To make our trip even better, Linda and I had spa pedicures. Thuy’s brother owns a nail shop and we were treated to this special pedicure. You even get warm wax rubbed on your feet at one point. It was divine. If you’ve never had one get out and get one. Even if your feet are ugly, as mine are, they don’t care. You probably should leave a bigger tip if they are ugly though.
WOW!!! No, we didn’t ride in this one. Just posing
I love this picture Linda took of the Paris from across the street. Too bad the fountains weren’t going, huh Ray?Oh, there’s the fountains. Are you happy now Ray?One more picture of the beautiful chandler’s. I wonder how often they have to clean them?An interesting fact as you wait to go in the magic show.And two picture Linda took of the Conservatory at the Bellagio hotel. They got up way early and walked through it. I think they are stunning. One with darkness and one with brightness.
I mentioned before about the new restaurants in the hotel. I only got a picture of the Vanderpump. I loved the decor but we never ate there. It wasn’t open but Linda snuck in and I took her picture. It looks like it could be Lisa Vanderpump of ‘Real Housewives’ fame sitting there.
so, it’s back to the real world now. No more espresso martinis for breakfast, no more two meals a day at MonAmiGabi. No more Vegas shows to go to. No more sticking our fingers in noses. But we have our good friends next door to reminisce about our wonderful trip and thank for our wonderful trip, for years to come.
thanks for following our adventures-I love that you tag along and leave me comments😁
You’re right Sharon, that’s al I can say is “WOW” “
We started out the day with a great breakfast at ~ MonAmiGabi. Where else can you have a Espresso Martini with your bananas foster crepes? And a anniversary chocolate eclair for desert. A great way to start the day.
it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being in our favorite place with our favorite people. Thank you F&L.
Our tattoos weren’t until 2, so we had time to do the one, and only, time we gamble. We pick a $1 progressive machine for all of us and we put in $21 each. That gives us each 7 pulls with a $3. bet. We see who can win the most. Jerry ended up with $31. But if you count the $21 bet, that’s only $10. I had $30 so really only $$9. You can see our last hand on the machines. By mistake, I picked a machine that you could bet 5 instead of 3. We could have won more with those hands on the other machine. Frank and Linda, we’ll, they lost it all. It was still a lot of fun.
He’s feeling so smug~over a measly $1
So now it’s time to get our tattoos, to catch up with the four we didn’t get because of Covid.
We couldn’t get the guy that did the original tattoo, so our artist was Chico. His eyelids were even tattooed.
There’s plastic wrap covering the tattoo so it looks funny. By the time we see all of you they will be healed. The heart, instead of a star, is for our 60th year together. WOW! How did we accomplish that?
We had a early dinner at MAG as we started referring to it that night. We had steak. Soooo gooood. We were all happy campers. Even my espresso martini was smiling. It looks like Ziggy, don’t you think Celia?
Our friendly waiter showed us a picture of a street he passes by all the time. Cute huh? We didn’t see as many Elvis on the sidewalk this time. But there were a lot of these beauties.
we were treated to a comedy and magic show after dinner. It was right next door at Ballys.
He did a lot of standard tricks which were even more amazing seeing them so close up. A lot of card tricks you can’t figure out how it’s done. This trick his wife who help’s out and a audience member to check it out, watch as the magician gets in the box. She gets on top then pulls up the cover and she ends up in the box and he’s on top of the box. It was an old trick but great to see it live. It happens so fast. WOW! He’s telling jokes and engaging the audience as he performs. Funny and entertaining.
It was another marvelous day. Thank you again F&L. I hated to see it end. But as they say “all good things must come to an end”. It was a fantastic 4 days. We love you💗
We look forward to our home cooked anniversary dinner with you tonight. I’m so happy Mike and Rosemary are joining us.
I have another adventure on a Duffy boat to share.
This was a trip of a lifetime. An all expense paid whirlwind excursion of one of our favorite places, the “city that never sleeps”. Our neighbors of 33 years and best friends, Frank and Linda, treated us for our 60th wedding anniversary. WOW!
Our first stop was the Cracker Barrel in Apple Valley for lunch. Everyone probably knows by now how much we love Cracker Barrel. So I was thrilled when Frank suggested we stop there for lunch. It was as delicious as ever.
After a pit stop and then a Starbucks stop, and of course, a gas stop, it was straight to the strip. Straight to the Paris Hotel
that’s MonAmiGabi in front where we ate four times. WOW!
checking in, look at that chandelier WOW!
Frank did all the driving this trip which Jerry appreciated so much. He used valet parking so there was no schelpping to and from the parking garage. We even took a taxi once. WOW!
