Today was a day to be patient.
Our furniture - a dining room set, a black chair, a coffee table, an end table and a bedside table - is going to be delivered today. Helen got a call from the delivery people to let us know that the items would be here between 10 a.m. and noon. They wanted to be sure someone would be home.
So in the early morning I wrote a freelance article and we leisurely waited for the furniture. Soon it was 10:30, 11, 11:30, 12:30...
I read three new poker magazines that I picked up at the Red Rock Casino the other day and we watched a little TV.
Finally about 1 p.m. Helen called to check and we found that our delivery wouldn't be here until between 2 and 5 p.m. AAAAAARGH. There's a special place in Dante's Inferno for delivery people who don't show up on time and don't bother to call.
I ran out to pick up some groceries for dinner. Tonight I'm making the World's Best Sloppy Joe Recipe, courtesy of Charlie Johnston's mother. I was fortunate enough to enjoy this taste treat when we visited Charlie's son, Andy, in East Lansing prior to the MSU-OSU game this fall and have made it several times since. After only one sandwich, Manwich lost a longtime customer. This recipe's combination of sweetness and tanginess is more than mere words can describe -even for an experienced restaurant writer.
Anyway, the delivery guy finally showed about 3:45 p.m. It took him about 20 minutes to deliver the stuff, but his being late cost him any tip at all.
It's good to have all the furniture in place. The apartment finally looks closer to what we want it to and we're that much closer to feeling like we're in our winter home.
Tomorrow I plan to play some more poker, so tune in for the details of another gambling venture...
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
New Furniture and My Full House Beats His Set of Aces
Our mission today, should we choose to accept it, was to locate some high quality furniture for next to nothing prices.
So naturally, our first stop was at Wal-Mart - the home of low prices and some shady looking characters, especially here in Las Vegas. The furniture search was only moderately successful - we found some lamps we could live with, but figured we'd keep looking. We did pop for some assorted kitchen doodads, including a can opener, spatula, spaghetti fork, slotted spoon and more. Always able to find something plastic to spend money on at Wal-Mart.
Then we headed out to Cort Furniture, a national renter of furniture. They have a spacious nice showroom where they sell lightly used and some new items, so we checked it out. Long story short, we bought a dining room table, 4 dining room chairs, a black living room chair, a coffee table, two side tables and three lamps, complete with shades and light bulbs, LOL! I considered hauling this stuff in the Vue, but decided to have it delivered and cough up the $70 delivery charge. It should be here tomorrow.
It'll be nice to have all of our furniture in place. We've been here one week today and by tomorrow we'll have the place pretty much the way we want it.
After all that shopping, I needed to hit the Strip to cash our winning FB teaser ticket and to see if the Poker Gods were on our side today. Helen had found a dime, which she considered to be good luck. So with that talisman tucked in my wallet, I made my way to Bally's where I parked and checked out the poker room. It was busy, but there were about 6 names ahead of me on the $1-2 No Limit waiting list, so I played a little BJ there before heading to the Imperial Palace. I won about $15 at blackjack.
At the IP, I immediately got a seat and bought in for $100. I didn't have any hands worthwhile for quite a while, but I remained patient and didn't throw my money into losing situations. I won a couple of small pots, but eventually found myself down about $40 when I was dealt 10-10. Five of us were in the pot when the flop came A-10-3, giving me a set of 10s. One guy bet $20 and it was pretty obvious he either had an Ace or wanted us to think he did. Everyone else folded to me and I just called his $20. The turn card was another Ace, giving him (I believed) 3 Aces and me the full house. The river was a 7 and he bet $20, I raised him another $25 and he called. I raked in a pot of about $125 that put me ahead for good. I eventually left up $72 and went up to the IP Sports Book where I bet a $50 3-team basketball parlay - the Pistons, the Bulls and the Lakers. If all 3 just win tonight, I'll cash a ticket for $104.
On the way home, I stopped at the local Middle Eastern market and picked up some fresh bread and two hefty chocolate bars that we'll enjoy tonight for dessert. Dinner was a casual meal of olives, lebne, hummus and that tasty bread.
