Temple Time...this time in Dallas,Texas

I declared this to be my most spiritual visit to a temple.  We had an adventure on toll roads where we didn't know where to pay and back roads that had overhanging branches that "tickled" us as we passed.  But, as usual, it was incredibly satisfying to complete an ordinance for someone who wanted it...for sure.  I just missed the 1 o'clock session, but several sisters asked if I wanted to do initiatory... and they were so excited when I replied, "I certainly did".  The love flowed...and I met Phyllis Stott from Louisiana.  She and her husband drove 3 hours to work in this temple...and more than loved doing it.  She completely broke down as she tried to help me in the new-name booth.  I wasn't sure what was happening, as she cried and apologized with, "This is so unlike me."  How wonderful it was to know Aunt Marie was there.

There is no finer destination on this earth than a Temple of our Lord.  I am extremely grateful for this day in Dallas.

Go to Church in San Felipe, or Play in Vegas?

We are having breakfast in the church parking lot, which also serves as a basketball court.  I forgot to pack my dress, but of course no one minded.  What a treat!....both the breakfast and the Sacrament Meeting...which turned out to also be a testimony meeting....as it was New Year's Day.  We toasted 2012 with glasses of premium fresh-squeezed from a street vendor and gobbled up giant cookie-breads from the local paneria.  San Felipe had a new LDS chapel, sitting like a light up on a hill.  In fact, one of the members (a Catholic from the Bronx) told how it had drawn her inside where she found truth after truth and asked the missionaries to explain how that can be.  It turned out to be modern revelation through modern prophets.  This woman gave up everything, including her family (who rejected her and her baptism) to follow Jesus Christ. 

Luke 18:29-30 reads:  "There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting."

With a prayer for safety, and a carload of Chinese-Mexi food, we crossed the border at Mexicali (the only city in Mexico with a real "China Town").  Beggars worked the lines of waiting cars, so we shared our stir-fried and the rest of our pesos with them.

 Newel, the machine, drove straight to The Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, where we were dazzled by rows of chandeliers and tanks of brilliant tropical fish.  Our new rooms were so posh we didn't want to touch anything.  So we just stared at the opulence and curled up in the most comfy beds we'd ever met.  It was the formula for perfect, instant sleep.

Monday morning was a bit chilly for a swim, so we started off with the hot tub.  That's Maya in the Tinkerbell suit.  She flew everywhere, even down the twisting, see-through water slide that zipped through the shark tank.  Here Daddy tried to keep up.

Amazing! Once we were warmed from the hot tub, it was into the pool to swim with the sharks. With your nose pressed to the tank it really was just like you were swimming with these giants...with no scuba gear required. Perfect for a claustrophobic. It was enthralling...really! Arden is at the firepit, getting some BTUs...then back to shooting the shark tank on the slide.

 

Engineer Newel had to get back to his project and Arden needed to get himself back in school... so what do we do without them? Why relax on the giant stuffed lounges and take pictures of shiny buildings and then climb them to get "aerial" views of downtown Las Vegas and the "original strip".

I struck gold!  "The Hand of Faith" was right in the lobby, all along.  This is the biggest nugget known at 61 lustrous pounds.  How did the Golden Nugget ever afford to buy it?  RU kidding?  Bob talked one gambler into quitting while she was ahead, but most seem to think their faith in their bets will make them winners.  Read more about this nugget here.  So did I gamble?  No.  But I did put money in a slot once on a field trip with some of my Earth Science students.  I was trying to give a lesson on what a waste of money it is, and the pull of the handle resulted in the sound of coins dropping and students laughing.

Swimming with Sharks ...in Las Vegas?

My New Year's Resolution:  Go down the 3-story water slide.  I've never been down even a 2-foot water slide in my life.  Bob nixed the idea:  "Act your age; you'll break your back and be an invalid for the rest of your life!"  Actually I was only worried about my feet.  If I don't keep them perfectly warmed, I get frost bite...that's how inferior my circulation is.  But it's a new year, and it's time to stop living in fear (my miserable enemy).  When Bob wasn't looking, I did it!!  When I came up from the water I realized all kinds of fears had been washed away.  The sharks had liberated me!!

I took off exploring (on my own).  Upstairs was another pool with in-water lounges, surrounded by double beds, complete with pillows.  Need I say this was an "adults only" area? 

It could be busy during the day, but I found out "The Retreat" was open late.  When the sun was setting, I had the pool and cabanas to try out all on my own.

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I hastened through the casino next, trying to hold my breath to limit the damage from second-lung smoke.  Outside the half-dome cover over Fremont Street was lit up with ads.   Zip-line enthusiastics went by squealing overhead.  I was invited to be a street magician's assistant.  Fun.  He was from Switzerland and was loaded with charm and talent.  Then I watched spray paint artists create fascinating art with unimaginably quick strokes and clever shielding of areas they wanted free from an added color.  But I was undeterred in my quest.  Focus, Eileen... focus.   I wanted to find... chocolate...the darker the better.  Walgreen's had just the fix I needed.

