Moving Day

Posted on November 17, 2016November 17, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Now that we know that the Ka’anapali Beach club is the “Pink Pyramid” we need to move our things from the Ka’anapali Shores. I just knew the “Pink Pyramid” would haunt me forever!

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Almost everything was packed the night before. There were just a few perishables left that we were trying to keep fresh including the pineapple I received as a Welcome Gift. Check out at the “Shores” was 10 am but even with my early check in we couldn’t get our room at the Beach Club until 2 pm. I took my larger suitcase down to the car on my way to the update breakfast with my timeshare counselor. I left Sandy in the room to wait for me to return.

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I met Tara in the Ohana Bar & Grill where we had a very nice breakfast. The table was on the deck and we could watch the breakers roll in. After breakfast we went inside to chat. I don’t know why it always happens to me but when Tara went to added a recommendation to my account she couldn’t do it. Finally after much digging we learned that the previous counselor had added a recommendation that should have expired but didn’t. They wanted me to sign a release. Problem was that only Diamond Resorts would benefit. I’d be leaving myself open for a big cost jump if I wanted to add on at all.

Finally we came up with a compromise. They would let me move my points from the US collection to the Hawaii Collection. That action removed the previous recommendation but it took forever to get to this point.

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In the meantime, Sandy was still sitting over at the “Shores” waiting for me. I sent her a text telling her I’d be late. Her reply was that the cleaning lady had come by twice. Tara’s boss made a call to the Shores to arrange a late check out. I’d already arranged for early check in at Ka’anapali Beach club (KBC).

Finally the paperwork was done and I was free to get us checked in, pineapple and all.

Next stop was the airport to pick up Cuz Kathy. When we arrived a band was playing to entertain people waiting for their luggage. Kathy’s plane kept getting later and later. First the Starbucks closed down for the night. Then the musicians packed up and left. Still no Kathy!

When she finally arrived she came from the opposite side from where we were expecting her. Needless to say I about jumped out of my skin when she came up behind me.

No matter, we were all together now so let the fun begin!

Bayou Bridge

Posted on November 2, 2016November 2, 2016 by Dusty Roads

When Sandy & I took our vacation to New Orleans we included a City Tour to see the sights. At one rest stop while everyone was in the coffee shop I ran across the lawn to take a photo of a stone bridge that I thought was gorgeous.

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Back home it made my top 10 list for 2015. I stared at it for almost 9 months before I decided it needed to be enlarged and framed. Not to pat myself on the back but I think it came out great and it hangs in a place of honor in my living room.

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Recently I thought I should see if I could locate the name of the park. It was kind of embarrassing to keep saying “Its in a park in New Orleans”.

To my surprise as soon as I googled “parks in New Orleans” I found myself looking at “my bridge”.

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So I didn’t need any guesswork to identify the park. The bridge is the Bayou Bridge and it is located in City Park, New Orleans.

Current Weather Conditions

Some clouds. Low 71F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph.

So Wassup?

Posted on May 15, 2016May 15, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Wow, Things aren’t letting up at all. Last weekend I stole an hour or two to head out with the camera. Still trying to get the hang of this “Raw” stuff. I got a few practice shots but I just wasn’t feeling inspired.

Museum of Natural History, Providence RI

Just a day on a Swan

Then Sunday, Mother’s Day I left Taunton early in the morning to drive to upstate NY to take my mother out for lunch. I can’t tell you how old she is. I am sworn to secrecy but if I have her genes I’ll be around for a long time. My sister went with us to the 99 restaurant where we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch. I was back home by 8 pm.

During the week I confirmed my Maine trip in July with the Audubon Society and started doing the preliminary research for the Maui vacation in November. Then Saturday dawned sunny and warm. The first really awesome day we’ve had in forever!

I had an appointment for an oil change at 10 am. From there I planned to go to the Norton Reservoir where I’d spotted a family of Swans to see if I could get some fun pictures of the cygnets.

I picked up my car after the oil change and headed up RT 44. At the first set of lights the car stalled out! Strange it was running fine when I dropped it off. I started it up and off I went again. A bit farther down the road I got a text message and pulled off into a Dunkin Donuts to reply. Stalled again. What’s going on?

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The last straw was as I pulled up to the reservoir. The engine started shaking and there was a squeeking, clanging kind of sound so I pulled into the parking lot for Norton Liquors and called the service station. They agreed to send a tow truck. While I waited I took a few pictures of the adult swan and the babies.

