Our Adventure Winds Down

The end is near.

On Wednesday at 8  a.m. we have our movers coming to haul our earthly belongings to a storage unit that I rented about a week ago. It's a 10x10 foot unit that's only about 2 miles from our apartment. The rent is only $115 a month. Last year I had to get the same size unit at another storage place that was about six miles away and the rent, which started at $125 a month, quickly rose to $140. Not cool!

Anyway, we've spent the past two days packing and I did squeeze in a little blackjack action each day. Typically I take a few boxes and other things to the storage unit about 9 a.m., then roll to the Rampart Casino for two or three hours of bj. Yesterday I lost $50, but today I won $92, so that was good.

Tonight and tomorrow, Helen and I will be burning up comps at the Rampart for dinner. I have about $50 in comps from playing, plus another $25 I got as a birthday present, plus another $15 I got in a random drawing last week. So we have some free food coming!

Tomorrow afternoon I will take our cable box and modem over to the Cox Cable store, leaving us with no TV or internet for the evening. Wow, that will be interesting. We'll be at Rampart for dinner, so maybe we'll stay and watch some sports there until we get sleepy.

After the movers haul our stuff to storage, Helen and I will hit the road to home. Our route takes us south out of LV to Kingman, Arizona where we hop on I-40 and roll east through Flagstaff and on to Grants, New Mexico. We have a reserved room at a Super 8 motel there. Nothing fancy just a place to sleep, but the price was only $57. Then on Thursday we will log approximately 13-14 hours on the road, through the rest of New Mexico, across the panhandle of Texas,  driving the length of Oklahoma and, hopefully, into Missouri if all goes well.

On Friday we will trek across Missouri, head north the length of Illinois, clip across the corner of Indiana and enter Michigan. If all goes well, hope to hit TC by 7 or 8 p.m. to let us sleep in our own bed on Friday night.

It's been quite a winter here in LV. We didn't see nearly the amount of shows and concerts that we did last year. And I didn't have nearly the good fortune that I usually do at the poker and blackjack tables. Frankly, finances were as tight as ever, so we had to curtail a lot of our gaming action. I had always funded our fun times by winning at poker and BJ, but that just didn't seem to happen this year.

Still we had some memorable times:

-- Annual visit to Red Rock Canyon, one of the breathtaking sites that tourists rarely see. It's always a fun place to visit and watch the knuckleheads climbing the cliffs. Not for me!

-- Playing poker with Dodgers star pitcher Orel Hershiser at the Red Rock Casino. A very nice guy at the table, a gracious winner and a cordial loser.

-- January visit from my longtime friend Terry. Great to see him and catch up. No huge wins at the tables, but still lots of laughs.

-- Two visits from Helen's brother Norman and his wife Lorraine. They stayed at Ballys both times and we had rooms there too. It was so much fun sharing Vegas with them. The ladies did some shopping while Norm and I hung at the sports book. As an LA Kings fan, he shared some tips on betting hockey and we had a great time. We've started a tradition that when they come, we all share a deep dish pizza and Caesar salad while watching a movie in their room. It's a perfect getaway from the zaniness that can be the Vegas Strip!

Now I'm already focusing on building a nest egg for next year.

And thus, our adventure ends!

Fantasy Baseball Draft Day!

Saturday was Draft Day for my fantasy baseball team, "Inside The Parker."

It's an online event for me, while other owners in the league gathered at Nick Edson's house for the draft day fun. We started at 10 a.m. (Vegas time) and it was over in about two hours. I'm pretty pleased with my squad, which is loaded with sluggers and RBI guys, but very light on speed. Here's the roster:

