We are still enjoying Las Vegas, but plan to leave for home on or about May 29. We have been looking at properties for sale to see if there is anything we would like to buy. Nevada has no income tax so if we stayed out of NC at least 6 months, we could claim NV as our primary residence and save some money in state taxes. And, since the price of real estate in and around Las Vegas is going down, we think there might be some deals. We like a condo complex called SoHo Lofts on Las Vegas Blvd., near the Strastophere. Nice, big units, concrete construction and very nice amenities-pool, exercise, etc. Also, we have looked at McDonald Ranch, a Del Webb 55 plus community in Green Valley. They have nice homes for around $200,000, however, we like the location of the SoHo Lofts the best. We'll just have to see what happens regarding real estate in LV. But, we really like there and if we buy a SoHo loft, we should be able to trade it for lodging around the world-Paris, London, NYC. It would provide us the opportunity to continue traveling and hopefully saving on housing costs when we do so.
We ate at the Sahara Buffet one evening. They have an old-timey buffet for only $6.99 per person. It is really quite good for the money. We also had some two-for-one coupons at the Palms Casino buffet and ate there for lunch one day. LV has so many deals on food, you certainly won't starve to death nor break your budget eating out!
We decided to leave for Beulaville on Thursday, February 29. We drove for two long days, 14 hour days and arrived home on Saturday evening, May 29. We stayed in Oklahoma the first night and in Chattanooga, TN the second night. We drove through the Appalacian Mountains into NC on Saturday. The drive was beautiful. We had lunch with Doug's niece in Morganton and dinner in Durham with his sister and newphew and family.
So what did it cost?
The groceries and resturant meals was as cheap or cheaper than at home.
The number of local gallons of gas used were the same or less than at home.
As usual on trips, we did not spend enough on entertainment.
Extra costs were:
It cost about $350 in gas one way.
The rental cost about $1,800 per month.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
May 16-19
We went to a huge parade on Saturday night downtown Las Vegas on 4th Street. At the front of the parade, Mayor Goodman rode in a cadillac convertible and waved at the crowd. There were several high school marching bands and even folks from the gay cowboy rodeo circuit. The streets were packed with spectators. Afterwards, we walked around Fremont Street and enjoyed the party atmosphere of a Saturday night in downtown Las Vegas. It is like Mardi Gras every weekend there, with people walking around with their drinks, music blaring and huge crowds of people from all over the world. We asked a girl to take our picture with our camera and she was from Switzerland. Las Vegas truly is a fun place to be!
The temperature has headed up above 100 degrees. It was 105 today. We have had to put the top up on the convertible and use the air conditioner. The heat really is dry, but 105 degrees is still hot. But, I don't think you sweat as much as when it is more humid, like North Carolina in the summer. It is supposed to get cooler again mid-week, into the low 80's and even rain is forecast for Friday. We could sure use the rain here in this high desert.
We will be heading back to Beulaville on June 1, only a couple weeks from now. In the meantime, stay tuned for our more of our adventures here in Las Vegas.
The temperature has headed up above 100 degrees. It was 105 today. We have had to put the top up on the convertible and use the air conditioner. The heat really is dry, but 105 degrees is still hot. But, I don't think you sweat as much as when it is more humid, like North Carolina in the summer. It is supposed to get cooler again mid-week, into the low 80's and even rain is forecast for Friday. We could sure use the rain here in this high desert.
We will be heading back to Beulaville on June 1, only a couple weeks from now. In the meantime, stay tuned for our more of our adventures here in Las Vegas.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
May 8-May 15
We spent the weekend with Doug's niece and her husband and daughter. They live in southern California, near Long Beach. We all stayed at the condo on Friday night and got rooms at the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street for Saturday night. The rooms were really nice and the cost was only $72 for Saturday night with our AARP discount. The Nugget has a wonderful swimming pool with a shark tank that you can swim up to. Of course, the sharks cannot get in the pool, but it is pretty exciting to swim next to them. There also is a water slide that goes down through the shark tank, with glass separting the sharks from the slide as you go through it. The Miss Hawaiian Tropic Model contest was held on Fremont St. outside the Golden Nugget on Saturday night. Beautiful women from all over the world strutted down a runway in both gowns and bikinis. Miss England won, but Miss Iceland was a knock out, in more ways than one!
