Summer's Half Over!!!!

It has been difficult finding time to blog with all that we have going on.  I would like to start this blog with an amusing conversation I had with Petey....

Petey - Here are some raw walnuts, try them.  They are supposed to help with preventing memory loss.
Me - How long have you been eating them?
Petey - I don't know....

I thought you might find that a bit amusing, as I know I did...

We have been busy attending concerts in Vegas.  We saw Michael Buble first.  He has an amazing voice and put on a great show.  Highly recommend it.  Next we saw Lady Gaga.  We asked Julie's mother to buy us the tickets as we were unable to go on line and get them ourselves.  This was a  mistake.  Instead of her jazz show which she performs on the piano, Cookie bought tickets to her Enigma show.  When we found out we immediately bought tickets for the jazz show, the one we wanted to see.  We went to Enigma and it was good except she kept interacting with a giant video game image of her alternate being.  At least that is what I got out of it.  Please, just sing and dance.  We do not require the other crap to keep us occupied.  I guess it was designed for gamers with short attention spans.  Anyway, the show was entertaining but what went on around us was even more interesting.  There was a lady walking up the aisle in a fur coat approaching the empty seat to my left.  Julie asked me why would she have on a fur coat in the summer in Las Vegas?  I said because she was naked underneath...and she was, at least on the top with the exception of the pasties.  Well, the jacket came off and the dancing started.  Needless to say I could not take my eyes off of the .... the stage or else I would be accused of gawking.  Cookie on the other hand missed the entire show, by that I mean the show on the stage.  She could not get over the fact that someone would come topless to a concert.  Enough about that.  If you like Lady Gaga, the show was good but do not take children.  She uses the F-bomb continuously throughout the show.  I started counting but soon lost track.  I can do without that at a show. I understand her jazz performance has no swearing.  Just this week we went to see the Hugh Jackman Show at the MGM.  What can he do you ask?  EVERYTHING!!!!  He sings, he dances, he plays the piano and he engages the audience like we are his friends.  It is a great show and you can take the kids!  No F-Bombs!  He truly is the Showman!

We left for our annual Western Spirit bike trip in late May which was going to have us riding on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  The weather was raining and snowing on the North Rim so they diverted us to St. George. That is right, we paid good money to ride on the trails in our neighborhood and sleep on the ground just out of site of our wonderful home.  After day two, the weather improved at the Grand Canyon so thankfully we headed that way.  Before that occurred, Petey who has been on every one of our trips since we retired fell ill and could not go on to the Grand Canyon.  He complained of stomach pain.  I have no idea why.....

Round three of four!!!  The food on the Water Spirit ride is superb!  It is easy to get carried away and  Petey always does.

Eventually we made it to the Grand Canyon.  We were really anxious for this trip to go well as two of our good friends, Mike and Dana (not together) came along based on our recommendation.  The temperature at the North Rim was cool but fine for riding, that is until we actually started riding.  A few minutes into our only ride at the Canyon it began to thunder and lightening.  When they tell you to spread out so only one person dies if struck by lightening, isn't it time to turn around?  Well, that is exactly what 7 of us did. The rest of the group continued on.  As soon as we turned around it began to hail and pour rain and didn't stop until we were back at camp. Needless to say we were soaked and freezing.  We huddled in our tents and waited for the 'hardier' few in the group to return..  Hardier?  Huh!  They ended up getting a ride back in the van.

View from tent

Well, that was the end of that ride.  The following day we returned to the St. George area for another fun ride in our back yard.  I failed to mention that while we laid in the tent watching the rain and hail pour down, I turned to Julie and said "We could have been sunning ourselves on a beach in the Dominican Republic for what we paid for this bike trip....  Ok, maybe the rain and lightening are safer.  The rim was not a total disaster as the food was superb and we met a bunch of great people on the trip.  (You know who you are)

Trapped in our tent.  Game faces on.

Julie and Dana

Mike on the edge.  Don't do it!!!!  

We hope our friends accompany us on a future bike trip...please!

Julie and Dave

My grandson Jack (10 Years old) flew across the country all by himself to come visit us.  When I met him at the plane, people kept coming up to me to tell me how special, smart, engaging and polite he was.  I was swelling with pride over this young man.  I assured them he took after his mother, oh, and that she took after me!  We wanted to make the trip as special as possible for Jack so we started with a show in Vegas.  No, not Lady Gaga!  We took him to see LOVE by Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage.  It is a great show with fabulous music.  If you can only see one show in Las Vegas, see LOVE.  He enjoyed every part of it.  The following day we drove him to Park City.  STG is just too hot to do much.  The highlight of the PC visit was the Olympic Park activities which included a ropes course, zip lines. tubing down the ski jumps and dropping from a 65 foot platform.  I enjoyed it as well perhaps with the exception of the tube ride which hits speeds of 40 mph.  I was okay for the first few seconds until it turned around sending me hurtling down the ski slope facing up hill.  Not good.  We also took him for a hike up the second tallest mountain at Deer Valley.  He charged up the mountain without a single complaint.  We then rode the ski lift down, for the "experience" of course.

Julie, Jack and Dave at Love!

Jack at the Mirage

Papa and Jack on the Ropes Course 

Hiking in Park City (Deer Valley)  

Jack playing in snow in July.  Can't do that in Maryland, or St. George!

Gorgeous view!  Oh, the trees and mountains are nice too...

Jack and Julie on the ski lift

I think that is all for now as I'm sure you have to get back to work, unless of course you are a government employee.  😀  I've also included a couple of additional pictures you may not have seen if you do not follow us on Instagram.  One is a picture of a beer can we found on the side the road.  It is actually a small storage tank that some talented person painted to look like a beer can. It is about a half mile off I-15 just outside of Las Vegas.  I have been wanting to go see it and finally Petey and I did.  The next picture is of Cooper in his goggles.  In the spring the trails here have a weed called Fox Tail all over the place.  He got one in his eye and had to have the vet remove it.  Now he will be sporting goggles at that time of the year. He also thinks they look dope.  (I just wanted to use that)

Warm regards,
Dave and Julie