Las Vegas, Nevada

Our next big adventure had us in Sin City, Las Vegas, Baby!

 So, the month of December was absolutely crazy for us!  We booked our anniversary trip to Las Vegas back in October, paying for it in full, as an anniversary and Christmas present to ourselves.  Little did we know that by December we had decide to sell our house, buy a new house and move my parents in with us.  We closed on our new house just a week before our anniversary trip and frantically began moving knowing we were set to close on our old home a week after our trip. Instead of losing the money we invested in our trip we decided to forge ahead with both the move and the travel. 
Flying over Vegas
Once we landed in Las Vegas we went straight to Caesar's Palace, checked in, and being thoroughly exhausted, took a two hour nap!  A nice long nap was just what we needed so, feeling refreshed, we decided to go exploring.  We walked through the The Forum Mall at Caesars where we found ourselves in front of Fat Tuesdays!  Fat Tuesdays is one of my favorite places to visit in Las Vegas.  Try their orange high octane with a shot!  For dinner we made our way across the street from Caesar's Palace to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville where we chowed down on nachos, sipped cold Land Sharks, and chatted Dallas Cowboy Football with the bartender who was from El Paso, Texas! 
The Forum Shops at Caesars - Fall of Atlantis

Love the ceiling painted to look like a sky inside the Forum Shops
View of The Paris from across the Fountains of The Bellagio
Stupid selfies!  As photographers you think we'd be much better at it!

All floral Christmas decorations at the Bellagio

All floral Christmas decorations at the Bellagio

All floral Christmas decorations at the Bellagio
Chihuly glass hanging from the ceiling of the Bellagio

 With all the walking we did we really worked up an appetite by late that evening. We debated on doing the traditional Vegas buffet or trying something new when we stumbled upon The Yard House where we had a delicious steak dinner.

 Tired, again, we headed back to our hotel for another good night's sleep.  The next day we headed back to Texas where our move was STILL waiting on us and, after five months, a pandemic, and back issues we can say we are FINALLY moved in to our new home.  Now time to plan our next adventure!

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Ballard, Washington

Leaving Pike Place Market we headed to the neighborhood of Ballard . Ballard is located in the northwestern part of Seattle. To the north it is bounded by Crown Hill, (N.W. 85th Street); to the east by Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and Fremont (along 8th Avenue N.W.); to the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and to the west by Puget Sound’s Shilshole Bay. The neighborhood’s landmarks include the  Hiram M. Chittenden Locks  (known locally as the "Ballard Locks"), the Nordic Heritage Museum, the Shilshole Bay Marina, and Golden Gardens Park. Entrance to Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens and Hiram M. Chittenden Locks The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, or Ballard Locks, is a complex of locks at the west end of Salmon Bay, in Seattle, Washington's Lake Washington Ship Canal, between the neighborhoods of Ballard to the north and Magnolia to the south. We wanted to know and followed the fish but didn't realize it was across the locks until we were on our way
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Caddo Lake State Park, Texas

While visiting the historic town of Jefferson we could not pass up the opportunity to make a short visit to Caddo Lake State Park .  The park sits near the small town of Karnack, in east Texas.  The name of this park is a bit deceiving as the park doesn't sit on the shores of Caddo Lake (the only natural, fresh water lake in Texas) but on Big Cypress Bayou. Entrance sign Entrance signs to Caddo Lake State Park Big Cypress Bayou from boat ramp (west) Big Cypress Bayou looking east.  Follow the bayou east to reach Caddo Lake. Like most Texas state parks the structures within Caddo Lake SP were built by the  Civilian Conservation Corps . Company 889 began the work, in June to November of 1933. Company 857 continued construction from October 1934 to March 1937. One of the cabins that can be rented at the park CCC workers converted 15 U.S. Army barracks and an Army mess hall into the nine log cabins and group recreation hall that can be used today.  
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Twilight Eagle Santuary, Oregon

Sadly, we left Astoria and traveled east on the East Columbia Highway (Highway 30) back to Portland to catch the red eye back home.  When we passed the sign, we knew we had found what our trip had been missing so we turned the Blue Devil around and headed to the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary. The Twilight Eagle Sanctuary is located within Cathlamet Bay , 2.5 miles east of Astoria, Oregon , and just downstream from Settler Point.  This wetland Sanctuary was established in 1992, and along with Columbia Land Trust acquisitions in 2009, now totals over 100 acres of old growth forest, tidal wetlands, and shoreline, and stretches nearly a mile along the Columbia River. The Sanctuary is just off of U.S. Highway 30. A viewing platform overlooks acres of mudflats, tidal marshes, open water, and islands. It is an excellent location to observe birds and other wildlife living on the lower Columbia River estuary. The viewing area has several interpretive panels about the wetlands, bald eagles,