Here we are, on the road: Still in Las Vegas, NV

Sunday, October 02, 2011 Lorraine’s report

We are still in Las Vegas, and still enjoying the hot weather, it has been in the triple digits here this past week, 100 to 105 degrees, with the lows down to 67 to 73 or so, not bad for this time of year, especially when you consider the weather this time of the year back in Bellingham.

So this past week has been a bit slower than when we were playing the tourist role while touring Utah. It was nice to slow down, gave us a chance to rest, swim, shop, take care of business, that type of thing.

Last Sunday found us hanging around the rig waiting for the guy in the spot we were moving to leave; he didn’t leave until after 1:30. We wanted 50 amp instead of 30.

We spent the rest of the day setting up, just hanging around, and of course Chuck watched football all afternoon.

Monday found Chuck calling around to find a repairman for the microwave. Ken came and confirmed that the microwave was indeed broken, and would cost more to fix it than to replace it. So off we went looking for a new one. We checked Sears, and they had only one model that would fit the bill. Ken said it was too much for the model, so he took us to another place, RC Willeys. We found one there, the same model as Sears, only over $250 cheaper in price. We bought it, brought it home and Ken, Chuck and the helper put it back in the rig. I can’t believe I wore out the original microwave and had to get a new one. Ken is coming tomorrow to finish the wood work around the microwave.

After that, we headed over to Sunset Casino for the football party being held in the ballroom of that casino. They were having food and beer specials while you watched the game on all those huge TVs. It was fun.

Chuck was busy on the phone the next morning making more reservations, so I took off to the pool. When we were done we headed over to Fremont Street to explore that area. There were a lot of people doing the same thing we were doing. Of course the light show was worth seeing. I think the theme was musical decades, we saw the 60s and 70s before we had to leave. We enjoyed a T-Bone Steak buffet at Main Street Casino. We had an enjoyable day.

While I was in the pool Sunday, one couple from Minnesota had said we should go to the Boulder Station Casino for the breakfast buffet on Wednesdays; that it was only $4.99. We decided to do this so off we went. We were surprised at the very long lines for the buffet. I discovered I could get in the handicapped line, since we have the handicapped license plate, so we waited in that line. We got into the buffet just in time to get one of the last omelets before they closed the omelet bar. We didn’t eat again until the next day.

From there we came back to the rig for Misty, then headed over to Ethel Ms Chocolate Factory and cactus garden. There wasn’t much to the chocolate part, but the cactus garden was pretty nice, with so many different kinds of cacti, I was amazed at the various kinds.

We then headed over to Caesars Palace to look for one of those tours that gives you free tickets to go see one of their properties. We found one and signed up for the next day.

We scored tickets to go to see the Jersey Boys show. Two years ago when we tried to get tickets to this show they were really pricey, and we felt we couldn’t afford to go get them, so we didn’t.

Returning to the rig, we found the guard shack where you come through the gate had received the mail Chuck had ordered on Monday. That meant the evening was spent opening and going through the mail. It’s really nice to have to deal with bills only once a month, and then not worry about them for another month, one of the benefits of getting mail only once a month, instead of daily.

The following morning I paid the bills that needed to be paid, and then we headed off on the tour. We were going to Wyndham Resorts to see their property. The tour was nice, the rooms they rent out were beautiful, but we said no to buying, this just didn’t fit our needs. It was time to get our promised package, the tickets to the Jersey Boys Show.

This time the tickets were within reach so we got two ticket vouchers, which we had to take to the theater to get the tickets. We headed off to the Palazzo Casino to get the tickets. It turned out we could get great seats for Saturday’s show, so we got them for Saturday’s 6:30 show.

We tried our luck at the Palazzo, but no luck so we headed home, home never closes.

Friday I had to work on my retirement package from when I worked for the Bellingham School District and WWU. I was getting a small pension from them, but it required a bit of running around. Chuck helped me fill out the required forms, then we headed out to find a notary to watch us sign the forms and other errands

We went to look for the supplies Chuck will need for the gun class he is taking, found a gun store and got the information he needed.

It took 3 tries to find a notary, the bank and credit union wouldn’t do it, you needed to be a member, but we found that the notary at the UPS Store would do it for a fee, and you could mail it there, too.

Upon completing those errands, I asked Chuck to take me to the Outlet Mall down from the Strip so I could start my Christmas shopping. He took me there and I was able to find a couple of things for Christmas. We spent a quiet evening home.

We spent a quiet morning home, I cooked an early dinner of Steak and Halibut for us, then we left to see the Jersey Boys Show at the Palazzo. What a show!!! It was sold out and by the time the show ended, everyone was on their feet clapping and singing along with the boys. We had great seats, Row G, seats 11 and 12 right on the isle for Chuck; this was 7 rows away from the stage, right side, and it cost us only $5 and 2½ hours of our time on the tour.

The only disappointing thing was the people next to me were late coming in and the guy on my right was HUGE. He was very tall and very heavy, and took up his seat and hung over mine.

