It's Going to Be a Long Four Years

Four Days in Las Vegas 2025

I took a cab from my house to Portland International Airport on Friday, January 10.  I had an afternoon flight to Las Vegas traveling First Class.  I had a mimosa after boarding and later a cheese and fruit lunch.  I saw the Sphere upon landing.  My youngest sister met me at the airport.  We watched "Enola" in her Living Room in front of the glowing fireplace. 

I attended the Geocaching Event in North Las Vegas at Old School Pizzeria on Saturday.  I knew a Geocacher from Seattle.  My sister and I stopped at a Grocery store on the way back to her house.  We watched "Enola 2."  My sister gave me an interesting book "Floodpath" by Jon Wilkman c. 2016 about the St. Francis Dam catastrophe in 1928.

We saw the spectacular Chinese New Year display at The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden on Sunday.  We saw the chocolate fountain and had delicious but expensive Gelato.  We did the "Final Resting Place of Two Blues Greats" Virtual Geocache.  We saw actor Tony Curtis gravesite.  We did "The Amazing Las Vegas Sphere" and "Signs of the Times" Virtuals.  Photographed the glowing "Hard Rock Cafe" sign.  We watched Tom Hanks in "Greyhound" back at the house.

Slow start to the day on Monday.  I watched "The Mexican" starring Brad Pitt. We saw the first full moon of 2025 as we were driving toward the Strip.  The 'wolf moon" reached its peak this evening.  European immigrants would hear the nightly cries of wolves as they hunted for food in the harsh winter conditions hence the nickname.  We drove around the Fremont district looking at the Neon.  My sister accidently turned the wrong way onto a one-way street.  The officer used his vehicle to block the street so we could turn around.  We saw the Fremont Street Light Show at 6:00.  We watched "The Children's Train" an adaption of the 2019 novel of the same name back at the house.

After breakfast on Tuesday morning, we took an Uber to Las Vegas airport, leaving for PDX about 12:15.   I had a mimosa after boarding and later a cheese and fruit lunch.  Incredible view of the Cascade Range from Three Sisters to Mount St. Helens.  We took a Lyft to my house.  It was an interesting trip however I was glad to be back to cold/damp weather. 

Road Scholar 2024

When I first began to travel with Elderhostel (now Road Scholar) in 1997 you had to be 60 years old or older.  A few years later you needed to be 55 years old or older. Eventually the age limit was dropped altogether.  As a result the average age of people on a Road Scholar tour is now around 50 years old.  A much more active group.  I plan to check out other tour companies that do cater to older people.  

Travels with my Garmin GPS

I have a large Garmin GPS that I take on car trips loaded with Geocaches - mostly Virtuals.  When I plan to rent a car during a trip I take the Garmin GPS along with me.  I make sure that I rent a car with a flat dashboard as the Garmin GPS sits on a beanbag on the dash.  I also take a Road Map as one should never rely just on a GPS.  During the trip I also use the Garmin GPS to find nearest Starbucks (love their fruit and cheese), McDonalds (for restrooms), libraries (for restrooms, computers, book sales), grocery stores, Hotels I have reserved, etc.  At the end of a trip I will find my way back to the car rental place.  I loaded the coordinates into the GPS before I left the lot. 

Road Scholar Trips Duplicated

Several years ago I wanted to take a weeklong trip to Hawaii.  I checked out the trip offered by Road Scholar.  It was a trip to two islands and rather expensive.  So I made a copy of the Itinerary and the hotel information.  I duplicated just the trip to Oahu, Hawaii.  I hosted a Geocaching Event also.

Two years later I was registered for a Road Scholar trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Because a museum was no longer available Road Scholar cancelled the trip shortly before I was to leave.  So I made a copy of the Itinerary and the hotel information.  I duplicated the trip on my own.

In May 2022, I attended the Road Scholar program in New York City.  After I signed up for the program it underwent several changes.  It became more and more physically challenging i.e. walking tour of Harlem rather than visiting the 9-11 Memorial.  I finally decided rather than getting upset I would just ignore the changes and create my own program. Some things I did with the Road Scholar group and some I did on my own.  I should have bought a t-shirt: "I survived New York City."

Traveling Solo

I am often asked if I travel alone.  I travel Solo but I am never alone except when I retire for the night.  

For years I was constantly asked if my husband lets me travel.  People must sense that he died because they stopped asking shortly after he passed away.

Next year I will complete geocaching in all 50 states by finding geocaches in the last two states: Minnesota and Iowa.  The Challenge Cache is located in Michigan.  I want to find a couple caches in Indiana also.

Cachly App for Geocaching

I have an iPhone 11 Pro.  I prefer and use the Cachly app.  Cachly is a simple and powerful Geocaching app for iOS that includes many advanced features.