Las Vegas, NV

Started off the morning with breakfast at Starbucks in Westgate, formerly The Las Vegas Hilton, an old favorite!  Then walked a few miles around Las Vegas hotels and casinos before meeting our long time friends Susan & Chuck Schwartz for lunch at Eat, The Breakfast and Lunch Joint, in Old Las Vegas which is being revitalized with new restaurants and businesses.  Had a great tour with Susan & Chuck seeing the positive changes in Old Las Vegas with start up businesses being set up in container pods, a new performance theatre, children's Discovery Museum and the development of condos.

After 40 years "Elvis is back in the building" in the former Las Vegas Hilton, now the Westgate.  The Elvis Wedding Chapel is still prominent as is other favorite Elvis memorabilia, including photos and a few of the jump suits worn by Elvis when entertaining in Las Vegas.

 

Container Park where small businesses set up in container pods.

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Enjoyed an opportunity to visit with another long time friend, Barry Schlossberg, pictured below and a quick hello to another friend, Jeff Schwartz, while seeing some of the vehicles on display for the Specialty Equipment Manfacturers (SEMA) show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Since we enjoyed Old Las Veagas, decided to return to Eat, The Breakfast and Lunch Joint, in Old Las Vegas for breakfast and walk down Fremont Street before heading for Phoenix, AZ.

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite held many surprises from detours due to rock slides to roads closed due to snow fall but the drive and views were amazing, including shear rock cliffs, valley views and crystal clear lakes.

A natural bridge as the entrance to Yosemite National Park.

Great rock cliffs to burnt out areas and then we hit snowy areas where Tioga Pass was closed but fortunately for us opened as we approached the Pass leading us through the edge of Death Valley to Las Vegas.  

Great view of snow caps on the mountains through the desert.

Good stop for lunch at Pitman Cafe in the Historic Mizpah Hotel & Casino in Tonopah, NV, an old gold mining town.

Off to Yosemite National Park

Started off the morning with a great breakfast at Gypsy Cafe in Sebastopol, CA.  Thank you David for the good suggestion. 😊

Staying tonight in Merced CA, approx. 80 miles from Yosemite.  Had dinner at The Branding Iron, a local restaurant established in 1952.  The food was very good and the interior of the restaurant is unique as it displays branding symbols from surrounding ranches. The restaurant was very popular and busy so focused photo on less busy area. 

On our way tomorrow to Yosemite National Park.

Santa Rosa, CA

We arrived in Santa Rosa the morning of Saturday, October 24th and had fun, along with Lawson's daughter Tammy and her husband Mike, watching Tammy's grandsons play soccer.

Enjoyed lunch with his grandchildren, Cathie and Toby, and their families and then watched the joy of each child finding their perfect pumpkin in a local pumpkin patch.

Day 2:

Upon recommendation from a local man at the hotel in Navato, CA, we had a great hearty breakfast in downtown Navato at Marvin's Breakfast Club before heading to Santa Rosa for afternoon bowling with the family.

Day 3:

Enjoyed a good leisurely breakfast with Tammy at Village Cafe in Santa Rosa, then went to Rotten Robbie, the convenience store where Tammy is the manager, and has 11,000 customers per week.

Met Lawson's grandson, Toby, at his Tribal casino, Graton Resort & Casino, for a relaxing good lunch.  Then enjoyed seeing his mobile video game trailer where he holds up to 30-40 video parties a month for groups of children.

Enjoyed dinner with Tammy and Mike at Black Bear Diner in Rohnert, CA, known for their good comfort food.

Day 4:

Happy B-Day Toby!  Enjoyed breakfast at Singletree Cafe in Healdsburg, CA, with Lawson's grandson and girl friend Kimmie.  Then had a beautiful drive to Kimmie's Tribal casino, River Rock Casino, with amazing views of the valley.

Enjoyed touring Redwood Credit Union where Lawson's grandaughter, Cathie, has worked for ten years and is being recommended as "employee of the month" by an employee from another department for her outstanding work.  Congrats Cathie!

Had fun with Cathie watching her daughter, Ammaleah, tonight at her basketball game.  Go Cougars!  Then enjoyed authentic Mexican food with them after the game.

Day 5:

Enjoyed a relaxing lunch with Tammy at Louie's in Santa Rosa.   Then went to her house to say bye to the great grandchildren, who Tammy watches after school, before she started cracking the whip on getting their home work done. 🤗

Enjoying the final evening in the Santa Rosa area having dinner with Cathie & David, Toby & Kimmie, Adrian and Evan at Healdsburg Bar & Grill in Healdsburg, CA.

End of Route 66 Overview

One of the highlights of the trip has been enjoying the Route 66 cd and other nostalgic cds produced by our friend, George Lannon, as we cruised down the highways as George would say "playing it loud and proud."

The sadest parts of the trip was seeing fields of crops being plowed under by farmers as crops were lost due to the draught.  I was also dismayed at the numerous stockyards used as cow feeding lots where cows grow up pinned in lots. ☹️

We saw brave fire fighters battling a "wildfire" on a hillside on Ronald Reagan Freeway, and realized how often this occurs in this part of the country.

We witnessed the aftermath of the flooding on I-5 near Grapevine, CA, with mounds of mud pilled up on the sides of the highway and felt the pain of those who indured the recent devastation.

We enjoyed finding many of the Route 66 cafes, landmarks and historic sites across the country and each new adventure was more rewarding by the people we met along the way and the sites we saw on Route 66.  This trip has exceeded any expectations and even though we've come to the end of Route 66, we look forward to more adventures in the next few weeks as we return across the country.

Castle Air Force Museum

Took an opportunity yesterday to stop at Castle Aif Force Museum in Atwater, CA, to see some of the aircraft being restored, maintained and displayed from World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam Conflict  outside the museum, which was formerly Castle Air Force Base.  

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft flew from 1964 - 1990.  Capable of speeds in excess of 2,350 mph and still the fastest aircraft in the world today.

B-29 Super Fortress (Razing Hell).

B-52D Stratofortress Bomber.

One of the first drones.

CURSE YOU RED BARON.  

 B-25J Medium Bomber, (Lazy Daisy Mae) best known as the first U.S. bomber over Tokyo in WWII.