THE WEDDING

We arrived in Cancun on April 6th to attend the wedding of Dylan and Dawn. Dylan is the son of good friends of ours ( Tom and Ruth Smith ) and we were fortunate enough to be invited to the wedding. We stayed at the Mayan Palace which was quite nice and very big so we ended up doing alot of walking. As with most holidays we ate to much and did a lot of laying around, however we did get to 4 yoga classes and sweated out a bunch of the calories we consummed.

All said and done it was a very nice week.


The Mayan Palace





The resort was very nice and we enjoyed staying there however we were out in the middle of nowhere. We were about 40 miles from Cancun and 20 miles from Playa Del Carmen which we went into one day. They had a lot of facilities including a Cyber Cafe which is where I learned Duplium had been hit by a Tornado while we were away.

Playa Del Carmen



We spent a day in Playa Del Carmen just walking and checking out the stores. The only purchases we made was a hat and a t-shirt. The picture on the right is myself and the best salesman in the world ( he was a crook ) who sold me the hat I have on my head. I have still to wear it. One nice thing happened as we were headed to one store and were off the beaten path a little bit. I dropped my walled at didn't realize it and a lady chased me for two blocks to give it back to me, needless to say she got a large reward as I had all my poker money tucked away.


The Wedding

The Ceremony

Tom, Ruth, Kathy, Rod. Night out for Dinner.

Joe, Dylan and Tom ( Father and Sons )

Sonny & Ruth Smith ( Mother & Daughter )

Ruth, Dylan, Dawn, Tom

The Whole Clan

Outdoors, sunny day, tropical setting, beautiful ladies, guys all decked out in Tommy Bahama shirts, beatiful bride, handsome groom. It was almost surreal.

The Bride and Groom ( Dylan and Dawn ) looked spectacular and the day couldn't have been more perfect for them.

The highlight of the trip for Kathy and I was getting a chance to catch up with old friends. We had not seen Tom and Ruth for a few years and it was really good to see them again. They had not changed a bit as they looked exactly as they did the last time we saw them. Aside from the wedding we were able to get out for dinner one night and bring each other up to date. It was a good night.

See y'all back in Texas.

CANCUN AND DALLAS

Well, its now the 1st of May and we are back in Dallas at the Grapevine RV site. We have booked into Dallas for the balance of the year but have to make two site changes and will be at the KOA in Arlington for a couple of weeks. The rest of the time we will be in The Vineyards in Grapevine.



The routine is pretty much the same for the past month and should be that way for the balance of the year. I am still working part time and going into the office occasionly so we have not been doing much of anything. We went to Cancun for a wedding ( see below ) and Kathy and I have started going to Yoga and are enjoying it

BACK IN DALLAS (Grapevine)

We had a short stay in Granbury and then headed for Grapevine arriving on the 16th of March and will be here until May 15th. The only thing that might mess things up is if we have another wet spring and the lakes rise enough to flood out the park as it did last year. Hopefully the water levels will remain constant and we will not have to leave. Last year the levels rose 30 feet.

I am back at the office while we are hear so we have not been doing much except working and going to Yoga. Kathy and I started doing Bikram yoga and thats all I've got to say on that.

We will be in Mexico ( Cancun ) next week to attend a wedding. The son ( Dylan ) of good friends of ours ( Tom and Ruth Smith ) is the one getting married and it will be good to see them again. I will update the week and post pictures when we return.

ABILENE TO GRANBURY

We left Abilene this morning and headed to Granbury, Texas where we checked into the local RV park in the middle of the afternoon. We will be here until Sunday.

We were in Abilene a total of 9 days when were scheduled for a two day stop but the truck took longer than expected. However Kathy threatened to help and it was amazing how things got hurried along.





To get her out of the garage the dealership rented a car and encouraged us to do a little touring in Abilene. We spent part of one day going through Frontier Texas which is a museum with audio visual presentations of the area from 1770 to 1870 which we found to be quite interesting and informative. The sculpure of the Buffalo is just outside of the Museum in downtown Abilene. The buffalo is the one without the sun glasses.



We then took a trip over to Buffalo Gap and spent part of the day visiting the Museum which portrayed how Buffalo Gap originated and how it became the county seat, It then shows how it lost the position as Abilene took over as the county seat when the railroad went through Abiline.






After touring the historic downtown of Buffalo Gap we headed for Abilene State Park where we had lunch and then did a little hiking. It was very serene and quiet except for the narrowing, life threatening encounter with a charging armadillo. We were lucky to get out alive.



We ended the day with a meal at Perini Ranch which is on an actual working ranch and is known for its world famous bread pudding and its steak. I had a very nice filet and Kathy opted for the chicken. I was impressed with the steak and the service but Kathy was not impressed with her chicken and in fact her exact words were " It's nowhere near Ricky Donny's "

Sunday we head for Vineyards RV park in Grapevine, Texas.

