MOre from Our Trip to USA

Day 4 ended with a trip to The Bellagio and a performance of O by Cirque du Soleil.  The performance has been running continuously for 18 years and it was quite simply amazing. Mr Google tells me that it has a cast of 85 acrobats, synchronised swimmers and divers performing in and above a 1.5 million gallon pool.


The water appears to come and go, the skill of the performers and the whole spectacle and magic of the performance combined with the beautiful venue certainly made an unforgettable night!

Who'd have thought - I love Las Vegas!


 
 
But our visit is short Day 5 finds us in our hire car with Melanie in the driving seat heading eastwards.  Initially we took the same route east as our trip to the Grand Canyon.  First up Kingman so Kevin could check out Harleys and Honda motor cycles (a common event on this trip), then on to Hoover Dam.  This time we had the opportunity to walk across the bridge and more time to explore...
 
before heading to Route 66 and the sleepy little town of Seligman where lunch at The Roadkill Café with it's slogan  "You Kill It, We Grill It" certainly sparked our interest.  Although the menu included Deer Delectables, Bad Brake Steak and Fender Tenders I settled for a banana and slice of cake which I will say was the nicest I tasted in my time in the USA, so a big tick from me.  Meanwhile Kevin got lost in a shop selling leathergoods and motorbike gear, he was happy!

 If you've seen the Disney movie cars,  Radiator Springs is actually Seligman! Back when they built interstate highways, Route 66 which runs through Seligman and many other small towns was de-commissioned and all these little towns and many businesses died off.  Now it exists only through tourism, but I've got to tell you it was really quiet the day we were there.

By now it's starting to get late so we headed towards Flagstaff. 











Coming from Central Queensland, it's always exciting when you're driving and you see a snow capped mountain on your left!

We got to Flagstaff on dark, it's a very pretty town with lots of interesting shops (which I would have enjoyed looking through) it's close to ski fields and there's a big university so it's quite a busy place.

We found a lovely little restaurant for dinner, I had pumpkin lasagne and it came with a pretty purple orchid on top that the waiter told me was edible, Melanie couldn't resist it and had to try it!

The "Bellagio"

First up this morning was a visit to the Bellagio to pick up tickets for a show.  The interior of this building is just beautiful.  From the floor to the ceiling it's just beautiful!

I particularly loved their Garden room - apparently the theme for the display gets changed regularly.

The scent from the flowers is incredible.  I loved these 'dolls' completely covered in fresh crysthanemums, on one of my visits (and there was a few) I was there when the gardeners/florists? were carefully replacing the spent flowers!

 

More photos - just because it was so, so pretty!

 

 

 

 

Moving on - that afternoon I discovered the Outlet Shops.  Need I say more - quite a few hours and dollars were spent!  Levi jeans $39.99 a pair, Nike, Assics and lots and lots of fashion stores! Fun, Fun, Fun.

 

Grand Adventure Tour - Day 3

Up early today, to be collected at 6.20am for a tour of the Grand Canyon.  It takes a good few hours to drive there, so this is a big day.

After a drive through the suburbs of Las Vegas first stop for the day is Burger King for breakfast - another first and one I wouldn't choose to repeat, .  We came here with the belief that Las Vegas was only a few streets centred by 'The Strip".  Actually there's about 1.5 million people living there!

On  to Hoover Dam and this structure is amazing.  I've gone through all the photos we took and really can't find one to do it justice, so I googled it to come up with some.  Click on the link - it is a massive structure.  Not only is the Dam impressive, so is the Mike O'Halloran - Pat Tillman bridge built to divert traffic rom driving over the dam itself.

Next stop is Kingman Arizona for fuel and drinks - memorable because we were told that due to climate and terrain this is where Harley Davidson has a test track (important info for Kevin) it's also the home of a large aircraft boneyard.  The countryside, as in a large part of our trip is harsh - very dry and rocky.  Kingman advertises itself as the Turquoise capital of the world and this certainly peaked my interest, the other fun fact our tour guide shared was that Louis L'Amour spent a lot of time in this area (my father-in-law loved reading Louise L'Amour westerns).

We finally reached our destination - the southern rim of the Grand Canyon about 1.30.  I can't begin to describe it.  It is staggering, 277 miles long and an average of 4000 feet deep, the rock formation and colours are incredible.

We stayed until sunset - when it became very cold before heading back to Vegas to arrive back at our hotel about 10.30.  Despite the late hour after such a full day I couldn't relax so I convinced Kevin to take a walk down the strip with me to see the Bellagio fountains once more. Again, I found them entrancing.  My camera skills just can't do them justice, so check out this You Tube link.

Wandering home we had to go past Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, I had to stop.  I have a friend who loves Jimmy Buffett, so with thoughts of Kaz I ordered a Margarita a perfect end to a magical day.

