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.