Last night we went to a class at Metro Pizza, the number one pizza restaurant in LV, to learn how to make pizza. The owner of the restaurant taught the class. He is Italian and used to run a pizza restaurant in Brooklyn. He was quite knowledgeable about pizza and its history. We played with pizza dough, kneading it and throwing it in the air to thin it out. We also got to eat a lot of wonderful pizza, garlic knots, fresh salad and all the wine, beer or soda you wanted. It was only $16 per person (with a $5 off coupon) and well worth the money. They even gave us pizza to take home. Also, we got instructions on making pizza dough, from scratch.
We are still enjoying the $1 craps (Doug) and penny slots (Nancy), but both of us lost money this week after making money last week. Even when we lose, its cheap entertainment for us!
We went to "The Money Show" yesterday, which was held at Mandolay Bay. Representatives from Fidelity Investments and other places where people might invest their money were there. We got some pens and trinkets and enjoyed ourselves. It was yet another free seminar/convention for us to attend.
We still jacuzzi each day at the condo complex, usually around 6:00 p.m., before we go to dinner. The swimming pool is not heated and is not quite warm enough yet for swimming. Next week, the weather is expected to be in the 90's most days so the pool should warm up. The pool at the Golden Nugget, where we swam this past weekend, was heated and real nice.
Last night we went to a class at Metro Pizza, the number one pizza restaurant in LV, to learn how to make pizza. The owner of the restaurant taught the class. He is Italian and used to run a pizza restaurant in Brooklyn. He was quite knowledgeable about pizza and its history. We played with pizza dough, kneading it and throwing it in the air to thin it out. We also got to eat a lot of wonderful pizza, garlic knots, fresh salad and all the wine, beer or soda you wanted. It was only $16 per person (with a $5 off coupon) and well worth the money. They even gave us pizza to take home. Also, we got instructions on making pizza dough, from scratch.
We are still enjoying the $1 craps (Doug) and penny slots (Nancy), but both of us lost money this week after making money last week. Even when we lose, its cheap entertainment for us!
We went to "The Money Show" yesterday, which was held at Mandolay Bay. Representatives from Fidelity Investments and other places where people might invest their money were there. We got some pens and trinkets and enjoyed ourselves. It was yet another free seminar/convention for us to attend.
We still jacuzzi each day at the condo complex, usually around 6:00 p.m., before we go to dinner. The swimming pool is not heated and is not quite warm enough yet for swimming. Next week, the weather is expected to be in the 90's most days so the pool should warm up. The pool at the Golden Nugget, where we swam this past weekend, was heated and real nice.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
April 21-May 7
We attended the National Hardware and Lawn & Garden Convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center the past two days. This convention is huge and we walked miles to see all the exhibits and merchandise. It is really interesting and you can get some good ideas on landscaping, building, and gardening. Popular Mechanics magazine sponsored a section where products "just invented" were on display. Companies from Asia, India, Germany and all over the world were represented at this convention. The best part is it was FREE. We signed up on the internet and received our exhibit hall badges when we arrived at the convention. If you lived in Las Vegas, you could take advantage of all the conventions in town by getting free exhibit passes.
We have been eating lunch at our condo and trying different casion buffets in the evening for dinner. We also like to split a "Belly Bender" at the Eldorado Casiono in Henderson. This is a huge hamburger with french fries for $4.49. It's a real deal! They also make good onion rings. Both Doug and I are working on losing weight, but while in LV, we have been enjoying the food, both healthy food and not so healthy food. Hopefully, we'll get back in shape when we return to Beulaville, especially eating all the great, fresh vegetables and fruit available at the Farmer's Market in Wallace.
The weather has been beautiful here, not too hot, yet. Sunny and blue skies most every day. And, dry, not humid air. The dry air requires using more body lotion to keep your skin from looking like an alligator, but it is a small price to pay for being in the beautiful surroundings of the mountains and dessert surrounding LV.
We have been eating lunch at our condo and trying different casion buffets in the evening for dinner. We also like to split a "Belly Bender" at the Eldorado Casiono in Henderson. This is a huge hamburger with french fries for $4.49. It's a real deal! They also make good onion rings. Both Doug and I are working on losing weight, but while in LV, we have been enjoying the food, both healthy food and not so healthy food. Hopefully, we'll get back in shape when we return to Beulaville, especially eating all the great, fresh vegetables and fruit available at the Farmer's Market in Wallace.