Tune in tomorrow to see if our furniture delivery is flawless...
So naturally, our first stop was at Wal-Mart - the home of low prices and some shady looking characters, especially here in Las Vegas. The furniture search was only moderately successful - we found some lamps we could live with, but figured we'd keep looking. We did pop for some assorted kitchen doodads, including a can opener, spatula, spaghetti fork, slotted spoon and more. Always able to find something plastic to spend money on at Wal-Mart.
Then we headed out to Cort Furniture, a national renter of furniture. They have a spacious nice showroom where they sell lightly used and some new items, so we checked it out. Long story short, we bought a dining room table, 4 dining room chairs, a black living room chair, a coffee table, two side tables and three lamps, complete with shades and light bulbs, LOL! I considered hauling this stuff in the Vue, but decided to have it delivered and cough up the $70 delivery charge. It should be here tomorrow.
It'll be nice to have all of our furniture in place. We've been here one week today and by tomorrow we'll have the place pretty much the way we want it.
After all that shopping, I needed to hit the Strip to cash our winning FB teaser ticket and to see if the Poker Gods were on our side today. Helen had found a dime, which she considered to be good luck. So with that talisman tucked in my wallet, I made my way to Bally's where I parked and checked out the poker room. It was busy, but there were about 6 names ahead of me on the $1-2 No Limit waiting list, so I played a little BJ there before heading to the Imperial Palace. I won about $15 at blackjack.
At the IP, I immediately got a seat and bought in for $100. I didn't have any hands worthwhile for quite a while, but I remained patient and didn't throw my money into losing situations. I won a couple of small pots, but eventually found myself down about $40 when I was dealt 10-10. Five of us were in the pot when the flop came A-10-3, giving me a set of 10s. One guy bet $20 and it was pretty obvious he either had an Ace or wanted us to think he did. Everyone else folded to me and I just called his $20. The turn card was another Ace, giving him (I believed) 3 Aces and me the full house. The river was a 7 and he bet $20, I raised him another $25 and he called. I raked in a pot of about $125 that put me ahead for good. I eventually left up $72 and went up to the IP Sports Book where I bet a $50 3-team basketball parlay - the Pistons, the Bulls and the Lakers. If all 3 just win tonight, I'll cash a ticket for $104.
On the way home, I stopped at the local Middle Eastern market and picked up some fresh bread and two hefty chocolate bars that we'll enjoy tonight for dessert. Dinner was a casual meal of olives, lebne, hummus and that tasty bread.
Tune in tomorrow to see if our furniture delivery is flawless...
Monday, December 8, 2008
A Futile Search for Furniture But a Great Lunch
The day started with me doing a phone interview for an article I'm doing for the TC Business News. It's a business profile of a company called Back in the Black - an operation that helps other companies find ways to cut expenses. It went smoothly and I'll write this in the next few days. My deadline is Thursday.
At the top of today's agenda was finding some quality used furniture for a reasonable price. By using the internet we located a couple of Salvation Army stores that looked promising. I don't know how those guys from the Home and Garden Channel always seems to score cool tables and chairs for under $50.
The first store was easy to find, about 8 miles from the apartment. But the furniture selection was shabby looking and overpriced for Salvation Army fare. We had more trouble finding the second store, located on Boulder Highway, about 15 miles from our LV home. After finally locating the store, we found a better selection, but still no chair, end tables or lamps that were nice enough to take home.
By then it was lunch time and Helen suggested The Cheesecake Factory, which happens to be her favorite eatery and is only a couple of miles from our apt. She was beaming as she perused the menu and settled on her favorite meal there - the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad. I opted for a chicken quesadilla that came with a hefty side order of guacamole and sour cream. We both loved the meals and I made a solemn vow to come back here several times in the next five months.
We got back to our apartment around 2 p.m., collected the mail (nothing but two bills) and just chilled out til I made dinner of salad and pasta.
