Friends Arrive

Yesterday a friend of ours and her husband arrived from Traverse City. Gail and David Molby landed about noon and are staying in a beautiful suite on the 32nd floor of the Venetian for a week.

Helen and I went down to the Venetian to welcome them to town. While we were waiting for them, I played a bit of blackjack while Helen watched. I managed to win $115 and we decided to walk away winners. Gail and David had some trouble checking in and getting the right room, so while they worked that out, Helen and I walked around the casino.

I was getting a bit tired and we sat down at a penny slot machine. Helen encouraged me to try it, so I put in $10 and on the first spin was a winner. I couldn't tell how much I won, so I just watched the credits roll up and up...100, 200,300....of course those were pennies, so it wasn't that much. But when the credits stopped, I had won 900 pennies!!

We then met up with Gail and David and went off to the Grand Lux Café for dinner. We all ended up ordering sandwiches with fries. Helen had a grilled chicken sandwich, while I had a Cuban sandwich of pork and ham on a toasted roll.  David and I each had a beer with meals. They were $7 each, a bit pricey.

After the early dinner, we went up to see their suite. It's a beautiful room that overlooks the Strip, all the way to the Bellagio Fountains. The sun was just going down and the neon was starting to fire up the LV night. Helen and I stayed a while, then decided to give them time to rest. They had been awake since 4 a.m. Michigan time and it was already 6 p.m. LV time.

As I drove home, Helen talked with her friend Sandy in Washington. They are childhood friends who have kept in touch for all these years. Helen told her about getting her cast off and wearing this new "Frankenstein" boot that she's sporting. Helen got this fancy new footwear on Tuesday and will wear it for another four weeks until her next doc appointment. Helen's fractured ankle is healing slowly, but steadily. She's gaining more confidence and independence every day.

She needs to wear this most of the day, but can take it off to sleep. It's lighter than the cast, but has about 7 or 8 Velcro strips to keep it in place.

Today Helen and Gail are planning a shopping trip to the Miracle Mile stores at Planet Hollywood. David is a gun guy and wants to check out a couple of gun shops in the area. I'll take the girls to PH and hit the poker room while they shop. Then we're going to meet at the PH buffet for a meal.

And the LV adventure continues.

Updated Super Bowl Odds

During my Tuesday visit to The Suncoast, I picked up a sheet with the current Super Bowl odds. Here's what it looks like now:
Seahawks 2-1
Patriots 5-2
Cowboys 4-1
Broncos 9-2
Packers 5-1
Ravens 6-1
Colts 8-1
Panthers 10-1.

Red Rock Canyon & a Return to the Tables

On Monday, Helen and I took Scott out to tour Red Rock Canyon, a national nature preserve only 10 minutes from our apartment.

The charge for visiting Red Rock is $7 per car, but Helen has a lifetime National Parks pass which gets us in for free. She received that a few years back when we visited the Grand Canyon. It's available to anyone who is permanently disabled.

Red Rock features a 13-mile paved road that takes you through the impressive beauty of the canyon. There are several spots to stop along the way to take pictures and soak up the scenery.

The weather was beautiful, roughly 60 degrees and bright sun, and we spent almost two hours doing the tour. Scott and I got out at several stops to take pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the time we ended the tour, it was time for some lunch. We went to Red Rock Casino, just a couple of miles from the Canyon, and ate at Yardhouse, which boasts a selection of about 100 different beers on tap. We didn't have any brews, but enjoyed a great lunch. Helen had a Southwest Chicken Salad, Scott enjoyed a big plate of Chicken Nachos and I had a lunch combo of a small Caesar Salad and a BBQ Chicken personal pan pizza. Lots of chickens in that meal...

 

After lunch we headed back to our apt and just relaxed, watching TV and talking. We were so full from lunch that we didn't even think about dinner. Scott had to head over to Green Valley Ranch to prepare for a Tuesday business meeting, so he left and Helen and I watched TV.

 

On Tuesday, I did a morning interview with a woman who runs a delivery service in TC. It's for an article I'm writing for the TC Business News. I also left a voice mail for another article involving an Elk Rapids group that is setting up a home for older dogs who are abandoned. It's called Silver Muzzle Cottage and I'll write that one for The Ticker. www.traverseticker.com.

 

About noon, Helen encouraged me to go play some blackjack, so I headed over to the Suncoast. We also needed some fresh bread from the Middle Eastern Market, so I headed there first. I got all the way to the store before realizing that I had left my money clip at home. So it was back in the car and back home for the $$$$$. Then I headed to the Suncoast and sat at a blackjack table that was empty. The whole casino seemed real quiet for 1 p.m.

 

Anyway, on my first hand I bet $10 and got a 9-2 against the dealers 6. Naturally, I doubled down, putting out another $10. The dealer flipped a 3, then slapped a King on there for 19. I got another King for 21 and was up $20 to start. That was sort of an omen, as the cards ran pretty well. I stayed between $20 and$50 up for the half hour that I played. I decided to leave before the cards turned bad, so I walked with a profit of $55. Not huge, but a nice little run.

 

Then it was home and an evening of TV with Helen, who is getting more independent each day. Her ankle seems to be healing nicely and she's reporting less discomfort each day. She's looking forward to her dr. appointment next Tuesday and we're hopeful that her cast will come off then. Her good friend Gail and her husband David are coming to town next Wednesday for a week. They are staying at the Venetian and we're planning on spending some time with them, so Helen is really eager to get this broken ankle episode behind her.

 

And now our LV adventure continues...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scott Comes to Town

Scott flew into LV on Sunday for a Tuesday business meeting at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, south of the Las Vegas Strip. If the weather in Grand Rapids cooperates, he'll be flying out early Wednesday. It's great to see him and nice that he can stay in our spare bedroom, which we equipped with an inflatable bed. Scott says the bed is pretty comfy.

He arrived in the morning, rented a car and drove out to our apartment, arriving about 10 or so. We hung out at the apartment for a bit, then decided to head over to the Suncoast Casino to watch the 1:30 Lions game at a new sports bar, The Game, which boasts more than 25 big screen TVs, plus a personal tv on each table.

I wasn't sure how busy it would be, so we got there about 1 and it was perfect. We got a great table, got Helen settled in and were able to see the game, along with the UNLV vs. Kansas hoops game. I won't go into the sordid details of the Lions defeat, but we had fun through most of the contest. We were whooping and clapping on each Lions first down and sitting silently as Dallas stole the contest. Over the course of three hours, we shared a veggie pizza and a dozen Buffalo Wings. Scott and I each had a couple of craft beers (liked the local Tenaya Creek Ale the best), while Helen opted for water.

We left about 5 or so and enjoyed a beautiful sight as the sun set over the western mountains. Back home we were too full to do dinner, so we just watched some TV, enjoying the new Downton Abbey episode, then off to bed.

This morning I made a run to the local Einstein Bagels for a half dozen bagels and two types of cream cheese. Pretty tasty with a hot black cup of coffee. Not sure what else we'll be doing today, but our LV adventure continues...