The weather has been beautiful here, not too hot, yet. Sunny and blue skies most every day. And, dry, not humid air. The dry air requires using more body lotion to keep your skin from looking like an alligator, but it is a small price to pay for being in the beautiful surroundings of the mountains and dessert surrounding LV.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
April 21-29
We are still enjoying Las Vegas. Last weekend we went to a concert by two British bands from the 60's and 70's. One was The Searchers who had two big hits-"Love Potion #9" and "Needles and Pins." The other band was The Fortunes whose hit "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again" was a favorite of Nancy's. The bands looked good, wearing business suits and still handsome. They didn't prance around the stage like Mick Jagger, but seemed to enjoy themselves after all these years. The audience was made up of geezers like us and a good time was had by all!
We have attended two technical conferences that we signed up for before leaving for LV. We attended a financial advisors conference a few weeks ago and a computer/technical conference this week. We had fun walking around and gathering up goodies like free pens, T-shirts, yo yo's, frisbees and other things that the various booths gave away. We signed up for the exhibit hall only and that was free. They had a "pub crawl" in the exhibition hall today at the computer conference and we got free beer and food. We plan to attend the National Hardware Show and the Money Show in May. If you lived here, you could get a lot of freebies just be attending the conferences that you can sign attend for free.!
The weather is still very nice, although a bit warmer this week. We even had a few days that the temperature hit 92 degrees. But, it looks like the temperatures will remain in the 80's during the day and the 60's at night-very comfortable.
We have tried a few more buffets at the casinos and we eat either lunch or dinner at the condo. We have found such good, fresh asparagus, corn and squash and zucchini here-so sweet and delicious. We cook the vegetables at home and really enjoy them.
We go to the jacuzzi each evening and relax. The swimming pool is not quite warm enough yet as it is not heated, but the jacuzzi is just right. This is the life!
We have attended two technical conferences that we signed up for before leaving for LV. We attended a financial advisors conference a few weeks ago and a computer/technical conference this week. We had fun walking around and gathering up goodies like free pens, T-shirts, yo yo's, frisbees and other things that the various booths gave away. We signed up for the exhibit hall only and that was free. They had a "pub crawl" in the exhibition hall today at the computer conference and we got free beer and food. We plan to attend the National Hardware Show and the Money Show in May. If you lived here, you could get a lot of freebies just be attending the conferences that you can sign attend for free.!
The weather is still very nice, although a bit warmer this week. We even had a few days that the temperature hit 92 degrees. But, it looks like the temperatures will remain in the 80's during the day and the 60's at night-very comfortable.
We have tried a few more buffets at the casinos and we eat either lunch or dinner at the condo. We have found such good, fresh asparagus, corn and squash and zucchini here-so sweet and delicious. We cook the vegetables at home and really enjoy them.
We go to the jacuzzi each evening and relax. The swimming pool is not quite warm enough yet as it is not heated, but the jacuzzi is just right. This is the life!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
April 11-20
We have been settling into a routine and enjoying the various activities in the area. We went to a couple of farmer's markets, but they were not very big. The grocery stores get good produce from California and there are not that many farmers in the area so the farmer's markets are not as good as in NC or other parts of the country. We have found a few good bakeries and a wonderful Italian deli called Sienna. They sell frozen pizza slices for 75 cents each that are so good. You take them home and heat them up. They make all kinds, pepperoni, vegetable, cheese. They sell them fresh during the lunch hour and at dinner in their small restaurant inside the deli. They also have good cheeses and Italian cookies. There are grocery stores here for all kinds of ethnic food. We have visited Polish, English, German, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Asian groceries and more.
We went to a parade in Henderson last Saturday. That is where the picture you see on this webpage was taken. We are wearing free t-shirts given out by a local politician who is running for county commissioner. They had lots of different food tables set up-Mexican, German, Irish, English, Peruvian and more. It was a fun day and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
We went to the Planet Hollywood casino, which used to be the Aladdin. They have redecoreated it and changed the name. They have a mile of shops connected to the casino, all kinds of shops. LV has such good shopping and so much of it. We love the thrift shops and Nancy has spent at least two days shopping and not even scratched the surface! We also went to a new casino next to and connected to the Venetian called The Palazzo. It is real nice and has upscale shops inside like Barney's of New York and others. We went into a shop that has interesting, rare books. They also have a shop in NYC.
