GOOD GOD, I'M A GRANDPA!
WITH STU GERSHON
FINALLY!
Well, it took 20 months to see our grandchildren and hold them in our arms. But, this time it was easier because we did it in two shifts!
My son, daughter-in-law and grandson (4½) came the second week of July, and my granddaughters (16 and 14) came by themselves the third week in July. We did everything we planned, but the two weeks were different since our grandson has his itinerary, and the girls had a different one.
The first place we went to is the Children’s Museum at Symphony Park. The place was made for him, and he was made for the museum. He had been there 20 months earlier, but he remembered how much fun he had and he wanted to go back.
My son, daughter-in-law and grandson (4½) came the second week of July, and my granddaughters (16 and 14) came by themselves the third week in July. We did everything we planned, but the two weeks were different since our grandson has his itinerary, and the girls had a different one.
The first place we went to is the Children’s Museum at Symphony Park. The place was made for him, and he was made for the museum. He had been there 20 months earlier, but he remembered how much fun he had and he wanted to go back.
On Saturday, we first went to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City. It was hot and not very crowded, but the railroad cars are in disrepair because the state has cut the funding during the pandemic. The train ride starts at 10 a.m. and lasts for 45 minutes. We then went on the “Desert Princess”, a paddle wheeler on Lake Mead. It was hot (about 112) and the Lake was very low (many of the boat ramps and harbors are closed) but the best thing was that we stayed inside on the main deck, which had air conditioning. We had a simple lunch in the dining room and looked at what is left of the Lake. It’s a tragedy that people keep building, even though all I’ve heard in the fourteen years I’ve lived here is “the Lake is low” but new houses and apartments are selling at ridiculous prices!
Both Thursday and Sunday mornings were spent at the Pinnacle Pool. On Sunday afternoon, my son took everyone to the “Jumper’s Jungle Family Fun Center” which my grandson loved and he was the only one who had a paid admission.
Monday, my son and daughter-in-law took our grandson and walked along the Strip for 3-4 hours. I drove them because almost every hotel is now charging exorbitant amounts for parking! (Wait until the Raiders play on a Sunday!) They saw the lobbies of the Bellagio and the Palazzo and Jacob loved it. The most amazing thing happened when they went to Margaritaville for lunch and when they entered, my 54-month old grandson blurted out “I’ve been here before!” and that was when he was 34 months old! I can barely remember yesterday, yet 20 months ago.
Finally, on Tuesday, we visited the Boulevard Mall which has a new section that includes a new visitors’ aquarium. They had a diverse mixture of fish and aquatic mammals, plus a nice bird sanctuary. Nice place to take my grandson.
On Wednesday, while the “first shift” was being driven to the airport, the two girls were on their flight to visit us. When we got them home, my wife took them to Smith’s for food shopping (one is a vegan and the other is a Pescatarian – a person who can eat fish). It’s difficult to clothes shop for teenagers, but it’s harder to shop for food!
Swimming was on the agenda, but only the younger one went into the pool. Saturday we did the riverboat again, but skipped the railroad museum. Sunday was a real treat for the girls because Grandma took them for “High Tea” at the Waldorf Astoria (I didn’t even know Las Vegas had a “Waldorf” - somewhere in the Aria complex) on the twenty-third floor. The price – DON’T ASK ($60 each)!
Both Thursday and Sunday mornings were spent at the Pinnacle Pool. On Sunday afternoon, my son took everyone to the “Jumper’s Jungle Family Fun Center” which my grandson loved and he was the only one who had a paid admission.
Monday, my son and daughter-in-law took our grandson and walked along the Strip for 3-4 hours. I drove them because almost every hotel is now charging exorbitant amounts for parking! (Wait until the Raiders play on a Sunday!) They saw the lobbies of the Bellagio and the Palazzo and Jacob loved it. The most amazing thing happened when they went to Margaritaville for lunch and when they entered, my 54-month old grandson blurted out “I’ve been here before!” and that was when he was 34 months old! I can barely remember yesterday, yet 20 months ago.
Finally, on Tuesday, we visited the Boulevard Mall which has a new section that includes a new visitors’ aquarium. They had a diverse mixture of fish and aquatic mammals, plus a nice bird sanctuary. Nice place to take my grandson.
On Wednesday, while the “first shift” was being driven to the airport, the two girls were on their flight to visit us. When we got them home, my wife took them to Smith’s for food shopping (one is a vegan and the other is a Pescatarian – a person who can eat fish). It’s difficult to clothes shop for teenagers, but it’s harder to shop for food!
Swimming was on the agenda, but only the younger one went into the pool. Saturday we did the riverboat again, but skipped the railroad museum. Sunday was a real treat for the girls because Grandma took them for “High Tea” at the Waldorf Astoria (I didn’t even know Las Vegas had a “Waldorf” - somewhere in the Aria complex) on the twenty-third floor. The price – DON’T ASK ($60 each)!
On Monday, the girls and Grandma visited the Mob Museum. One girl loved it, and one was tired. I know I skipped Thursday and Friday because Grandma took them clothes shopping. On Wednesday, we took them to the airport (we had to send their new clothes because their luggage was full). On Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, Grandma and Grandpa SLEPT!
FIFTEEN MONTHS SEEMS LIKE A LIFETIME
If you were reading this on paper, the page would be moist because of the tears that would form in my eyes. My grandchildren live in Chicago and that’s two thousand miles away!
We “Duo” with my four year old grandson 2-3 times each week and he often comments, while we watch him playing, “Momma, can we take a plane to visit grandma and grandpa?” We’re now commemorating the one year anniversary of the isolation. My wife and I have gotten our shots of the COVID vaccine, but my son and his wife are too young, and the kids are not eligible. We send them gifts for their birthdays and Hanukkah, but it’s not the same.
The four-year-old is Jake and he loves cars and planes and trucks and almost anything that moves. We started sending him books (about dinosaurs), but other relatives keep sending him toys, and the house is filled with little cars and trucks and ramps. The amazing thing is, though, that when we open up any of the books about dinosaurs, he already knows the names of the different creatures and can match them up with the pictures in the books. My wife and I often ask him a question like “hold up two fingers,” and the “now show four fingers,” and then “How much is 2 and four?” and we watch him add them up. Sometimes he’s wrong, but most of the time he’s right!
Both girls live with their mother and stepfather. The younger one is Izzy. She’s already been involved two congressional campaigns and she’s the V.P. of the Young Democrats in their county. She asks us about politics and she will often call me or my wife when she has a problem. Once in awhile, she calls up excited about something and I calm her down. She’s very exuberant and being isolated in the house for over a year is very difficult for a thirteen-year-old.
The oldest is Ella, who is a scholar and an empath. She’s never gotten any grade lower than an “A”, and she’s loves European history, especially the royal families of England so she sometimes calls my wife and they talk for a long time. She’s sixteen so she also is curious about makeup and her father and stepfather are giving her driving lessons.
Both girls argue at times, but they also show great love for each other. It’s hard being that age and missing the social context of quarantine. We are fortunate that our grandchildren communicate with us and we can discuss many things with them. We love them dearly, but it would be so great just to hug them once in awhile.
We “Duo” with my four year old grandson 2-3 times each week and he often comments, while we watch him playing, “Momma, can we take a plane to visit grandma and grandpa?” We’re now commemorating the one year anniversary of the isolation. My wife and I have gotten our shots of the COVID vaccine, but my son and his wife are too young, and the kids are not eligible. We send them gifts for their birthdays and Hanukkah, but it’s not the same.
The four-year-old is Jake and he loves cars and planes and trucks and almost anything that moves. We started sending him books (about dinosaurs), but other relatives keep sending him toys, and the house is filled with little cars and trucks and ramps. The amazing thing is, though, that when we open up any of the books about dinosaurs, he already knows the names of the different creatures and can match them up with the pictures in the books. My wife and I often ask him a question like “hold up two fingers,” and the “now show four fingers,” and then “How much is 2 and four?” and we watch him add them up. Sometimes he’s wrong, but most of the time he’s right!
Both girls live with their mother and stepfather. The younger one is Izzy. She’s already been involved two congressional campaigns and she’s the V.P. of the Young Democrats in their county. She asks us about politics and she will often call me or my wife when she has a problem. Once in awhile, she calls up excited about something and I calm her down. She’s very exuberant and being isolated in the house for over a year is very difficult for a thirteen-year-old.
The oldest is Ella, who is a scholar and an empath. She’s never gotten any grade lower than an “A”, and she’s loves European history, especially the royal families of England so she sometimes calls my wife and they talk for a long time. She’s sixteen so she also is curious about makeup and her father and stepfather are giving her driving lessons.
Both girls argue at times, but they also show great love for each other. It’s hard being that age and missing the social context of quarantine. We are fortunate that our grandchildren communicate with us and we can discuss many things with them. We love them dearly, but it would be so great just to hug them once in awhile.
OUT OF SIGHT, BUT NOT OUT OF MIND
It’s been a very difficult nine months for those of us who have grandchildren far away. All three of my jewels are in Chicago, some 2000 miles from my wife and me and I sometimes wonder if I will ever see them again.
The highlight of each week is when we see them on the phone or computer with a program called “Duo” because we have Androids and my granddaughters have iPhones.
They have grown up in the short time we (or they) haven’t visited. The two girls are teenagers (15 and 13) and the little boy is soon to be four.
When I “skyped” with the oldest one a few weeks ago, the first thing I saw was her lips, and they had lipstick on them! OMG, what a thought, that my little prize is now almost sixteen and is wearing makeup. My wife and I offered to have a sweet sixteen for her, but she opted out of that and thanked us for the offer. I then asked her what would she like instead, and she thought about it and and replied a “vanity table” so she could do her makeup. She selected one, sent me the link, and as I write this, her stepfather just completed assembling it. As long as she is happy.
The highlight of each week is when we see them on the phone or computer with a program called “Duo” because we have Androids and my granddaughters have iPhones.
They have grown up in the short time we (or they) haven’t visited. The two girls are teenagers (15 and 13) and the little boy is soon to be four.
When I “skyped” with the oldest one a few weeks ago, the first thing I saw was her lips, and they had lipstick on them! OMG, what a thought, that my little prize is now almost sixteen and is wearing makeup. My wife and I offered to have a sweet sixteen for her, but she opted out of that and thanked us for the offer. I then asked her what would she like instead, and she thought about it and and replied a “vanity table” so she could do her makeup. She selected one, sent me the link, and as I write this, her stepfather just completed assembling it. As long as she is happy.
The thirteen year old had her official Bat Mitzvah in July. We could not attend and the Temple had to follow Illinois rules and limit the attendance to ten people. She sent some photos of the party they had in the back yard (both parents and step-parents). We sent some things for the party and a large presentation from Edible Arrangements. My grandson really enjoyed the chocolate. My thirteen year old is already a political activist working on her second congressional campaign. She called us and cried hysterically when Ruth Bader Ginsberg died.
The almost four-year old is talking, and talking and talking. I know more about the “Paw Patrol” then I did about Howdy Doody. A few months back, while we were on video, he brought over one of his toys that was supposed to make a ratcheting sound and he said, “Grandpa, look!” and it made no sound. It was broken. Then he said, "Oh, you’re the Grandpa who doesn’t fix things!” This is a reference to his other Grandpa, who lives nearby and is constantly fixing things. I replied, “No, I’m the grandpa who buys things.” We bought him a bicycle and the other Grandpa assembled it.
Well, these are my jewels and my wife and I see them at least once a week, but I really don’t now when I’ll have the chance to give them a hug in person.
The almost four-year old is talking, and talking and talking. I know more about the “Paw Patrol” then I did about Howdy Doody. A few months back, while we were on video, he brought over one of his toys that was supposed to make a ratcheting sound and he said, “Grandpa, look!” and it made no sound. It was broken. Then he said, "Oh, you’re the Grandpa who doesn’t fix things!” This is a reference to his other Grandpa, who lives nearby and is constantly fixing things. I replied, “No, I’m the grandpa who buys things.” We bought him a bicycle and the other Grandpa assembled it.
Well, these are my jewels and my wife and I see them at least once a week, but I really don’t now when I’ll have the chance to give them a hug in person.
TO FEAR OR NOT TO FEAR? THAT IS THE QUESTION
Popular Alzheimer's Talk to Return to Desert Vista in March
SCSCAI Fitness Director Pam Shields |
Residents will get another chance to hear the presentation "Unraveling the Mystery of Memory Loss" when the program returns on March 16.
|
Brian Browne, President of Dementia Care Education. |
This is not going to be one of my funny, happy-go-lucky family columns. This one is serious.
