I would like to address this anyone who is thinking about the pros and cons of spending time in the RV.

If your RV has a trailer hitch you might be trailering a car, small truck or SUV behind for easy access to sightseeing or picking up that loaf of bread you forgot to buy before hooking up to utilities at the camp site. some people are bringing bikes or small motor scooters for just that need, rather than unhook often. If you have this convenience, you might think the coming statements are so helpful. Just in case you do not h ave a hitch with a second vehicle at your disposal, I KNOW the following will assist you greatly. The spaces that are rented have options in most RV parks. Some of those are: water, sewer, and electric. If you will be living in the RV full time and renting a space for a month or more, you will also possibly be given garbage included in the monthly fee.

The pros of living in an RV are numerous in comparison to house or apartment. The fees, especially on a monthly basis, are considerably lower. Another attribute is that you have all or some utilities included in that monthly check.. Plus, all the maintenance is done by someone else, leaving all your time for fun. RV's are much smaller than homes, so house cleaning is a breeze taking only a small amount of time to do everything. Since they are not stationary, there are no taxes on your motor home. Yes, you have licensing fees, however they are a drop in the bucket in comparison to land taxes.

Let us talk about traveling rather than staying in one place permanently.

If the weather is inclement, pack up and go to a better climate instead of waiting out the storm. Generally people will come see you and not expect you to put them up for the night when you are living in a motor home. You will get invited to their homes for celebration dinners and special holidays.

When you want to visit anyone in another state, you get to sleep in a bed in which you know who was in it last. If you are thirsty or hungry, those are easily satisfied by pulling off the side of the road . Some places like some Wal-Marts allow you to stay in the parking lots for free. In my state of Oregon, anyone can pull off the side of the road and stay overnight unless it is specifically marked “no overnight parking”. Check out your state.

Have a great trip!

Part of getting ready to visit an unknown country is doing my homework stating the places of interest of the people traveling. My daughter and I put on a piece of paper which points of interest we desired to see and then compared notes.

Needless to say, many of the same ideas were on both lists. After compiling the final agenda, we had more to do. Locating the contents of the list on the map of Ireland, was next in line to schedule.

Since the entire country was to be seen, we decided to rent a car, so nothing was left out on our travels. It took 2 of us to drive the car. No kidding! One to sit in the driver's seat that is opposite from our cars and the other to shift and remind the pilot of the car to remain on the “wrong side of the road”. We are such creatures of habit; we determined early on, that the motoring was a 2 person venture. Signs were in the native tongue with some sporadic English language on the street signs too. We both learned much from our enjoyable mistakes.

Cliffs of Mohr, is splendid, but takes some getting to before you view the beauty. The trip to the cliffs was pleasant and enlightening. We passed many tourists, who were seeing the country from mini campers. Yes, they were on the roadway. Animals are permitted to roam free, so an occasional cow or goat alerted the co-pilot to inform the captain of the vessel to be alarmed to animal in the road. Bed and Breakfasts are plentiful and our selected rest and relaxation at the close of each day's events. We got to visit with locals and see interiors of some homes as well. We were fed very well in some, while others were skimpy for the first meal of the day. A Castle had to be one night's stay, which we were glad we only did for one night. The price was extremely high and the abode was cold. Everything was a-la-carte which meant no free breakfast during that one evening of feeling like Princesses.

Kilarney should not be overlooked. The countryside ride in a one horse buggy is a must, not only to see the sights, but to enjoy someone else driving you along with other benefits. I won't spoil the other great things that ride provides so you can be surprised as we were.

The Blarney stone, Bunraty castle, a caveman meal, seeing the church where Christopher Columbus prayed before setting sail to discover America and your heart's desire might be on your Points of interest list. The Abbey, museums; large and small along with Waterford Crystal Factory might be included on your “Must See” agenda.

Even if you do not drink alcohol, going to a pub at about 11AM, is an experience I will never forget and perhaps you might not either. Plan on walking if you are going to

sample anything alcohol. The bartenders serve delicious tasting concoctions that go down easily, and then kick you in about 20 minutes. I recommend Mead wine and asking the bartender for suggestions. Plan a meal in the pub if at all possible. Enjoy the locals there.

