The Eagle Has Landed (in Vegas, Baby)

Well, we're finally here in Las Vegas.

We loaded up the trusty Terrain on Saturday morning at Anna's in Katy, Texas and hit the road about 6:45a.m.. I know it's early, but we had to log 12 hours of driving on this first day. About 6:50 we got a call from Anna, telling us we left a bag. Oops! Luckily we weren't too far away and not on a highway yet, so we did a quick U-turn to pick up the bag, then hit the road again just before 7 a.m.

Early driving was foggy, so I wasn't able to make great time. But after about two hours the fog burnt off and we rolled past San Antonio at about 75 mph, nodding a silent tribute to the Alamo as we scooted west on US-10. Love visiting that old mission...

The driving was uneventful. West Texas is little more than tumbleweed and tumbled down shacks in places. We eventually hit El Paso, a sprawling cowtown where we encountered some road work. We spent the night at a Fairfield Inn in Las Cruces, NM and dined on a huge salad with grilled chicken that I procured at a nearby Uno restaurant.

Sunday morning we got on the road about 6:45 after our complimentary breakfast at the Fairfield. Helen had scrambled eggs & ham with a side of yogurt, while I opted for scrambled eggs with a side of biscuits and gravy. My last carbs for a while...We headed north for Albuequeque and made good time along I-25. It was easy driving with light traffic on a Sunday morning. We easily found our next turn on I-40 and rolled west toward Arizona, passing Grants, NM, Winslow, AZ (insert silent tribute here to "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona' by the Eagles), Flagstaff and finally, Kingman, where we jump on US-93 and head north. For trivia fans, Kingman is the birthplace of Andy Devine, a character actor from the '50s and '60s. Kingman's city officials were so proud they named a street after him.

It's only about 95 miles from Kingman to LV and we made good time, rolling into LV about 5:30 p.m.  It was dark when we hit town and coming in there's a spot where the whole Vegas valley is spread out before you and the lights are amazing. You can easily pick out the shimmering Strip hotels, noticeably the Stratosphere, the Luxor and MGM. Of course, I was behind the wheel and had to pay SOME attention to the rush hour traffic, but Helen was able to soak in the sights.

We were both curious about the apartment complex we were going to stay at, so we decided to drive by and check out Shadow Hills. WOW - it's very nice. And nestled at the foot of the mountains gives it a VERY scenic view. Then we headed to the Suncoast where I had a reservation for a handicapped room waiting for us at the very reasonable price of $72.

Checking in was smooth, but the woman at the counter explained that the hotel was full, so would we be OK with a COMPLIMENTARY handicapped Penthouse Suite on the 10th floor? I didn't hesitate too long before taking that deal!

We made our way up to the suite and both of us were stunned when we opened the sturdy door. It was a two-bedroom, two-bath beauty that features a kitchen-bar area, a living room and SIX Televisions. There were TVs in each bedroom, the living room, the bar and in EACH BATHROOM!
And the view from the 10th floor was spectacular. We could clearly see the Strip, some 10 miles away.

After a bit, we headed down to get some dinner at the Suncoast's casual eatery. Helen had a Chinese grilled chicken salad, while I enjoyed a Cobb salad. Service was really slow, so much so that a couple at a table next to us complained to the mgr and was still complaining when we paid and left. Helen wanted to rest a bit, but she encouraged me to play some blackjack. It was about 8 p.m. and I agreed to play until 9:30 or so. I took her back to our suite, then headed down to the tables for my first Vegas session.

I quickly found a blackjack table that featured two-deck pitch, a game in which the dealer tosses cards at the player who is allowed to use one hand to hold them. Unlike other BJ games where the dealer places cards face up, in Pitch the cards are held in the players hand and other players cannot see them until the hand is over. Anyway, I enjoy Pitch and bought in for $100. It was a $10 minimum bet table and I won 4 of the first 6 hands, so got up a bit. Slowly I increased my profit until I was up $75 or so. A nice $15 blackjack and another win put me at $102 profit and I decided to take the profit at the end of the shoe.

But before that could happen, I got dealt a pair of 7s and the dealer had a 6 showing. So I split the 7s with a $10 bet on each, then I got a 3 on the first 7 and doubled down catching a King for a nice 20. The second 7 caught a 4 and I doubled down there. But on that one I caught an Ace for a total of 12.
Meanwhile, the dealer showed a 9 hole card for a 16 and slapped a fat 8 on there, giving me a $40 win. It was time for her to shuffle up and time for me to walk with a nice $142profit in my first session!

Monday morning we had breakfast at the Suncoast. Knowing we would be busy getting into the apartment and setting it up, we ate more than we usually would. I had a ham & cheese omelet with hash browns and rye toast. Helen enjoyed a breakfast burrito with hash browns. Hot coffee topped off a nice meal, then it was over to Shadow Hills to get checked it. We met with Karis, our leasing rep and got the keys. We founded the apartment and I emptied the car of all our traveling gear. Soon I got a call from the movers saying they could help move our items from the storage unit a couple hours earlier than planned, if we were available. That was great and I met them at the unit at 10:30 a,m.

Two hours later they had all our furniture, etc. moved. While I was dealing with that, Helen oversaw visits by the gas company and cable guys. By nightfall we were pretty much settled in. It was a long day of unpacking boxes and getting things in place. Dinner was a pizza from a local joint.

In addition to Move-In Day, it was also Helen's birthday, but she opted to delay the celebratory Cheesecake Factory dinner until another time.

Today, I plan to make my first trip to The Strip and play some poker. Helen insists I go make some money while she straightens up our Vegas home. For both of us, The Adventure continues...