This Sunday, the crew of US Airways Flight 1549, led by pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, will be honored by the NFL before the Big Game.  They are being honored for their actions that saved the lives of everyone on board when the jet landed in the Hudson River on January 15th.

Jan Meng sent me this. 

THIS IS WHAT WE DIDN’T SEE. 

AMEN!

   I came across a Harris Poll that asked 2,413 U.S. adults to name their favorite books.  Here is the top 10 list.

1.  The Holy Bible

2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

3.  The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein

4.  Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

5.  The Stand by Stephen King

6.  The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

7.  To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

8.  Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

9.  Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

10  The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Now, get to reading!

Being able to behold the Grand Canyon and all of it’s glory… just wasn’t enough for me!  I know I sound like I’ve reverted back to the “terrible two’s” but I wanted more.  I wanted to come face-to-face with wildlife in the Grand Canyon.  All around, we saw the pooh piles, so I knew the elk were around somewhere….  and somewhere wouldn’t be a question for long!  We were leaving one of the lookout points, driving down the road, and there was a mass of people pulled over and standing on the side of the road.  When we passed, there he was… MY WILDLIFE I had been looking for.  I yelled to Paul who was driving, “PULL OVER PAUL!”  The guys were kinda annoyed, but hey, this is my trip too!

Just so beautiful.  I was standing like 5 feet away from him.  That night we got back to Vegas and the following day started out exploring all the hotels.  We made a pit stop in the M & M store.  Funny, the M & M’s tasted better there than they do here!  

Your next picture journey… the Casino/Hotel lobbies!

The pictures that you all have been waiting for!  What an absolutely breath-taking vacation.  The GRAND CANYON!  I was there… and would love to go back in the spring so that we can take the trails to the bottom of the Canyon. 

We stayed overnight in the South Rim.  The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed between November and March if I remember correctly.  Probably too much ice!  Here we did see some left over snow, which I appreciated very much!  John (husband), Paul and I visited many look-out points, so all these pics are from different views of the South Rim.  We didn’t hit up ALL the points, but as many as we could with the evening and full day that we had to explore.  John and Paul are standing in front of the sign of one trail that we took.  Kaibob Trail to Yaki Point.  It was hilarious, while walking down, I did venture off on my own, to get closer to the edge before the end of the trail, and made John very nervous.  With the snow on the ground, he was scared that I would “fall through” and into the Canyon.  The river you see is the Colorado River.  Our friend Paul had binoculars.  From the picture, the River looks quite peaceful, but when viewing with magnification, that baby was roaring! 

The Grand Canyon does have wildlife too!  This picture journey isn’t over for you.  What would you do if you stood 5 feet from an elk and your camera was on?  Those pics to come!

How about a NEW Best Friend Forever!  It will only cost you $79.00 from the Greenville Humane Society.  A lot cheaper what you would have to pay to become Paris Hilton’s BFF!  LOL.  Already potty trained and in good health, please,

Watch video of Puck above.

For more information about adoptions, please visit www.GreenvilleHumane.com or call the GHS at 864-242-3626.

I just wanted to echo my support of  a  recent editorial that appeared in the Greenville News concerning the University Center  which allows our citizens to obtain advanced degrees. If the governor’s proposed tax cut is approved, the center stands to lose a substantial amount in state funding and that would be a terrible blow to such an outstanding institution here in the upstate.  I am pleased to know that school officials are exploring the possibility of getting some funds from  private sources and local government. But the University Center should not be allowed to close……Lee

 Thanks for coming back to check on my wonderful journey to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas.  We had such a grand time… and believe me, more pics are to come! 

After staying our fist night in the Stratosphere, we woke up early the next morning to hit the breakfast buffet (crab legs for breakfast, pretty cool) and then hit the slots before heading out for our 4 hour trip to the big GC.  Just my luck, after three spins I won $40.00!  Heck yeah I cashed out!  The Wheel of Fortune slot just paid for our lunch.

To get to the Grand Canyon, you have to drive over the Hoover Dam.  Now, from what I understand, construction on the new bridge has been going on for 2 years and looking at these pictures, at least 2 more years is scheduled for completion.  Just amazing… it’s MAMMOTH!  The first few pictures are driving up to the Dam, and then the last few are looking back once we crossed.  Because we were so excited to get to the GC, we didn’t take the Hoover Dam tour.  Perhaps we should have, but my heart wasn’t in it.  I was all about the GC.

The next time you stop by my blog…. GRAND CANYON pictures!

It's 1984.  The time for Ashford & Simpson.  The time for Solid!  "Solid" was on the singles chart for 24 weeks and made them A LOT of money!  Now, this re-make may not ever make it to the singles chart, but I think it's hilarious!    

Ashford & Simpson will release Ashford & Simpson: The Real Thing on CD, DVD, and DVD Blue Ray on January 27th. 

Here are some BIG pictures of Vegas! I couldn’t believe it, when we landed at McCarran Airport and stepped out into the gate… SLOT MACHINES!!! I had to catch pa shot of my adorable husband in there with them. No, I did not start pulling dollars out of my pocket just then… but it was tempting!

After a nice little formal “Welcome to Vegas” we met up with our friend Paul to head to our hotel for the night, the Stratosphere. We rode this crazy ride on top the hotel that shoots you up into the air, I think it was close to 1,000 feet from the ground, and then slowly pulls you back down. We floated in our seats for a solid 3 seconds. Wild feeling. Everything inside you is being pushed down, then all of the sudden, gravity escapes you and everything is coming back up. Weightless for 3 seconds. I felt good!

Then we walked for an eternity (I was in boots and my feet were dragging) from the Stratosphere down to the Fremont District. This is the older part of Vegas, the original part I should say. Fremont District you have to visit. It’s like you enter a tunnel, only it’s the top of the tunnel above you…. but the top of this tunnel is really a HUGE television screen powered by LG. At 12:00 midnight, a show starts playing, that guys will love b/c it’s these cute little tight-bodied honey’s all prancing around. Funny. And the classic “Golden Nugget” is down there in the Fremont District. I didn’t know there was an actual golden nugget, two at that! And the biggest slop machine I have ever seen!

   Actually…. I could use a vacation from my vacation!  We did sooooo much walking!  I don’t know if I lost weight or just gained muscle mass… but definitely had a super time! 

My husband and I went out to Las Vegas (and lucked out, his friend has a time share, so we didn’t have to pay for a hotel the entire week) and spent some time shoving money in the slots,playing craps and black jack.  Just had a ball.  The $200.00 I withdrew from the ATM out there… I STILL HAVE!  I have to say, I did pretty good!

We also visited a bunch of look out points at the Grand Canyon.  My oh my.  Honest to goodness, I would never tire looking out over the Canyon.  Just beautiful.  Looking to plan that family vacation, consider going to the Grand Canyon…. amazing.  In the days to come I will share pictures and video of my trip. 

We also drove though the Hoover Dam.  We didn’t have much time to stop and visit, but the renovations going on out there, the Dam is mammoth!  And we drove into Death Valley and stopped at Dante’s View.  We hiked a trail in Death Valley… I know I know, I will get the pictures up.  Just an unforgettable time that I can revisit over and over with all the pictures.  I promise, I will start working on getting the pics up tonight!