Making Memories: February 2012

February 20, 2012

The Desert Bar

Our winter just wouldn't be complete without a trip or two to the Desert Bar, in Parker, AZ. Denis and Janine (Ontario) picked us up this morning and we drove the two hours to get there. It was a beautiful sunny day and we really enjoyed our outing.

We listened to the band "Hard Rain', who hail from Los Angeles, and play every President's Day weekend at the Desert Bar. Well, the music was fantastic - good old rock and roll - a mix of music from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Very talented group of musicians.

We can never believe how much this place changes each year. This being our 5th year visiting the Desert Bar it was interesting to see all the additional seating areas. This area you are viewing is the newest - they now have the stage down in this huge wash....They had a New Years Eve party this past year and we heard there were over 3,000 in attendance!!

And this is a new attraction - they were offering helicopter rides from the open space behind the bar area.

People from all over come to visit this bar that is located in the middle of nowhere - 5 miles into the desert down a dirt 'path'. Here is a group from northern Alberta - a little town called Falher, which is only a short distance from where I lived for 30 some odd years (Grimshaw, AB). As it turns out we know some of the same people. It sure is a small world!

We spent the afternoon, sipping, listening and visiting and as we were leaving we had to have our picture taken in front of the chapel 'facade' in the parking lot.

We stopped at a well recommended micro-brewery pub called "Mudsharks" in Lake Havasu on our way back to Bullhead City. There we had dinner and sampled the beers they make.

Very interesting flavors!

Just give me a Coors Light and clamato - I'm happy with that!!

We had a great day - great entertainment with great friends!!

February 12, 2012

Gold Fever!!

We joined the Colorado Treasure Seekers and today we went for the first time on an actual "dig". We all met up at 10:00 a.m. and headed the four miles into the desert toward the foothills east of Bullhead City. There were at least 40 cars in our caravan to the dig site.

There was a very good turn out for this outing - at least 80 people.

Before we got digging, they explained the different "dry washers' that would be used to sift through the dirt.

Here Michel is digging while Jef looks on. Jef is a neighbour and friend in our RV Park.

Here Michel is scooping the dirt into the dry washer. The dry washer shakes the dirt and because gold is heavy it settles into the bottom pan. Very dusty!

Then you need to pan what is left at the bottom of the dry washer. Swirling water around between two pans until we're left with only the black sand.....

When all is said and done - the gold is in the pan!!!

Gold is pretty scarce in these parts and the specks are pretty small, but everybody got gold today! Made for a happy group of gold diggers......

January 27, 2012

Last night on board the Costa Atlantica. It's TOGA NIGHT!! Tomorrow morning we'll be in Miami, our cruise will be over, and we'll be heading back to Bullhead City. BUT I'm sure we all would agree that we had a great time. Great food! Great friends!! Looking forward to the next one.......

We didn't all dress in togas. There were three poopers in our group. But here is a picture of us that did.....

And if you look over the railing, there are quite a few people who really planned for this night, though this picture was taken at the end of the evening, most everyone had already gone, and the tables were set up for the next sitting.....

January 27, 2012

NASSAU, Bahamas

Nassau is the busiest port in the Bahamas, with a constant stream of yachts and cruise ships arriving and leaving. There are many beautiful sandy beaches nearby, both on New Providence Island and on Paradise Island, connected by a bridge from Nassau. Cost to cross the bridge: $1.00 US for scooters.

Today we all met up for breakfast, but got off the ship at different times, so Michel and I were on our own. We rented a scooter and began our tour.

Driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, we set our sights on Atlantis. There is an interesting story behind the sunken city of Atlantis, too wordy for my blog, but you can google it if you haven't heard it before. The resort is quite the sight to see. We wandered around taking pictures, looking like the typical tourists. And we weren't alone.... there were hundreds of others doing the same thing.

This is the back area. We weren't allowed in that part, had to have a room card!

This is the front as we were entering.

We got a parking violation while we were there - not a ticket, but a nice big red sticker plastered on the front of the bike with 'parking violation' written on it. We had parked by two other scooters, but they were gone when we got there, and our scooter was moved onto the sidewalk. Who knew???

Next stop, opposite direction, this little daquiri stand, at the sight of the caves.

Had to have a smoothie - the best smoothie I've EVER tasted. It's made with fresh fruit - banana, canteloupe, strawberries - and a rum called Fire-In-Da-Hole Exotic Rum. YUMMM..... This is the guy who owns this little stand. I think he does quite well. It sure was busy when we got there.

It couldn't be all bad, selling smoothies by the road across from the beach!!!

So here I am enjoying my smoothie!!!

Then we took a look inside the cave. It's not a big cave, but we took a few picures. There is a big develolpment going up just behind these caves called "The Caves" - go figure? They are huge, expensive condos. This cave below looks far more affordable to me!

Our scooter had to be back by 2:00 and it's always surprising at how fast time flies by. We drove from one end of the island to the other, but it was time to head back. Nassau is rich in history, tradition, charm and folklore. One day just wasn't enough to see it all!

January 25, 2012

Our itinerary called for a stop in Roatan, Honduras on January 24th, but the ocean was too rough to bring the ship to the dock, and far too rough to use the tender boats, so we cruised on. It was gala night, so we all got dressed for dinner. Here we are toasting Steve and Doreen for their 40th Wedding Anniversary. It was nice to have a set time for dinner each night. It gave us a time to meet up, if we hadn't seen each other during the day.

After dinner and the show we just kicked back, relaxed and had a nightcap in Steve and Doreen's cabin.

Cozumel, Mexico

Today, January 25th, we spent the day in Cozumel, Mexico. The island of Cozumel is one the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It attracts an estimated 20 million people a year, keen to enjoy the beautiful beaches and excellent diving. Our plan was to rent a jeep, but because the turtles were laying their eggs we were unable to go off-road so we rented a van and toured the island.