End of the Year Thoughts

As the current year comes to an end, a brief mental visit as to what transpired throughout the course of this past year shows the usual ups and downs most normal years bring, plus a few extra bonuses thrown in. The bonuses come in both good and bad forms.
This last year, Veronica and I went on our very first cruise. We went to Alaska. That cruise awoke our traveling spirits and since that last cruise we have booked 2 more cruises for this upcoming year...one to Alaska for 8 days and then one to Europe, a Baltic Capitals cruise in September.
We also went to Las Vegas this last year. Enjoyed it enough to do it again sometime in the future.
Another trip was to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN area. We rented a cabin there and we always have fun when we go. I am sure that we will return sometime in the future.
Unfortunately this last year also brought along some unexpected medical issues...mainly my foot problem, which effected several trips and normal day to day living and things that I usually do. I have been dealing with this foot issue for approximately 7 months now and it culminated in my having foot surgery, 5 weeks or so ago. Based on how my foot reacted to the surgery, the outcome wasn't as positive as I had hoped. I have been working very hard on my stretching exercises in order to overcome whatever issues the surgery did not fix. Today I decided to put my sneaker on my left foot. I had been wearing a walking boot but I found that it gives no support to my arch or foot in general and I felt that it was not helping the situation out any by wearing it. So far the sneaker and the orthotics that I have in the sneaker seems to be helping out quite a bit. With a little luck and some hard work on my part, I will be able to put the foot issue behind me. Only time will tell on this issue.
With the new year approaching, Veronica and I have lots to look forward to and many changes seem to be coming our way. There will be more on those changes in the near future but for now, I don't want to say anything that might jinx those changes. Superstitious....not me.

So Whats New

Actually not much but thank you for asking...lol. Been kind of quiet around here. Veronica and I spent a rather quiet and subdued Christmas around here. Because we have so much travel coming up this year and all of the associated cost, we decided to keep this Christmas rather inexpensive. Actually it turned out well. We each got items that we really wanted. We had a really nice holiday and our evening meal was great. All in all, it was a really good day. I have been really working on my foot and ankle. I have been doing my exercises sometimes 4-5 times a day. I am really trying my best to get it back into shape. We have got many a miles to travel this year and I really want to be able to walk it all pain free. I even made up my own type of exercises. The therapy people and my doctor told me some exercises to do but I took it upon myself to modify them a bit. I usually do them bare footed while standing on the carpeted floor. I decided that it made more sense to do them in a tub full of warm to hot water. The heat and moisture would be used to keep everything loose and allow everything to stretch better. So far it seems to have helped out some but only time will tell and we will see where I am at after a month or so.

Foot Concerns

I have been doing my stretching exercises a couple of times a day and I realize that I have only been to one physical therapy session but I have some concerns about the status of my foot. Before I started doing my stretching exercises, my foot felt a whole lot better than it did before the surgery. Now that I have started the exercises and physical therapy, I have started to have pain in the same area as where it was prior to the surgery. I am hoping that this is residual pain from the surgery but it feels almost exactly like it did prior to the surgery but just on a little lower level. I plan on giving it some time and then, if it does not get any better, I will go in for a second opinion as to what is going on and what can be done at this point.

First Day Of Physical Therapy

To day I went to my first day of physical therapy. I will be going twice a week for at least 4 weeks. From there I will see how I feel and decide whether to continue for a couple of more weeks. Feels good getting back into the swing of things. The foot has been feeling better and hopefully that trend will continue as I get into my therapy further.

The Best Yard Ornaments That Money Can't Buy

My friend Ken Gauthier, from Canada, sent me these photos of of these live yard ornaments. They beat the hell out of having pink flamingos. Thanks for sharing these with us Ken.

Becoming Mobile Again

Today is my 3rd full day of being on my surgically repaired foot. The pain is deminishing as each day has passed. I start my physical therapy on Monday and I don't forsee having to go to too many sessions. In about 2-3 weeks I should be able to rid myself of the walking boot and get back to my sneakers. Today we went to Walmart to do a long needed food shopping trip. Because I have only been on my foot for 3 days and I still am not moving at high speed yet, I decided that it would be best to use an electric cart while in Walmart. The hard concrete would not have done my foot any good either. I never realized how slow those carts move. I figured that Walmart makes sure that those carts move extremely slow so that those who use them might find more things to buy rather than quickly whizzing by all of the products and not putting anything into your cart.
My friend Ken Gauthier, from Ontarion province in Canada, sent me the following joke. Thanks for sharing Ken.

