After lunch, we hopped a tram and then continued by foot down the Vegas Strip, enjoying the sights along the way. Our destination was the Bellagio, where our arrival coincided perfectly with the beginning of one of their water fountain shows.
The waves, while not huge, were sufficient to body surf, and all members of the family demonstrated proficiency in the art.
In even less time, the kids are in the water, throwing caution and younger siblings to the wind.
Jeanine wastes little time finding her way poolside and flashes me a smile, suggesting that other pleasures are soon to follow.
The day begins by introducing the kids to the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. At $17 a head, I can tell you that this is a money-losing proposition for the Mandalay Bay when entertaining the Calabria family. Kyle and Nico alone ate enough to cover the total bill. Unlike many Las Vegas buffets, this one featured really fine food and tremendous variety.
By the time we settle into our hotel rooms the water park is ready to close so we settle for a photo of the action from our room and the kids look forward to the next morning with great anticipation. Every 90 seconds, a large waves emerges from the flat section at the back of the beach shaped pool. A portion of the lazy river is seen in the upper right area of the photograph. A stong current carries swimmers around the circuit is about two minutes.
The Mandalay Bay is close to the airport and their water park features a beach with waves and a lazy river, both intense magnets for the kids.
Our itinerary includes: Zion NP, Bryce NP, Escalante Petrified Forest SP, Grand Staircase Escalante NM (Zebra slot canyon and Devil’s Garden), Capitol Reef NP, Goblin Valley SP, Dead Horse Point SP, Canyonlands NP (Islands in the Sky), Arches NP, Mesa Verde NP, Monument Valley, Glen Canyon NRA (Lake Powell), Grand Canyon NP (north rim), and Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP.
Our vacation begins in Las Vegas with a night at the Mandalay Bay and then takes us on an 1800 mile trek through the national parks and several state parks of southern Utah, northern Arizona, western Colorado and Nevada. We will return to Las Vegas and stay at the Luxor before returning home.
Today begins our two week family RV adventure. We start by flying from Boston to Las Vegas where we will pick up our 25 foot rental RV (sleeping room for 5). Between connecting flights we relaxed in the United Airline Red Carpet Club where perfect window light and time to burn created the perfect opportunity for individual portraits of the kids.
Jeanine captured some very nice photographs, and I hope to post more of them when we return in 2 weeks along with the ones from our family vacation.
After work I picked up Kyle and Jeanine from the airport as they returned from their Transylvania adventure. In less than 12 hours we will be back at the airport as we depart for our family vacation to the southwest. Despite being rather fatigued from their travel we gathered around the computer to see their photos and hear about their exploits. I am going to ask Kyle to explain the story behind this gynormous hat when he recovers from the journey.
I spotted this beauty on the way into work this morning and managed to sneak up rather close for the photo.
While Maya was at camp she spent some of her time making paper and completed this small book containing her work. I fanned out the pages to provide an idea of the variety of colors, patterns and textures she incorporated into her designs. Maya returned to the house briefly for dinner and proudly displayed her work for Nico.
Nicolai returned today from a week in Minnesota with his cousins. He had a terrific time and seemed to have grown another inch since I last saw him. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican place which has become our secret little getaway and he filled me in on his week at wrestling camp and the one spent with my brother’s family. Maya spent the day and night with her friend Lydia affording Nico and I an opportunitiy to do a little driving practice in the early evening.
When we arrived at home Maya’s first priority was to greet and play with Nala who was very happy to see her. After that joyful reunion, Maya’s next priority was to check on the garden. She returned triumphantly with the season’s first carrot which we promptly cleaned and ate. Through Jeanine’s teaching and nurturing she has passed the family’s long tradition of gardening to the next generation. Maya and I spent the afternoon doing laundry and packing for our upcoming southwest adventure. We then had a father/daughter date night which included dinner out and the latest Harry Potter movie.
I retrieved Maya from Wildwood camp this morning and was delighted to see her again. She is pictured here with new friend Amanda who, as it turns out, is a member of our church in Concord and someone I am sure we will see again. On the ride home I learned of Maya’s many exploits ranging from the invention of bumper kayaking to paper making. She has asked if she could attend for 2 weeks next year, a pretty good indicator that she had a great time. As I described my week to her she learned of my close encounter and photograph of the dragonfly from my kayak. After she heard my description of the little creature she told me that it was a damselfly rather than a dragonfly. Wikipedia confirmed her assertion and I shall have to go back and edit that blog post. Wildwood could easily be named critter camp as the kids spend a great deal of time studying nature. Maya, it appears, was paying close attention.