At 5:30 p.m. we started watching Monday Night Football because I have a teaser ticket that will pay $100 if the Bucs & Panthers total more than 34 points. Despite a 10-3 halftime score, the teams went nuts in the 3rd quarter and have tied the score at 17-17 right now...nope now it's 24-17 Carolina and WE WIN, WE WIN, WE WIN!!!!!
I'll be cashing that ticket tomorrow at the Paris casino down on the Strip...after another morning search for furniture. Tune in tomorrow for the results of the quest.
At the top of today's agenda was finding some quality used furniture for a reasonable price. By using the internet we located a couple of Salvation Army stores that looked promising. I don't know how those guys from the Home and Garden Channel always seems to score cool tables and chairs for under $50.
The first store was easy to find, about 8 miles from the apartment. But the furniture selection was shabby looking and overpriced for Salvation Army fare. We had more trouble finding the second store, located on Boulder Highway, about 15 miles from our LV home. After finally locating the store, we found a better selection, but still no chair, end tables or lamps that were nice enough to take home.
By then it was lunch time and Helen suggested The Cheesecake Factory, which happens to be her favorite eatery and is only a couple of miles from our apt. She was beaming as she perused the menu and settled on her favorite meal there - the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad. I opted for a chicken quesadilla that came with a hefty side order of guacamole and sour cream. We both loved the meals and I made a solemn vow to come back here several times in the next five months.
We got back to our apartment around 2 p.m., collected the mail (nothing but two bills) and just chilled out til I made dinner of salad and pasta.
At 5:30 p.m. we started watching Monday Night Football because I have a teaser ticket that will pay $100 if the Bucs & Panthers total more than 34 points. Despite a 10-3 halftime score, the teams went nuts in the 3rd quarter and have tied the score at 17-17 right now...nope now it's 24-17 Carolina and WE WIN, WE WIN, WE WIN!!!!!
I'll be cashing that ticket tomorrow at the Paris casino down on the Strip...after another morning search for furniture. Tune in tomorrow for the results of the quest.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
NFL Sunday and Pasta ala Needle Nose Pliers
Helen and I began our day early with breakfast at the Suncoast Casino, less than two miles from our apartment. I made a few football bets while we were there, then we took a ride looking for some used furniture to add to our accomodations. Next on our furniture shopping list are some assorted tables - end and/or coffee - plus a chair and some lamps. We were unable to find any consignment/used furniture joints that were open today, so that will be a project for tomorrow. Furniture shopping and lunch out somewhere interesting.
We returned to the apartment and I watched the early (10 a.m. starting time in Vegas) games while Helen took a nap. I won two bets on the early games, so early in the later games (1 p.m. Vegas time) I returned to the Suncoast to cash those winning tickets and watch the end of the games. I also sat down for about an hour of $1-2 No Limit poker and cashed out $55 ahead. No big hands, but a steady flow of $20-30 pots that kept me in the profit zone.
When the football dust settled, I won those two bets and have a live 5-team teaser bet that will pay $100 if Carolina and Tampa Bay combine for more than 34 points on the Monday Night game.
In my mind, if I can win an average of $50 a day in poker, or blackjack or football, that's $1,500 a month that we have for fun. So far, so good.
About 5 p.m. I returned home and started to make dinner - bowtie pasta in a tasty marinara sauce with onions and mushrooms. Got the pasta water boiling and started making the sauce, when I realized we didn't have a can opener. I managed to open the cans of sauce and crushed tomatoes with a large knife, but had to turn to the handy toolbox to get the needle nose pliers to peel back the tomato can wide enough to get the crushed tomatoes out of the can and into the sauce pan. Thank you Craftsman!
For Helen, I whipped up a small side salad of baby spinach, onions, olives, tomatoes and shredded cheese. I ate too much pasta, but it was pretty tasty and I was hungry.
So soon we'll have to make another trip to our regular hangout - Target - to pick up some kitchen utensils. Last year we brought all those things from home, but we now need a can opener, a ladle, at least one big cooking spoon, and who knows what else.
Tune in tomorrow to see how our furniture shopping went...