Deer Season

A hunter and his friend were sitting in a tree stand stand near State Highway 481 in Maverick Co.Texas, early one cold opening morning.

Suddenly, a huge non-typical buck walked out over the corn they had spread in the senderos with a tailgate feeder. Moving quickly, the hunter carefully aimed the Leupold scope on his .300 mag at the unsuspecting buck.

As he was about to squeeze the trigger on this deer of a lifetime, his friend alerted him to a funeral procession passing slowly by down 481. The hunter pulled away from the gunstock, set the rifle down, took off his hat, bowed his head, and then closed his eyes in prayer. His friend was stunned.

"Wow, that is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen you do. You are indeed the kindest man I have ever known, and I feel lucky to call you a friend."
The hunter shrugged.
"Yeah, well, we were married for 35 years."

Back On My Feet

This morning Veronica drove me to my Podiatrist appointment. I am now walking again with the aid of a walking boot on my right foot and my "Even Up" sole on the sneaker of my left foot. The first several steps were awkward but I am slowly getting used to taking baby steps again. There is still some pain...down about 60% from where it was pre-surgery. My doctor told me that I would have to wear the walking boot for about 2 1/2 weeks or so and that I also would need to do some physical therapy. He did tell me that after a period of time and doing what I am supposed to, that he is confident that the remaining pain that I have, will go away. Today I will be doing a little wash and do some cleaning up around the place...putting everything back where it belongs. I am not going to push it too much today, so the rest of the wash will have to wait until tomorrow. It will take a couple of days to get my walking legs back but I can't tell you how great it feels to be moving around again, instead of hopping on one leg. I called the Physical Therapy place and I am scheduled to go in there on Monday for my first visit. I am slowly on the comeback trail now.

Extreme Canadian Ice Fishing

John Jakobs, my friend from up in Ontario province of Canada, sent me this video of extreme Canadian ice fishing. These folks are a lot hardier than I am. Just watching this gets me to shivering..brrrrrr.

Passing Time

7 days to go until I return to my Podiotrist and get permission to walk again. Hopping around on one leg has got old. Even with the use of my 4 legged walker, the hopping tires a person out and it makes my hip hurt on the hopping leg. I have learned to improvise in order to get things done. It usually takes me about 1 1/4 hours to get through my morning routine. I take my time because there isn't much else for me to do. I roll around on top of he bed to make it...from one side to the other. Then hop around to get the comforter straightened out. Hop around to put clothes in the hamper. Hop into the kitchen to drop off any trash I have accumulated. Then I hop into the bathroom to take care of business there...brushing teeth next to the tub while sitting on a metal folding chair, then kneel on the chair for my morning wash up, then wash my hair, fold the chair up to make room, so that I can hop about with my walker. Hop...hop...hop...that's all I seem to do. I only spend a little while in the computer room and then off i go...hopping between bathroom and bedroom. I seem to be spending more and more time in the bedroom because I have everything located close by...my lap top computer, food, drinks...all within a short hopping distance of my bed. I sure will be glad when I get the ok to start walking. When I do start walking again, I have to use a walking boot for an unknown period of time and because the walking boot has a sole that is higher than the sole on the sneakers that I wear, I had to get a product called an "Even Up". You attach this product to the sneaker on your good foot and it raises that foot up to the same level as the walking boot. That way you are not injuring your back, knee or hip and you are not walking all cockeyed or in a circle. Not matter what I have to use, it sure will be great to move around on my own two feet again. Only 7 more days of hopping left.

Polar Bear Tales

My friend John Jakobs, from Ontario province in Canada, sent me this story and photographs about a rather friendly Polar Bear. Thanks John for sharing this with us.

Norbert Rosing ' s striking images of a wild polar bear coming upon tethered sled dogs in the wilds of Canada ' s Hudson Bay. The photographer was sure that he was going to see the end of his dogs when the polar bear wandered in.

It ' s hard to believe that this polar bear only needed to hug someone!

The Polar Bear returned every night that week to play with the dogs.

May you always have love to share,

Health to spare,

And friends that care

More Moose Stuff

Ken Gauthier, my friend up in Ontario Canada, sent me the following story and photographs. I do not know the names of the people who lived the story or took the photographs but I want to thank all involved for sharing and a great job was done to save this young moose. Thanks to Ken for sending this my way.

