. We ate at The Courtyard restaurant. I had a grilled salmon salad, Ron had a California Cobb, both were huge and very good. Ron bet some horses & played some poker. I am suffering from jet lag so I just spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Getting Ready for Vegas 2012!!

It's time to update my must-see list for our Vegas 2012 trip, we leave this Sunday April 29th.  We have been to Las Vegas many times, while there are some things I like to do on every trip; walking the strip and visiting the "old vegas" each time I go. I try to add new ones each time, so far my list for this trip includes:

 

• The Blue Man Group @ Venetian~~This show has been on the top of my list for a while, it would be great to finally see it. If you have seen this show, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!
• My 2nd choice will the the Jersey Boys also in the Venetian.
•  
• Grand Canyon South Rim~~We plan to do a day trip on Tuesday with a stop over at the World Famous Snow Cap Drive-in (Route 66) in Seligman Arizona and a brief stop at the Hoover Dam 
• Spa Day~~Of course no lady can visit Vegas without visiting a spa for a luxurious massage and treatment.
•  
• Italian Restaurant~~Italian food is a MUST during any trip to Vegas. The Roma was recommended by my former coworker and friend Sharron and is now our FAVORITE. It's a deli during the day but at night it is transformed into a intimate, delicious Godfather-type restaurant .
• The Mob Museum ~~ I'm a huge GodFather fan so I think this should be kewl. 
• Binion's Steakhouse ~~ This restaurant is in the Fremont Street area

I will let everyone know how it goes!

Disney World 2012 - The Good/Bad

The Good
* Driving straight through without staying in a hotel worked for us.  The money saved for a night in a hotel paid for the fuel.
* We brought an ice chest with water,drinks,fruit,yogurt, milk & packed breakfast cereal/bowls/spoons. Eating in the room allowed us to get ready quickly to make the first bus to the park, thereby giving us time to ride without lines and crowds.
*  Eating Supper on the hotel grounds may be more expensive, but we came back so tired, it was worth the added expense.  They do have healthy choices for the kids.

The Bad

* Next time we will add one or two days at hotel for relaxation.  Allow the kids a break, use the pool, enjoy the hotel grounds.  It was too much walking for the kids to do the park 3 days in a row. 

* Going for Mardi Gras is great but next time we will assure that it is not Presidents day weekend.

Disney World 2012 - Day 5 Trip Home

We loaded up the car with most of the things with the exception of one suitcase per person.  We drove straight through leaving our hotel 5am while the girls slept the first couple of hours.  We stopped for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Lake City around 730am.  The service and food were good as usual.  We swapped drivers until we we stopped for a quick lunch at a Burger King in Tallahassee.  We dropped the kids off at their house in Ocean Springs at 4:30 and headed back to our house.

Disney World 2012 - Day 4

Mardi Gras Day. Today is our 2nd day at the Magic Kingdom and the last day in Orlando. After eating breakfast in our room, we met our bus in the front of our hotel and once again arrived at the opening of the park. Today we started with Space Mountain/Tomorrowland.

After the girls got their fill of repeated rides on Space Mountain, we headed to Indy Speedway.  Afterwards we went to Stitch and then the Mad Hatter Teacups.

We skipped over Fantasyland to ride Splash Mountain a few times. 

We ate lunch at Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland.  We had taco salads and nachos.  Next we repeated Pirates of the Carribean and the Magic Carpet ride. 

Hubby and the kids practiced target shooting and the girls enjoyed a game of checkers while taking a break from walking.

Disney World 2012 - Day 3

Today we will be spending the day at Universal Studio's.  The girls are very excited to visit the new Harry Potter area, even though Paige is too young for the ride, she is still excited for her sister.  After eating breakfast in our hotel room, we drove out to the park.  We paid our $15 parking free &we were able to park on the first level.  I love the escalators that assist with all the walking between the parking lot and the entrance to the park.

