Vacation

2006

June 25:We are on our way to Vegas! We (Vince, Betty and Jordan) made about 700 miles today, and are spending the night in Pocatello, Idaho. We should arrive at Circus, Circus in Las Vegas tomorrow evening in time to get a good night's sleep before my poker tourney. It has been a long day, especially for Betty. She just got off work 15 minutes before we left home. We had a good supper at Applebee's followed by a trip ti Wal-Mart, then back to Super 8. Now it is time for bed, and an early start tomorrow
June 26: Arrived in Las Vegas and checked into Circus-Circus. That is one BIG hotel. We couldn't solve their maze of parking areas to get close to the room, so we "lugged" our luggage across what seemed like miles of asphalt desert in 105 degree heat. Then up the escalator, down the hall and up the elevator. Our room was on the other side of a driveway, so we had to go to the second floor to get across, and down to the first floor for access to the garage. We spent the night exploring the hotel and then to bed to rest up for a busy Tuesday.
June 27: This is the big day to sign in for the WSOP Texas Hold-Em event. I was up at 7 a.m. to go to the business office and pick up my Fed Ex package from NLOP, containing my official NLOP shirt and cap and the $1,500 check to pay the entry fee. Then a cab ride to the Rio Hotel and Casino where WSOP is holding the tourney. I got to the registration window at 8 a.m. to find out all 2,700 seats and 470 stand-bys were all sold out. I explained that I won the buy-in seat on NLOP, and was told they should have pre-registered me. But, I checked with the "willcall" desk and they had not registered for me. There was another similar tourney that would start the next day, but it also was a 3 day event and we were not planning on staying that long. I decided that I would have to pass up this opportunity for fame and fortune. With almost 3,000 poker players competing, many of which would be seasoned professionals, my chances of finishing in the top 10% were not real good. And if I didn't compete, I get to keep half of the $1500 entry fee. So, I won't be on ESPN, but our stay in Vegas was pretty well paid for.
While Vince was busy seeking his fame and (mis)fortune, Betty and Jordan were riding rides and playing midway games at the hotel. In the afternoon, all 3 of us enjoyed the fun at the hotel. Then we signed up for an all day bus tour if Hoover dam and the Grand Canyon. Oofta! We have to be at the front of the hotel at 6 a.m.
June 28: 5:45 a.m. and we're getting on the bus for our tour. The stop at Hoover damn is only about 20 minutes, as we have a lot of miles to cover today. We have a 40 minute (buffet) lunch break and then on to the "canyon". As many pictures as we've seen of the Grand Canyon it just isn't the same as seeing it yourself. Lots of picture taking and video, and all too quick it's time to return to the bus. We arrived back at the hotel around 10 p.m. Jordan was tired and went to bed while Betty and I gambled away a few dollars ion the slots.

GRAND CANYON

June 29: Time to pack up the car and get out of Vegas. I finally found a garage closer to the room, so we didn't have to carry luggage nearly so far. The temperature isonce again around 105 degrees as we head towards California. Our reservations at the Ramada across from Disneyland isn't until the 30th, so we planned to stop somewhere along the way. Just as we're approaching Baker, California, we hear on the radio that there is a bad car/truck accident down the road, and traffic is backed up for 20 miles. The Wills Fargo motel has a nice pool, so we decide to spend the night there. Baker is a small town, and all of a sudden the little place is over-run with tourists and truck drivers looking to spend the night. The temperature hit 123 degrees around 6 p.m. But, the water in the pool is cool, and the room stays nice with the A/C running full blast.

June 30: It is a short drive from Baker to Annaheim, and with the driving directions Betty had copied to her laptop from some website earlier, we find our way to within a few blocks of our motel. We first tried to check into the wrong Ramada, and were told to drive to the corner and go a block and a half to the right! Who would expect two Ramadas within 2 blocks of each other. Ours is right across from Disneyland. We checked in and headed across the street. Disneyland sure is a fun place for young and old. It's a lot of walking, and we're too tired to stay for the fireworks. But, we're here for 4 nights, and then on to San Diego! This is the first hotel that has a wireless internet, so I can now catch up on emails!