That first night we ate at ‘Emerils’ the chef known for his catch phrase -‘BAM’- at the MGM. You know the one don’t you? Right, that one. There are so many chef named/inspired restaurants there now. look who’s at the Paris.
The MGM is where the CirqueDuSoliel’s ‘KA’ was performing. We were treated to front row seats of this spectacular, entertaining and awe inspiring show. We all loved and enjoyed it.(Check out the trailer on line).
You can’t take pictures of the show so Linda got a few before it started. The theater was huge. WOW!
The next morning we had a great breakfast at MonAmiGabiand then headed to the south outlet mall. Linda was wanting to find the Williams Sonoma outlet store. But it was no longer there. Dissapointed, we headed back to Planet Hollywood to make our tattoo appointments for the next day. We had lunch in the ‘Miracle Mile shops, and then headed back to the Paris for cocktails. We sat at a nice open air bar where you can see all the action going on around you.
We were having so much fun Frank bought us another round of drinks. As we sat there, we could see every type of person, all looking and checking out the machines, trying to find that one that’s going to hit a jackpot. But you can’t tell anymore when they do. there’s no bells going off, no one yelling “i won”. I kinda miss that sound and also the money hitting those metal trays. It’s unmistakable. Right?
I love the ceiling in the Paris
We got called into eat and sat on the patio of MonAmiGabi, at the rail, looking at the fountains of the Bellagio. WOW! Jerry and I got our favorite meal, the skate, it was delicious. We all enjoyed our food and people watching again, as they walked by on the sidewalk – all looking up at the Eiffel Tower.
It’s the city that never sleeps, but of course we did have to sleep. We said our good nights and headed to our rooms.
As always, thank you for all your comments. I enjoy them as much as writing the posts. this post is just a few things I was thinking about and pictures I took, and wanted to share them. I make no claims as to my ability to do this, but if only one thing might interest you, then you might come back to see more next time.
Here it is Martha loved doing my birthday puzzle.Not easy nor extremely hard. Just right 💗my cupboards are that same green. I’d love to have that many cats if you didn’t have to clean a cat box, make that boxes. I count 91/2 cats.
this is the textbook hairy balls plant. I love ours in the front yard. I see people looking and pointing at it all the time.
mine had looked like the picture above, but it’s shedding it’s seeds now. in fact It’s time to cut it back. thought you neighbors might want to be on the lookout for seedlings in your yard next year. those seeds can travel far on a breeze.
I like both paragraphs on this.
did you smile?how about now?
We recently took a nice drive and went to the Korean friendship bell in San Pedro with Frank and Linda. we also had lunch at the fish market restaurant in ports of call, the only building left standing. A brand new waterfront development is taking the old ports of call space. I’m anxious to see what they build, we spent many hours there when the kids were young.
mooching for fries -that’s the USS IOWA in the background. they give tours
I recently came across this article about chicken. Jerry has never adhered to the 2hour window to put leftovers in the fridge. So I asked ‘Siri’ to take a screenshot of it (I love that feature)to show him. Also rinsing chicken is not recommended now. I remember my mother telling me always rinse your chicken. But I quit doing it awhile back. I think chicken might be handled better at the packing plants now.
did you guys know this-
remember the post about Lincoln park in Long Beach? We’ll, they have decided to go ahead and change the name. I have some negative thoughts about that, but we haven’t been to that park in years, and by this time next year I will have forgotten all about it. I wonder where they will put that big penny?
just got the news from Hannah and Javier. They are very excited and happy it’s a girl. we are just as excited and ecstatic for them, and for giving us a great-granddaughter💗
her tiny little hand is waving hi to them, such detail of the fingers already. The foot has tiny little toes.too. This technology is incredible. You can bond with your baby much sooner than we did in the 60’s. And be able to buy the appropriate baby clothes.
This is a 3-D ultra-sound. You can see the baby on the far left. At first it looks like a abstract face. Focus and you can see the body and legs. This is so exciting.
I’ve been wondering if I was ever going to get to buy those cute little precious, frilly, pink, adorable baby clothes. It’s been 17-18 years since Emily and Amy were born. And they didn’t like frilly clothes. Too itchy. Hannah didn’t either. I hope she wants them for her baby cause she’ll be getting some from me.
Hannah, all the best to you and Javier. Smooth sailing all the way. Can’t wait until we can come up. It’s been so long since we’ve seen you.
THE HAPPY COUPLE WHO’S NEXT?
Just kidding of course. 😂😂😂
find the right person first, have a long celibate engagement, and then get married.
