Photo Gallery December, 2004

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	"Happy Birthday, Bubby!" "Cards and a whole lotta cash!"
	Middle School Band Christmas Concert "We can hardly see where Bubby is sitting!"
	"There he is!"
	"Bravo, Bravo, wonderful concert!"
	High School Band Christmas Concert (2 nights later) "Where's Big Bubby? The piano is blocking our view!"
	"There he is!"
	"Bravo, Bravo, awesome performance!" "Awwww shucks, I think I did okay."
	New Roof After damage from a hailstorm in August, we finally got our new roof! The new shingles are heavy duty and rated to withstand 120 mph winds, just what we need to survive Colorado weather!
	Middle School Jazz Band Christmas Concert "Bubby does his solo!"
	Anaheim Resort RV Park site #72 Anaheim, CA After staying overnight in Cedar City, Utah and awaking to 16 degree temps and ice covering Midnight and Shadow, it was a mere 8 hours later we were welcomed to Anaheim with 84 degrees! "Great spot, Daddy! We're right across from the pool, spa, restrooms and showers!"
	To begin our 2 week holiday trip, we spent an entire week in Anaheim, including 4 days park hopping between Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Visit the Disneyland, 2004 Photo Gallery to see the fun we had! We had beautiful warm and sunny weather our entire week in Anaheim. It was more like a summer vacation than a winter trip! It didn't even seem like Christmas, either! The free bus shuttle service between the RV Park and Disneyland/California Adventure turned out to be priceless as the traffic and parking in Southern California is an absolute nightmare. It made the 1100 mile trip from home to Anaheim seem like a cakewalk!
	Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica, CA We did a day trip up to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica to do some sightseeing. It took us 2 hours to go 20 miles on the bumper-to-bumper, stop-n-go, stop-n-go freeways. We finally made it to Sunset Blvd to see the stars on the Walk of Fame and Mann’s Theatre in Hollywood. We then did the Mulholland and Laurel Canyon Drives through Beverly Hills, where there was still bumper-to-bumper traffic. We finally ended up in Santa Monica to do some sightseeing at the Pier. "Remember, Honey, being here 18 years ago?"
	"Yes, Dear, I do! It was a beautiful night!"
	"Whoa, Dad, the sound of the ocean is awesome!"
	"Here comes the sunset!"
	Downtown Disney We took another day in our week at Anaheim to let the kids swim at the RV Park pool while we did laundry and grocery shopping (braving the traffic). We then took the free bus shuttle over to Downtown Disney in the afternoon to do some shopping and more sightseeing. Downtown Disney is between Disneyland and California Adventure and is free, so we didn’t have to use one of our park hopper days to get in. "Mommy, check out the size of the leaves on this palm tree."
	"Sissy, check out the size of this Lego block outside Lego World!"
	Leo Carrillo State Park Canyon Campground site #54 Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Malibu, CA After driving the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) from Huntington Beach up to Malibu to view the State Beaches and sights along the way, we arrived at the beginning of what would become a record 3 day deluge, dumping nearly 7 inches of rain, which is HALF of Los Angeles' ANNUAL rainfall.
	Since is was pouring the following morning, we decided to do some more sightseeing up the PCH and made it as far as Ventura before turning around. We arrived back at Leo Carrillo State Beach in the late afternoon, just as the heavy rain gave way to just sprinkling. "I don't know, Dad, the clouds are darkening and the rain is starting again!"
	"Oh, if it would just clear up, we would have a beautiful beach to play on..."
	"...and rocks to climb and caves to explore..."
	"...and surf to splash in!"
	There was a film crew at work on the beach, but we couldn't get close. The Park Ranger said a "Pirate Movie" was being filmed. He also relayed the weather forecast, which was for heavy rain to continue all week long. "Can you see anything with the binoculars, Mommy?" "Not really, just what looks like police officers digging up a body. Hmmmmm."
	"Oh, this would be just gorgeous if the rain would stop and the sun would just come out. That evening, we could hear scraping sounds coming from the canyon road above our campsite. When I went to take a look, it was a snowplow making runs, clearing the road of rocks and mud.