We were warned that the Harry Potter lines get very long, very quickly so we arrived at the gate just as it opend and headed straight for the ride.   Hubby took Paige to Dr. Seuss area while Brooke and I stood in line.  The line was 45 mins long, whew!  The ride was spectacular and we most certainly would have rode again had the lines not been 2x as long when we got off.

Next we headed to Jurrasic Park.

We ate lunch here as well.  We shared Rotissarie chicken and key lime pie while watching the riders next door get soaked from the big plung of the ride.

We bought tickets to both parks so we headed to other park but the kids were exhausted so we only did the Shrek ride and then headed back to our hotel.

At the hotel we let the kids relax with some swim time and ate supper on the grounds.  We shared pizza & pasta.  The food on the grounds is expensive but it is convenient and was pretty good.

Disney World 2012 - Day 2

We woke the kids up at 6:00 am for a quick breakfast before heading to the Disney Park bus stop.  One of the nicest perks of staying on the grounds is the transportation. 

The buses were always clean, the drivers polite and no parking fees!


We arrived at the Magic Kingdom just in time to watch the opening of the park, first time we were able to see it.  It really is fun to watch. 

Both of the girls are older now and were more interested in rides than the opening show at the castle so we headed straight to Adventureland.  We rode Pirates of the Carribean, Safari boats & 2 rides on Splash Mountain.

Next we stopped briefly in Fantasyland for It's a Small World & Haunted house before moving onto Tomorrowland.
ate lunch at the Tomorrowland Terrace today, shared chicken nuggets and chocolate cake for dessert, it was good. 

We left around 2:00 to return to our hotel.  We let the girls swim a little before taking a nap.  We returned back to the Magic Kingdom around 6:00pm, refreshed.  We headed back to tomorrowland for more rides until it was time to walk back to the castle for the fireworks show.  The firework show is spectacular and not to be missed!

After the fireworks, we headed back to our bus, both girls feel to sleep immediately after their bath, totally exhausted.

Disney World 2012 - Day 1

We packed up the car the night before, this morning we loaded up the Grandkids and hit the road @ 530am for the 10 hr road trip to Disney World Orlando

 We stopped for breakfast at the Cracker Barrell in Pensacola around 7am

Disney Towel Animal :)

The trip was uneventful.  We drove straight through, stopping for a picnic lunch at a rest stop and took turns driving.  We arrived at our hotel around 4pm and was relieved when we were told our room was ready.  Our room was in the Fantasia building of the All Star Movies hotel on the grounds.  We had 2 queen beds & a small table to eat on.  We knew there would be no coffee pot so we brought our own.  These are one of the oldest complexes but it worked fine for us since we were not in the room very much!  We unpacked and let the kids unwind in the pool for the evening.  We ate supper at a McDonalds on the grounds and the kids fell asleep early, exhausted from the long car ride.

Branson Trip - Day 5

Today is our final day of our holiday in Branson. The temps dropped & we enjoyed our morning coffee in front a roaring fire. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and just enjoyed our lakefront scenery. Mid-morning we headed out to shop for Christmas gifts.

After returning to the cabin to pack for the ride home, we relaxed a bit before dinner at our favorite restaurant @ the College of the Ozarks. It was comfort food, pot roast for me and meatloaf for Hubby. Later when it turned dark we visited a 2 1/2 mile Christmas Light display in Shepard of the Hills. It was beautiful.

We went back to the cabin to load up the car for our return ride home, and we had snow flurries. A fitting end to our holiday in the Ozark Mountains.

Branson Trip - Day 4

After breakfast, we went on a short hike of the area near our cabin. It had rained the night before and everything was wet. We showered and headed out for 4.5 mi hike through Table Rock Park.

  The trail took us around the lake to a marina & back to Tabke Rick Dam. It was lunch time when we finished.

We had lunch at the College of the Ozarks, Keeting. Hubby had 3 pigs sandwich, made with farm raised pork while I had a pork quesadillas and we shared a helping of their homemade potato chips. They have their own mill, dairy & grow their own vegetables. It is an experience you do not want to miss while staying in Branson.