We went to a benefit concert for an old guy named Norman Kaye who was part of the Norman Kaye Trio back in the old days of Vegas. His group played lounge acts way back when. Many of the old time entertainers and some new ones, as well, came together for a benefit for him to help him with some medical bills. We got tickets for $20 and had a whole afternoon of singing, dancing, joke telling at the Orleans Show Room. Rich Little, Steve Rossi, Clint Holmes, and many, many more performed for three hours. It was so entertaining and we thoroughly enjoyed the show.
We signed up for Skype, voice over internet phone calling. It is so neat. We got a prepaid Skype card at Walmart for $8.85 that is good for unlimited calling anywhere in the USA for 3 months. We bought a headset and we hook it up to our laptops and we can call anywhere in the USA. The sound quality is very good, in fact, better than our phones at home. This is a great way to have a telephone when you travel. We can't receive calls, but we can set up a voice mail account, which we haven't done yet. It is best to communicate with us via email or leave a voicemail at one of our mobile phones. It is truly amazing to make a phone call through your computer! We both have a laptop computer and the wi-fi is working great at our condo.
Las Vegas is a neat place to live and certainly very affordable. The gas, food, and housing costs are as cheap or cheaper than Beulaville. The entertainment is cheap and readily available. Of course, if you gamble too much and lose your money, it can be expensive. But, we can't think of another place that is this nice for the cost of living. It is very hot in June, July and August, but most of the rest of the year is just fine and there are four seasons. It has been in the low 80's and sunny and in the high 50's at night. We have had some windy days, but no bad weather.
We went to a parade in Henderson last Saturday. That is where the picture you see on this webpage was taken. We are wearing free t-shirts given out by a local politician who is running for county commissioner. They had lots of different food tables set up-Mexican, German, Irish, English, Peruvian and more. It was a fun day and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
We went to the Planet Hollywood casino, which used to be the Aladdin. They have redecoreated it and changed the name. They have a mile of shops connected to the casino, all kinds of shops. LV has such good shopping and so much of it. We love the thrift shops and Nancy has spent at least two days shopping and not even scratched the surface! We also went to a new casino next to and connected to the Venetian called The Palazzo. It is real nice and has upscale shops inside like Barney's of New York and others. We went into a shop that has interesting, rare books. They also have a shop in NYC.
We went to a benefit concert for an old guy named Norman Kaye who was part of the Norman Kaye Trio back in the old days of Vegas. His group played lounge acts way back when. Many of the old time entertainers and some new ones, as well, came together for a benefit for him to help him with some medical bills. We got tickets for $20 and had a whole afternoon of singing, dancing, joke telling at the Orleans Show Room. Rich Little, Steve Rossi, Clint Holmes, and many, many more performed for three hours. It was so entertaining and we thoroughly enjoyed the show.
We signed up for Skype, voice over internet phone calling. It is so neat. We got a prepaid Skype card at Walmart for $8.85 that is good for unlimited calling anywhere in the USA for 3 months. We bought a headset and we hook it up to our laptops and we can call anywhere in the USA. The sound quality is very good, in fact, better than our phones at home. This is a great way to have a telephone when you travel. We can't receive calls, but we can set up a voice mail account, which we haven't done yet. It is best to communicate with us via email or leave a voicemail at one of our mobile phones. It is truly amazing to make a phone call through your computer! We both have a laptop computer and the wi-fi is working great at our condo.
Las Vegas is a neat place to live and certainly very affordable. The gas, food, and housing costs are as cheap or cheaper than Beulaville. The entertainment is cheap and readily available. Of course, if you gamble too much and lose your money, it can be expensive. But, we can't think of another place that is this nice for the cost of living. It is very hot in June, July and August, but most of the rest of the year is just fine and there are four seasons. It has been in the low 80's and sunny and in the high 50's at night. We have had some windy days, but no bad weather.