Chapleau is located 120 miles west of Timmins, Ontario
Chapleau excitement! This weekend, we came upon this Cow and Calf on a very small island. As we were taking pictures, the Cow took off in the water towards shore and the calf followed. As we turned the corner of the island, we saw the Cow almost on shore but the calf wasn't even half way to shore yet. All of a sudden, I noticed that the calf wasn't going to make it. As we were heading towards the Calf, it went under a few times. At one point it stopped moving. As we got about 10ft away, it started moving and coming up to surface again. When we got beside it, all I could see was his ears. I grabbed the Calf by the ears to pull it up a bit and then I lifted the Calf right into the boat. The Calf coughed a few times and started breathing. We took a few pics as we rushed to shore to drop it off to Mommy. An experience of a life time.

Thank You

I just wanted to take a moment to say "Thank You" to all who have left comments and sent me emails containing well wishes and get well soon. I appreciate it. Sitting hear listening to the new John Mayer CD that Veronica got me. It is a good one. I especially like the song titled Heartbreak Warfare...damn good listening. Going to be one of those lazy days here....looks like rain is coming and then it is supposed to get windy tonight. Just one of those lazy days.

First Podiatrist Visit Since Surgery

To day I had my first Podiatrist visit since my surgery. After being prodded and probed a bit, all seems to be going well. The doctor told Veronica to make sure that I bring my walking boot to this office visit. I thought and hoped that maybe I would be allowed to started walking with the boot on. Way in the back of my mind, I knew not to get too excited about this possibility because I was only 1 week out from the date of the surgery but this hopping around on one foot using a walker was already getting old. Unfortunately my doctor only wanted to make sure I knew how to put the boot on and wear it while I was hopping around on the other foot...just a little extra protection for the injured foot. He told me that I would not be able to put any weight on the foot for 2 more weeks and another appointment was made for that date. So now my goal date for walking again is on the 16th of this month. After that, I will be having some Physical Therapy and then I can hopefully put this behind me, with the outcome of being able to walk pain free again.

What A Night

Veronica and I went to bed last night at our usual time...11:00PM. After falling sound asleep and less than an hour after going to bed, we were woke up by the sound of rushing water. The sound was loud enough to wake us both up. It turned out to be raining very heavily outside. We always keep our windows open in the Fall and Winter. We like the cold brisk air while we sleep. Because our windows were wide open, we both jumped out of bed without giving it a thought. Just like I have done many times in the past. This time was different. I did not take the time to think that I had just had foot surgery a couple of days ago. Both feet landed on the floor and it took a second to figure out that something was not quite right and that I might have made a slight error in judgement. Didn't take long before the pain woke me completely up and I immediately took the pressure off of my left foot. Using my walker, I hopped over to the window and closed it while Veronica went running around to close all of the other open windows. My foot hurt for a while after that incident but this morning it seems to be fine. Luckily I don't think that I did any long lasting damage nor anything that would seriously delay the healing process nor the positive outcome that I am hoping for. I have been using a walker rather than crutches to get around. The walker has 4 contact points on the ground whereas the crutches only have 2. I am not the most agile person around and balance has always been an issue for me. If they made a walker with 6 or 8 contact points with the ground, believe me, I would have one of those. One thing I have learned is that even with a walker, hopping around on one leg can really wear a person out. By the end of the day, I am usually completely exhausted. Today I plan on resting in bed all day and just taking it easy. The only thing that I haven't figured out is how to make hot coffee and get it from the kitchen and into the bedroom with me, without spilling the hot contents all over myself. Maybe a zip line or pulley system from the kitchen to the bedroom is in order. I might have to work on that idea today.

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Today is Thanksgiving. Veronica and I are doing things totally differently this year. Partly because of my foot surgery and partially because we just wanted to. For our Thanksgiving meal we are having fried chicken, egg noodles for me, some corn, mashed potatoes for Veronica, dinner rolls and then some Pumpkin pie for Veronica. I am not a pie eater and decided to opt out of desert. Change can be good...at least for this year. For some reason I seem to be having the cold sweats today. Not sure what is going on but I will probably be headed back to bed in just a little bit....relax and watch a dvd or some tv.

Post Surgery First Night

Last night was a rough night for sleeping. I was literally up every 40 minutes or so. I had a hard time finding a good sleeping position. Around 3:40 this morning I said "the heck with it" and I decided to sleep on my stomach...my usual sleeping position. Because of my foot, I had to slide all the way down towards the end of the bed. This enabled me to dangle my foot over the end of the bed without putting any bad pressure on my foot. It seemed to work well and I was able to get a few hours of sleep. I wish that I had tried this way earlier in the night because I would have got a lot more sleep. Today will be spent in bed, making up for last nights lost sleep and maybe watching a DVD or 2.