We returned to the apartment and I watched the early (10 a.m. starting time in Vegas) games while Helen took a nap. I won two bets on the early games, so early in the later games (1 p.m. Vegas time) I returned to the Suncoast to cash those winning tickets and watch the end of the games. I also sat down for about an hour of $1-2 No Limit poker and cashed out $55 ahead. No big hands, but a steady flow of $20-30 pots that kept me in the profit zone.
When the football dust settled, I won those two bets and have a live 5-team teaser bet that will pay $100 if Carolina and Tampa Bay combine for more than 34 points on the Monday Night game.
In my mind, if I can win an average of $50 a day in poker, or blackjack or football, that's $1,500 a month that we have for fun. So far, so good.
About 5 p.m. I returned home and started to make dinner - bowtie pasta in a tasty marinara sauce with onions and mushrooms. Got the pasta water boiling and started making the sauce, when I realized we didn't have a can opener. I managed to open the cans of sauce and crushed tomatoes with a large knife, but had to turn to the handy toolbox to get the needle nose pliers to peel back the tomato can wide enough to get the crushed tomatoes out of the can and into the sauce pan. Thank you Craftsman!
For Helen, I whipped up a small side salad of baby spinach, onions, olives, tomatoes and shredded cheese. I ate too much pasta, but it was pretty tasty and I was hungry.
So soon we'll have to make another trip to our regular hangout - Target - to pick up some kitchen utensils. Last year we brought all those things from home, but we now need a can opener, a ladle, at least one big cooking spoon, and who knows what else.
Tune in tomorrow to see how our furniture shopping went...
Saturday, December 6, 2008
A Day of Poker
Saturdays in Las Vegas always crackle with extra energy. Visitors fly in for long weekends and squeeze fun out of every minute they're in town. The California Crowd motors over from LA on I-15 and brings a laid back energy along with them.
But today is even more exciting because MGM is hosting a huge fight - Manny Pacquio vs. Oscar
De La Hoya - and the National Finals Rodeo is being held at the Thomas & Mack Arena. There are fight fans and cowboys everywhere. I wish I had a buck for every cowboy hat I saw today.
In the midst of this zaniness, Al made his way to the Strip for a full day of Poker. His plan was to get there early, around 9 or 10 a.m. and hopefully take advantage of some bleary-eyed Cowpokes who were pulling all-nighters. After parking at Bally's, I hit the casino's poker room. They had only 1 table going and a waiting list of 5 ahead of me. Not waiting around for that.
I headed down to the Imperial Palace, where I've had some luck before. Immediately I was greeted by a friendly Poker Room floor man, who directed me to a seat at the only table they had going. Good news is that I got an immediate seat. Bad news is that it was 2-4 Limit poker, not the 1-2 No Limit that I prefer. For poker newbies, Limit poker means that you bet $2 on the first rounds of betting and $4 on the turn and the river. It's a more mechanical game than No-Limit and usually results in much smaller pots, since the largest bets are multiples of $4.
Anyway, on the 3rd hand I played, I hit a full house and won the pot. But because of the relatively small bets, I only raked in a pot of about $25. In a No Limit game, a hand like this would probably have been $100 or more. That was the highlight hand. After that winner, I went card dead and ended up down $70 for the 45-minute session. The IP poker room is a friendly, laid back place full of new players and a few experienced card sharks. It's usually easy to walk away a winner, but not this time. At least I enjoyed a couple of the chocolate chip cookies they make available free to players.
Then I headed to the Flamingo for my first experience in their vintage poker room. This is where such pros as Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson and Doyle Brunson used to hold court. I was greeted by a host and led to an immediate seat at a 1-2 No Limit table. I ended up playing there for about 4 hours with some real friendly players. The action was good, with lots of raising and a few guys going All-In. Unfortunately I didn't win any huge pots, but still managed to win $85 by taking in several $20-30 pots.