April 4-10 Trip to Las Vegas
We spent the weekend of April 4-7 in Fort Wayne visiting with Nancy's family. We headed out to LV on Monday, April 7 and drove the blue highways to Columbia, Missouri, where we spent the first night out. Doug was stopped by a state trooper, but did not get a ticket. We were drivingt along on a two lane highway and Doug decided to pass a car, not knowing it was a state trooper. We were going about 7 miles over the speed limit. The trooper did not give Doug a Ticket, but told him to drive the speed limit. In Colorado, on our second day out, we were again stopped. Doug was driving about 5 miles over the speed limit and we thought for sure he would get a ticket. But, the cop stopped to tell us we had a front headlight out. He told us to get it fixed and did not give us a ticket. Stopped twice in two days and no ticket-we really are lucky!
We drove through some beautiful scenery on our trip out. We drove through Bryce National Park and Zion National Park, both in Utah. Huge rocks and mountains with interesting landscapes. We also drove through some snow in the Rockies and lots of rain in Missouri. We stayed in Canon City, Colorado the second night, which was at an altitude of 6,200 ft. We had a good dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.
We got to LV on Wednesday, April 9 and stayed at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. We had a real nice room and took advantage of the pool and jacuzzi the next morning. We checked into our condo in the afternoon. It is real nice and almost perfect. Doug has a flat screen TV mounted on the wall in his bedroom and we even have a DVR for recording programs to watch later. We have 3 TV's and two master suite bedrooms. The pool and jacuzzi are real nice. We went to several thrift shops to buy stuff for the condo to make it our home. Doug found an easy chair (Lazy Boy) for $9.95 and we got a crockpot for $3.99. We even found an HP printer to hook up to the computer for $3.99, and it had ink in it and works.
We went to the Clark County Fair over the weekend. It was located about 50 miles from LV near a small town. We drove back through a beautiful state park called Ring of Fire, with beautiful mountain vistas and interestin rock formations. LV is actually at 2,650 ft altitude and surrounded by mountains, some with snow still on them. We have been eating at some of the lunch buffets at the casionos and cooking at least one meal at the house. We have so many nice grocery stores within walking distance of our condo-Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh & Easy (a new one that we really like). We went to a musical evening last Friday night where some really good singers that appear on the Strip in shows sang Broadway show tunes from the 1940's-1960's. They even had a 90 person chorus backing them up and a full orchestra. Tickets were only $15 and someone gave us one for free while we were standing in line to buy tickets.
We are enjoying a bit of gambling at the cheap casino in Henderson called El Dorado and another one called The Rainbow, where Nancy likes the penny slots. We don't win a lot of money and we don't lost a lot, but it is entertaining for Doug to play craps and Nancy to push the "spin" button on the slot machines.
We drove through some beautiful scenery on our trip out. We drove through Bryce National Park and Zion National Park, both in Utah. Huge rocks and mountains with interesting landscapes. We also drove through some snow in the Rockies and lots of rain in Missouri. We stayed in Canon City, Colorado the second night, which was at an altitude of 6,200 ft. We had a good dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.
We got to LV on Wednesday, April 9 and stayed at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. We had a real nice room and took advantage of the pool and jacuzzi the next morning. We checked into our condo in the afternoon. It is real nice and almost perfect. Doug has a flat screen TV mounted on the wall in his bedroom and we even have a DVR for recording programs to watch later. We have 3 TV's and two master suite bedrooms. The pool and jacuzzi are real nice. We went to several thrift shops to buy stuff for the condo to make it our home. Doug found an easy chair (Lazy Boy) for $9.95 and we got a crockpot for $3.99. We even found an HP printer to hook up to the computer for $3.99, and it had ink in it and works.
We went to the Clark County Fair over the weekend. It was located about 50 miles from LV near a small town. We drove back through a beautiful state park called Ring of Fire, with beautiful mountain vistas and interestin rock formations. LV is actually at 2,650 ft altitude and surrounded by mountains, some with snow still on them. We have been eating at some of the lunch buffets at the casionos and cooking at least one meal at the house. We have so many nice grocery stores within walking distance of our condo-Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fresh & Easy (a new one that we really like). We went to a musical evening last Friday night where some really good singers that appear on the Strip in shows sang Broadway show tunes from the 1940's-1960's. They even had a 90 person chorus backing them up and a full orchestra. Tickets were only $15 and someone gave us one for free while we were standing in line to buy tickets.
We are enjoying a bit of gambling at the cheap casino in Henderson called El Dorado and another one called The Rainbow, where Nancy likes the penny slots. We don't win a lot of money and we don't lost a lot, but it is entertaining for Doug to play craps and Nancy to push the "spin" button on the slot machines.
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