As I sat at home on my 74th birthday, I took inventory of all the things in my life – mostly positive. I came to the realization that what we feared most in the 1950s, ’60’s and ’70’ now has taken a backseat to a current fear. When we were younger, we feared the “Big C” – cancer – because there was a finality to that word – death. Cancer had so many variations and serious results, yet most of them led to dying.
Today, life expectancy has exploded and most of us live longer. For example, I found 30 residents in our community who are over 100 when I was researching a recent story. In my realization, I discovered what I really fear, which I think is a fear shared by many, is the diagnosis of the “Big A,” Alzheimer’s. Today, there is no cure for this diseases and, it seems, very little treatment. In fact, its finality is living your life in a fog or cloud. Most Alzheimer’s patients die because the rest of their bodies eventually shut down from some illness or another.
To all this fear, however, there is a source that provides us with information and a few skills that teach us how to deal with Alzheimer’s, and that is our own Sun City Health & Fitness Department.
SCSCAI Fitness Director Pam Shields told me the seminar her department hosted on January 29, “Unraveling the Mystery of Memory Loss,” was a packed event.
“We started out with seating for 120 and ended up adding enough chairs for our total attendance of 156!” she said. “Our speaker, Brian Browne of Dementia Care Education, was here in conjunction with the Lou Ruvo Center. He spoke on the topic of memory and how memory loss occurs. He also discussed brain health and dementia in general.”
Because of the class’ phenomenal response, Pam said Brian will return to Sun City Summerlin on Monday, March 16, 6-7:30 p.m., to discuss the next steps – What do you do? And What can you do?
“On Thursday, February 26, I will lead a talk at Desert Vista, from 6-7 p.m. called ‘Use It or Lose It.’ I will be discussing how to live a brain-healthy life, as well as the book I wrote by the same title,” Pam said.
Pam will also teach a four-session class on brain health in March titled “Use It or Lose it!” That class will be held on March 4, 11, 18 and 25 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Desert Vista. The class is limited to 20 participants.
So, you see, we’ve got a lot of brain stuff going on in the next several weeks. So, if you’re feeling down or overwhelmed, these programs can offer you some hope.
See you there!
As I sat at home on my 74th birthday, I took inventory of all the things in my life – mostly positive. I came to the realization that what we feared most in the 1950s, ’60’s and ’70’ now has taken a backseat to a current fear. When we were younger, we feared the “Big C” – cancer – because there was a finality to that word – death. Cancer had so many variations and serious results, yet most of them led to dying.
Today, life expectancy has exploded and most of us live longer. For example, I found 30 residents in our community who are over 100 when I was researching a recent story. In my realization, I discovered what I really fear, which I think is a fear shared by many, is the diagnosis of the “Big A,” Alzheimer’s. Today, there is no cure for this diseases and, it seems, very little treatment. In fact, its finality is living your life in a fog or cloud. Most Alzheimer’s patients die because the rest of their bodies eventually shut down from some illness or another.
To all this fear, however, there is a source that provides us with information and a few skills that teach us how to deal with Alzheimer’s, and that is our own Sun City Health & Fitness Department.
SCSCAI Fitness Director Pam Shields told me the seminar her department hosted on January 29, “Unraveling the Mystery of Memory Loss,” was a packed event.
“We started out with seating for 120 and ended up adding enough chairs for our total attendance of 156!” she said. “Our speaker, Brian Browne of Dementia Care Education, was here in conjunction with the Lou Ruvo Center. He spoke on the topic of memory and how memory loss occurs. He also discussed brain health and dementia in general.”
Because of the class’ phenomenal response, Pam said Brian will return to Sun City Summerlin on Monday, March 16, 6-7:30 p.m., to discuss the next steps – What do you do? And What can you do?
“On Thursday, February 26, I will lead a talk at Desert Vista, from 6-7 p.m. called ‘Use It or Lose It.’ I will be discussing how to live a brain-healthy life, as well as the book I wrote by the same title,” Pam said.
Pam will also teach a four-session class on brain health in March titled “Use It or Lose it!” That class will be held on March 4, 11, 18 and 25 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Desert Vista. The class is limited to 20 participants.
So, you see, we’ve got a lot of brain stuff going on in the next several weeks. So, if you’re feeling down or overwhelmed, these programs can offer you some hope.
See you there!
FAMILY VISIT SIGNALS CHANGES, LOTS TO BE THANKFUL FOR
Well, Thanksgiving came and went, and this year was really different. Ella is about to become 15, Isabelle is will be 13 and have her Bat-Mitzvah in March, and Jacob will be 3 in about a month. This makes everything different; the girls are teenagers and the baby loves anything with wheels on it!
The night before they were supposed to come, my son informed me that the girls really didn’t want to come because they didn’t want to miss school. I knew this because every time I spoke with them they mentioned this to me (but no one else). At first, I was hurt, but then I felt very proud that we had two such advanced girls, both being honor students who really love school. I lashed out and told my son, “Don’t come!” Then I rationalized and felt very proud that their mother, their father and their two schoolteacher grandparents had instilled such feelings in them. I told my wife and she was very upset, but I told her she would see them again in March. However, since grandma was about to have a heart valve repair/replacement, she was afraid that she would never see them again. After much arguing between all of us, they did want to come and “see grandma before her operation.”
They came the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving and were scheduled to leave Chicago at 3 p.m. and arrive in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. I had arranged for a couple with two cars to pick up the entire clan and their luggage. The weather back East was bad, so their flight kept being delayed and they had to wait four hours and 45 minutes for the crew and a new plane. It isn’t easy to keep a group of five, including a baby, intact and in good spirits at an airport. Also, when the couple who was to pick them up checked the flight schedules, they called and told us they had other people to pick up and couldn’t pick up our group. Now, who was I going to call at 9 p.m. that would still be awake and could do this in Sun City?
I guess I had to do it and hope for the best. So, I headed to the airport at 11:15 p.m. to pick up as many of them as I could around midnight. I stood at the baggage carousel and waited, and at 12:15 a.m. I saw them. I got two hugs from my granddaughters, and Jacob, in his stroller, smiled and said, “Grandpa, I was on a plane!” All this made a difficult situation palatable. We got the bags and walked to the car (fortunately I had an extra car seat, which my daughter-in-law installed in my car (she knows all the safety regulations).