The biggest hand I had unfolded like this: I was dealt a Q-J and limped into the pot for $2. Six of us played and saw the flop that was Q-6-6. So I've got top pair and bet out $12. Three guys call. The turn card is a 4 with no chance for a flush. I bet $15 and only 1 guy calls the bet. The river card is another 6, giving me a full house, so I bet $25 and my lone challenger raises to $50. I have a full house with the top pair (queens), so I have to call, especially since the pot is now over $100. Since the guy was not raising all along, I don't think he has the fourth 6, but I do suspect that he also has a queen and we'll split the pot. I call his raise and he turns over pocket Aces.
"Nice Hand," I spit out through terse lips...
Outside of that one hand, I had a great time and was really pleased to walk away a winner, since I hit no really big hands. I had one straight and every other winner was two pair or successful bluffs.
While I was playing poker all day, Helen straightened out our closet, talked to her sister Natalie and played around online. We both had fun!
More tomorrow...
But today is even more exciting because MGM is hosting a huge fight - Manny Pacquio vs. Oscar
De La Hoya - and the National Finals Rodeo is being held at the Thomas & Mack Arena. There are fight fans and cowboys everywhere. I wish I had a buck for every cowboy hat I saw today.
In the midst of this zaniness, Al made his way to the Strip for a full day of Poker. His plan was to get there early, around 9 or 10 a.m. and hopefully take advantage of some bleary-eyed Cowpokes who were pulling all-nighters. After parking at Bally's, I hit the casino's poker room. They had only 1 table going and a waiting list of 5 ahead of me. Not waiting around for that.
I headed down to the Imperial Palace, where I've had some luck before. Immediately I was greeted by a friendly Poker Room floor man, who directed me to a seat at the only table they had going. Good news is that I got an immediate seat. Bad news is that it was 2-4 Limit poker, not the 1-2 No Limit that I prefer. For poker newbies, Limit poker means that you bet $2 on the first rounds of betting and $4 on the turn and the river. It's a more mechanical game than No-Limit and usually results in much smaller pots, since the largest bets are multiples of $4.
Anyway, on the 3rd hand I played, I hit a full house and won the pot. But because of the relatively small bets, I only raked in a pot of about $25. In a No Limit game, a hand like this would probably have been $100 or more. That was the highlight hand. After that winner, I went card dead and ended up down $70 for the 45-minute session. The IP poker room is a friendly, laid back place full of new players and a few experienced card sharks. It's usually easy to walk away a winner, but not this time. At least I enjoyed a couple of the chocolate chip cookies they make available free to players.
Then I headed to the Flamingo for my first experience in their vintage poker room. This is where such pros as Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson and Doyle Brunson used to hold court. I was greeted by a host and led to an immediate seat at a 1-2 No Limit table. I ended up playing there for about 4 hours with some real friendly players. The action was good, with lots of raising and a few guys going All-In. Unfortunately I didn't win any huge pots, but still managed to win $85 by taking in several $20-30 pots.
The biggest hand I had unfolded like this: I was dealt a Q-J and limped into the pot for $2. Six of us played and saw the flop that was Q-6-6. So I've got top pair and bet out $12. Three guys call. The turn card is a 4 with no chance for a flush. I bet $15 and only 1 guy calls the bet. The river card is another 6, giving me a full house, so I bet $25 and my lone challenger raises to $50. I have a full house with the top pair (queens), so I have to call, especially since the pot is now over $100. Since the guy was not raising all along, I don't think he has the fourth 6, but I do suspect that he also has a queen and we'll split the pot. I call his raise and he turns over pocket Aces.
"Nice Hand," I spit out through terse lips...
Outside of that one hand, I had a great time and was really pleased to walk away a winner, since I hit no really big hands. I had one straight and every other winner was two pair or successful bluffs.
While I was playing poker all day, Helen straightened out our closet, talked to her sister Natalie and played around online. We both had fun!
More tomorrow...
Friday, December 5, 2008
Another beautiful day in Las Vegas with temps in the low '60s and a brilliant blue sky.
I started the day by writing a restaurant feature for the Northern Express. Before we left town, I interviewed Nabiel Musleh, the owner of Zakey, a new Middle Eastern eatery on Hammond and Three Mile. He's an energetic, outgoing guy and we'll be sure to visit Zakey when we get back to town. I encourage anyone who enjoys Middle Eastern food to support this guy's efforts to bring authentic M.E. cuisine to the TC region.