 

I've Been Told This is the City That Never Sleeps - Day 2

What can I tell you?  I thought I didn't want to go there!  I was wrong.  I loved Las Vegas, what a great experience.  There's just so much happening I didn't know where to look.  Wonderful shows to see - we were enraptured by O - Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio.  Shopping malls that just went on and on and if you got tired you could get a gondola ride to relax or take a seat to try your luck at the slot machines, or a drink from any of the numerous bars.  Day or night, there was always something happening.

There seems to be Casinos everywhere and this is the first time I've had to walk through one to get to the Hotel reception! I was really excited to walk into a shop (called Gap) and purchase a pair of jeans that fitted perfectly, no alteration required (another first) and a shirt and another shirt - do I need to say more? The Forum shops adjacent to Caesars Palace just take your breath away.  The statues, beautiful tiles, curved escalator, incredible decoration you just can't take it all in and it seems to just go on and on!

Needless to say, Las Vegas takes on a whole new vitality at night.  The beautiful fountains at the Bellagio, choreographed to music, the volcano at the Mirage that goes off every half hour or so this place is about excess!

 

 

Once again I've been BUSY with No Time to Post --- Until now...

Back in March last year Melanie (daughter) rang and said she’d like to go to Quiltcon and asked if I’d like to go with her?  Would I?  Those of you who know me, know I never miss a chance to get away, and I’ve never been to USA before so I wasn't going to be left at home!  With much excitement I purchased my flights way back in April 2014!  So once again this poor blog and my sewing got neglected while I took on extra shifts at work.

First up, we decided we wouldn’t just go for Quiltcon we’d make it a bit of a holiday,  Kevin (husband) wasn’t going to miss out either, he was coming too!

Early February finds us ensconsed enroute from Sydney to Dallas – 16 hours flight time and greatly amused that we landed in Dallas Fort Worth about an hour before we actually took off in Sydney!

This is the view from the Motel window at the airport.  A beautiful day.  With only a few hours to spend before our flight the next morning the concierge arranged a car and driver to take us to Fort Worth Stockyards.  Not your average taxi service, a beautiful, big shiny black Chev Suburban with all the bells and whistles, darkened windows so we could pretend we were a movie star or someone very important!  It’s a great way to travel.

 

To round out the day, we dined at the Stockyards Hotel and I had my first (and definitely not my last) Margarita.  Yummo!  Melanie & Kevin tried their first plate of Barbecued Texas ribs -

and weren't disappointed – pretty good huh.

 

Middle of November already!

We've even had a couple of nearly 40degree days here, although with the air con it's not too bad.  It did however take a toll on the flowers and shrubs in the garden but that's what happens!

I've started another quilt - this one's been on the back burner for the past couple of years.  Turkish Crush from "Making Quilts ... the promise of Joy" by Kathy Doughty.  I was fortunate to attend Kathy's shop - Material Obsession a couple of years ago when this quilt was on display and I immediately liked it.  This quilt was made for me - I already had Anna Maria Horner fabrics left over from a previous quilt that I could use for the large sections along with a fair stash of shot cottons left over from another quilt project (that I'm still working away at).  I feel very virtuous using up my left overs - I only had to purchase the white, cream and grey quilters muslin for sashings and flying geese.

 Here it is on the design wall - still a way to go. It's quite challenging after many years of aiming for precise points and corners on flying geese to make them 'wonky'.

Meanwhile, my friends Sylvia and Sally took a roadtrip 3 hours west of here with me a couple of Fridays ago to visit Sandy Gray's  The Silver Thimble in Barcaldine.  Sandy's welcome, combined with the gorgeous fabrics made the trip well worth our while!  We had a wonderful day and all came away with many treasures and plans for new projects.  Among my purchases were these two backing fabrics - the one on the left will be put to use in the next week or so on my Dotty Frames quilt, and I'd love to have it finished by Christmas.  It may just become my summer quilt. 

We promised ourselves that we'll go back again next year, but next time we'll make a real trip of it and stay overnight!  Might even invite a few more friends to join us - want to come?


 

Peggy's Quilt

Sadly for me, I'm not able to get to Brisbane for the Qld Quilt Show, so I just checked their website to see the winning quilts.  Here's the link - http://www.qldquilters.com/, be sure to click on the 2014 Quilt Show. 

My friend Peggy's (http://Peggycreates.blogspot.com) quilt was awarded a Judges Choice Award and second in the Professional Applique category.  Very exciting!  Congratulations Peggy it's wonderful to see all your work being applauded in this way.  Here's the link.  I can't wait to see the quilt for myself, so Peggy - please, it's about time to visited your friends in Emerald!

Regards, Bev