We loaded the car and the only one who couldn’t fit was my son, who took two of the suitcases (if you remember, my daughter-law brought a whole 29-inch suitcase with bottles, sterilizer, etc) and found a cab and went, alone, to my house.
We got to the house and my son had arrived before us so he could help me with the bags. Isabelle had tracked my son on a phone app, so she knew exactly where Daddy was.
Once at home, the question of who was going to sleep where ensued. The girls argue, so Isabelle took some bedding, surveyed the house, and slept on the floor of the laundry room; my son slept on a couch; Ella slept on a pull-out; and my daughter-in-law slept with the baby on the king-size bed in my office. Goodnight!
The next morning, the girls prepared pancakes for the whole clan and the baby was fed. Then the girls went with their step-mother to Smith’s and bought all the things they needed for the baby, and Isabelle decided she wanted to do some baking. When they returned from, the girls did some of their homework and we all sat down to watch “Keeping Up With the Stein’s,” a parody about a Jewish family preparing for a Bar Mitzvah (this was relevant since we were a Jewish family preparing for a Bat-Mitzvah!
This year, my wife, concerned about her forthcoming operation, didn’t want to do much cooking, so we planned to go to a buffet. Before dinner my son, the two girls and I saw a great who-done-it called “Knives Out.” I don’t go to the movies often, but it was the best movie I had seen in years and you didn’t know how the murder took place until 1 minute before the credits rolled. An absolutely GREAT movie! Go see it.
The buffet was very good, not crowded, not expensive and ample choices and varieties of food were available with a carving station added at each of the six stations that made for little traffic. Plus, there was an ample choice of deserts with no-sugar-added selections.
We got home around 4 p.m. and the girls did more homework. I helped Isabelle and my wife helped Ella.
On Friday, through a channel on YouTube, the girls and my son found an indoor playground for Jacob on Sahara Avenue at Fort Apache. The activity was very clean, well supervised, and priced at $12 for Jacob. Admission was free for the adults, who had couches to sit on. Jacob played for four hours and cried when we had to leave. He loved it.
That night, Isabelle made Shabbat dinner, a tradition in a Jewish household to celebrate the Sabbath.
On Saturday, my son took Jacob him back to Kinderworld; the girls did more homework, and our daughter-in-law cleaned and prepared more baby bottles.
Back in 2010, when my wife and I were living in a condo (in Sun City), we started a tradition for our grandchildren. We planted a cactus for each of them. Ella got a prickly pear, Isabelle got a barrel cactus, and when Jacob was born we planted an agave. We put little name tags on each cactus for the grandkids. When we moved to our house in 2014, we moved the larger cacti in rock gardens to the back yard and the baby’s cactus was planted in the front yard.
I took photos of each of the girls with their cactus so you can see how they’ve grown. I also added Jacob’s agave, since this was the first time he saw it.
When Saturday night rolled around we went to Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory in Henderson to see the cactus garden and the holiday lights. So, it seems, did the rest of the population of the Las Vegas Valley! It was cold; it was crowded (auxiliary parking was set up two blocks away)! Long lines were everywhere. Then we went to Sweet Tomatoes (Isabelle’s favorite since she has become a vegetarian and the restaurant chain has closed down where they live.) We were all tired from the hustle and bustle of wandering around the cactus garden in the cold and the dark.
On Sunday, since Kinderworld was closed, we just rested, packed and the girls did more homework. They had an awful lot of school work for the holiday weekend.
When the group departed, my wife and I decided this would be the last Thanksgiving like this. Even though we have three bedrooms and three bathrooms, we don’t have enough space for this group to be comfortable. (By the way, after the first night Isabelle slept in the small bedroom, on a blow-up mattress, with her big sister.)
Oh, I forgot to mention, since the girls’ birthdays are in December and March, and Jacob’s birthday is in January, we gave them all their gifts now, but they were for Hanukkah, Xmas and their birthdays. This year, the girls received large gift cards from Amazon and Jacob received a Bubbe doll (squeeze the hand and a Jewish grandma’s words are spoken), a dump truck (anything with wheels makes him happy) and a Paws Patrol drawing easel.
Now we are preparing for the Bat-Mitzvah in March.
The night before they were supposed to come, my son informed me that the girls really didn’t want to come because they didn’t want to miss school. I knew this because every time I spoke with them they mentioned this to me (but no one else). At first, I was hurt, but then I felt very proud that we had two such advanced girls, both being honor students who really love school. I lashed out and told my son, “Don’t come!” Then I rationalized and felt very proud that their mother, their father and their two schoolteacher grandparents had instilled such feelings in them. I told my wife and she was very upset, but I told her she would see them again in March. However, since grandma was about to have a heart valve repair/replacement, she was afraid that she would never see them again. After much arguing between all of us, they did want to come and “see grandma before her operation.”
They came the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving and were scheduled to leave Chicago at 3 p.m. and arrive in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. I had arranged for a couple with two cars to pick up the entire clan and their luggage. The weather back East was bad, so their flight kept being delayed and they had to wait four hours and 45 minutes for the crew and a new plane. It isn’t easy to keep a group of five, including a baby, intact and in good spirits at an airport. Also, when the couple who was to pick them up checked the flight schedules, they called and told us they had other people to pick up and couldn’t pick up our group. Now, who was I going to call at 9 p.m. that would still be awake and could do this in Sun City?
I guess I had to do it and hope for the best. So, I headed to the airport at 11:15 p.m. to pick up as many of them as I could around midnight. I stood at the baggage carousel and waited, and at 12:15 a.m. I saw them. I got two hugs from my granddaughters, and Jacob, in his stroller, smiled and said, “Grandpa, I was on a plane!” All this made a difficult situation palatable. We got the bags and walked to the car (fortunately I had an extra car seat, which my daughter-in-law installed in my car (she knows all the safety regulations).
We loaded the car and the only one who couldn’t fit was my son, who took two of the suitcases (if you remember, my daughter-law brought a whole 29-inch suitcase with bottles, sterilizer, etc) and found a cab and went, alone, to my house.
We got to the house and my son had arrived before us so he could help me with the bags. Isabelle had tracked my son on a phone app, so she knew exactly where Daddy was.
Once at home, the question of who was going to sleep where ensued. The girls argue, so Isabelle took some bedding, surveyed the house, and slept on the floor of the laundry room; my son slept on a couch; Ella slept on a pull-out; and my daughter-in-law slept with the baby on the king-size bed in my office. Goodnight!