C - Yadier Molina, a solid choice at a position that has only a handful of stars and plenty of .230 hitters.
1B - Edwin Encarnacion, a threat to hit 40 home runs for Cleveland.
2B - Jose Ramirez, a versatile Cleveland star who should hit 25 home runs, score 80, drive in 90 and hit .310 or so.
3B - Nolan Arenado, my first choice, the #3 pick overall. Could lead the majors in home runs with 45 to 50.
SS - Didi Gregorius, Yankee with surprising power for a shortstop. Should score tons of runs for the Bronx Bombers.
OF - Aaron Judge, another threat to lead the majors in HRs. This guy could easily hit 50-plus for the Yankees.
OF - Adam Jones, a solid player on the Orioles, should clout 25 homers this year. 
OF - Trey Mancini, a quiet star for Baltimore. Another 25 HR guy who should hit .280 or better.
Utility - Trevor Story, a solid backup at shortstop with some power.
Utility - Miguel Sano, Twins slugger with awesome power. Another 30 HRs would not surprise.
Bench - Albert Pujols, aging slugger should get lots of RBI chances batting behind Mike Trout.
           - Nomar Mazara, Texas slugger is solid outfield support.
           - Gregory Polanco, more outfield backup. 20-plus HR expected here.
           - Ian Kinsler, could score lots of runs for the Angels with Trout and Pujols batting behind him.
           - Greg Bird, may ditch him soon.

Starting Pitchers - Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, Rich Hill, Alex Wood and Sonny Gray.
Relief Pitchers - Kenley Jansen, Alex Colome and Jeurys Familia.

After the draft, I ran some errands, including a stop at the Middle East market for dinner fixings. Then Helen and I watched Michigan basketball and some PBS mysteries before ending our day. And so our adventure continues...

Blackjack Tourney and More Fun on The Strip

On Monday Helen and I checked into Ballys in preparation of me playing in a $75,000 Blackjack Tournament on Tuesday & Wednesday at The Cromwell.

We settled into room 2460 in Ballys Indigo Tower with a beautiful view facing east. It was easy to see UNLV's Thomas & Mack Arena, home of the Runnin' Rebels basketball team and The Hard Rock with its classic huge guitar sign.

 

I registered for the tourney and learned that there were some 1,200 players enrolled. Play began for me at 9 a.m. on Tuesday when I was assigned to seat 2 on table 9 at the Cromwell.

Making the short walk from Ballys to the Cromwell, I arrived about 8:45 and was seated with 4 other players, all guys. The sixth seat went unclaimed. Since the top player at each table advanced to the next round, I only had to beat 4 guys to advance. Each player started with 1,000 in tournament chips - 8 $100 chips and 8 $25 chips. The dealer would deal 20 hands of bj and when it's over the guy with the most chips advances to the next round.

Halfway through the 20 hands, we were all pretty close. The leader had about $1200 and I had 800, with everyone else closely bunched. Then came a key hand. While most of our bets were conservatively $25 or $50, one guy bet half his stack - $400  - and got dealt a pair of eights against the dealer's king.

Proper blackjack strategy calls for the player to split his eights and that's what the guy did, shoving his last $400 out. On the first 8, he caught an Ace for 19. On the other 8, he snagged a 3, then a 10 for a solid 21.  The dealer flipped her hole card, a 7 and the guy doubled up his chips to $1,600 taking the chip lead.

I had a whole series of poor cards. Four times I got an ace on my first card, only to get a small card on my second. Never a blackjack!

With 3 hands remaining the same guy had the chip lead. After his big hand, he conservatively bet only $25 a hand to try to keep the lead. With $700 in chips, I knew I had to do something dramatic, so I bet $400 and lost. Then I bet my last $300 and drew a 17, losing to the dealer's 19. My tourney was over.

But it was fun and I hope I get invited back next year.

I returned to the room and shared the story with Helen and we decided to visit the Bellagio Conservatory to see their Spring Display. It's always amazing to see what they come up with made of flowers and other plants. This year the highlights were birds, turtles and fish, plus running water.

 On Wednesday Helen and I spent the day visiting Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile shops and relaxing in the room. One highlight was our dinner - a delicious deep dish pizza from Giordano's at Ballys. We got the small pie, plus a Caesar salad via takeout and enjoyed it while relaxing in our room

Wednesday night we went to sleep about 10 or so and I had a strange experience. I had a dream in which I was sitting at a poker table with a huge pile of chips. So tall that I had trouble seeing around the stacks of multi-colored chips. There was no playing or anything else involved, just me sitting with the chip mountains.

So when I woke up at 2 a.m., I got dressed and walked down to the poker room. Helen and I have always agreed that if I get up early, usually 4 or 5 a.m., and want to go down to gamble, I can do it as long as I return to wake her up at 7:30. So it wasn't too unusual for me to leave.

Anyway, I got to the poker room and there was one game going, with one seat available. I took it and won the first two hands I played. Within a half hour, I had grown my $50 buy-in up to about $120 or so. Things were going really well.