**********One sad note - Betty's dog AJ has been quite sick for the last 2 weeks, and had to be put down a couple of days ago. I knew she was in pretty bad shape before we left, and wondered if she would still be with us when we returned. The vet said it was liver failure. AJ was 14 years old and will be missed by all of us.*************

July 1: We spent the day mostly at Disneyland, with a walk across the courtyard from Disneyland to California Adventures. Calif advent. is similar to Disneyland, with rides,etc. All 3 of us have been on most of the rides, with the exception of the big roller coaster, which may be in our plans for another day. We returned to Disneyland at 9:30 p.m. for the fireworks and then Fantasmic, which is s combination light show and Mickey battling evil forces with lots of special effects. It was a long day with lots of walking, but also lots of fun!

Disneyland

Betty and Jordan at Disneyland

July 2: Another day of games and rides, but today we stayed at California Adventures. The day ended with a light show/parade.

July 3: We did the bus tour to Universal Studios, which is another theme park. We watched the presentation at Water World and went on some very exciting rides, especially the raft ride that ends with an 84 foot plunge into the water!

July 4: We drove from Anaheim to Oceanside just north of San Diego. It was only an hour and a half drive. No room to park on the beach today, so back to the motel pool. Supper at Outback Steakhouse and then to the beach for the fireworks. The fireworks were set off on a barge just off the long pier. Actually, 2 barges on either side of the pier with almost identical, simultaneous displays. Then through the traffic jam back to the motel.

July 5: We spent a quiet day at the beach. The Pacific Ocean is cool, but comfortable after you get wet, which doesn't take long with the big waves.

July 6: It was a 45 minute drive to Sea World where we spent the day. A few rides, but mainly watching shows. The Shamu (killer whale) show was good, but the dolphin show is where we really got soaked. Betty insisted on sitting in row 3, and those dolphins are trained to splash you with their tails. It was like having water buckets poured on us. I had my movie camera covered, but it still got a little wet. Hopefully it will be okay.

July 7: Our last day in Oceanside. A trip to the beach, and some shopping. Then we relaxed and are getting ready to start the trip home. We plan to drive to Los Angeles and then take the coastal highway north. Then maybe to Salt Lake City and work our way toward Yellowstone!

July 8: We drove up the California coast on Highway 101 to San Jose, and then on to Sacremento. That's as far as we care to go today. I must be getting old, because 10 hours in the car is enough for me!

July 9: It was a long day of driving. We finally stopped in Ogden, Utah, just north of Salt Lake City. We found a nice motel with a large indoor pool and free internet. We ordered some food to deliver to our room. Betty and Jordan had Chinese, and I had pizza. (we went by Montello and Harrisville, today - Montello, Nev and Harrisville, Utah)

July 10: We got an early start-6:45 a.m. It's over 700 miles to drive to get home today. We stopped to eat and get gas in Spencer, Utah. When we started to leave, the car was not running right. Bucking, and no power. We drove to Dillon, Montana and stopped at a General Motors repair shop. They were no real friendly, and said it would be at least 2 days before they could look at it, and no repairing until at least the end of the week. So, we continued on to Butte. It was a slow drive with the car not running properly. 30 Miles an hour up some steep grades, and almost half a tank of gas to go 60 miles! We found the GM dealer and pulled in. What a difference in personnel. The service manager was very friendly, and told us to drive right in to the service bay. He said it would be an hour and a half wait until they could look at it - could they give us a ride somewhere? We just walked across the highway to the Wal-Mart, shopped for a while and had a soda pop. Back to the service dept. The man (Brian Dugan) said they found a loose wire, and it was already fixed. They had to clean up the inside of the car a little, and in 30 minutes we were on our way. I must send him a thank you note. Now back to driving. We were still a long way from home, but Betty drove and in just another 8 hours we were back in Coleman. It was just after midnight, but we were glad to be home. The dogs were glad to see us, but it seems strange in the house with AJ gone. If you want to contact us

our email address is: v-johnson@shaw.ca BACK TO HOME PAGE