After lunch we took a tour of the dairy and watched them milking the cows, it was very interesting. Next, we did more shopping before returning to our cabin for a short rest.

Our show tonight was the Hughes Brothers Family Christmas Show. A wonderful holiday experience! The brothers, along with their wives children and their Dad gave us a beautiful show.

Branson Trip - Day 3

We first enjoyed our morning cup of coffee in the cabin porch while viewing our first incredible sunrise across the lake. Afterwards, we dressed for a hike along Table Rock Lake. It was breezy and was pretty as all the colorful leaves fell as we walked.

After breakfast, we went in search of craft shows. The first place we found was a lovely indoor craft store. We bought some handmade woodcrafts & fig preserves. The second place we found was more of a flea market. The most interesting item I saw was a case of coke that was found in someone's basement after 20+ years, we didn't purchase anything.

Next, we drove to Table Rock dam, we enjoyed breathtaking views of the lake and the Branson skyline. Afterwards we drove to a small university.  It was quaint and all the students work at various jobs to earn their tuition. We purchased their freshly made fruitcake & preserves for gifts. We do plan to go back to eat in their restaurant before we leave.

We saw our first show tonight. I am a huge fan of Elvis impersonators so we choose Legends In Concert. Along with Elvis, they did Dolly, Alan Jackson, Blues Brothers & Ray Charles. My fab was Alan Jackson, Hubby liked Elvis the best.

 It was raining so we headed straight back to our cabin afterwards. Driving on these curvy mountain roads are....er interesting, especially with the lack of street lights. It was a good day!

Branson Trip -Day 2

We ate a nice supper on the front porch of our cabin with a great view of the lake. Afterwards, we walked along the lake enjoying a beautiful sunset.

We checked into our cabin on the lake around midday. Rustic is absolutely the correct description. Furniture was old, the kitchen contained an electric cooktop, micro & full sized fridge. A small rustic dinette with four chairs, a queen bed, sofa & fireplace in one room. A bedroom with two full beds plus an old but spacious bath. It seemed clean... Just outdated, does that mean rustic? lol  After unloading the car, we drove through Branson to purchase show tickets and see the area. We stopped off for groceries and headed back to our new home.

After supper  , we walked along the lake enjoying a beautiful sunset.

 

Hampton Inn-Pine Bluff

This hotel obviously just opened. Everything still smells nice. We had a king nonsmoking room overlooking the front parking lot. Checking was quick & the guy was extremely helpful & courteous. The room had a beautiful large tv, microwave & a small fridge. Breakfast was in typical Hampton Inn style,eggs,bacon,turkey sausage, continental breakfast items,juices & coffee.

The only thing I did not like was there was only a shower, no tub. This is a personal preference for me, if showers are your thing, you will like because it is very big.

Branson Trip - Day 1

We left home 6am for our adventure to the Ozark Moutains in Branson Missouri. Originally, we had planned to drive straight through. We changed our mind and decided to stop off at Pine Bluff, Arkansas so we wouldn't be searching for our cabin in the dark.

We stopped for a quick lunch Lake Providence, Louisiana, very pretty. I think our next trip through this area, we will stay in a cabin along the many lakes & National Parks along the Arkansas/Louisiana border instead of a hotel.

Vancouver~The last day

Today was our final day in Vancouver and also my birthday. In retrospect, we really should have left for home today. I made the decision to stay another night because I did not want to fly home on my birthday but honestly we had seen everything we wanted to see. But we were here so we decided to make the most of it. After breakfast at our hotel we decided to check out Stanley Park

It really is a very nice park, very big.  We took photos with some of the totem poles and along the waterfront.



After Stanley Park we headed over the the bridge to Granville Island,

it was a nice area on the water with shops.

We especially loved the market filled with fresh fish, vegetables and handmade items.