From the Open Road to Las Vegas

It was wonderful. We took a six-week road trip up through Oregon, went up into Washington, and came back down the coast to a town called Seaside. We love that area so much we try to make that same trip every year.

If you go back, try Norma's Seafood & Steak. Best seafood around, and a friendly family spot. They're known for fresh catches, Angus beef, and an award-winning clam chowder that's pork free. It's won national awards!

It's been a wild ride. I started out driving commercial trucks with my CDL. Around the same time I bartended, which was a lot of fun and a great way to meet people. Later I moved into heavy highway construction as an operating engineer, running the big machines that build highways.

Then things took a turn. I went into the nuclear industry at the Hanford Nuclear Site, working as a plant operator producing plutonium. Hanford has a lot of history. It started as part of the Manhattan Project. When Chernobyl happened in 1986, they decided to stop production, but I stayed on and worked through most of the shutdown.

Next I moved into drinking water management, which is the chapter I'm proudest of. I became the first woman licensed in Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii to hold the highest drinking water certification you can get. I spent about twenty years in that field. Right before I retired, I was with the Klickitat PUD, and we had a leaking wastewater system dripping into the Columbia River. I managed the project and secured a twelve and a half million dollar package of grants and zero interest loans to fix it.

Thank you, it felt great to get it done. After that I wanted to do something fun, so I got into event planning with Goldendale Event Planning. We put on the first Blue Moon Festival in Goldendale, Washington, in 2009, pairing live bluegrass with NASA exhibits at our observatory. I even got retired astronaut Stephen Robinson to be our keynote speaker. He stayed three days, visited local schools, and spent time with the community.

We also brought extreme sports to the historic Maryhill Loops Road, one of the oldest paved roads in the Northwest. I'd been watching downhill longboarding and street luge competitions in Europe and thought, our road would be perfect for this. I put together a photo and video presentation and pitched it to the international organizers. They loved it. Within two hours we were planning the first International Downhill Federation World Cup on US soil. It put our town on the map, with athletes flying in from all over the world.

When it was time to retire, my husband and I sold our house and just went for it. On September 1, 2017, we packed up our Subaru and went on a nine-month road trip, staying in timeshares all over the Southeast. When we were in New York City, producers from the Today Show stopped us on the street and put us on live TV with Kathie Lee and Hoda!

After the East Coast we went up to Chicago, because driving Route 66 was a bucket list item for my husband. We drove all 2,448 miles of it to the Santa Monica Pier and wrapped up the trip in June 2018. We spent a few months looking for our next home, and by Thanksgiving week of 2018 we moved to Las Vegas. We love it here. There's something for everyone, whether you like nature or entertainment.

I don't gamble at all, but I love walking through the big resorts, especially around the holidays. The decorations are amazing. To get outdoors, we hike Mount Charleston. On the Strip my favorite is the Venetian, for the architecture and the gondolas. And downtown on Fremont Street, our spot is The D.

I love Mexican food, so it's Juan's Flaming Fajitas & Cantina. The food is great and the hospitality is always top notch.

(Laughs) The driving! You have to keep your distance and drive defensively out here. As for the heat, people complain, but I look at it this way. You're trading three months of freezing winter for three months of hot summer. In the winter you stay inside to stay warm, and in the summer you stay inside to stay cool. Cool your car down ahead of time and enjoy the life this city gives you.

My family, without a doubt. I'm a proud mom of four grown kids, with eight grandkids and nine great-grandchildren. Watching everyone grow up and do well is the best reward there is. That's what makes it the good life.