This is the garden, J.Woeste’s, I mentioned in the Buellton post. We discovered it a long time ago. Now it’s like entertainment to walk through its aisles of garden art and cacti and marvel at the creatively and skill or the artists. Even though it basically stays the same, there are always so many new things.
take a walk with me……….and feel my joy……..no words needed
A RECENT PUZZLE SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST-THOUGHT OF YOU MARTHA⬆️
Hope you enjoyed seeing these works of art as much as we did. I would have loved to buy something big, but it’s so hard to stay within a budget or within reason. I did buy this little ladybug to remind me of the trip to sit on the kitchen counter.
no gender reveal yet. another ultra-sound on the 10th.
this is so exciting.
we’re adding another generation.
can’t wait for these times with your baby
you are going to be a great mom, just like your mom and gramma.
hannah and javi haven’t decided on a name yet
but I have picked mine, gi-gi, short for great-gramma
congratulations hannah and javi. sending all our love and prayers for a stress free pregnancy and delivery. and after the news is out lots of people will be sending there’s too.💗gramma and grampa
stay tuned for more news and definitely more pictures😊I’m head over heals excited🙃
I think I’m going to call our house ~~ “J&J’S Memory Madness Museum”
Our house does tell a story of our life, who we are, where we’ve been, what we like. It just kind of worked out that way, since I like my possessions out where I can see them, not packed away in a box or drawer. That’s just me. So by happenstance, everyone else sees them too. I like things orderly so it doesn’t seem like clutter in my mind. Getting older, I like the convenience of having things in sight and reach too. don’t you? Our office was once a sewing room. Then, I wanted a place to put patterns, notes, projects, reminders, and the like, in plain sight, not in a pile somewhere. So I asked Jerry, and with Tony’s help they attached a sheet of metal on the wall to put magnets on. What better way to to see those things. It soon became a landing place for mementos, pictures, recipes, things to do and the like. What a connivence it was and still is!
you may see a cluttered wall here, but I see – a one of a kind-personalized-wall paper, or a giant bulletin board.⬇️ and It’s time to take a few things off and make room for new things. More stuff removal.
below are a few items from ‘the wall’.
⬆️a by-plane ride Tracy got us, a DC3 airplane ride Tony got us, our 50th Elvis encounter, the cats from the neighbor hood we helped rescue, a Cher concert ,the itinerary of a 3day fantastic trip to Alisal for a b.b.q weekend with the hitching post crew
this is a newspaper clipping of ⬇️something I did for Jerry, and one ⬇️Tony did for me
I sent in a picture of our cat ‘baby’ to this calendar⬇️and they published it
⬆️I’d like put our dining room table like this in the dining room window – we saw the northern lights in Death Valley.⬆️
⬇️Looks like Midas with Cher – and yes I have that album from 1974⬇️
This was a special treat to see ⬆️Woody Allen at the New York Carlyle. ⬆️ And to see Sam Harris anywhere was great.
it’s mostly mementos now, ⬇️but I still put idea’s up too. That mirror project is happening soon
So that’s a peek at my fabulous wall. I love that it reminds me of so many wonderful memories we’ve been blessed with.
now what can I take down???
Stay tuned for our trip to Reno
💗jilly
p.s. I forgot about that Long Island iced tea we had at northwoods inn Martha. I guess it’s true what they say about alcohol, it eats brain cells and causes memory loss and only takes 5 minutes to reach your brain.
abalone shells are one of my favorite shells to find, but it’s rare to find a whole shell. lots of people collect them because you just can’t walk by one and not pick it up. people collect them to sell also, just look at Amazon. I’ve only found a couple in tact so far, and lots of bits and pieces. I’ve bought a few at thrift stores, and one in hawaii. I have a lot buttons in my collection made from the mother of pearl. They make jewelry out of it also. Some of you may have them on your clothes or in your jewelry box.
abalone can live over 30 years, if a sea otter doesn’t get them first. it’s a staple in their diet. it’s pretty much a delicacy all over the world. I’ve never eaten it and don’t really want to even try it. have any of you tried it and liked it? it doesn’t look very appealing here.