Post Surgery

Here it is, a little past noon and I am already back in my "office", at my computer. Can anyone say "internet addict". All went well with my surgery and so far I have felt very little pain. One of 2 things could be going on with that...either the pain that I was in dwarfed the post operative pain or whatever meds they put into my system has not worn off yet. Either way...so far so good. More to follow when I sharpen up just a bit...at least mentally.

Finally....Surgery

I never thought that I would ever hear myself say this.....but I am so glad that I am having foot surgery tomorrow. Oh I say that with all of the male bravado that I can muster and I am sure that after it is done, I will be whining like a little girly girl....but....I really am glad that I get the surgery done tomorrow. For someone who is usually constantly on the move, as I am, this foot issue sure has put the brakes on my mobility. I have spent the last 2 weeks doing next to nothing. Even short jaunts to our local WalMart have proved to be troublesome. I got everything done around here that I could in the last week or so. Veronica starts her holiday retail hours, which are very long and I wanted to make it so she has little to do when she gets home. I even figured out a way to get the laundry basket up and down the stairs while I shimmy my way up and down on my backside. I have my crutches and a walker strategically located, along with a step stool that I use to hoist myself back up or down from a standing position. The step stool is mainly used when I want to get up and down the stairs. I used it 8 years ago when I had a broken leg and it worked pretty well. Thanksgiving dinner will be a picnic in bed and I have my trusty laptop and will have numerous DVDs to keep me occupied. We need to be at the hospital for my outpatient surgery by 6AM tomorrow morning. Surgery is at 7AM and it should be completed by 7:30. Then after however long it takes me to wake up, we will be back on our way home. I will be doing everything in my power to get healed up and back on my feet as soon as possible because we have some exciting things coming up in our future. More on that at a later date. See you on the "flip side".

A Snow Moose? What A Beautiful Animal!!

I received the following photos and story from my friend John Jacobs, from up in Ontario Canada. I am not sure where it originated from but I thought I would pass it on because it is something that very few people get to see. Thank you for sharing it with us John.

Beautiful Snow Moose A must see…… You probably won't see this again in your life time!

These animals were photographed just north of the Wisconsin border on a highway near Marenisco , MI ... Once in awhile there is an opportunity to take in a piece of nature that you may never see. In these days of unrest and turmoil it is great to see that nature still produces some wondrous beauty for us to appreciate.

The odds of seeing an albino moose are astronomical and to see this in the upper peninsula of Michigan, near Wisconsin, is even greater than astronomical. To see two of them together is nearly impossible.
We wanted to share these photos with as many people as possible because you will probably never have a chance to see this rare sight again.
This is a really special treat, so enjoy the shots of a lifetime.

Busy With Preparations

I have been busy as of late, getting prepared for my upcoming surgery. There are quite a number of things that I need to get done before Tuesday. Some of the things that I am doing are being done in the hope that it will make life easier for Veronica while I am down and out. I have to be at the surgical center at 6AM on Tuesday morning...the 24th. Surgery will start at 7AM and the doctor should be done by 7:30. Then it is just a matter of me getting fully awake so that I can go home. I have already started to get my bed area ready since that will be my primary living area for a while. I went out and got me a lap tray that is actually a computer tray with a built in lamp and mouse pad. I can also use it as a food tray. I plan on stocking up on videos from Blockbuster so that I will have stuff to keep me occupied. I hate being bed ridden. I like to move around and not be stuck in one place for too long. Hopefully the time will pass quickly so that I will get to a point in the healing process, that I can put my walking boot on and move about some. In 6 weeks or so, this will all be just another one of those memories.

Out And About Again

After several days of being couped up, I finally made my way to our local WalMart to do some food shopping. This was the first time that I had been out since the tropical depression made its way through our area. It was still drizzling out but the real rain and winds had died down to almost nothing. Driving through certain areas, I saw many cars parked on the sidewalks and other "higher" locations. This is usually done when the streets around certain neighborhoods get flooded with water. Almost all of the standing water in the streets has subsided. I did not see many trees or limbs down. This time around, it seems that a number of people had sections of their fences blown down. I must have seen 8-10 different fences that had been damaged because of the storm. There weren't as many people out and about today as there usually would be. Walmart was not packed with people either. It made shopping a lot easier.