The next morning, the girls prepared pancakes for the whole clan and the baby was fed. Then the girls went with their step-mother to Smith’s and bought all the things they needed for the baby, and Isabelle decided she wanted to do some baking. When they returned from, the girls did some of their homework and we all sat down to watch “Keeping Up With the Stein’s,” a parody about a Jewish family preparing for a Bar Mitzvah (this was relevant since we were a Jewish family preparing for a Bat-Mitzvah!
This year, my wife, concerned about her forthcoming operation, didn’t want to do much cooking, so we planned to go to a buffet. Before dinner my son, the two girls and I saw a great who-done-it called “Knives Out.” I don’t go to the movies often, but it was the best movie I had seen in years and you didn’t know how the murder took place until 1 minute before the credits rolled. An absolutely GREAT movie! Go see it.
The buffet was very good, not crowded, not expensive and ample choices and varieties of food were available with a carving station added at each of the six stations that made for little traffic. Plus, there was an ample choice of deserts with no-sugar-added selections.
We got home around 4 p.m. and the girls did more homework. I helped Isabelle and my wife helped Ella.
On Friday, through a channel on YouTube, the girls and my son found an indoor playground for Jacob on Sahara Avenue at Fort Apache. The activity was very clean, well supervised, and priced at $12 for Jacob. Admission was free for the adults, who had couches to sit on. Jacob played for four hours and cried when we had to leave. He loved it.
That night, Isabelle made Shabbat dinner, a tradition in a Jewish household to celebrate the Sabbath.
On Saturday, my son took Jacob him back to Kinderworld; the girls did more homework, and our daughter-in-law cleaned and prepared more baby bottles.
Back in 2010, when my wife and I were living in a condo (in Sun City), we started a tradition for our grandchildren. We planted a cactus for each of them. Ella got a prickly pear, Isabelle got a barrel cactus, and when Jacob was born we planted an agave. We put little name tags on each cactus for the grandkids. When we moved to our house in 2014, we moved the larger cacti in rock gardens to the back yard and the baby’s cactus was planted in the front yard.
I took photos of each of the girls with their cactus so you can see how they’ve grown. I also added Jacob’s agave, since this was the first time he saw it.
When Saturday night rolled around we went to Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory in Henderson to see the cactus garden and the holiday lights. So, it seems, did the rest of the population of the Las Vegas Valley! It was cold; it was crowded (auxiliary parking was set up two blocks away)! Long lines were everywhere. Then we went to Sweet Tomatoes (Isabelle’s favorite since she has become a vegetarian and the restaurant chain has closed down where they live.) We were all tired from the hustle and bustle of wandering around the cactus garden in the cold and the dark.
On Sunday, since Kinderworld was closed, we just rested, packed and the girls did more homework. They had an awful lot of school work for the holiday weekend.
When the group departed, my wife and I decided this would be the last Thanksgiving like this. Even though we have three bedrooms and three bathrooms, we don’t have enough space for this group to be comfortable. (By the way, after the first night Isabelle slept in the small bedroom, on a blow-up mattress, with her big sister.)
Oh, I forgot to mention, since the girls’ birthdays are in December and March, and Jacob’s birthday is in January, we gave them all their gifts now, but they were for Hanukkah, Xmas and their birthdays. This year, the girls received large gift cards from Amazon and Jacob received a Bubbe doll (squeeze the hand and a Jewish grandma’s words are spoken), a dump truck (anything with wheels makes him happy) and a Paws Patrol drawing easel.
Now we are preparing for the Bat-Mitzvah in March.
HERE COME THE HOLIDAYS!
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From left, Jacob, 2 years, 8 months; Isabelle, 12; and Ella, 14. |
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So, now summer is over, and we start thinking about school and the holidays.
My granddaughters are back in school; the middle one is in the seventh grade so she starts thinking about clothes. The oldest one is starting high school, and she doesn’t think much about clothes but she is still a voracious reader. The little boy is 2 years and 8 months and he plays with anything that moves – cars, trucks, trains. He’s going to start sports play groups and he runs all over the place.
The girls will be coming to us for Thanksgiving and that’s a problem because my wife cannot prepare the meal (she’s handicapped) and the oldest one is a particular eater. We settled on going to the buffet at Suncoast. The girls have always loved buffets. When they we much younger they loved Sweet Tomatoes. When I asked them why their answer was, “This way we can pick the food WE like, and we can try different things!”
The oldest one is going to a school dance so her mom and stepmother took her to Macy’s to buy a dress.
The younger one is having her Bat Mitzvah next spring so my wife and her stepmother already went through that dress selection. Dress selection is tough because it has to meet the approval of both the mother and the stepmother, be liked by the middle one (she’s going to wear it) and paid for by the grandmother.
That’s another thing – paying for it. The Middle one called me up one day and said, “Grandpa, I want to plan my Bat Mitzvah, but Mommy and Daddy don’t seem very enthusiastic!”
I assured her, “Grandpa will make sure everything is taken care of. I’m on your side.”
She interpreted that and told both her parents, “Grandpa says he’s taking care of everything!” Somehow, that interpretation is costing me a lot of money!
Anyway, both girls have new dresses for their special occasions. The little boy is always happy. Last year I bought him a tool belt and a hard hat, but it was way to big so Mom put it away for this Hanukkah. He found it, so when we visited on Labor Day there he was in his new hard hat and tool belt. His other grandpa was a mechanic, so I told him to have his other grandpa teach him the tools.
Right after we came home, two weeks ago, Mom found a fantastic costume for Halloween. A fireman.
Each week, it seems he has something new. My daughter-in-law belongs to a local Facebook page where the parents sell old toys, so it seems he always has something new to play with. This weekend he was playing with an automobile garage/parking ramp and it was almost as big as a Christmas tree!
As a Grandpa, it’s hard to keep up with a 14-year-old, a 12-year-old and an “almost 3-year-old” toddler.
We’ll talk next time about Thanksgiving and the holidays.
My granddaughters are back in school; the middle one is in the seventh grade so she starts thinking about clothes. The oldest one is starting high school, and she doesn’t think much about clothes but she is still a voracious reader. The little boy is 2 years and 8 months and he plays with anything that moves – cars, trucks, trains. He’s going to start sports play groups and he runs all over the place.