There was a know-it-all loudmouth sitting two seats to my left. He's the kind of irritating player who always tells you how to play the hand, whether he's in it or not. He spews statistics, percentages, pot odds and analyzes everything for everyone. Very annoying and, frankly, bad poker etiquette. When he took a bathroom break, the player to my right whispered to me ,"What a jerk!"

"You know how to deal with a jerk like him, don't ya," I answered.
"No how?"
"You take all his chips!"

And two hands later I had the chance to try. I was dealt K-K and bet $12. The Jerk called and everyone else folded. It was head-to-head when the flop came Q-5-9 of different suits. I bet $25, hoping The Jerk would call or maybe even raise. He didn't hesitate when he raised it to $50.

"All In" was my response, moving my last $90 or so toward the pot.

"I call" said The Jerk, arrogantly tossing down his A-Q

I showed my K-K and waited for the dealer to show the turn and river cards. The only way I could lose was if The Jerk caught one of 3 aces or 2 queens. That didn't happen and I got all of The Jerks chips. He stormed away from the table muttering something under his breath. I didn't catch what he said, I was too busy stacking chips!

The game broke up about 4 a.m. and I had won $256 over the two hour session. I returned to the room and slipped back into bed. I had trouble getting back to sleep, but eventually did and woke up about 6:30. Helen never knew I left the room until I told her the story and showed her the cash.

"It's like Christmas," she said. "You go to sleep and someone comes into the room and leaves you presents!"

In this case, I was Santa and the $$$$ was our presents!

We checked out a few hours later and returned to our apartment. And so our adventure continues...

Hoops on a Three-Dog Night

Helen and I are watching the NCAA basketball tourney and hoping my wagers pay off.

I went over to the Rampart casino this morning and picked up a pair of tickets. One is a money line parlay of Villanova, Kansas and Gonzaga. The other features Michigan -3.5, Texas Tech -1.5 and Gonzaga -3.5. Really hoping the Zags can spank Ohio State tonight.

While at Rampart, I ran my players card through one of their kiosks and learned that I had a Birthday Surprise which turned out to be $25 off at any of the casino restaurants. We'll be using that for a free dinner in the next 3 weeks!

Helen saw a TV commercial for a fast food place called Weinerschnitzel that is running a special of five chili dogs or five corn dogs for only $5.99. She wanted to try them, so after going online and locating the nearest store, I headed out  to get us dinner. I got a little twisted around because the restaurant is on a small side street off a main drag, but eventually I found the place.

So here's our dinner while we watching Kansas and Seton Hall - Go Jayhawks!!

You can guess who had 3 dogs and who had only two!

And so our adventure continues...

Visit to Red Rock Canyon

On Tuesday, Helen and I ran a few errands then made the 10 minute drive to beautiful Red Rock Canyon National Preserve.

It's a stunning natural rock display just south and west of our apartment. You drive along a 13-mile scenic drive that features several places to stop and take pictures or begin hiking trails. Because of her disability, Helen has a lifetime pass to any national park, so we got in for free. That was nice because they have more than doubled the fee from $7 per car to $15 per car.

 

 

 

 

And so our adventure continues...

NCAA Basketball Championship Odds

The Rampart casino has posted their odds today.

Virginia, Villanova and Duke 5-1
MICHIGAN and Purdue 8-1
MICHIGAN STATE  and Arizona 10-1
Cincinnati and North Carolina 12-1
Xavier and Kansas 15-1
Gonzaga 22-1
Kentucky 25-1

They also offer an interesting bet where you can bet on which Seed will win the tourney.
#1 seed  7-5
#2 seed 2-1
#3 seed 9-2
#4 seed 6-1
#5 seed 12-1
#6 thru 16 seed 10-1

More Platin'

The Las Vegas roads are packed with vanity plates. Check 'em out.

                                         Ice Cube salesman?

  

                                        JJ has apparently fallen on tough times?

                                         Rubber-armed pitcher throws a knuckler?

                                         Buckeye fan in LV.

                                         OK, so where are the other dwarfs?

Dinner at Planet Hollywood

Helen and I drove to Planet Hollywood to cash in on a couple of buffet comps that I had earned last month by playing 3 hours of  poker during the day until 2 p.m.

