Day 403: Las Vegas, Day 19

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Ben

M’s bar mitzvah over Shabbos was a tremendous success. Last week, Trish and B prepared the lunch for the shul, and about 90 people showed up. M read the Torah very well and gave a nice pshetl as well.

This morning, I took our friend Rabbi M back to the airport. He came in from Monsey for the Bar Mitzvah, which was really great.

After getting back form the airport, I managed to catch a 40ish mile club ride with the Green Valley Cyclists. The ride fragmented into an A group and a B group, and I managed to stay up front for most of the ride. There were about 20 riders, and it was nice to get back into pace line riding.

Later in the day, we said goodbye to my brother and his daughters, who had flown in for the Bar Mitzvah:

Today I finished the shelving in M’s bedroom:

We moved the RV to my parents’ house for the night. We hope to leave Las Vegas tomorrow, heading for cooler climes.

Day 401: Las Vegas, Day 17

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Ben

M wore his hat for the first time today:

We moved out of Duck Creek RV park to my parents’ synagogue for Shabbos. Good Shabbos from Henderson, Nevada! M’s bar mitzvah is tomorrow!

Day 399: Las Vegas, Day 15

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Ben

Preparations for M’s bar mitzvah continue. Trish and B spent most of the day at the Rabbi’s house, using the kitchen to prepare the lunch for the 100 or so congregants and guests we expect to be having in shul on Shabbos.

Trish has also been experimenting with sculptable frosting to make edible tefillin for the tops of cupcakes:

Meanwhile, M has been practicing his Torah reading and pshetl, and I’ve been rebuilding the shelving we had to remove from the bunkhouse when we split it into two separate bedrooms.

The rest of the week will no doubt be increasingly hectic!

Day 398: Las Vegas, Day 14

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Ben

The repair of the broken RV cabinet door continues. Zaidy glued it all together and is holding it all together with clamps and bricks:

The kids worked together to disassemble our broken inverter before we throw it away:

Trish did most of the shopping for the bar mitzvah today, and M has been practicing his torah reading, so I think we’re in good shape for this coming Shabbos.

Day 397: Las Vegas, Day 13

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Ben

Today I rode a 44 mile bike loop that took me to Lake Mead and back. Some was on road, but much of it was on a bike path that meandered through the desert. The headwinds were harsh down by the lake, where I noticed a red flag was being flown at the marina. On the other hand, I had a corresponding tailwind at the end of the ride which had me maintaining a 35mph average for the last half dozen miles.

Great views of Lake Mead were had for much if the ride: