All roads lead somewhere. . .: June 2011

Over the last few weeks we have done some traveling: Spring Arbor, Michigan, Mesa, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada and back to our new home in Desert Hot Springs, California.

Spring Arbor, Michigan was the celebration of education. We actually flew from San Francisco, California to be with Paul's daughter Jennifer and attend her graduation. She graduated, with Honors, from Spring Arbor University with a BA in music. This is one very talented young woman. Her mastery of music is incredible! The celebration included her Uncle Robert, Grandmother Barbara, boyfriend Jason and many of her friends. We shared meals, played video games on the TV, Apples-to-Apples, went swimming and had a wonderful time. Her future plans at this point are undetermined, but we are sure that whatever she aspires to do, she will be a success!

Proud dad

Congratulations!

After arriving back to Bethel Island, California, we packed up the rig and headed down Highway 5 through the desert, over the hills and mountains to Desert Hot Springs where we parked our rig, set up and plan to stay for a while. We accepted a job at Caliente Springs Resort [http://www.calientesprings.com/]. It will be hard to leave my daughters and new grandson, but in reality I'm only a few hours away instead of being on the other side of the U.S. More on that later...

Kevin, Elizabeth and Gage

Ajim and Coren

Mesa, Arizona: We visited with my cousin Mary and her husband John. It was great to spend time with them. Great home-cooked meals, sharing memories, laughter and went to Fort McDowell Casino to play one of our favorite communal slot machines “Reel Em In” or as us four call it “Here Fishy, Fishy”. While there we even had lunch with their son Kevin and his wife Josie and congratulated them on the announcement of a new addition who should be arriving next year. They are expecting their first child and Mary and John couldn’t be happier at the prospect of being grandparents. This comes bittersweet for them as Kevin will be accepting a job in New Zealand. Sometimes this world seems so small with all the mass communications and super jets able to fly anywhere in the world but when your first grandchild is being born half way across the world, it can also seem too big! We wish Kevin and Josie all the best on this new adventure and hope that Mary and John will be able to make a visit to see them in the future.

An old picture of Mary and John taken in 2010

Las Vegas, Nevada: We drove to Vegas to meet up with our friends Terri and James after our visit in Mesa, Arizona. It was an uneventful drive through more barren desert and shrub-filled hills. We crossed the new bridge at Hoover Dam. It was a different experience from what I remember in the past. The old road took travelers directly down to the dam where there were always crowds of people sight-seeing and traffic backing up as cars would stop in the middle to snap pictures and bikers would be pulling in to parking areas to don their helmets before entering Nevada. Things sure have changed with the new by-pass bridge. But, since Paul had never been to Hoover Dam we decided to do a little sight-seeing. We turned onto the road leading back down to the dam. It was amazing how much the creation of the new bridge changed the atmosphere of Hoover Dam. Yes there are still tourists and a few bikers, but the crowds are much thinner and the awe of driving down the original road and seeing the dam as you come out of the hills has a different feeling. We parked the car and as Paul put it “We strolled, skipped, walked and drove” over this majestic monument. One thing we did notice is that the water is very low. Not sure if this is due to "global warming" or if it's a natural occurrence for this time of year. Paul had to take a picture of the men's restroom latrines. He said he had never seen any like them in all of his travels. One more thing crossed off his “Bucket List” (the Dam, that is). I must say this, I was in complete awe of the new bridge when seeing it from down on the dam. It is massive and since I had visited many times in the past, I just could not help repeating to Paul how amazing the new bridge looked!

View for the top of Hoover Dam

One more thing checked off the "Bucket List"

The new bridge

Latrines

Back to Las Vegas: The last time we visited Vegas was on our trek from Colorado to California. It was in November and the weather did not cooperate at all. It was cold, raining and very windy, and there was no chance of walking up and down the strip to enjoy seeing the lights or any of the outside shows. This time was completely different, the weather was warm and sunny. We watch the “Battle of the Sirens” outside of Treasure Island, the “Volcanic Eruption” at the Mirage and enjoyed the “Dancing Fountains” at the Bellagio and rode up to the top of the “Eiffel Tower” for a skyline view of the famous Vegas Strip! Vegas never ceases to delight the senses as the street musicians play their music, the hawkers constantly try to give you flyers advertising “girls” for your pleasure and the giant lighted billboards advertise shows and meals at the various casinos. It was good to spend some time with friends Terri and James and catch up on where life has taken us over the last few years. We may not have come out “Big Winners” at the casinos but our latest travels proved once more that we are rich -- loving family and friends are priceless!

Terri and James

Paul and I at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Desert Hot Springs: We have planted ourselves in this small green oasis out in this desert wasteland to take jobs. Paul will be the Assistant Manager at Caliente Springs resort and I will do Front Office, cleaning or anything else they can find to keep me busy. The resort, actually two resorts, Caliente Springs and Sky Valley, are owned and have been operated by the Manthei family since the 1970’s. All of the Manthei family are very involved in running the Resort from dad Tim to daughters Christy and Rachelle and son Garrett. They also have a few cousins, Adam, Austin and Luke helping to make this oasis in the desert a warm and welcoming place to live! They are all very outgoing, friendly and diligent at keeping the resorts running smoothly with a focus not only on the business aspects but in keeping their guests and residents happy. We are looking forward to this new adventure and hope to contribute our past experiences to enhance both resorts. If you are ever in the Desert Hot Springs area, don’t hesitate to stop by for a visit and enjoy the warm relaxing mineral pools and spas, exercise room, a game of billiards, ping pong, shuffle board and wildlife.