Las Vegas and Beyond

As we continued our trek from Orlando to Las Vegas for Richard to have a third eye surgery since he suffered a detached retina, we were constantly amazed at the mercy and grace of our Father in Heaven. Time after time, we were spared problems of weather and the inconvenience and costliness of breakdowns. 

We had a blessed Hanukkah at home, downtown, and at our synagog LevHaShem.

Richard with a giant Menorah in Downtown Las Vegas.

Once in Vegas, we checked into the Thousand Trails Membership Campground where we stay free for 21 days at a time. It was quite crowded with not even enough room between rigs to open the awnings, but  the people were amazingly friendly and helpful. We were in Vegas from October til May alternating three free weeks of camp with one paid week at Kings Row, which I must say was rather dated, but inexpensive and had roomy spaces... 

Richard sharing some cuddle time with Jasper shortly before Jasper succumbed to cancer.

We had volunteered here at the Lake Meade Nat'l. Recreation Area in the 2012-13 season and the 2013-14 season, so our recent stay was like a homecoming. During our first stay we adopted our dog Bingo from the Animal Foundation, and since our 25-year old cat succumbed to cancer while we were in Vegas this time, and we were all lonely, Bingo, Richard and I, so we adopted another furry family member, Baby Girl. She is elderly and had been abused but is learning that people can be loving and gentle. 

Baby Girl's contented face. She's not pretty, but she's sweet as can be.

The VA linked Richard up with Dr. Matthew Pezda, one of the leading retina surgeons in the country, and the surgery seemed to go well... however, as before, there was a bleeding problem which later proved to cause blindness in the center of vision. So, in spite of a six-month convalescence, he has peripheral vision in his right eye, but no central vision. 

Sharing a Passover table with old friends and new.

In spite of the disappointing results, our stay was greatly blessed. Especially dear was returning to our Las Vegas synagog Lev HaShem. And it was hardest to leave these precious souls we have loved so long. At least we did get to share both Hanukkah and Passover with them.

Real snow in a town of wonderful fake scenes.

We always try to poke around any place we visit and to experience it's uniqueness. We  visited  car show, trains, The Strip, some colorful monoliths in the desert, etc. Sometimes there are surprises, like the record-breaking snowfall that led local school systems to cancel classes for a "Snow Day!" 

My father Edgar Snider worked on this. It was called the Hoover Dam back then.

We are especially fond of the Lake Meade area where my Dad lived and worked for a time and where we volunteered.

A stop on our way to Soledad Canyon at the NV-CA state line.

Thousand Trails (where we stay free) at Soledad Canyon, CA

  

Exploring in California on my "Harley."

In the midst of our Vegas stay, we went to California for a month. We had plenty of time to explore around Soledad Canyon. It's such a blessing to have this scooter our kids got together and bought me.

While Medicare offers to provide a free "Health Coach" and other supportive services most of us don't need, they no longer seem to care if people need assistive mobility. 

We took a 5-day family cruise out of Long Beach, CA and it was wonderful!

While there, we sailed out of Long Beach. So wonderful to see so many loved ones. 

Phony anniversary prank.

As usual, our kids know how to have a good time. One daughter arranged for us all to dine together at two large adjacent tables. One night most of them decided to prank the eldest brother and his wife by telling the wait staff it was their anniversary (It wan't) And everyone had a great laugh. Note the big bow the staff made for our son.

Richard takes the little dogs on a walk at Lake Meade while our friends, the pros clean our motorhome.

We were especially blessed by special friends before we left. A therapeutic message and a professional house cleaning job made things so much easier for us. Sadly, we did not get such good service from the man we paid to clean the exterior of the motorhome. Perhaps we shouldn't have let him know we were leaving town, LOL

Heading northeast...

So now we are off to Colorado for a graduation and then to Utah for a wedding. The catch? These two. blessed events are one day and 550 miles apart.