The girls will be coming to us for Thanksgiving and that’s a problem because my wife cannot prepare the meal (she’s handicapped) and the oldest one is a particular eater. We settled on going to the buffet at Suncoast. The girls have always loved buffets. When they we much younger they loved Sweet Tomatoes. When I asked them why their answer was, “This way we can pick the food WE like, and we can try different things!”
The oldest one is going to a school dance so her mom and stepmother took her to Macy’s to buy a dress.
The younger one is having her Bat Mitzvah next spring so my wife and her stepmother already went through that dress selection. Dress selection is tough because it has to meet the approval of both the mother and the stepmother, be liked by the middle one (she’s going to wear it) and paid for by the grandmother.
That’s another thing – paying for it. The Middle one called me up one day and said, “Grandpa, I want to plan my Bat Mitzvah, but Mommy and Daddy don’t seem very enthusiastic!”
I assured her, “Grandpa will make sure everything is taken care of. I’m on your side.”
She interpreted that and told both her parents, “Grandpa says he’s taking care of everything!” Somehow, that interpretation is costing me a lot of money!
Anyway, both girls have new dresses for their special occasions. The little boy is always happy. Last year I bought him a tool belt and a hard hat, but it was way to big so Mom put it away for this Hanukkah. He found it, so when we visited on Labor Day there he was in his new hard hat and tool belt. His other grandpa was a mechanic, so I told him to have his other grandpa teach him the tools.
Right after we came home, two weeks ago, Mom found a fantastic costume for Halloween. A fireman.
Each week, it seems he has something new. My daughter-in-law belongs to a local Facebook page where the parents sell old toys, so it seems he always has something new to play with. This weekend he was playing with an automobile garage/parking ramp and it was almost as big as a Christmas tree!
As a Grandpa, it’s hard to keep up with a 14-year-old, a 12-year-old and an “almost 3-year-old” toddler.
We’ll talk next time about Thanksgiving and the holidays.
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My 2 ½-year-old grandson had his first visit to the dentist. My son took him to a dentist who specializes in toddlers. At first, he looked around the room amazed, but when the dentist put the probe in his mouth, screams and crying came out. Soon after, he calmed down until the dentist next put a spinning device into his mouth and the crying started again. Following the checkup, his dentist treated him to a lollipop and a toy (a red car) and he was all smiles when they left!
Later in the week, my son and grandson Skyped my wife and I and my grandson said “dentist,” pointed to his teeth and proudly showed us his new red car!
The adventure reminded me of my son when he was that age. We took him to an “old-time” doctor (who was my wife’s pediatrician). You know the type – little hair, wire-rimmed glasses and a white lab coat. I think he might have even made house calls, but I’m not sure. Anyway, my son developed a strong fear of ANYONE in a white coat. Whether they were a doctor or a dentist, or whatever, if they were in a white lab coat, he would start to cry because all he could think about was “The guy in the white coat is going to give me a shot!”
The funniest story is a lesson to be learned. Our son was about 2 years old (he’s 45 now) and we had had a tremendous snow storm (we lived in Queens, N.Y., at the time). It was a weekend day and my son started having diarrhea. We were new parents, so we called the grandparents (remember, there was almost 18 inches of snow on the ground) and asked their advice. He was the first grandchild in the family so we had a humungous amount of advice. My father-in-law, who was “always right,” suggested “cola syrup!” We couldn’t go out and get some, but we had a 64-ounce bottle of Pepsi. I opened it, carefully, and gently shook out the bubbles (we were told “syrup.”) We put it in his bottle and he loved it – sweet, no bubbles, tasted great! No school on Monday (because of the snow) and we kept feeding him the Pepsi. He was bouncing around his crib and saying, “Hi, Mommy” and “Hi, Daddy” (continuously) until Wednesday. He didn’t stop for 36 hours. We couldn’t sleep, and I had to take Wednesday off. We were exhausted. We finally took him to the doctor on Friday, and when the doctor heard the story, and then examined our son, he laughed. I said, “What’s so funny?”
He responded, “You poisoned your son with caffeine! He’s wired!”
Did we feel stupid. This was also about the time Fresca was first coming out. There was no caffeine-free soft drinks, or anything other than Pepsi or Coke from which to choose.
The moral of this story is: Little kids, whether they are your children or grandchildren, come with no instruction book and a whole new set of rules! Being a grandparent may be a wonderful experience, but you NEVER stop learning!
Later in the week, my son and grandson Skyped my wife and I and my grandson said “dentist,” pointed to his teeth and proudly showed us his new red car!
The adventure reminded me of my son when he was that age. We took him to an “old-time” doctor (who was my wife’s pediatrician). You know the type – little hair, wire-rimmed glasses and a white lab coat. I think he might have even made house calls, but I’m not sure. Anyway, my son developed a strong fear of ANYONE in a white coat. Whether they were a doctor or a dentist, or whatever, if they were in a white lab coat, he would start to cry because all he could think about was “The guy in the white coat is going to give me a shot!”
The funniest story is a lesson to be learned. Our son was about 2 years old (he’s 45 now) and we had had a tremendous snow storm (we lived in Queens, N.Y., at the time). It was a weekend day and my son started having diarrhea. We were new parents, so we called the grandparents (remember, there was almost 18 inches of snow on the ground) and asked their advice. He was the first grandchild in the family so we had a humungous amount of advice. My father-in-law, who was “always right,” suggested “cola syrup!” We couldn’t go out and get some, but we had a 64-ounce bottle of Pepsi. I opened it, carefully, and gently shook out the bubbles (we were told “syrup.”) We put it in his bottle and he loved it – sweet, no bubbles, tasted great! No school on Monday (because of the snow) and we kept feeding him the Pepsi. He was bouncing around his crib and saying, “Hi, Mommy” and “Hi, Daddy” (continuously) until Wednesday. He didn’t stop for 36 hours. We couldn’t sleep, and I had to take Wednesday off. We were exhausted. We finally took him to the doctor on Friday, and when the doctor heard the story, and then examined our son, he laughed. I said, “What’s so funny?”
He responded, “You poisoned your son with caffeine! He’s wired!”
Did we feel stupid. This was also about the time Fresca was first coming out. There was no caffeine-free soft drinks, or anything other than Pepsi or Coke from which to choose.