Then Helen and I went on a trip to our new favorite place - Target - where we bought a pair of plastic storage units. I think we've visited Target every day since we arrived in LV. One storage unit is a 4-drawer, another a 3-drawer, both for our closet. We also picked up a 3-foot artificial Christmas Tree that we will use for our Luther Tree for the holidays. We brought the decorations, but did not bring the tree from home.
Around noon, I went to the Red Rock Casino, the nearest to our apt, where I played some blackjack. It was an up and down session, but after about four hours I managed to squeek out a $125 profit. The casino is offering a promotion that enabled me to cash in my club points for some sweet items - a man's gray fleece jacket for me and a red fleece blanket for Helen. It was pretty cool to get cash and apparel, LOL!
On the way home from the casino, I stopped by a Middle Eastern market and picked up dinner - fresh pita bread, greek olives, hummus and lebne (a tasty, thick yogurt). We'll be enjoying that tonight and basking in the glow of our ill-gotten gains, LOL!
More tomorrow...
I started the day by writing a restaurant feature for the Northern Express. Before we left town, I interviewed Nabiel Musleh, the owner of Zakey, a new Middle Eastern eatery on Hammond and Three Mile. He's an energetic, outgoing guy and we'll be sure to visit Zakey when we get back to town. I encourage anyone who enjoys Middle Eastern food to support this guy's efforts to bring authentic M.E. cuisine to the TC region.
Then Helen and I went on a trip to our new favorite place - Target - where we bought a pair of plastic storage units. I think we've visited Target every day since we arrived in LV. One storage unit is a 4-drawer, another a 3-drawer, both for our closet. We also picked up a 3-foot artificial Christmas Tree that we will use for our Luther Tree for the holidays. We brought the decorations, but did not bring the tree from home.
Around noon, I went to the Red Rock Casino, the nearest to our apt, where I played some blackjack. It was an up and down session, but after about four hours I managed to squeek out a $125 profit. The casino is offering a promotion that enabled me to cash in my club points for some sweet items - a man's gray fleece jacket for me and a red fleece blanket for Helen. It was pretty cool to get cash and apparel, LOL!
On the way home from the casino, I stopped by a Middle Eastern market and picked up dinner - fresh pita bread, greek olives, hummus and lebne (a tasty, thick yogurt). We'll be enjoying that tonight and basking in the glow of our ill-gotten gains, LOL!
More tomorrow...
Thursday, December 4, 2008
We've made it to Las Vegas with no major problems, but plenty of fun travel adventures.
We left Sunday morning about 6:45 and drove south to Chicago before snow began snarling traffic and slicking the roads. Chi-town radio was going bonkers with dire warnings of bad roads and bad weather, but it was really no problem for any experienced northern Michigan driver. They were lamenting that Chi-town was gonna get 1 to 3 inches Sunday and another 1-3 on Monday. We rolled through that and the snow was pretty much over by the time we crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis. We hit another patch of flurries near Rolla, Mo. where we spent the first night. We'd been on the road for about 13 hours, stopping only for gas. We had packed several p&j sandwiches and a few apples for nutrition. Dinner that night was a tasty deep dish pizza from Papa Johns, delivered right to the room.
We hit the road early on Monday, rolling out of Rolla about 7 a.m. Heading west, we went into Oklahoma, through the northern Texas panhandle and into Santa Rosa, NM, just east of Albuqueque where we spent the second night. It was another 13 hour driving day, but Helen was a real trooper. We made no stops, except for gas. Dinner this night was some burgers and fries from a nearby fast food joint.
Another early start on Tuesday as we sailed out of Santa Rosa about 6:45. The scenery along I-40 was stunning, with bright blue skies and vast horizons. It's really "Big Sky Country" but also has some real pockets of poverty along the highway. We were able to roar along about 80 mph, since the speed limits are pretty much 75 all the way.