Stormy Weather

For the last couple of days, the leftovers from Hurricane Ida have been paying us a visit. By the time it reached us, it was a tropical storm and is now considered a Nor'easter. We had a lot of rain...up to about 8-10" here and it was really windy. They clocked a couple of wind gust at approximately 75 miles per hour. We had to go out yesterday so that I could visit my doctor and get the pre-surgery checkup done. While at the doctors office, I got my pneumonia shot...I had already got my seasonal flu vaccine a couple of weeks ago. I am still awaiting the arrival of the H1N1 vaccine. My family doctor has not received it nor has my oncologist. Not sure when they will get it. We were planning on going shopping after my doctors visit but it was too nasty outside. Several streets were blocked off due to high water and you could see many vehicles stuck where they had tried to proceed through the high water. There also many locations where there is no electricity. There were many reports of electrical transformers blowing up. Today the winds have died down but there still is a little rain here and there. I was going to go out food shopping but I decided to wait until tomorrow and let the water on the roads subside. The last thing I want to do is get my vehicle stuck in high water.

Racist And Offensive or Just Plain Humorous

The following information was pieced together from an article written on 11/03/2009 for AOL Television by Daynah Burnett.
This interesting article is about a popular ventriloquist by the name of Jeff Dunham. Dunham has been a ventriloquist for 25 years and currently has his own show on Comedy Central called.....The Jeff Dunham Show...what???....did you expect anything other than that? Dunham's acts generate both controversy and passionate reactions. In his act, five of the seven puppets in his cast of characters are based on racial or cultural stereotypes (José, the jalepeño pepper; Sweet Daddy Dee, the jive-talking pimp; Bubba J, the beer-guzzling redneck), and although Dunham claims he skewers everyone equally, the skewering doesn't seem intended to bridge racial and cultrual divides. In fact, it seems to cement, if not widen, them. Take skeletal Achmed, the Dead Terrorist, whom Dunham claims is not offensive to Muslims in the least (though South Africans disagree). During the act it's revealed that because the dummy has a "Made in China" stamp, Achmed doesn't even think he's Muslim. But one only needs to get to the "72 virgins" joke in Dunham's Achmed bit before it's hard to deny that he's indeed Muslim -- oh, and homophobic, too!
Take a look at the video clip below and you make the call...Racist and Offensive or just Humor. To read the complete article, please click on this link.......
Jeff Dunham Story

Could There Be Light At The End Of This Tunnel?

It has been quite a long time since I have actually sat down and written a blog entry. Lately it has been all about exciting travels and photographs. But there is a flip side to all that appears good. There always has been and always will be. It is kind of like when you leave for an exciting vacation...something that you really are looking forwards to. Sometimes you can leave your place of residence unscathed but usually you must leave with a dose of drama and aggravation, which is kindly provided by others. Anything to start your adventure off on a sour note. And after the long awaited adventure is over with and you are returning to your temporary living quarters, you return with that nagging uneasiness and that ever present under current of trouble that will be awaiting you upon your arrival "home". About 7 or 8 years ago, Veronica and I made a decision to get rid of almost 80 percent of our belongings to move in with my parents, who were getting on in years. The move was made so that we could help out. For me it was to do jobs around the house...mainly on the outside. Veronica also gave up a job in the Savannah, GA area that would have paid a substantially higher amount than what she was going to make in our current location. As life usually has it, things never turn out as they were planned nor hoped for. For me, I did a lot of work around this house and as time has gone by, I have had to pick up more and more responsibilities. I have never really asked for anything in return other than an occasional "thank you" for the help that I have provided. As water and sun are important to a very small plant, the verbal "thank you's" were important to me, so that I felt as if what I was doing meant something to someone....had some worth to it. As the years have gone by, those "thank you's" have gone from few to almost non existent. Once a year I would get a birthday card and in it would be a check along with a brief note on the card, acknowledging my efforts. It was and never will be about the check...I can surely do without it but what was important to me was the acknowledgement. Over the last couple of years, with me doing almost all of the work outside and cleaning up many loose ends inside, I found myself just doing the work with absolutely no good feelings about doing it. I kept on plugging away and the more I did, the less I got out of it. It wasn't like what I wanted or needed would cost someone out of pocket expenses...all I wanted was 2 words that would have made it all worthwhile to me..."thank you". When I brought this up to my mother, she actually scoffed about it. It was easier for her to write a check once a year for a hundred dollars than it was to make someone feel worthwhile and appreciated by saying two words once in a while...once a month or even once every two months. Sometimes we just need a little stroking ....a little word here and there...something that is said that gives us feelings of worth....something...food to nourish the soul. I really got tired of feeling taken for granted and getting the feelings that I owed someone something or that they were entitled to what I had to offer. I have told her several times that I did not want the money...that there were things that are more important to me. I told her what I wanted and what I needed to hear and what I got in return was to be scoffed at. There has been so many bad things, things that are so totally wrong, that have happened to Veronica and I since we moved here. It really was a bad mistake...a donation of 7-8 years of our lives....years that will never be replaced. In a couple of weeks, I will be having my foot surgery and I need to do everything possible to get back into a healthy state and rather quickly. There is a good chance that things can change in the next 4-5 months. I have been here before...a place and time where I think that we might be moving on to a better life away from here, only to have it fall apart and not happen. I have very guarded hopes that this might really be the time that it truly happens. Maybe it will be time to close one really bad chapter of this book of life and open up a much happier chapter for Veronica and I. I will wait and see with reserved optimism for that day to come. A chance to start over from scratch and hopefully make up for that lost time. Could that be the light at the end of this dismal tunnel? The next few months will tell.