Many happy memories are mine from my trip to Ireland. You can write about yours when you return.

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When driving by Red Deer on Highway #2 you would not expect that it is cultured or has major public works of art. In fact you may think all Red Deer has to offer is fast food restaurants, gas stations, and RV sales lots. This is because Red Deer's city planners, to avoid downtown congestion, created an area called Gasoline Alley. This strip effectively keeps Highway traffic out of its' downtown area. However, if you take the time to venture into downtown Red Deer there is a thriving cultural community and the city has invested in public works of art.

What I refer to are the statues affectionately referred to as The Ghosts of Red Deer. These incredibly well detailed, life size, sculptures are scattered throughout down town Red Deer. All these ghosts are of real people, with a couple of exceptions, which are real animals. There are plaques explaining the stories behind the statues.

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The first Ghost I saw was an older gentleman sitting on a bench downtown, he had a briefcase and was remarkably well done, I admired the sculpture, but until I saw another, I had not realized that this was a special feature in the city. I soon discovered many more. I have not included a photo of this chap, you will have to discover him for yourself.

There are two sculptures that I was especially drawn to, one because of its magnificent size, attention to detail in an action pose, and the other because of the story behind it.

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The Ghost of a horse drawn fire wagon is truly impressive. The expression on the horses as well as the two human figures is very strong. No question about it, this is an intense moment caught in time. It is the largest Ghost Sculpture, complete with two frightened horses, one driver in the fire wagon, and a man who is trying to control the horses. A rein has broke and they are loosing control of the team, who typically are used to charging full speed to the fire.

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Francis the Pig is my other favorite. This little guy made an escape on route to the slaughter yard, he evaded capture for quite some time. During this time Francis made himself a town celebrity and earned this statue from his days on the run.

All in all, seeing these lovely works of art, in an unexpected location gave me quite an thrill. Red Deer is about one hour north of Calgary, and one and a half hours south of Edmonton, should you find yourself passing through Red Deer, I suggest you turn off the highway, and go into the downtown area and look for these ghosts yourself. Bring a camera.

My wife and I just recently returned from our vacation in Las Vegas. We stayed at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas. It was a very enjoyable, and well needed trip. As I stated earlier, unless you are a big gambler, it can be a very rewarding inexpensive trip. Upon checking in at the hotel, we were given a $250.00 coupon book that has everything from 2 for 1 at the buffet to money for the slot machines.

Once we got up the next morning, we were approached by some people to go on a presentation for a timeshare. As you may know, you can receive some cool stuff when you go on these presentations. At first of course, we were apprehensive about going, but they offered us 2 show tickets for $25.00 a piece, which are $60.50 for the seats that we had, $200.00 in slot money at the hotel, and a 3 day/ 2 night cruise to the Bahamas. Well, this was an offer that we couldn't refuse for only 2 hours of our time, which came in handy because we won $300.00 with the slot money. We actually won back plus more than the money we spent on the whole trip.

Vegas is, of course, most known for its gambling, but has some of the most exquisite hotels, restaurants, buffets, and shopping. The sightseeing is amazing with the Rockie Mountains as its backdrop. The "City of Lights" is a must see for everyone. The only bad point of the trip was the heat. It was 105 - 109 degrees during the day, but the hotel pool with the shark tank was enough to keep cool during those times.

To enjoy the fun in Vegas for under $800.00, go to HotWire It's best to book at leat 3 months in advance for the best price. Just click on Flight & Hotel, and get the best prices that Vegas has to offer. Out of all the sight that I have searched, this one has the best prices.

This is the world's largest public square but is dotted with political offices instead of any pretty flowers or plants. This area serves as the final resting place for the communist chairman Mao Zedong. This square is famous for the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in China which ended in bloody civilian deaths at the arms of Chinese soldiers. In many regards, this is the center of Chinese political power and the birthplace of communist China. The long name for the square is Tian'an Men Guangchang or the Square of the Gate of Heavenly Peace. In this area, you can visit the numueros government offices, monuments and the Chinese National Museum.