Crossing into Arizona, the scenery changed as the altitude climbed. Instead of the arid New Mexico territory, we rolled into hilly, even mountainous, turf that is covered with pines. Northern Arizona is somewhat similar to northern Michigan, but about 40 degrees warmer with no snow right now. We clipped along, passing Prescott and reaching Kingman (birth place of Andy Devine) about 3 p.m. That's when I phoned the apt. management and let them know we were on our way. Kimberly, the mngr, said they close the office at 5 p.m. so we had to be there by then to get our keys and check in. She was skeptical that we'd make it, but I assured her.
So we set the cruise control on the quick side of 80 and kept a sharp eye out for patrol cars. It's 100 miles from Kingman to LV, but you also have to cross the Hoover Dam and traffic there can slow to a crawl - like 5 mph. Plus we had to navigate LV freeways during rush hour...
Anyway, we arrived at 4:45, got our keys and unloaded the car into the apt. We had no place to sleep and considered staying at a LaQuinta hotel which is right next to the apt. But I really wanted to stay in our new home, so Helen and I went looking for a futon, which we plan to use for a couch and a bed for visitors. Luckily, we located Futons4Less, only two miles from us on West Sahara. After about 45 minutes of checking out the inventory, we bought a futon and mattress, plus a platform bed with a great mattress, plus an end table that the guy was selling cheaply.
But it was already about 7 p.m. and the guy couldnt deliver the futon and bed until the next day, so we were still without a place to sleep. We decided to take the futon mattress to the apt and use it to sleep on the floor, LOL! It worked great! We had a good night's sleep in our new place and awoke fresh and ready on Wednesday to get the new apt. in order.
After buying the futon, we went to our storage unit and took a load of items to the apt. That included our kitchen, bathroom and other items we left there since last year. On Wednesday, I finished emptying our storage unit, bringing our TV and TV stand to the apt. Also on Wednesday, we called the local cable company - Cox Cable - and got the TV going, but had trouble getting the internet service working.
I had to make three calls to Cox today to get it all squared away, but now we're up and online.
This morning we went to Target to buy some kitchen knives, a set of flatware, a wine opener (to open a gift bottle that the apt manager presented us) and a stock pot to use for pasta. We'll be using that pot to also fire up some popcorn tonight - that's our wild Vegas lifestyle, LOL!
Today I had my first gambling trip to the strip. Not real profitable, but a lot of fun. I got down there around 10:15 a.m. and started out winning at blackjack at Bally's. Then played in an 11a.m. poker tourney there, finishing in the mid-20s out of 48 players. Crossed the street to Bill's Gambling Hall and dropped a few more dollars playing BJ before winning some back at a goofy game of Blackjack Switch. You play two hands and can swap cards between the two hands. That's the advantage. The disadvantage is that blackjacks only pay even money and if the dealer's hand hits 22, it's a push.
After playing there, I wandered next door to the Flamingo, where I suffered a real lip-beating at blackjack there. Hand after hand saw me either busting out or losing to a dealer's better hand. That can happen at bj and you just have to recognize it and try to limit the losses. After that losing session, it was already 2:30 p.m. and I was ready to head home.
Along the way, I made a $30 4-team hockey parlay bet for my good friend Terry. He'll collect $910 if it hits tonight. I also picked up a 5-team football teaser bet that will pay me $100 if...err, when, it hits.
That pretty much catches us up to date. More LV adventures tomorrow...
We left Sunday morning about 6:45 and drove south to Chicago before snow began snarling traffic and slicking the roads. Chi-town radio was going bonkers with dire warnings of bad roads and bad weather, but it was really no problem for any experienced northern Michigan driver. They were lamenting that Chi-town was gonna get 1 to 3 inches Sunday and another 1-3 on Monday. We rolled through that and the snow was pretty much over by the time we crossed the Mississippi River at St. Louis. We hit another patch of flurries near Rolla, Mo. where we spent the first night. We'd been on the road for about 13 hours, stopping only for gas. We had packed several p&j sandwiches and a few apples for nutrition. Dinner that night was a tasty deep dish pizza from Papa Johns, delivered right to the room.
