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.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
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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