They offer this, I suspect, to keep the poker room busy during what is typical a slow time. Most poker is played at night and us daytime players often have trouble finding a vigorous game before the neon lights the Strip.

Anyway, it's a pretty sweet deal for players. It's not hard to play 3 hours and receive the free buffet which is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The Dinner is worth $20, so you're earning almost $7 an hour for the buffet, plus $1 an hour on your player card, so it's very generous compared to other poker rooms.

So Helen and I drove down about 4 p.m. with the idea of eating, then watching Eastern Michigan play basketball. After arriving, we ran $40 through a Wheel of Fortune machine and hit....zero!
We then took the elevator down to the buffet area, which has been significantly remodeled since our last visit. The seating area is considerably smaller and the food serving area is about reduced by 1/4.
The quality of the food is the same, there are just fewer choices.

For example, the Italian section had only 3 choices and the seafood area (not our favorite anyway) also had only 4 items to choose from. And they moved the peel-and-eat shrimp from the seafood section to the salad section, who knows why?

Fortunately the Middle Eastern area was still there and I got Helen some chicken and beef kabobs, grilled vegetables, hummus and bread, green beans plus some lasagna. I opted for a big plate of shrimp and Caesar salad for starters. I followed up with chicken and beef kabobs, and lasagna. For dessert, Helen had two lemon &raspberry things, while I had two chocolate cupcakes.

Then we headed to the sports book to check out the EMU game, but we got there early and decided not to stay. The seating isn't conducive to the wheelchair and there were a handful of screaming 20-somethings who made the visit unpleasant. We drove home, watched some TV and called it a day.

But today our adventure continues...


   

Blackjack Tourney Top Prize $15,000 - Sort of!!

I was invited to play in a blackjack tournament March 20 and 21 at The Cromwell, formerly Bill's Gambling Hall, formerly the Barbary Coast and I called this morning to confirm.

In addition to a spot in the BJ  tourney, we'll have 3 nights comped at Ballys to enjoy on the 19th, 20th and 21st. Should be a fun time.

The top prize is $15,000, but the only catch is that all the prize money is in "casino cash." That means the winner would get $15,000 to gamble with. So for example, if you play bj at $100 a hand in casino cash, if you win the hand they give you $100 in real chips that you can cash in later. If you lose, they take your casino cash. So it's likely that the 15,000 top prize might only be worth half of its true cash value.

The other prizes are:
2nd - $10,000 casino cash
3rd - $7,500       "        "
4th - $5,000       "        "
5th - $3,500       "        "
6th - $2,500       "        "
7th thru 48th - $750 each in casino cash.

So if I win or even cash, I wonder what's the best strategy to turn the play money into $$$$$?

Make 15 bets of $1,000 each, hoping to win most of them?

Make 150 bets of $100 each?

Go to the roulette table and bet $7,500 on red and $7,500 on black and pray that O or OO doesn't hit?

Readers, I'm open to suggestions...all I have to do is cash, right?

World Series Odds

The Rampart Casino has issued its odds for the 2018 World Series.
Yankees 7-2
Astros 4-1
Dodgers 11-2
Indians & Cubs 13-2
Nationals 7-1
Red Sox 9-1
D-Backs 15-1
Cardinals 20-1
Mets 25-1
Angels 28-1
Brewers, Rays, Blue Jays & Mariners 30-1
Giants 35-1
Rockies 40-1
Braves & Chisox 50-1
Rangers & Orioles 60-1
Royals, Pirates, Twins & Marlins 75-1
A's, Phillies & Reds 100-1
Padres 125-1
Tigers 150-1

More Plating

Here's another edition of "Vanity Plates of Las Vegas."

California is 'MORE RAD' than the other states.

Who wants to buy a house?

Meeeeechigan fan in Las Vegas!

Polly Pocket?

Beware - Poker Diva in da house!

Russian Red Wing hanging out at Ballys?

 Huh?

Poker Tourney Cash $$$$

On Tuesday I drove down to Ballys to play poker.

It's about a 30-40 minute drive from our apartment and I had to mail some bills, so I swung by a post office on the way. Leaving the post office, I pulled behind a big white, fully pimped-out  Chevy pickup and wished I had brought my camera along because the guy's license plate read "IrnMike."

I knew Mike Tyson lived in Las Vegas and wondered if he could be piloting this sweet pickup. So I pulled up along side at the next red light and was foiled in my attempt to ID the driver because the windows were tinted solid black!