We hit the road early on Monday, rolling out of Rolla about 7 a.m. Heading west, we went into Oklahoma, through the northern Texas panhandle and into Santa Rosa, NM, just east of Albuqueque where we spent the second night. It was another 13 hour driving day, but Helen was a real trooper. We made no stops, except for gas. Dinner this night was some burgers and fries from a nearby fast food joint.
Another early start on Tuesday as we sailed out of Santa Rosa about 6:45. The scenery along I-40 was stunning, with bright blue skies and vast horizons. It's really "Big Sky Country" but also has some real pockets of poverty along the highway. We were able to roar along about 80 mph, since the speed limits are pretty much 75 all the way.
Crossing into Arizona, the scenery changed as the altitude climbed. Instead of the arid New Mexico territory, we rolled into hilly, even mountainous, turf that is covered with pines. Northern Arizona is somewhat similar to northern Michigan, but about 40 degrees warmer with no snow right now. We clipped along, passing Prescott and reaching Kingman (birth place of Andy Devine) about 3 p.m. That's when I phoned the apt. management and let them know we were on our way. Kimberly, the mngr, said they close the office at 5 p.m. so we had to be there by then to get our keys and check in. She was skeptical that we'd make it, but I assured her.
So we set the cruise control on the quick side of 80 and kept a sharp eye out for patrol cars. It's 100 miles from Kingman to LV, but you also have to cross the Hoover Dam and traffic there can slow to a crawl - like 5 mph. Plus we had to navigate LV freeways during rush hour...
Anyway, we arrived at 4:45, got our keys and unloaded the car into the apt. We had no place to sleep and considered staying at a LaQuinta hotel which is right next to the apt. But I really wanted to stay in our new home, so Helen and I went looking for a futon, which we plan to use for a couch and a bed for visitors. Luckily, we located Futons4Less, only two miles from us on West Sahara. After about 45 minutes of checking out the inventory, we bought a futon and mattress, plus a platform bed with a great mattress, plus an end table that the guy was selling cheaply.
But it was already about 7 p.m. and the guy couldnt deliver the futon and bed until the next day, so we were still without a place to sleep. We decided to take the futon mattress to the apt and use it to sleep on the floor, LOL! It worked great! We had a good night's sleep in our new place and awoke fresh and ready on Wednesday to get the new apt. in order.
After buying the futon, we went to our storage unit and took a load of items to the apt. That included our kitchen, bathroom and other items we left there since last year. On Wednesday, I finished emptying our storage unit, bringing our TV and TV stand to the apt. Also on Wednesday, we called the local cable company - Cox Cable - and got the TV going, but had trouble getting the internet service working.
I had to make three calls to Cox today to get it all squared away, but now we're up and online.
This morning we went to Target to buy some kitchen knives, a set of flatware, a wine opener (to open a gift bottle that the apt manager presented us) and a stock pot to use for pasta. We'll be using that pot to also fire up some popcorn tonight - that's our wild Vegas lifestyle, LOL!
Today I had my first gambling trip to the strip. Not real profitable, but a lot of fun. I got down there around 10:15 a.m. and started out winning at blackjack at Bally's. Then played in an 11a.m. poker tourney there, finishing in the mid-20s out of 48 players. Crossed the street to Bill's Gambling Hall and dropped a few more dollars playing BJ before winning some back at a goofy game of Blackjack Switch. You play two hands and can swap cards between the two hands. That's the advantage. The disadvantage is that blackjacks only pay even money and if the dealer's hand hits 22, it's a push.
After playing there, I wandered next door to the Flamingo, where I suffered a real lip-beating at blackjack there. Hand after hand saw me either busting out or losing to a dealer's better hand. That can happen at bj and you just have to recognize it and try to limit the losses. After that losing session, it was already 2:30 p.m. and I was ready to head home.
Along the way, I made a $30 4-team hockey parlay bet for my good friend Terry. He'll collect $910 if it hits tonight. I also picked up a 5-team football teaser bet that will pay me $100 if...err, when, it hits.
That pretty much catches us up to date. More LV adventures tomorrow...
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