Here is what the baby flowers look like. Speaking of babies, I get to retrieve one of mine tomorrow, and I can’t wait to get my hands on little Miss Maya.
I got home a little early this evening, which is to say the sun was still up, and went out for an ice cream after my 6th straight microwave dinner in a row. On the way home I stopped to shoot some flowers along the road. Their is an entire little field full of these and the sea of color is just beatiful.
This morning I awoke to discover that our field was being mowed for hay. I find watching this work to be very relaxing for some reason and thought the geometry of the harvest lines would make an interesting photograph. After work I did another kayak tour of the Charles River. This time I put in across from the Harvard Stadium and travelled up river to the Perkins School for the Blind. It was a five mile round trip and I finished by 8pm in just under two hours. Again I fought a very brisk headwind only to have it dissipate when I made my turn. In a report from Romania, I learned that Jeanine narrowly missed being hit by an out of control motorcycle, jumping out of the way at the last second. Not so fortunate was our friend and fellow chaperon Nancy Reilly, who was struck and suffered a broken hip and clavicle. She remains hospitalized and her husband is on his way to be with her while her son and members of the traveling group and their hosts have been by her side constantly. Information is still very sketchy but I have been assured that Jeanine was uninjured.
I brought my kayak with me into work today. I had to reorient it on the roof rack in order to barely make the height clearance of the parking garage I use. After work I put in to the Charles River just above the Boston University boat house and did a five mile paddle to the clam shell and back. The return leg was against both an unusually stiff wind and the current so it took quite some time. I started at 6pm and did not finish until 8pm. If the weather hold I may make another excursion tomorrow evening and head up river this time. I received an e-mail from Romania indicating the adventures there were going well and that the teens were getting along very well with their European peers.
Today’s entry, both photo and text, are from my sister-in-law Marie.
Since arriving at 5 on Saturday your son has been to the Mall of America, CROQUET, fireworks in Maple Grove, CROQUET, a volleyball-beach surprise birthday party for the boys at a local park with 20 teenagers – photo to follow, CROQUET, spent about 3 hours on the trampoline, CROQUET, and had a marathon game of monopoly! Not bad for less than 48 hours.
Kayaks make for the ultimate stealth photography platforms. If you are careful you can glide right up to all sorts of creatures without disturbing them. What they offer in quiet approach they certainly lack in stability and it took quite a bit of skill and perseverance to get this shot of a dragonfly (Maya informed me upon her return from camp that this is actually a damselfly) without any motion blur considering I was bobbing on the water, being carried by the current, and shooting a tiny subject from a great distance in low light.
About halfway into my six-mile tour, I caught a fleeting glimpse of what I believe was a muskrat. He was in the deep shadows, which required a long shutter speed to make the image.
After dropping Maya off at camp I stopped just outside of Townsend, MA to do a little kayaking in the Nashua River. I was not on the water for ten minutes when I discovered this spider walking along the surface. First time I have ever seen one of these and I studied it for several minutes. He walked as if on dry land and rode the largest of waves lake a skilled surfer. Quite a marvel of nature. See if you can distinguish between the eight real legs and the eight reflections.
After the opening ceremony Maya meets her bunk mates and counselors. If there is an opposite to separation anxiety Maya would be the poster child for it. She adjusts so well to new situations and makes friends very easily. After unpacking her bags and making up her bed (top bunk, naturally) she was ready to give her dad a big hug goodbye and he soaked up every last bit of it.
Maya and I travelled to southern New Hampshire this afternoon where she will be spending a week at camp Wildwood on Lake Hubbard. Run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the camp has a strong focus on understanding and appreciating the natural world. This will be her second year here and she was so anxious to arrive that she coerced me into leaving two hours earlier than necessary. We had a very nice lunch date at the Main Street Cafe in Groton and I scouted potential kayaking venues along our route to consume the extra time.
Before heading back to the ferry, Maya discovered these dancing water fountains and can’t resist a quick transit through the randomly timed blast of water. Fortunately she avoided a direct hit and was only moderately soaked. Click on the photo and see if you can find her right in the center of the action.
After lunch, we enjoyed watching this street entertainer whose grand finale involved juggling three very sharp machetes with a spinning plate supported by his teeth while balancing one legged on a rope tenuously supported by members of the audience.
After touring the Tall Ships, we hop an inter-harbor ferry for Long Wharf and then walk to Quincy Market at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, where we enjoy a relaxing lunch. It was constructed 1824–1826 and named in honor of Mayor Josiah Quincy.
We enjoyed perfect weather and Maya paused to cool down in this water park just off one of the shipyard piers. It is something of a jungle gym for aquatic monkeys and just far enough off the beaten path that many casual visitors are not aware of its existence.