Jade and I

This week my granddaughter Jade is staying with us. She is 10 years old and a very smart, beautiful, and loved child. Her idea of a quest is somewhat different than mine, but I thought I would share our recent adventures.

Inside the Excalibur hotel is a arcade called Fun Dungeon and Jade loves to go there. It  has  the usual games such as ski ball, basketball, laser tag, horse racing, claw machines, pole fishing, ring toss, etc. We predetermine what she is able to spend, and she shops around for the games where she thinks she will be able to garner the most tickets. The tickets are the focus of her activities. If she is successful at a game, she stays and plays a few more times.  If the tickets aren’t coming, she moves on to something new.

Of course, the prizes purchased with these tickets are not commensurate with the amount of money it requires to earn them. Adults and children are somewhat disappointed by the selection of Items they can “afford”. But jade is a good sport and cashes in her 166 tickets for some “Big Eyes Girl” hair accessories, a bracelet, and a wand. She also won a stuffed bear at the pole fishing booth, and a plastic “highlight yellow” cup at laser tag. She had her picture taken next to Sponge Bob with all her prizes, then next to the two games where she won the most tickets.

Another place we visited was the Chinese restaurant near our house. It is quaint and quiet and the food is tasty. The staff is friendly and Jade and I had a leisurely lunch. We enjoyed doing what has become a favorite hobby of ours, money origami. We each folded currency into pants, a shirt, a butterfly, and a heart that has a flower in the middle. The ladies at the restaurant loved our dollar origami, and Jade and I shared a special and lovely afternoon together!

The Bellagio Conservatory

When Chuck wants to do something nice for me, he takes me to my favorite free attraction on the Las Vegas Strip, the Bellagio. To me it is a free glimpse into the world of the cultured and affluent.

First, the parking is graciously convenient, allowing you to park within yards of the conservatory. When you walk into the building, you are greeted with marble floors, and the unmistakable fragrance of flowers. You view the conservatory almost immediately   upon entering, with bursts of color, pattern, and movement. Beneath a 55 foot tall glass ceiling this atrium provides a feast for the eyes with sculptures and tableaus created with flowers, petals, seeds, plants, trees, water, fish, fountains, and much more. The presentation changes four times a year, with "shows" such as penguins or polar bears in the winter, butterflies and carousels in the spring, multihued leaves and wooden bridges in the fall, and lemonade stands and ladybugs in the summer. With each scene there is a magical quality that draws visitors from around the world. I love to watch the expressions of the guests, marveling at the splendor of the scene before them. People take their pictures in front of the blossoms, or the scenes with such delight it makes me smile. The sense of awe is pervasive.

Then, to make a great trip even more marvelous, we head outside to watch the fountains of Bellagio. Most people have seen the fountains on television, an impressive display of water and music. But like anything worthwhile, it is best seen in person.  It is difficult to describe the exhilaration you experience when you witness the perfect synchronization of music and sprays, jets, fountains, and mists of water, punctuated with lights and soothed with fog.

I average a visit to the Bellagio conservatory and fountains four to five times a year, welcoming each season with a trip to the hotel where the well-heeled stay. But as my mother likes to remind me, “even a cat can look at a king”.

To see a video of the changing of the “shows” visit http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/bellagioconservatory.html

Camping on our Honeymoon

This winter I will celebrate my 33^rd year of marriage. When I think back to our very first vacation as husband and wife, the memories that come to mind include a clear, cool, spring fed mountain tributary, aptly named the Frio River. This waterway has 10 acres of riverfront winding through a 1,420 acre recreational area named Garner State Park. This is where we spent our honeymoon.

The park is located in the Texas Hill Country, in a unique natural sub-region called the Balcones Canyonlands. The canyons consist of limestone, shale, marl, and siltstone uplifted to an elevation of 2,000 feet, creating a spectacular view of the landscape, the river, and the wildlife. We walked the  rugged terrain bursting with juniper, oak, cypress, mountain laurel, and cactus. We spotted the both the axis and white tailed deer, squirrels, lizards, and countless birds.  Chuck and I fished on the embankment, where we could see the brim swimming among the tree roots and vegetation. We tossed our hooks baited with worms, chunks of compressed white bread, fish roe, and diced hot dogs in their direction.  The fish, however, were hesitant to dine on this paltry fare.

Although we were not totally isolated from our humankind, the park was in it’s off season due to the cooler weather. We met a few like-minded visitors, who relished the brisk outdoors. We were sensible enough to rent the more substantial lodgings (compared to tent sites).  Our rustic cabin had a kitchen, living room with a wood burning fireplace, bedroom, and bathroom. The gas wall heater barely warmed the rooms, and we bundled up in layers of blankets, socks and mittens at night to ward off the chill.

This was our first of many forays into the world of camping. Since that first trip, we have slept in sleeping bags under nothing but stars, camped in tents in the woods, dozed off in on a mattress in the back of a pickup truck, and “roughed it” in RV’s at campsites. Garner State Park was the start of many years of exploring nature.