The moral of this story is: Little kids, whether they are your children or grandchildren, come with no instruction book and a whole new set of rules! Being a grandparent may be a wonderful experience, but you NEVER stop learning!
PRE-TEEN'S VISIT A REAL EYE-OPENER
And I Thought the Baby Was Exhausting
OK, the baby and his parents left two months ago and shortly we will be visited by my 12-year-old granddaughter Isabelle. Since she was 10 (two years ago in March), she has progressed. On July 4, 2017, she made a red, white and blue seven-layer cake for the Fourth of July. Then she became political after she turned 11. At a local town hall meeting, she met Emma Gonzalez and Lauren Hogg from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The two teens were students at the school during the Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2018) school shooting, where 17 people died.
During the same town hall, Isabelle also met Lauren Underwood, the first African-American female candidate from her congressional district. After that, Isabelle got involved in Underwood’s 2018 election campaign. Underwood was victorious. She is the second-youngest congresswoman serving today.
Last Halloween, Isabelle dressed as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and read Justice Ginsburg’s book. Her parents also allowed her to see the biopic “On the Basis of Sex.” In April, following her 12th birthday, Isabelle asked her mom and dad if she could visit her grandparents in Las Vegas.
After I learned that she wanted to visit us, I asked her, “Who are you coming with?”
She replied, “I’m coming alone!”
When I asked her, “Did you speak with Mommy and Daddy about this?”
She answered, “Mommy is OK; Daddy is apprehensive!”
Anyway, she’s been here a week now and Grandma and Grandpa are exhausted.
Before Isabelle came to us, she had a private audience with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
So, in one year, Isabelle has met the kids from Parkland High School, helped a Congresswoman get elected, became interested in the U.S. Supreme Court, met a Senator and traveled half-way across the country, alone. And it all started when she was 10 years old!
During her visit, we’ve taken her on a riverboat cruise on Lake Mead ($28 per person for a 90-minute ride, lakemeadcruises.com). She reorganized our closet; she visited the “CSI” exhibit at the MGM, and solved the crime (about $26 per person for one crime, plus $10 for parking); and we took in Nathan Burton’s magic show at Planet Hollywood (the best bargain in town, only $12.50 per person for a 4 p.m. show that was fantastic). Close to home, Isabelle has gone swimming at the Desert Vista indoor pool and saw the movie “Yesterday” at the Suncoast. It’s been too hot to play miniature golf at Mountain Shadows or to go to the outdoor pool at the Pinnacle, but she did find time to go shopping at Kohl’s with Grandma. In her spare time she watches C-SPAN!
Isabelle will get home on Monday night and today, Tuesday, she will start band camp.
Grandma and Grandpa are really exhausted!
During the same town hall, Isabelle also met Lauren Underwood, the first African-American female candidate from her congressional district. After that, Isabelle got involved in Underwood’s 2018 election campaign. Underwood was victorious. She is the second-youngest congresswoman serving today.
Last Halloween, Isabelle dressed as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and read Justice Ginsburg’s book. Her parents also allowed her to see the biopic “On the Basis of Sex.” In April, following her 12th birthday, Isabelle asked her mom and dad if she could visit her grandparents in Las Vegas.
After I learned that she wanted to visit us, I asked her, “Who are you coming with?”
She replied, “I’m coming alone!”
When I asked her, “Did you speak with Mommy and Daddy about this?”
She answered, “Mommy is OK; Daddy is apprehensive!”
Anyway, she’s been here a week now and Grandma and Grandpa are exhausted.
Before Isabelle came to us, she had a private audience with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
So, in one year, Isabelle has met the kids from Parkland High School, helped a Congresswoman get elected, became interested in the U.S. Supreme Court, met a Senator and traveled half-way across the country, alone. And it all started when she was 10 years old!
During her visit, we’ve taken her on a riverboat cruise on Lake Mead ($28 per person for a 90-minute ride, lakemeadcruises.com). She reorganized our closet; she visited the “CSI” exhibit at the MGM, and solved the crime (about $26 per person for one crime, plus $10 for parking); and we took in Nathan Burton’s magic show at Planet Hollywood (the best bargain in town, only $12.50 per person for a 4 p.m. show that was fantastic). Close to home, Isabelle has gone swimming at the Desert Vista indoor pool and saw the movie “Yesterday” at the Suncoast. It’s been too hot to play miniature golf at Mountain Shadows or to go to the outdoor pool at the Pinnacle, but she did find time to go shopping at Kohl’s with Grandma. In her spare time she watches C-SPAN!
Isabelle will get home on Monday night and today, Tuesday, she will start band camp.
Grandma and Grandpa are really exhausted!
IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT THE PACKING
Well, now my son, daughter-in-law and the 30-month-old have gone home and the 12-year-old granddaughter is coming in two weeks.
With some time in between visits, I took a minute to review luggage. Yes, luggage, as the first round of visitors seemed to pack for an army. It was, indeed, a sight to see.
Let’s see, they came with three 29-inch suitcases filled with things for the toddler. Sterilization racks for the bottles, diaper wipes, etc. And because my wife and I had to prepare for the visit, we headed to Costco for a case of diapers, organic apple juice, spring water, baby powder and, of course, some toy trucks.
My grandson loved the trucks (one of them he could ride on and store his toy cars) and one was a fire truck. I was amazed at all the stuff they brought for the baby – three suitcases! They also had some clothes because it was much warmer here in Las Vegas than it was in Chicago.
After what I call our first-round guests left, my wife and I had a month before round two appeared. So, we planned a 16-day road trip all the way up to Great Falls, Montana, stopping at the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Waterton-Glacier National Park and Promontory Point, Utah, to see the ceremony for the connection of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroad lines. We had been to each of these destinations before, but we had planned this trip and cancelled it three times. So, we figured we should go.
As I started to pack, my wife, Beth, said, “You know, I cannot help you with the driving.” She has had two previous back operations and has developed a drop foot, which means she can’t feel anything in her right foot. Most of us who drive don’t realize how important our right foot is to driving. Well, I’m here to tell you that it is. Beth took six months of lessons driving with hand controls, and then we had to have her car modified with hand controls so that she could operate the vehicle. She now drives to most places she frequents (Smith’s, Kohl’s and Target). However, she reminded me that she couldn’t drive my car, as it does not have hand controls, and we couldn’t take her car (it’s a compact – too small).