I WONDER HOW MUCH THAT ABALONE STEAK WOULD COST
I removed the abalone shells from my ‘stuff shelves’ to find another place to put them. I’d like to have them outside, but afraid they might disappear out front on our beach, like they do on the real beach’s. they are all so similar – yet so different. my collection ~~
IT’S ALMOST A HEART INSIDETHE OUTSIDE OF THE SHELL IS NOT AS PRETTY AS THE INSIDE
as you probably noticed, you can’t talk about abalone shells without mentioning sea otters. we’ve seen many in Monterey bay pounding the shell on a rock – they’ve put on their chest – to open it. abalone is a staple in their diet, and they keep the sea urchin population in check, which improves the kelp forest and gives abalone more to eat. the sea otters on the California coast, from point conception in Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz, have increased for the first time since they were so heavily hunted in the ‘40s and ‘50s.
Since 1985, this has been one of our favorite places to watch the otters, the dining room of the Green Gables Inn. It’s in Pacific Grove near Monterey and within walking distance to the aquarium. The breakfasts are fabulous and wine hour is so enjoyable. We made countless trips there over the years and were fortunate to have a 6 day vacation for our 25th anniversary.
I never got a good closeup picture of the otters from the Inn. I wish we had those binoculars that took pictures back then. This is a google photo. Aren’t they cute?
We loved the otters so much we bought this painting in one of the galleries in town on that anniversary trip. We even met the artist there.
we’ll, thanks for staying until the end – and I’ve only scratched the surface, I sometimes get carried away on subjects that interest me
This is one of our favorite places to eat, in Buellton, and this is one of my favorite pictures to take. You’ve seen this picture more than once on this blog. we always request the table, to get this view, watching our food cook, by these chefs, who have been our friends for awhile now. They cook the best steak you will ever taste. The restaurant has the notoriety of being in the movie Sideways, with Paul Giamatte and Thomas Haden Church. There’s a picture in the bar with the stars, and the top picture is of the owner, Frank, that gave Jerry his hat. It was too dark for a good picture.
If you’re ever up that way, pass Split Pea Andersen’s, for a ways, and then pull into the Hitching Post parking lot. If you get to the ostrich farm, you’ve went too far. I departed from steak this visit getting the Ahi Tuna. All I can say is ‘delicious’! On the second night, yes we ate there twice, I got the best Santa Maria style baby back spareribs you’ll ever find. Jerry stuck to the filet and then tried the rack of lamb. Both delicious. My pictures aren’t blog worthy, again too dark. But look at the size of the tuna, and I had already eaten half. I had my first Long Island Iced tea since surgery. Yumm.
they now have a wine tasting room right next door to the restaurant.
A LITTLE HUMOR OUTSIDE ~ FRANK AND HIS SOUS CHEF BRAD
We had the nicest server. I did the tasting and had the best time. Bought 4 bottle’s.
for all you cat lover’s, she showed me her cat, and I showed her Midas.I forgot how much it weighs, but it was a lot.
they always let us spend the night in their parking lot. We were the last ones in the restaurant at closing, and we were a little tipsy, didn’t have to drive, so the manager walked us to the coach. 🤭🤗it was a fun evening
Since we were staying another night we drove into Solvang Friday. we wanted to get aebleskivers, a round ball shaped danish pancake, but the cafe that made them is gone. It’s a lost art. So we went to the last thrift store in town, and then drove to los olivos, only 5 1/2 miles north. They have a nursery that is my cup of tea.
We spent a lot of time looking at everything. Jerry is so patient with me, and he likes that stuff too. and there are plenty of places to sit. I took a lot of pictures that are probably of interest only to me, but it’s my blog and I’ll post what I want to – and hope you enjoy them too. The creative items they have are offering an outlet for artists to show and sell their creations.
but that’s a post for another day.
I finished the puzzle that Tracy got me for my birthday. Here it is Tracy, loads of fun putting together. I’m working on the one from Martha now.
This is a new one from a thrift store. I failed to look closely at the poster before I started it, just looking at the box. Long story short, I discovered the puzzle was true to the poster but not the box. The puzzle actually has three more doors on the right and they are duplicates of three others. Do you see that? I discovered it when pieces wouldn’t fit.😵but I loved doing it.
Here’s a couple other’s I’ve completed. I liked this one because of the cherry trees.
This is a picture of my female cousins, not sure of the year. You know them from comments on the blog. Sharon – Celia – me – Martha – and Teddie, who unfortunately is no longer with us.
I liked this puzzle because it could possibly portray us cousins in old age. I want to be the lady in front of the window. How about you guys? That’s Teddie on the left, still young and watching over us. I’m not sure about the baby, but I have an idea?
it was nice to get away for a couple of days. We had fun and only had one traffic jam. Right after passing lax for about a half hour and that was it. I thought we would hit beach traffic for sure on a Saturday afternoon on highway 1, but it looked like everyone was still on the beach. It was smooth sailing all the way.
Once in awhile-now and again-this is us 