	Later on, when the rain subsided a bit, I took advantage and got Shadow ready for our departure the next morning. Just as I finished, it began pouring again and stormed the entire night. "Sorry, but we just can't spend the rest of our time here cooped up in Shadow, especially when the RV Park in Las Vegas can accommodate us arriving early."
	"Unbelievable, in the pouring rain, there is a parasail!" Leaving Malibu, we drove through mudslides on the PCH and severe flooding on the LA freeways as we passed numerous stalled vehicles and accidents. The rain stretched nearly all the way to Las Vegas.
	Oasis Las Vegas Resort RV Park site #229 Las Vegas, NV After we arrived and I had just gotten Shadow set up, it started sprinkling. With nothing else to do, we headed for The Strip to do some sightseeing.
	"Here we go again, bumper-to-bumper traffic and wall-to-wall people!"
	"Honey, everything is just so unexpected and overwhelming. I never imagined so much extravagance and opulence!" "Yes, Dear."
	"Daddy, is that Eiffel Tower as tall as the real Eiffel Tower?" "No, Sissy, it's exactly one-half the size." It stormed all night long after we returned to Shadow.
	We awoke the next morning to find the skies starting to clear, but a section of the RV Park just down from us being flooded from runoff from the highway drainage system that was right next to the park. Water was rushing down the streets and running underneath trailers and motorhomes. I hooked up the cable TV line to our portable TV I had set up in Shadow and as I tuned in the Weather Channel, we watched with dropped jaws as images of people being rescued on The Strip the night before were being shown. We had just driven through that area hours before! We also viewed images and reports of the mudslides and flooding in the area we had just left in the Malibu and LA area. We counted our blessings! We left the kids in Shadow (the boys playing their video games and Sissy reading magazines) so we could enjoy an early lunch date at the Hard Rock Cafe.
	The RV Park pool was unique as it was surrounded by sand and landscaping that included rocks and palm trees. It wasn't quite the ocean and the beach, but the kids loved it! They swam hours on end as the rain never returned the rest of our time in Vegas.
	"Yup, Dad, we love swimming!" "I know, I know. Now give me your towels so I can run them down to the laundry to dry them so they'll be ready for you again tomorrow."
	For Sissy's birthday, we headed to a place called Giovanni’s Pizza (similar to Chuck-E-Cheese’s) where she had her favorite foods, pizza and spaghetti. She shared her game tokens with the boys as they all cleaned up on the arcade games that gave tickets for prizes. On the way back, we passed New York New York and it's awesome red roller coaster. Then it was back to the pool for more swimming.
	That evening, we headed to the Silverton where they have a huge aquarium where divers put on a show. There's also a large Bass Pro Shop that we had fun perusing. When we got back to Shadow, I checked the Weather Channel. Rain and snow continued in the forecast along the northern route home, so I decided we would take the southern route home, which meant an additional 300 miles of driving.
	Lake Mead Overlook Boulder City, NV "Wow, Lake Mead is huge!"
	Hoover Dam and Lake Mead Nevada and Arizona border "It's cool how one side of the dam has a clock set to Pacific Time and the other side has a clock set to Mountain Time."
	"You can see how far down Lake Mead is by the white rock stripe at the edge of the water!"
	Lake Mohave Overlook After leaving Arizona, we stopped in Gallup, NM. While I was filling up with gas, I noticed water pouring along the outside bottom edges of Shadow. I checked inside and discovered that our 5 gallon water jug full of ice water had tipped over and emptied its contents all over the floor. Fortunately, the carpet mats and some entry towels that were down soaked up most of the water. The few pieces of luggage I had stored under the dinette didn’t soak up much. What a potential catastrophe!
	We quickly purchased replacement mats and extra towels. Fortunately, there wasn’t any water damage to the power converter or water pump and the sealed battery cases kept them safe. Everything else I was able to wipe dry. We finally made our way to Las Vegas, NM (yes, I drove over 700 miles in one day). The next day we made it home safe and sound. I was exhausted from the driving, Mom was thrilled to see her real bed, the kids were already reminiscing, and Tux was ecstatic to see his backyard. Whew!