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Hurry Up.

Once back at the shop we checked the oil and it was clearly fresh and full. After a diagnostic and multiple mechanics looking it over the car was pronounced in dire shape.

It still turned over so they didn’t pronounce it dead but the prognosis was grim.The “lifters” inside the engine were done for. I needed to either replace or rebuild the engine.

It was time to go car shopping.

Hoover Dam

Posted on March 21, 2016March 21, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Day 2 of our Las Vegas visit started cool and bright. We were up early as we had to catch the Hoover Dam tour bus. With the construction going on around Polo Towers, the driver had a challenge maneuvering the big, full sized bus around the sharp corners to the loading area at the West entrance.

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Our Dam guide explained that the strong desire to harness nature’s power drove the human mind and body to build a dam in the hottest, driest area of the United States. People wanting to irrigate low lying plains, known as low desert areas, without suffering from flooding and the battle over water made it obvious to the United States government that the Colorado River was part of the solution and the perfect location was the deep gorge of the Black Canyon of the Colorado.

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As a survivor of the “Big Dig” , Boston, one of the facts that most impressed me was that this giant project came in not only under budget but 2 years ahead of schedule! A consortium called Six Companies Inc. won the right to build the concrete arch dam.

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They created a planned community to house the 5000-man workforce. Miles of street were paved and railroad tracks were laid to connect the canyon-side village to the project site and neighboring Las Vegas. The community, known as Boulder City, is still standing and is one of only 2 cities in Nevada that prohibit gambling. The casinos near the city are actually outside the city limits.

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Our tour took us inside the dam to view the huge turbines that generate electricity for customers in California, Arizona, and Nevada and creates enough power for 1.3 Million people.

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The Bureau of Reclamation, the department subsidizing the project, supplied a whopping 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete for the dam itself, plus another 1.11 million cubic yards for the power plant and additional facilities. This quantity of concrete would be enough to build 3000 miles of road—a full-sized highway from one end of the United States to the other. Additionally, the dam required about five million barrels of cement, nearly equaling the total quantity of cement utilized by the Bureau in its previous 27 years of existence.

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Lake Mead formed behind the high walls of Hoover Dam creating a huge reservoir called the Hoover Dam recreation area. DSC_2432 copy

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The dam, the gorge and lake Mead all combine to make a spectacular vista.

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Las Vegas by Time Share

Posted on March 19, 2016March 19, 2016 by Dusty Roads

When you own a time share they always want to give you updates. It’s a chance for them to try to sell you something more. A plain old update, no sale, is about 55 minutes and you get neat gifts for your time. Sometimes show tickets, sometimes amusement park tickets, it all depends on where you are and what attractions are in the area. I knew in advance that I would get a $100.00 Visa card to use toward a show so I agreed to “have breakfast on Diamond”.

Things didn’t go quite as I planned so suffice it to say I succumbed to an offer I couldn’t refuse. My 55 minutes was more like 5 hours but in the end I was happy and I have reached the level of membership that I was striving for. I will never have to do another purchase again! From now on it will be 55 minute updates.

We were given the VIP treatment from that point on and showered with candy and huge discounts on show tickets and dinners. We ate at Pampas one night. Our bill was $70.00 but we only had to pay $10.00! It’s nice to be a VIP (Gold level owner).

Heavy duty negotiations can really build up your appetite so as soon as we could break free we headed out for lunch. Since we were doing a lot of walking I had brought along a cane “just in case”. Sandy thought that sounded like a good idea as the walking was bothering her back so we headed for the CVS across the street.

One thing about Vegas …it gives new meaning to the phrase “can’t get there from here”. Most intersections won’t let you cross. You have to walk several blocks, cross a pedestrian bridge and then come back to where you wanted to be in the first place.

On the way to CVS we had to pass Bobby’s Burger Palace one of Bobby Flay’s Restaurants.

That was a good place to stop for lunch.

The burgers were excellent. I had a side of onion rings. All I can say is WOW and Bobby Flay is not one of my favorite Celebrity Chefs but now I know why he’s considered to be so good.

After lunch and cane shopping we walked the strip.

We visited the Hershey store, (Yum) chocolate.

And a chocolate Statue of Liberty.

We lingered in New York. Lady Liberty is reinforced Styrofoam.

Leo the MGM Lion on the other hand was hollow but real bronze. The statue weighs 50 tons, and at 45 feet (14 m) tall, on a 25-foot pedestal, is the largest bronze statue in the U.S.