Final Thoughts of Vegas

After being back from Vegas for a couple of weeks, we have come to some final thoughts about Vegas. Veronica and I had a good time there. There is so much to see and do there, far beyond the gambling, that there is no way that you can see it all in a couple of days. We have both decided that we would like to return to Vegas at some point in the future....preferably at the beginning of the year...like around Jan or February. This is the "off season" and the weather is much cooler. Next time we go out there, we will take in a tour of the Grand Canyon along with a couple of more shows. Plus I want to take many more photos and video but this time using Veronica's good camera. More night photos are in order too. Can't pass up all of the nighttime glitz and flashing lights. Maybe we will return in 2011 and by that time my feet should be doing fine and I will be able to walk where I want to without all of the pain. All in all our Vegas trip was fun and we are looking forward to our next visit. And speaking of feet....I am scheduled to have my foot surgery on Tuesday, 11/24. Turkey dinner will most likely be held in my bed. Whatever it takes to get my foot back to normal.

Last of the Vegas Videos

This is a video of one of the atriums in the Palazzo Hotel

Here is a video from one of the fountains that is outside of the Palazzo/Venetian Hotel

Another video of the Palazzo atrium

Below are videos of the Treasure Island pirate show. Treasure Island was directly across from our hotel but because there are no crosswalks in our area, we had to walk a block down the street and then over the street via a pedestrian walkway. After the show was over with, it took us a good 45 minutes to an hour to get back to our hotel. The crowds were so thick that we had to wait around 15 minutes before we even started to leave and we ended up walking the other direction for a block and then over a different pedestrian walkway...one that took us adjacent to the Wynn Hotel. The last 2 videos are the best...they have fireworks in them.

Videos From Inside Of Caesars Palace in Vegas

Here are some videos from inside of Caesars Palace

Here is a video of the inside of our suite ate the Palazzo Hotel

Las Vegas Videos

Here are some videos from St. Marks Square in the Palazzo Hotel at Las Vegas

A video from the strip of the New York New York Hotel complex

Here is a brief video of a waterfall outside of the Wynn Hotel

Vegas Videos

Here are some videos of the gondola rides inside The Venetian Hotel

Here are a couple of videos of the volcano show at the Mirage Hotel. Unfortunately I never got there to see them face to face. I just happened to catch these videos as we were outside about a half a block away from the show.

Here is a video of the wall of M and M filled cannisters that they had at the M and M store on the strip

Last Of The Las Vegas Photos

More photos of the inside of the Caesars Palace complex

For some reason, with all of the masses of humanity that were visiting Las Vegas and the way some of them behaved, this kind of sums everything up! Sorry folks but I call them as I see them.
These were displayed in one of the stores

Living statues in the Palazzo

Veronica with one of the living statues

Another really nice store window display

Inside the MGM Grand

Veronica made another friend outside of the Ka' theater before the show. The show was the best one that we have seen yet. We were only 6 rows back from the stage and just right of center. I really enjoy being so close to the action.

New York New York hotel complex

Additional Various Photographs of Vegas

Early morning in Vegas was the best time for us to walk the strip. Everyone seems to sleep in late after a long Vegas night. We found ourselves staying up later than we usually do.

These were the 2 hotels that we right next to ours

Treasure Island or TI as it is known in Vegas, was right across the street from our hotel. They had a pirate show a couple of times a night. I will be posting some videos of that show in the near future.

More photos of the Caesars Palace complex

One of Veronicas favorite stores

Sorry about the focus. These were some really cool looking Asian statues

Inside of Tao

Same thing but using a different camera setting