They had a great trip, although the weather wasn't very kind to them - it was the rainiest June in recent history in Britain, so we were happy to go find the sun while John was here.
John had never been to Las Vegas, and really, everyone should experience Las Vegas at least once, so we planned a road trip there, via Fresno, and Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.
Our stop in Fresno included a surprise retirement dinner for Lee's brother, Gary, arranged by his wife, Joyce. The dinner was in a lovely restaurant with lots of friends and family. Gary was so surprised to see everyone there! We then spent the night with them at their home in Coarsegold before leaving for the National Parks.
We spent two nights in Three Rivers, a small town that is the gateway to Sequoia National Park. The weather was gorgeous and we were able to walk to dinner in this small town. We got an early start to the parks, and we were all amazed by the huge sequoia trees - some of the largest in the world! It was a photographic challenge to get pictures of them, as they are SO tall - but among the three of us we were able to take hundreds! We've whittled them down for you so no worries!
After an amazing day in nature, we headed for amazement of a different nature - Las Vegas! It's a long, boring drive across the desert, but eventually we were rewarded by a fantasy city scape, with views of the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, the Sphinx, etc.
We stayed at the Monte Carlo, which was pretty centrally located and made it easy to walk or take the tram to visit the other "wonderlands" on the strip. We saw two shows while we were there - Jersey Boys and the Cirque du Soleil "Mystere". Both were just amazing!! We had front row seats for the cirque - thank you, John!!
We got in some pool time, shopping time, and just wandering time. We went to the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, which was pretty amazing - it's the home of the largest screen in the world - which spans a full city block. The shows on it were amazing! Lots of people and activity down there, and in the end we were happy to go back to the relative quiet of the strip.
After we had "done" Las Vegas, we drove to Grover Beach and spent the night with Jim and Rex and had a chance to visit with them. Then it was time to go home, and all too soon it was time for John to fly home.
What a wonderful but quick trip! Thanks for coming, John, and next year you have to stay longer!
John's arrival at SFO
Tunnel Rock at Sequoia National Park. Apparently at some point a road went through there..
One BIG tree!
The bark on these trees is amazing - it's almost 2 feet thick and looks as though it has run down the tree - like syrup! Apparently the trees can heal themselves if they are burned and we saw several examples of this in the two parks.
John at the top of the roots of a fallen Sequoia
John and Pat at the bottom of the roots of the fallen Sequoia - gives you an idea of the size!
We climbed to the top of Moro Rock! Both the climb and the view from the top were amazing!
Some of the stairways going up
Expand the picture and you can see the stairs going down
John, coming up
The stairway, rock and amazing view!
Getting close to the top
Very nearly there!
And the view from the top - you can see forever up there! The ranger told us that on a clear day you can see the Coastal mountain range. It wasn't quite clear enough for that
John at the top of the world!
Lee and John on the trail
Three BIG trees!
You can see how the bark kind of "pools" on the ground
The two of us couldn't reach even half-way around this tree!
A trio of big trees!
John and I at the base of "General Sherman"
This is a fallen Sequoia that's been hollowed out - you could walk right through it!
There was a "controlled burn" while we were there. There were signs letting people know about it, but it was still slightly disturbing to see all the smoke!
John at the slots! I don't think any of put even a quarter in until the third day of our visit! The casinos don't make much money from people like us!
The pool area at the Monte Carlo. It was pretty warm there so we got out to the pool early one morning.
More "strip" fantasy!
The Brooklyn Bridge!
And the Statue of Liberty! We were at New York, New York
For a Medieval feel, there's always Excalibur!
The Sphinx at the entrance to the Luxor
Inside the Luxor
Lee and John inside the Luxor
We stopped for a cold beer at Mandalay Bay. The casinos were wonderfully air-conditioned - it was 102 degrees outside! John said that it was the hottest weather he'd ever been in - a nice antidote to cold, rainy Britain!
The Belagio
A sculpture of Chihuly glass at the Belagio
The fountains at Caesar's Palace
Lee and John, and other legends!
Inside Caesar's Forum - an amazing shopping center
The H& M store
And Mark Jacob's pink elephant!
Lee in a ruby slipper!
Paris, at night!
The fountains at the Belagio. They put on an amazing show at night and the fountains are set to music.
The Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas
The digital movie screen above the street. It was just like daylight with all the neon!
And then all the lights went out, and the Rock of Ages show began, with video performances of old rock groups! It was a totally amazing experience!!
In Grover Beach, on the way to dinner. Rex was sitting on John's lap! We didn't get a picture of Jim, but he was driving. We had a great time catching up with Jim before heading home.
And most of the New Zealanders will recognize this picture - a drink at the Distillery! It's a traditional stop to sit and enjoy the ocean and the roaring fireplace
And then it was over! John left to go back to winter, but he'll be back!
No comments:
Post a Comment