It was a short jaunt from Valley of Fire to Mesquite where we spent two days at Marnie's resting up and re-stocking our 5th wheel with groceries. Unfortunately, Marnie and Chuck were in Seattle for their granddaughter's christening. We loved the warm nights and enjoyed our 4 mile walks in the evening. On Friday morning before we drove the 79 miles to Sam's Town RV Park in Las Vegas, we had a little scare. Marnie had warned us that her cat, Tara would try to escape if she could when the door opens. Needless to say, we were extremely careful when we went out. After we loaded the 5th wheel, we did a last minute inspection and noticed that Tara was nowhere to be found. I searched high and low, opened closets, checked under the beds, and every nook and cranny. In a panic, I was ready to call Marnie and see if there were any other hiding spots where she might be. When I checked the bedroom one more time, I noticed the bedspread was a little rumpled and suddenly it moved. When I lifted the spread, there was Tara stretching and looking irritated that I was bothering her morning slumber. Relieved, we were finally able to get on the road.
It was a sunny afternoon and we had a couple of hours to relax before heading to the Palazzo on the “Strip” to see Jersey Boys, a 2006 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical.
Jersey Boys takes you behind the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It is a rags to riches story of 4 blue-collar kids from the streets of New Jersey working their way up to the big time.
You might remember some of their hits: “Sherry”, “Big Girls Don't Cry”, “Can't Take My Eyes Off You” and “Oh, What A Night”. It was a fantastic show. Our only regret is that John Lloyd Young, who played the role of Frankie Valli in the original show on Broadway and sang lead vocals on the Grammy Award winning album, was not in the cast. He grew up in Plattsburgh, NY where we used to live.
(Authored by Bob) It has been 37 years since Judy and I attended the NHRA Nationals Drag Race. In the winter of 1973, after flying to New York for Christmas, we bought a car and took a road trip to California. While we were there, one of the highlights was going to the Winter Nationals at Pomona. This was the premier event in drag racing. The legendary Don Gartlits went up against Dennis Baca in Top Fuel finals. Gartlits won with a time of 6.51 seconds and 235.60 MPH. I remember how impressed I was with the speed and noise. I have always been a drag racing fan, but living in a Alaska, we don't have a chance to attend many races. In my younger days, I had a '55 Chevy, '63 Falcon Sprint, and a '65 Mustang Fastback that I raced in North Hudson, a drag strip about 50 miles from Keeseville in upstate New York where we lived until we moved to Alaska. Judy and I spent many weekends at that strip and filled up the trophy case.
On Sunday morning, we were on our way to the Las Vegas Winter Nationals. It was perfect weather and all the big names were there. We arrived at 8am and spent some time looking at all the top competitors' cars and crews working on them.
We had a full day of racing fun. The finals of Top Fuel and Funny Car races were amazing to watch.
Tony Schumacher won Top Fuel with a new World record of 325.61 MPH and 3.794 seconds. The ground shakes as they roar by and it is impossible to comprehend how fast that is unless you are there and see it.
The legendary John Force won the Funny Car final. At 61 years old, he continues to beat the young guns. It was a great day.
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After I was stationed on a ship out of Long Beach,my cousins invited me to go to the Pomona Winter nationals. It was the one and only time I had gone to drag races.It was a fun time for me.
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