I couldn't resist taking the above picture of this Fremont Street classic. You really can eat free if your are 350 pounds (minimum). "Nurses" are your waitresses, because you will clog every available artery with the food they serve. At the "Heart Attack Grill" you have to walk in on your own, but they have an ambulance to assist in your departure.  As glitzy as Vegas gets, I kept being drawn back to the shark tank and the giant aquarium at our Rush Tower registration desk.  It had a wondrously well-designed, high-end restaurant wrapped around behind the aquarium.   It beckoned to me each time I walked by.  The fish and I became fast friends, as we had to stay for 3 days before we could get a plane.  They raised the price of our room $20 each day we stayed.  Intertesting.

With plenty of time, I made a movie of Las Vegas chandeliers.  Really!  Ask me, and I'll share it.

I took one last swim, but this time all of the way around the shark tank.  I thought the water would be cooler on the back side (the shaded part of the pool) but it wasn't.  The coldest part was standing under one of the water falls.  I hadn't been swimming in so long...it was a truly FREEing experience.

Below is the poster the hotel has hung outside to lure visitors in.  Come shoot the tube!

We finally flew out...to Minneapolis and then to Orlando.  We flew right over our kids' home on Lake Fredrica.  What a beautiful sight.  Let's play tigers and go fish on the dock!

Saguaro Cacti fill Valley of the Giants

Hey, hombre...  Necesitamos bebidas...we need lots of liquid refreshment for our trip into the desert in search of the world's largest cactus.  It's Christmas vacation, and we want to be alive to meet year 2012.

We followed a dirt road to a rusty piece of metal fence guarded by a cartoonish Mexican pirate who took $10 to let us pass.  "Dirt roads" in the area of San Felipe are really loose sand tracks, so the level of interest was high in whether we'd survive the trip.  But since Mexico chopped down the biggest cactus (17 meters high and 10 tons heavy) and shipped it to Spain in 1992 for the International Exposition, Rancho Punta Estrella has become a curiosity.  How did something so big grow here on this dry, dry Rancho?  Time....maybe 200 years of it.  How did it get to Spain?  On a Russian jumbo jet.

The natives love the fruit of the Gigantic Sahuaro.  It tastes like a fig and is juicy.  So the Papago Indians learned to dry it, make candy, marmalade, syrup and alcoholic beverages...used as "ceremonial wine".  But you have to beat the coyotes, ants and birds, who also love to feast on it.  A Saguaro produces 20 to 40 million seeds in its lifetime but is lucky to get a baby or two out of it.  Saguaros grow slowly and need the protection of a "nurse plant" such as a bush or small tree when they are young. It takes about 15 years for a young saguaro to reach one foot in height, and 40 years to reach ten feet in height. It is about then that they begin to bloom.

The gatekeeper gave us a sheet that said it took 50 years to grow as tall as our son, Newel, and 75 years before it gets arms and produces its first seeds.  So we made a game of trying to guess how old the above baby saguaros might be. 

We did some cross-country hiking, which made us water hungry, so we put in some beach combing time.  Karen was going to use her special shells to decorate picture frames...which is a great souvenir idea.

We continued our journey along the beach and got a lesson on how to quickly separate a fish from its bones.  It made us hungry enough to stop for hot chocolate and deep-fried churros.  The drink was as thick as honey and the churros were dense with well-used grease.  Within 30 minutes I was not well, but everyone else was ready to start eating all over.

 

Visiting San Felipe, Mexico......Risky or Fine?

Posh, huge suites, all brand-new.... on a beach without boundaries filled with shells and sea treasures...would you say San Felipe's Playa Del Paraiso has it all?

 While we kids played in the sand and attempted to identify the parts of dismembered crabs, the parents checked out the suites a bit more carefully.

Ahhhh...all rooms have balconies with views out over the infinity pool to the sea.  And look at the perfect red tiled floor!      Well....Ok, maybe the pool is more exciting.

We walked the streets and checked out all of the rooms at each resort.  We should seriously rewrite the San Felipe chapter in the Lonely Planet Baja Guide.  We finally settled on El Cortez as the best value for the money...and the best location for seeing everything on foot.  Not having to buckle the kids in a car to see the sights is always fine.

The Malecon (pictured above) was just a bit up our private beach.The shops and vendors (especially the carts with fresh food) make the waterfront an exciting spot. 

The best thing about our rooms had to be the purple chair.  It was FINE.  Arden concentrated on the sea life and adopted a crab as his new roommate.    He also fashioned a worthy habitat for his new friend.

So where's the best place to eat in San Felipe?  “Riquisima comida en el restaurante Chuy Place."

Chuy's Place is FINE.  We were serenaded by The Street Tiger and his electric guitar....but regardless...we loved this place so much we had to come back.  If you haven't had a Baja fish taco before, then read this and get one...soon.  They are FINE.

We loved our resort.  Everything was kept so clean...the pools, the beach...

We walked on the beach every night to get to the Malecon.  Fisherman were dragging in their boats loaded with shrimp and huge fish they filleted on the spot for George's fresh seafood restaurant.  We walked in the dark past RV parks and shops and never felt anything but safe.  So what do you think?  Is Saint Phillip Risky or FINE?

Just in case you can't make up your mind, let me borrow your imagination.  Let the peace of your own balcony overlooking an inescapably lovely body of water enter your soul.  Then marvel at the nearby geologic testaments of the area's volcanic past and earth's rupture as the tectonic plates jostled and bullied each other around...and you should be able to sense the true power and beauty of the area.  If not, you'll need to visit for yourself.  Buena suerte!