ABILENE, TEXAS

Well here we are in Abilene for day 4 when we only expected to be here for 2 days. Unfortunately we have had head gasket problems with the truck and it is in the shop having work done it it. We will be here until at least until Saturday depending on how fast they can get the work done.



It is not the nicest time to be in Abilene as you can imagine our supprise when we woke up to 1 1/2'' of snow. It is the most snow I have seen during our 8 years in Texas.



As soon as we get the truck back we are heading for Granbury, Texas.

VEGAS TO ABILENE

Vegas is behind us and right now we are in Van Horn, Texas and tomorrow morning will be heading for Abilene, Texas where we will stay for 2 days before heading for Granbury, Texas.

We left Vegas and stopped in Laughlin, NV for the night and of course Kathy dragged me out to the casino for a little Pai Gow. Laughlin is very small compared to Vegas but it was very friendly and I think we were two of the youngest people in town.

We moved on to Mesa, AZ ( really just part of Phoenix ) for two days and spent most of the time looking at Truck Campers as we are considering a different option for our trip to Alaska. We are looking at getting a truck camper, use it for the summer and then sell it after the trip.

We left Mesa and travelled to Deming, NM via hwy 60 to Globe, AZ and the hwy 70 to Hwy 10 which took us into Deming. This drive took us off the interstate and through the mountains making it a much more specular drive.

We then moved on to Van Horn.

Scenery on the Drive from Vegas to Van Horn

VIVA LAS VEGAS BABY

VIVA LAS VEGAS. Well here we are in Las Vegas and we have been here for a month mostly in our time shares as the 5th wheel has been in for repairs. However we are now back in our little home and are staying at the Oasis RV park which is quite nice. It has been an injoyable month but we are Vegasist out and are leaving tomorrow to slowly make our way back to Dallas

Las Vegas is not a big city is and is quite easy to get around in if you can avoid rush hour and the construction. You know you are someplace too long when you can get around without a map.

Highlights of the stay in Vegas.

1) We are broke. Kathy learned how and enjoyed playing the slots but mostly Pai Gow Poker, she has been corrupted. See above.

2) Red Rock Canyon - We actually spent two days here, the first day Kathy and I toured around and the second day we accompanied the Balkans for the day. The area is quite spectacular and you wouldn't even know it was here if you didn't get off the strip. It is not all that well advertised but it is something else.







3) The Johnsons Arrive



Kathy's brother and Sil ( Bob and Shirley ) arrived in town for a few days and we met them at the airport. They were staying at the Venetian and were in town for a business meeting so we only got to see them on them on Saturday night. We did manage to do a little gambling and we did have a very nice dinner at a French restaurant called Pomplemousse which is located on Sahara drive. It gave us a chance to catch up and it was good to see them again.

4) The Balkans take Vegas by Storm:


Mike, Jolene, Phyllis, Brian

The Balkans arrived for 4 days and I think they brought just about the entire clan. Brian ( Kathy's BIL ) and Phyllis ( Kathy's Sister ) arrived along with their oldest daughter ( Jolene ) and her significant other Mike. Also arriving with the entourage was 3 of Brians sisters.

We met up with the group on a number of occasions as we explored Vegas with them. We spent a day at Red Rock Canyon, well they spend a day at the canyon as I just drove and let them do the hiking. My allergies were really acting up.

We had a nice but pricey dinner at The Palms ( a restaurant in the Mirage ) which is known for its steaks. The entire group was there as it was Bill's 50th birthday ( Brian BIL ) and it was a nice start to the evening. We then went down to Freemont street to experience the original core of Vegas and to see the nightshow.

On two of the everings we spent with the Balkans we took in two shows, one at the Bellagio ( O ) and the other at the MGM ( KA ). Both of these shows were absolutely phenomenal and I would recommend them to anybody who as the (mis)fortune to be in Vegas.

We drove Brian, Phllyis, Mike and Jolene to airport on Tuesday night and there were very glad to be heading home. However as short as the trip was it was good to see them again.

5) Shows - We were fortunate enough to be able to take in 5 shows while we were here and all of them were very good. I mentioned the two Cirque du Soleil shows( O & KA ) and how much wer enjoyed the. We also got to see a show called " Defend the Caveman ", a one man show about the differences between men and women. It was very funny and everyone should see it.

We also got to see Dana Carvey and Rich Little. Dana Carvey was funny but we had seen alot of the material he was using. We were sitting at the back of the theatre and couldn't see his facial expressions which was a large part of his act. Rich Little has not lost anything even at the age of 71 years. However I think we were the youngest people in the audience.

6) The Strip - Well what can you save about the strip, you can't say anything but a picture is worth a 1000 words. Especially the pictures of the Monte Carlo with fire damage.

All said and done, the shows were great and we enjoyed them all.

We will be leaving Vegas in the morning and it has been a good stay. Enough said as What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.