The Forbidden City

The city of the emperors once reserved for only members of the imperial court now is open to visitors from near and far abroad - the largest and greatest of palaces complexes from the “old” China. Over 24 emperors issued their edicts from the halls of this grand monument for over 500 years and still serve as the symbolic center of the universe for the children of Han (China). The palace has since been converted to a “Palace Museum” and opened to the public since 1949. Another many things to see is the Imperial Garden and the hall of Supreme Harmony (the throne room). This collection of buildings takes all of its visitors back to ancient china and even see places where historic moments were made.

The Great Wall of China

Within 40 miles from Beijing, the Great Wall of China is the most famous and visible of China's cultural and ancient history. The wall was created by numerous rulers after the unification of China into one empire by Qin Shi Huangdi in 221 BC. Most hotels in the region offer tourists the visit to the Great Walls and to the Ming Tombs that house the dead emperors of China's forgotten era. You can visit the four sites that have been preserved from the damage that have occurred to the walls and check out the Great Wall Museum which shows the history of the area from the Neolithic time period. Overall, this trip is an adventurers and a archeologists wet dream.

The Lama Temple

One of Beijing's most attractice places of worship is the Buddhist Lama Temple. It is made up of five different sections or halls, where each section or hall is taller than the pervious. Thus walking through the temple represents walking from earth into the heavens. The temple was originally the home of Yongzheng who became the Qing Emperor in 1722. There are many sites to visit including the Hall of the Wheel of Dharma, which shows the statue of Tsongkhapa who is the founder of Yellow Hat Sect of Buddhism led by the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama of Tibet. The temple has gone through extreme persecution at the hands of the Chinese authorities but slowly it is coming back. Now over 70 monks serve in the temple which was built to house over 1500 monks.

Hou Hai

The area is the cental hub for the city life in Beijing and the shopping center. Hou Hai has traditionally been the home to nobles and the wealthy in aristocratic China and most of the houses here offer a glimpse back in time. Many of the lakside restaurants, bars and vafes offer attratice views and waterfront terraces for visitors. There are many activities to do including Boating, Skating, and a cheap Rickshaw tour of the entire city. During the day time, it is perfect to visit the area to shop, visit the historic landmarks and homes. But at night, it is a romantic sight to behold. Candles are lit and floated into the waters while you enjoy your romantic dinner at the waterfront glimmering in the night's beauty. Hou Hai really captures the essence of modern China trapped within its past.

We had a table thanks to Herbie and his sweet connections. However, as people started trickling in, I noticed a lack of good looking guys in the club. In fact, it was worse than that, I noticed a lack of young guys in the club period. So since this club was expensive to get into. That means that the people in here have to be rich too. That means that the majority of the guys were creepy old men with lots of cash in their hands and camera ready to go. As I was moving through the crowd, I danced a little, but this only led to me being caught by some guy who did not look that old but he was creepy alright and he was way too touchy freely. I had to get saved by my buddy DJ Kao. It was not fun. Let me just put it that way.

The girls are hot though. The girls are smokin' hot. But this is not a good combination. What ended up happening was me and my friends going into the cage to have a good time and then old men took pictures up my dress. It kind of makes me sad that I wore my slutty dress to this club. What a waste...

Also, it was possibly the greatest display on how good Asians are at taking their alcohol. All the way to the bathroom, I saw people throwing up. I felt bad for the team of people they hired to clean up the puke. Yeah, they had people.

Oh there was also this lame moment where they turned on the lights, stopped the music, and told everyone on the loudspeaker that the cops were here and had to check our IDs. So everyone got carded, again. Pretty sick. We sat there for a while, too. Of course, it was all complicated at our table because we have a bunch of out-of-country IDs.

One good thing I noticed about Plush though was the fact that they played pretty good music for the most part. Although a lot of it was still hard to dance to, it's better than techno-rave music at Luxy after midnight. I love Luxy, though...

Although, I must say that I had a great time at Plush because I spent the time with a great group of people. I danced with our group and got saved if any creepers came by (Thanks, DJ Kao).

So here's the final call on Plush. If you're a guy, young, you're hot, and you can afford to get in, please do and save all the hot girls from the creepy old men.