Oh well, I'll never know if I shared the road with the ex-champ, movie actor, accused rapist, face-tattooed lisper or not.

Anyway, I got to Ballys about 10:30 and there was no cash poker game going. I waited around til 11 and we finally got a 5-player game going. I was slowly bleeding away chips and not feeling that this would be a good day. By noon I was down $40 or so and by 1230 I decided to play in the noon tourney that pays $500 for 1st place, $200 for 2nd and $100 for third. It cost $60 to enter.

Key to making the decision was the fact that there were only 5 other players in the tourney!

All I had to do was outlast 3 people to cash.

So I joined the tourney late, but quickly won a couple of hands and was 3rd in chips in no time. I busted one guy  out of his chips, he re-bought into the tourney and I busted him out a second time, building my stack even higher. Being persistent, or stupid, he re-bought again. So, including his first buy-in he had $180 invested!

After about an hour of play, it was down to 3 of us. One guy had 90,000 in chips, I had 18,000 and the 3rd guy had 12, 000. The blinds were 4,000 and 2,000 when I got dealt A-5, both hearts.

The chip leader bet 2,000 and I called. The flop came A-5-8 with two diamonds. The chip leader bet 6000 and I went all in for my final 16,000. We showed our cards...my two pair and he had two diamonds. I had visions of doubling up my stack to roughly 35,000 and giving me a solid grip on 2nd place!

Sure enough, he hit a flush on the turn card and my only chance was to snag an Ace or Five on the river. No such luck and I finished 3rd, winning $100.

Looking back, maybe I should have just waited and hope the 3rd place guy got blinded out, but with the Ace 5,it seemed like the best thing to do.

Oh yeah, the guy who won the $500 was the guy I knocked out twice and he kept rebuying, investing $180 to take down the top prize.

Such is poker.

And so our adventure continues...

Marine Shares A Baseball Memory

Last week I was playing poker at Planet Hollywood when a Marine veteran shared an interesting baseball memory.

Mike is a 79-year-old poker dealer who grew up near Detroit and spent 24 years in the Corps, from 1956 to 1980. When he shared with us that he spent some time in Vietnam, I asked if he was one of the early "advisors" the U.S. sent there in the very early half of the 1960s.

"No, I didn't get there until 1968, just after Tet," he explained. "I was at 29 Palms and the day before I shipped out I saw Denny McLain beat the Angels 3-0. That was the year he won 31 games and he was dominating that day."

Later I looked up the box score of the May 29 game and McLain struck out 13 Angels while pitching a complete game. The win improved McLain's record to 8-1 with a 1.94 ERA. Willie Horton slugged a 2-run homer to give Denny all the offense he would need.

So after 30 minutes of dealing poker, Mike left our table for his regular break. We thanked him for the story and his service as a Marine. A few minutes later, I was watching the poker action, but out of the hand, when I got a tap on my shoulder.

"Thought you might like to see this," Mike said as he handed me the ticket stub from that Tiger victory. It was for a field box seat at Anaheim Stadium and Mike paid $3.50 for the best seat in the place. Mike had the ticket stub laminated, took it with him to Vietnam and carries it in his wallet to this day!!

Semper Fi!!

MLB Season Win Totals

The win totals are now out and here are some of the highlight at the Red Rock Casino's sports book.

The highest win total is the World Champion Houston Astros at 97.5, followed by the Dodgers at 96.5, the Indians and Yankees at 94.5, the Cubs at 93.5, the Nationals at 92.5 and the Red Sox at 91.5

At the other end of the spectrum are the Marlins at 64.5, and THE TIGERS and Chisox at 68.5. The Royals and Padres are 71.5, while the Orioles are72.5.

 Odds are also out on who will lead the Majors in Home Runs for the upcoming season. The favorite is Giancarlo Stanton at 7-2, followed by teammate Aaron Judge at 5-1. Cody Bellinger is 12-1, Bryce Harper is 15-1, while JD Martinez is 15-1 and Mike Trout is 16-1.

Some interesting long shots are Miguel Sano at 35-1, Edwin Encarnacion at 40-1, George Springer at 50-1, Gary Sanchez at 75-1 and the lone Tiger, Miguel Cabrera at 100-1.

Time to Catch Up!