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that we were going into the mountains. So, I started to pack and realized I would have to be loading and unloading the car for 16 days. Then I remembered that we would be driving on country roads much of the way. I continued to pack. One suitcase was completely filled with my medical stuff – my CoaguCheck (to test my INR – coumadin levels); three weeks of medications (you always should have extra); my CPAP machine and mask (I have sleep apnea); my glucometer (diabetes) and test strips; my medical diary; insulin pens; etc.
Next suitcase started.
Before long, I realized I was bringing almost as much stuff as I saw was needed for the baby!
It was then that I turned to my wife and said, “Do you really want to go on this trip?
I told her, “I can give you one reason why we should go and 10 reasons why we shouldn’t!”
And she replied, “What’s the reason we should go?”
I answered, “We’ll get a load of Hilton honors points!”
Trip cancellation No. 4. Maybe next summer!
The moral of the story: As you get older, you have to realize your limitations.
With some time in between visits, I took a minute to review luggage. Yes, luggage, as the first round of visitors seemed to pack for an army. It was, indeed, a sight to see.
Let’s see, they came with three 29-inch suitcases filled with things for the toddler. Sterilization racks for the bottles, diaper wipes, etc. And because my wife and I had to prepare for the visit, we headed to Costco for a case of diapers, organic apple juice, spring water, baby powder and, of course, some toy trucks.
My grandson loved the trucks (one of them he could ride on and store his toy cars) and one was a fire truck. I was amazed at all the stuff they brought for the baby – three suitcases! They also had some clothes because it was much warmer here in Las Vegas than it was in Chicago.
After what I call our first-round guests left, my wife and I had a month before round two appeared. So, we planned a 16-day road trip all the way up to Great Falls, Montana, stopping at the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Waterton-Glacier National Park and Promontory Point, Utah, to see the ceremony for the connection of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroad lines. We had been to each of these destinations before, but we had planned this trip and cancelled it three times. So, we figured we should go.
As I started to pack, my wife, Beth, said, “You know, I cannot help you with the driving.” She has had two previous back operations and has developed a drop foot, which means she can’t feel anything in her right foot. Most of us who drive don’t realize how important our right foot is to driving. Well, I’m here to tell you that it is. Beth took six months of lessons driving with hand controls, and then we had to have her car modified with hand controls so that she could operate the vehicle. She now drives to most places she frequents (Smith’s, Kohl’s and Target). However, she reminded me that she couldn’t drive my car, as it does not have hand controls, and we couldn’t take her car (it’s a compact – too small).
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that we were going into the mountains. So, I started to pack and realized I would have to be loading and unloading the car for 16 days. Then I remembered that we would be driving on country roads much of the way. I continued to pack. One suitcase was completely filled with my medical stuff – my CoaguCheck (to test my INR – coumadin levels); three weeks of medications (you always should have extra); my CPAP machine and mask (I have sleep apnea); my glucometer (diabetes) and test strips; my medical diary; insulin pens; etc.
Next suitcase started.
Before long, I realized I was bringing almost as much stuff as I saw was needed for the baby!
It was then that I turned to my wife and said, “Do you really want to go on this trip?
I told her, “I can give you one reason why we should go and 10 reasons why we shouldn’t!”
And she replied, “What’s the reason we should go?”
I answered, “We’ll get a load of Hilton honors points!”
Trip cancellation No. 4. Maybe next summer!
The moral of the story: As you get older, you have to realize your limitations.
KEEPING KIDS BUSY MEANS GETTING DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL
Take a History Lesson at the Nevada Southern State Railroad Museum in Boulder City
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Over three years ago my daughter-in-law told us she was going to have a “miracle baby” (she was 42 at the time) and we found out it was going to be a boy. We had two pre-teen girls by that time, and my wife loved to shop at Kohl’s for them. But her sister, who already had a grandson, told, us, “Boys are easy, just buy them khakis and trucks – that’s all they need!”
Well, my grandson not only loved trucks, he loved trains. In fact, one of his first words was “Choo-choo.” So, for Christmas/Chanukkah, I bought him a wooden train set. The “Choo-choos” continued, and when they came to visit this spring, my wife and I took him to the Nevada Southern State Railroad Museum in Boulder City. The museum is open only on weekends and the adult admission is $10; children 4-11 are $5; and children under 4 ride free on a 40-minute excursion of the Boulder City branch of the Union Pacific Railroad. My grandson loved the ride, the lessons and drawing in one of the cars, and the open-air car that lets you see, first-hand, some of the beauties of our state.
The museum is located at 600 Yucca St., Boulder City. For information, call 486-5952. The website is www.nevadasouthern.com.
Nearby the museum is Hoover Dam and the Memorial Park to the new Hoover Dam by-pass bridge (Note: There are seven flights of stairs, or seven ramps, to get from the parking lot to the Memorial Park). From the Memorial Park you can walk across the bridge and stand above the dam. But you cannot enter Arizona from the walkway.
Other fun family attractions located a short distance from the Dam include a cruise on a Mississippi River-style paddle boat on Lake Mead, which I will revisit in a month when one of our older girls comes to visit.
Stay tuned, and happy adventuring. “Choo-choo!”
Well, my grandson not only loved trucks, he loved trains. In fact, one of his first words was “Choo-choo.” So, for Christmas/Chanukkah, I bought him a wooden train set. The “Choo-choos” continued, and when they came to visit this spring, my wife and I took him to the Nevada Southern State Railroad Museum in Boulder City. The museum is open only on weekends and the adult admission is $10; children 4-11 are $5; and children under 4 ride free on a 40-minute excursion of the Boulder City branch of the Union Pacific Railroad. My grandson loved the ride, the lessons and drawing in one of the cars, and the open-air car that lets you see, first-hand, some of the beauties of our state.
The museum is located at 600 Yucca St., Boulder City. For information, call 486-5952. The website is www.nevadasouthern.com.
Nearby the museum is Hoover Dam and the Memorial Park to the new Hoover Dam by-pass bridge (Note: There are seven flights of stairs, or seven ramps, to get from the parking lot to the Memorial Park). From the Memorial Park you can walk across the bridge and stand above the dam. But you cannot enter Arizona from the walkway.
Other fun family attractions located a short distance from the Dam include a cruise on a Mississippi River-style paddle boat on Lake Mead, which I will revisit in a month when one of our older girls comes to visit.
Stay tuned, and happy adventuring. “Choo-choo!”
