Nov 29-30 Black Friday, Travel Day -Sorta

November 29, 2013

Black Friday here in US, so we decided to go shopping for a bit!  Its crazy, like boxing day in Canada!  But, some great deals were had by all.

LV paper the day before Black Friday. Obviously mostly flyers!

November 30, 2013

It’s a travel day!  Whoo Hoo!  We are off to Anaheim, CA.  (Los Angeles)  

We thought. 

We had a rear inside tire blow out on the MH on I-15. Thankfully we were right at an exit on the interstate so we pulled off and there was a parking lot in front of a Bank that was empty and available for us to park.  Then the calls began, as it was 4:45 p.m. on a Saturday of the Thanksgiving long weekend.  Finally Peter got a hold of someone to come out and service the MH in the parking lot.  We ended up spending the night there. We had already paid for our campsite in Anaheim but decided to spend the night in the bank parking lot. It was free so it all worked out even.
Fortunately the tire was not wrecked and the whole ordeal cost less than $200.  Peter gave the mechanic a $50 tip and offered him a job if he wanted to move to Lloydminster.

Nov 28 Gobble Gobble Give, US Thanksgiving, Santa

It is Thanksgiving here in the USA and we wondered what to do for Thanksgiving, as we really wanted to be of service somewhere.  Peter googled to find out what was going on here in Vegas for opportunities to service and found “Gobble Gobble Give”.  It is a group that meets on Fremont Street each Thanksgiving and volunteers just show up to serve the homeless.

 People arrive carrying their hot food, turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, side dishes, bun, blankets, or canned goods and then help serve those who arrive for food. We also made up 'to go' containers for delivery to many more in need.  It was such an awesome experience!  Apparently they had many more volunteers than the previous year!  God is so great, we loved giving to others and being a part of helping to feed those in need.  

The following are Peter's comments...

'Zac' serving 'Mac' and Cheese

Tammy the "Turkey Tearer" (Terror?)

Tammy's job was to use her hands to pull the meat off the turkey carcass so that not a bit was wasted. I'm sure that would terrorize any turkey.

Genesis served gravy.

Zane and I helped Mike from History Channel's "Counting Cars" load Mike's bus. Mike is the airbrush guy from the show. We helped load the many food containers that volunteers had packed.

 Click to enlarge ...

Mike's Green Horned Bus

On the way out from Gobble Gobble Give I noticed an older lady sitting in her wheelchair crying. I went over and asked her name and if there was anything I could do. She responded that she was just missing her husband who passed  away a little over a year ago. 

Rosie was originally from the Philippines and after the war her then boyfriend said he couldn't leave the Philippines without her. They were married quickly and spent the rest of their life together in the US. She offered to show us her "papers" that she received when she became a US citizen when Reagan was President.

Rosie is a feisty lady. She also told us that she was going to sue the LVPD because they took her to a hospital saying that she needed psychiatric care. She insists that she doesn't. I believe her.

Later in the afternoon we stopped at Bass Pro Shop because the kids had never seen one. We met Santa there and it turns out he lives in the same RV park as us. At least until Dec 25th!

Nov 23 - 27 Vegas

November 23, 2013

More school work and  organizing what the next few weeks hold.  RV parks are busier in California and as I have called a few places, I have found that they are booked and don’t have room for us to camp.  I found an awesome RV park in Anaheim that worked diligently to shuffle things to get us into their park for 2 weeks! Yahoo!!  They could not get us in till after Thanksgiving, so we decided to stay here in Vegas for longer than we originally planned.  But, it has been great to just settle for 10 days and enjoy the facilities here.  Peter and I went out on a date tonight!  We so much appreciate having Zac to do child care for Zane and Genesis!!  It was busy in Vegas and we waited in line for a while to get into a great smorg and enjoyed spending time with one another.   

November 24, 2013

Had a great day at The Church LV!  Terrific worship and message by Benny Perez.  So thankful to spend time and have the freedom to worship the Lord and learn what He is teaching us.  The kids really enjoyed kid's church! 

Nov 25-26

The next few days we hung out at the RV park and just worked on things we needed to get done.  Swimming has been a blessing!  The kids got out and rode their bikes too!  There have been other kids around the campground, so Zac hung out with some kids and played football.  Zane and Genesis met some kids at the pool. Of course the kids also worked on school.

Peter's Story...

I took the motorcycle for a ride to try and find saddlebags for it. I was directed by the Harley dealer into a sketchy part of LV where two different guys came up to me and offered to sell me stuff for cheap prices. I don't hear very well and couldn't quite understand their brand of English so in the end I don't even know what they were trying to sell.

The store was a huge 'biker' leather store and had various leather goods including vests and jackets with hidden pockets to conceal your firearm! 

The sales clerk was quite helpful but all of the saddle bags were on hanging racks above your head. Rather than keep bothering her I just helped myself to a step stool, took down a set, went outside and tried them on the bike. With permission of course! I tried set after set and couldn't quite kind any that fit well. I finally decided to give up and go back to the motorhome. 

Zac had called me saying that he'd locked the keys in the MH and that Tammy, Zane and Genesis were at the pool and they didn't have keys either. Fortunately I had hidden a set so he was able to get in without me having to be there.

Earlier while trying some of the various saddlebags a gent stopped to chat about the Triumph brand of motorcycles and how good the one particular set of saddlebags looked.

When I went to leave, I noticed that the helmet I had sat on the seat of the motorcycle was gone! Of course my mind started to run through various scenarios. Do people not know that you don't mess with a guys motorcycle stuff? What if I caught them in the act and had a concealed weapon? Was it one of the guys trying to sell me stuff? The guy talking about Triumphs? Was it an inside job where they steal your helmet when you're not looking and then sell you a new one?

In the end I realized that I had put the helmet in one of the many saddlebags to see if it would fit. Ugh... With my head shaking in disgust with my overactive imagination I headed back into the store to see which of the 15 or so sets I may have left it in.

November 27, 2013

Peter and I took and opportunity to get a massage and go out for supper!  Peter had the best milkshake he has ever had at the Holstein restaurant in the Cosmopolitan!  For those of you who know Peter, that speaks loudly, as ice cream is his favorite!!