It's been more than two months since we issued a report and an update is long overdue.

I'll try to do much better on keeping our readers posted on all of our adventures, but truthfully we didn't really have many adventures in January and February. I spent a lot of time on writing projects and got to interview some interesting people, including couples who had been married more than 40 or 5 years for a Valentine's Day story and some truckers who cook their meals in their big rigs while rolling along at 60mph.

But it's time to get back to the blog, so here are some of our recent shenanigans.

Helen's brother Norman and his wife Lorraine came to see us on Thursday for 3 days and got a room at Ballys. I arranged Helen and I to be comped there too, in fact, we set it up so we were right across the hall from each other on the 17th floor of the newly remodeled Indigo Tower.

 Highlight of Thursday was a "belated birthday" dinner for me at Martirano's an upscale Italian eatery located in the walkway between Ballys and Paris. The meal was fantastic and the service was excellent. I had rigatoni with veal smothered in tasty "gravy" along with crusty bread and a glass of chianti.

On Friday the foursome piled into Norman's Tesla for the one-mile ride to the Venetian. He had driven the Tesla over from Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles, for the weekend. The drawback to the electric powered Tesla is that he had to stop twice to recharge the car. The normal 5-hour drive really took about s. Anyway, we rolled to the Venetian where Helen was on a mission to find a hard-to-find Pez dispenser for her cousin Carrie who is an avid Pez Head. Word on the Pez Street is that a shop at the Venetian's Canal Shops had these babies and Helen was determined to find one for her cuz.

So while Helen and Lorraine went Pez hunting, Norman and I hit the sports book to bet on hoops and hockey. We each had a winning wager on the Los Angeles Kings, so that was cool.

Helen not only found the elusive Pez, but was able to buy 3 of them for Carrie. Then we all met up for lunch at Black Tap, a burgers and beer joint near the sports book. I opted for a classic All American burger with cheddar and onion rings.

Helen had a California burger topped with avocado, while Lorraine went with a broccoli and quinoa salad. Norman picked a burger and we all had a tasty time.

Black Tap is known for their outrageously Crazy Milk Shakes and assorted desserts. They are packed with all sorts of sugary treats,candies and baked goods. And they come with a crazy price tag too, $16-20 per milk shake. I didn't get a shot of any shakes, but here are some of the fixin's they use to make 'em.

After lunch, Norman and I were back in the sports book, while Helen and Lorraine went off shopping. It was a fun time and we decided to head back to Ballys for dinner. Last year we started a nice relaxing tradition of ordering a Giordano's deep dish pizza and salad for dinner in the room and watching a movie on TV in Norman and Lorraine's room as we wind down after a fun Vegas day.

But first, Lorraine gave me a great birthday present, a beautiful book "Las Vegas Then and Now."

 This great book has tons of historical photos of old Vegas and compares them side by side with what is on that particular site now. For example, it shows the classic Desert Inn and compares it with Wynn now on that location. It's detailed and a very fun read for a Vegas fan!

The movie we chose was "Molly's Game," an interesting study of a woman who got into the business of running high stakes poker games in New York. Very compelling tale!

On Saturday we headed back to the Venetian, since Norman and I had some winning sports bets to cash. We watched some more hockey and basketball, then the four of us enjoyed a lunch at a Mexican eatery in the Venetian Food Court. Lorraine and I had burrito bowls, while Helen enjoyed three steak tacos and Norman opted for steak and chicken enchiladas. Muy Bueno!!

We headed back to Ballys where Helen and I got out of the Tesla and said our goodbyes to Norman and Lorraine we drove back to LA. It's always, always a fun time when they come to visit and we're hoping they get back to LV before we leave for TC around April 10-12. We discussed seeing the Beatles show "Love" if the can make it back here in the next month or so.

Helen and I stayed at Ballys Saturday night. I got up very early on Sunday and went down to play some poker. I logged 3.5 hours of play and won$30, but lost $50 in blackjack. Made a couple of $10 sports bets - a 5-team hoops parlay and a 3-team hockey parlay. Lost the basketball bet when Hofstra (a 5-pt favorite) lost outright. But won the hockey parlay, which pays $45 and gives me a $25 profit.

We drove home Sunday morning. It was nice to get back to our apartment and our regular life here. I had some 150 emails to deal with - most of them very delete-able!

And so our adventure continues...