Day Twenty-Two - July 24, 2015 - We're Home

We delivered the rental car back to Alamo, having logged 3047 miles (4903 kilometres) in the past three weeks.

After breezing through security we had a couple of hours to put in.

So the ladies, true to form, plugged their electronics in.

Well, I could have sworn that Mardi plugged in a $20 bill, but she came away with just $13.60.  Despite a total of three days in Las Vegas, this was her only foray into the slots.  Well done!

We left Nevada behind.

And settled in.

Finally.  A familiar landmark!

Home at last!  We called the Cell Phone Parking Lot for our drivers to fetch us.

And welcome us too!

And so, the adventure is over.  Three great weeks with two wonderful, beautiful young ladies.

Two restless sleepers, who found a way to share a bed comfortably.  And get along well.

Their favourite activity?  They were agreed on trail riding in Sedona.  After that, it was hard for them to agree on a ranking of the things they did, and saw.  But they were two very excited and happy campers.  

Favourite drink?  Without question - Date Shakes!

Favourite food?   Has to be Queen Crab!

They made us laugh and smile, and be proud!  It was a trip that all four of us will long remember.

Day Twenty-One - July 23, 2015 - The Wrap-Up

We missed a couple of pictures this morning on I-15 between Barstow and Las Vegas.  The first involved a tractor-trailer heading the other way but stopped on the highway, with police cars blocking all four lanes, guns drawn, and the truck driver standing on the road with his hands up.  The second was a few wild donkeys in the desert beside the highway.

We did get this picture of a solar array collecting power.  The mirrors were blinding and you can see the reflected light beaming down on the solar panels.

While we were waiting for our lunch to arrive at Circus Circus a game of X's and O's was played.

Then it was off to the Adventuredome, where the young ladies spent three hours on the rides.

After a brief rest, it was off to the circus.

And the arcade.  Reggie won at the fishing game.

Sarah-Jean came second out of a dozen people on the steeplechase - close but no cigar.

We took a cab to Fremont Street.

The three block long overhead video was impressive.

Reggie and Sarah-Jean filmed part of the presentation.

There was, unfortunately, an hour long wait for the zip/zoom line.  So that didn't happen.

There were several partly dressed "dancers" on the street that Sarah-Jean wouldn't let me look at, so no pictures - sorry, it's her fault!  We headed back to a cab and returned to Circus Circus.  Can you say "The Party's Over"?

Tomorrow, the homecoming. 

Day Twenty - July 22, 2015 - Water Day

Our route took us south through the middle of California.  Lots of dry grasslands in the first part of the journey.

And then desert, divided by an aqueduct.

We saw miles and miles of orchards, vineyards and ground crops.  Some looked just fine, but there were orchards that had been abandoned because of the lack of water.  Some others were clearly in distress.

Due to the four year drought, the state has imposed strict limits on water usage and the farmers were understandably upset about being cut off from the water they need.  They have made huge investments and their livelihoods and those of their workers are at stake.  Lots of protest signs along the freeway, most posted on the side of old trailers.

It's difficult to know which side to take on this issue.  The farmers are up against it, but on the other hand man has tried to turn the desert into something that it isn't.  It may make some sense to plant citrus trees in this environment, but we also saw huge fields of corn.  When corn can be grown easily across much of the U.S. without irrigation, why plant it here?  As well, despite the inevitability of the water running out we saw hundreds of acres of new orchards planted.  

As we turned east toward Barstow the scenery changed once again.  You might be able to make out a train moving through tunnels beside us.

After a long day of driving we arrived at our motel in Barstow, a real oasis!

What water shortage?

Twelve laps (round trips) mom!

Shark attack.

Tomorrow, we head back to Las Vegas for one last fling.

Day Nineteen - Tuesday, July 21, 2015

We had four goals in mind today - ride the cable cars, visit Chinatown, see the crookedest street, and attend the Blue Jays game against Oakland Athletics.

But, first I had to shake the ladies out of bed.

First we headed for the waterfront again to catch the cable cars at their turntable.

The cars leave about ten minutes apart, to ease the strain on the cables.  So we waited in line for about 30 minutes.  This fellow entertained us during the wait.  Talk about location, location, location. He had a captive audience for most of the day.  When he wasn't playing and singing he was blowing up balloons for the young kids in line.  His jar was getting full!

Delay #1- I had purchased a new memory card for the camera this morning.  Just as we finally got on the cable car, and after just five pictures, the camera said "memory card error".  So off we got and back to the store where I finally got my money back.  Back in line for another half hour before we got away.

First stop Chinatown.

Tuesday is washday somewhere.

How do you say "busker" in Mandarin?

When we were on the City Tour, the ladies had noticed that Lululemon was close by.  So, our visit to Chinatown was interrupted briefly.

Delay #2 - My rechargable batteries had died, and my regular AA batteries did likewise, so I bought four new ones.  They had Chinese characters on them, but said they were good until 2018.  Well, 2018 came and went after five pictures.  So we hotfoot it back to the store in Chinatown and get U.S. labelled replacements.  Only lost about 20 minutes this time.

Next, we took the Califoria Street cable cars both ways.

A short visit to Grace Cathedral.

Moving on, we took our fourth ride on the cable cars to get to Lombard Street.

We then walked the three blocks back to our hotel to pick up the car.  It was a steep street!

Delay #3 - Not knowing what to expect with rush hour traffic, we had allowed three hours to get to the ball game.  The GPS said it was less than six miles and should take 35 minutes.  After two hours of absolute gridlock (every light change, one car might make it through) we started to move across the Bay Bridge and arrived at the game with 20 minutes to spare.

But we saw a great game.  

In the second inning we enjoyed Edwin Encarnacion's "chicken wing home run trot".

In the sixth, it was Jose Bautista.

In the same inning, Russell Martin hit a three run homer to break the game wide open and get the win for Mark Buerle.  

Soft pretzels and cheese for the ladies. (The photographer, in a gentlemanly act, declined to take a picture of the cotton candy purchase, but it was rumoured to have four colours).

Final score: Jays 7 - Athletics 1.

The drive to our hotel in Castro, California took just 20 minutes.  A busy and tiring day.  Tomorrow we report from Barstow, California - another stop on Route 66.