Ms Van-Barnett goes to Vegas

Part One - The van

Many of you will recall the Volkswagon Bug I owned while I was at college and those of you who didn't know me then will surely have heard me bang on about the time I strapped a semester's worth of painting canvases to the roof racks only to have them blow off on the F3's Mooney Mooney Creek Bridge, destroyed and lying over the freeway. Close listeners of the story will recall that I traversed the bridge, clinging to the side to gather up my work only to have someone stop and try to give me a lift back to the bug, a sorry choice to be made between getting into the car of the presumed Balangalow State murderer (who was as yet uncaptured at the time) and falling to my death over the bridge with traffic hurtling past me at 120 kph. Where am I going with this? Well ever since that milestone turning point type day in my life I have hankered after a car that was HUGE and could fit a million things in it. At the time I was fiercely jealous of Jussy's combi van and have had a very secret love of van's ever since. That's right people....I love vans.

Well, as usual the man of my dreams has made all of my dreams come true by compensating for the glaring impracticality of a family of four owning a mustang with practically little more parcel shelf for a back seat (which of course I LOVE) and buying me a van........hang on, he gets a sports car and I get a soccor Mom mobile........oh Jesus, he's done it to me again! Will discuss THAT with him this evening! Here is a picture of my beloved Dodge Caravan. God, i even love the name. dodge

isn't she lovely. (sing that to the tune of Stevie Wonder's isn't she lovely)

Part Two - The van fits relatives in it and leaves Bear Valley.....

The van (or bus as I prefer to call it) had her maiden long trip type voyage this weekend. We have Davy's parents staying with us at the moment and Davy, Paul and I took a trip to Vegas (and even though we only had three in the car we really could have had seven if we wanted I assure you). OMG people!!!!! I love Vegas. It really is one of my favourite places on the planet and no one is more surprised than me, well, maybe Davy who kept saying 'I can't believe you like it here!". Definitely in the top 5. Let's see, Sydney, Paris, Barcelona, Vegas, Maitland (and really you can practically see all those places in Vegas anyway making them somewhat obsolete!) I did have a fancy smancy video to show off with which highlighted the voyage to Vegas but obviously I am completely inept and can't make the bloody thing download. I have been trying for a week and the bloody thing keeps closing on me and having nervy turns so I will just have to do it the old fashioned way....with photos and my fabulous descriptive writing style...... Here is a photo of us leaving Bear Vally.

It was quite snowy.

Part Three - What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Here is photo taken on the drive to Vegas. By the way, the van drove beautifully and was so comfy. I took a snooze in the back. I bought my pillow and blankie. The drive was quite deserty and long but strangely, the desert was quite green as it is spring although you'd never bloody know it in this freezing town.

I can't tell you what happened in Vegas as it has to stay in Vegas blah blah but I can tell you that in one night we experienced Ancient Greece, Italy, France, saw Rio and then the next morning the sphinx and pyramids. Vegas is such a mix of energy, cheese and glamour. All my favourite things! Here is a photo of cheezy, glamorous nightlife. It's easy to spot our hotel as it has a whopping big Eiffel tower out front! I mean, why would you go to Paris people?

Later......Part Four - what happens next.........
well, not much really. Mary and Paul have left us to enjoy the sun in Hawaii, (bloody hell they have a life I tell you!) leaving us only with a strange, vacant void and no one in the back room /guest quarters. While they were here we had trips to Santa Monica, Davy and I took advantage of our live in nannies and saw Paul Kelly play in a restaurant in Hollywood and some of the luckier members of the family took in a couple of days skiing at Mammoth (by this i mean it wasn't me and there is some resentment there I assure you. Note to self, squeeze it into a tiny ball).

Life here continues to go on. It's still freezing and even though it's technically 'spring' and things are green and lovely we still got snow on Sunday morning. I'm starting to long for the summer. "Spring Break' is over and the kids go back to school so my normal routine kicks in. Although somewhat more fabulously as now I have been accepted as a fully fledged van driving American MOM. (I'm quite popular now with the other Moms as I AM ONE OF THEM............AAAGGGHHH. only joking, really, i love them!(And some of them read this so I must be careful and obviously i don't mean you!). There may have to be slight changes to my routine however.....I still crack myself up every morning by asking the kids to show me their bus passes before they board my 'bus'. Sabine has started giving me 'the look'. Apparently I am too daggy for words, and George admonished me severely saying my van was NOT a bus and citing as evidence the (alleged) facts that buses are clearly yellow and seat considerably more than seven people. Bah Humbug! Miss you people!!! Oh and by the way don't admonish me if I've spelt desert wrongly. I get so confused between the place and the thing wot comes after ya tucker.