Settled in...FINALLY!

We're finally settled in to our apartment in LV, but it wasn't quite as smooth as it could have been!

To catch up on our adventures, we left Traverse City at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10. Made our way through the morning darkness and were excited as we headed south. Some 12 hours later we stopped for the night at a Hampton Inn in Lebanon Missouri. After the long drive, we were happy that we packed couple of Gobbler sandwiches from Mary's Kitchen Port and we enjoyed them for dinner in our room.

On Friday we hit the road again about 6 and rolled through Oklahoma and into the Texas panhandle before stopping for the night in Amarillo. The travel was flawless and we made great time with speed limits of 75 and 80 through OK and Texas. We stayed at Comfort Inn that was undergoing some upgrades, but we had a good night's rest before taking off on Saturday, bound for Flagstaff, AZ.

I had calculated that we'd get to Flag about 5 p.m. and we expected to spend the night there, but we must have made great time (or I miscalculated) and we got there shortly before 1 p.m. Helen suggested we just drive on to Vegas, about 4 hours, and I was in complete agreement. She also suggested I call the Red Rock hotel/casino. I had made us reservations there for Sunday and Monday nights and she thought they might be able to add Saturday at no problem.

But when I called I learned the only rooms available would be $250 a night even though our Sunday/Monday nights were only$69 each, so we opted for Plan B. I called Bally's and because of my Diamond Player status I got a FREE room, totally comped overlooking the Strip. We got there about 5 and settled into a great refurbished room on the 5th floor. Dinner was a couple of salads at the Nosh deli - Helen had a Greek salad, while I opted for Chicken Caesar. Then she rested in the room, while I played some blackjack, winning $40.

One sidenote about hotels and their rates -- we paid roughly $135 and $145 for our nights in Lebanon Missouri and Amarillo Texas. These were Hampton Inn and Comfort Inns, nice enough, but not deluxe accomodations. I got us two nights at the RED ROCK for $155 in total! OK, rant over!

On Sunday we drove out to Red Rock and checked into a STUNNING room on the 8th floor. Even though I had played there hundreds of times, this was our first time staying there and it was very nice. Our room had some cool amenities, including a TV screen built right into the expansive bathroom mirror. Very nice watching ESPN while doing the morning bathroom ritual!

Helen settled in while I went down to play bj and poker. I had two great blackjack sessions, winning 930 before taking a break and going up to check on Helen. No HUGE hands, just a steady compiling of wins. It was Sunday and I had 4 football parlays & teasers of $20 each. They all lost, thanks to 3 underachievers - Packers, Patriots and Chiefs!

After the games ended, I posted another $733 profit during a bj session. Again no huge hands, but steady wins. So for the day I did almost $1600...pretty sweet start to the trip!

Monday was our last day there and we had some errands to take care of. Gassed up the car and washed off the dead bugs and grime from some 2,300 miles on the road. I talked with the movers who confirmed our move on Tuesday at 8 a.m. Visited the local Cox Cable store and arranged for service to hook up our TV & internet. Also stopped by the apartment and let them know we were in town and would be there at 9a.m. sharp on Tuesday to get the keys. Still found time to play some bj and poker at Red Rock.

Key hand took place in Poker. I was dealt A-Q, both hearts and bet $15, getting two callers. Flop comes 7 and 9 of clubs, and the Q of Spades. I had top pair with an Ace kicker. A guy bet $30  and the other guy called. I knew my move and made it ...All in For $240, not expecting either of the others to call. I figured I had the best hand with the Queens and Ace Kicker and didn't want to let either of the guys hit a straight or flush without paying for it. Both had about $250 or so in chips, so they would be betting almost their whole stack.

Sure enough, they both hemmed and hawed, then shoved in their chips. We all showed our hands...one guy had A-King, both clubs. The other had J-10, both clubs. THEY WERE BOTH DRAWING TO A FLUSH! Turn came a 3of hearts and the river was a beautiful 2 of spades!
My queens won and the dealer shoved the pot of almost $700 in my direction!!

I ended poker with a win of $630, but had two losses in bj of $120 and $50 on Monday night.

We left Red Rock shortly after 7 on Tuesday morning and met the movers at 8. The got our belongings out of storage and we got to the apartment just before 9, so we had to wait a while to get the keys.

While getting the keys, the complex maintenance guy came up and apologized about the carpets. I didn't know what he was talking about, but it turns out the carpets had not been cleaned and were pretty dingy. They had carpet cleaners coming, so our movers brought in our furniture and boxes and stacked it all in non-carpeted parts of the apartment - the kitchen, bathroom and out on the small veranda. The only items in the carpeted areas were the bed, futon and dining room table. Just as the movers were leaving, the carpet guys were showing up, just after 10 a.m.

It was stressful and I complained to management. The assistant manager of the complex, Jose, apologized profusely for the carpet mixup and gave us a $200 credit toward our Dec. rent, so that was a nice gesture.

While the carpet cleaners were there, Helen and I left and killed some time, then had lunch at a Mexican restaurant, El Burrito, where we enjoyed  a lunch special. We both had a chicken & guacamole burrito, rice and beans,  a tasty bowl of pasta & veggie soup and beverage for only $10. Then it was back to the apartment where the carpet cleaners were done, but the floor was a bit damp. It dried quickly, then Cox came and got our technology online about 4 p.m.

It was a long day moving in and we still have lots to unpack. I need to get groceries, with COFFEE at the top of the shopping list! And so our LV adventure continues!!