So that was our week. I would like to wish our niece, Kerri a Happy 45^th Birthday on the 6^th as well as Patsy, a very Happy Birthday that same day, too.

Until next time…

Lorraine

10/2/11 Chuck’s Report

Ok, one week down and one more to go here in HOT, sunny Las Vegas. We mostly stay in air conditioned areas here, except for in the early morning when it’s really nice.

Last Sunday we moved to the spot we now are in, only problem with this one is it faces the South so the sun really heats up the front area in the afternoon. Closing the blinds help but both air conditioners are working hard most of the day.

Monday I contact an appliance repair place, turns out it was a “broker” and they call a local guy, didn’t know they worked like that. Anyway, the guy we got called and came right over to check out our microwave. Of course, it turns out the repairs would be too expensive compared to purchasing a new one so we took off to see what we finds.

We checked on line before we left and found the price range for Microwave/Convection ovens in the $500 – $800 range, wow are they proud of them. Our first stop was at Sears, not much selection and the prices about the same as on line and we would have to order and wait at least one day.

The repair guy suggested a local place, RC Willey’s so we put it in the GPS and took off to find it. Turns out to be a large furniture/appliance store with lots of stuff. We find the appliance area and talk with a salesman, seems they only have three styles of microwave/convection ovens but one of them is on sale and they happen to have it in stock, new and in the box. So we are now the owner of a Frigidaire microwave VS. Sharp plus it has more power.

The size is the same but of course we had to change out the mounting plate, not too bad. At first I thought the vent wouldn’t work but once it place it works fine, yea. I had to have the wood trim pieces trimmed as this one is just a bit taller but once I get that piece back and installed I think we will be happy with it. Lorraine has already cooked a full meal in it and it worked just fine and the meal was good too.

We have been pretty good about not living in the casinos but we did go down to watch Monday Night Football. I’m a Dallas fan and used to really like the old Washington/Dallas rivalry games and this one was another good one. Dallas won a game maybe they shouldn’t have but it was a win.

Lorraine has been going to the swimming pool here most mornings. I’m not much on swimming so I stayed around the coach taking care of a few things. We had one of our shades that had a broken spring that I repaired and stuff like that.

Tuesday afternoon we decided to visit Fremont Street or Old Las Vegas. This is the area where the first casino boom in Las Vegas was located, way before “The Strip”. Like most towns with and old downtown, this area didn’t keep up with the glitz and glimmer of the new section. So they decided to fix up this area to get us visitors to come back. They’ve blocked off the main street for two blocks, pedestrians only, and put a canopy over the whole area. This canopy has millions of computer controlled lights and they put on a show every hour after dark.

The show we saw was a medley of songs from the 70s with coordinated light show. This brings most of the folks out of the casinos so they don’t last too long but while it’s going on it is pretty crowed under the canopy, for sure. Lorraine took some pictures, I’ll see if they turn out and maybe add a few here.

Wednesday morning we drove a few miles to visit the Ethel M. Chocolate factory near us. They have a large botanical garden, mostly with different types of cactus (cacti ?) from around the world. It takes about 20 – 30 minutes to walk through this and we were both ready to head inside the air conditioned area after that.

The factory tour is self-guided, takes about 10 minutes, not much too it but they do give you a free sample at the end. And of course, you end the tour at their store. We were good, only bought a couple of candy bars. They did have some M&M dispensers that would go with Roy’s collection but I didn’t get one as I don’t have to bribe him (that’s for the guy’s at work, they know what I mean).

Later we decided to go to one of the bigger casino on the strip and try our luck. We decided to give Caesar's a try and while we were in there we were approached to see if we wanted tickets to a free Las Vegas show. Well, Lorraine has been talking about wanting to see Jersey Boys so we discussed it with them. All we had to do was go on a time share presentation and we would get two free tickets. Lorraine bargained with them and we ended up with free slot play, two by one/ get one free dinners, tickets to two “less popular” shows and other stuff. Our time share presentation was the next day and we were to get our tickets after the tour.

We ordered our mail to be sent here, it’s been over a month already. So Thursday morning we spent some time going through the stuff, had a couple of bills from the doctor and other stuff that needed attention. It’s amazing just how little of the mail we get that we really need and we have cancelled all the mail stuff that we could and do most of our correspondence via the computer.

After going through the mail we headed downtown once again, this time for our time share presentation. This one (Wyndham) was 2 1/2 hours long, not very high pressure and most importantly, we didn’t buy at this time. Of course, if you don’t buy then, you can’t buy for at least 6 months and the price will be higher then, ha. But we did get our tickets and other stuff so it was worth while to us.

We then went to the casino to turn in our vouchers get our actual tickets and seat assignments for the Jersey Boys Show. We decided to get them for the first show on Saturday evening, 6:30. We were able to get very good seats, on the left sides, 7 rows back and on the isle. At least, the seats looked good on their seating arrangement pictures, we’ll see.

Friday morning we spent working on stuff around the coach. Lorraine was on the phone and filled out some 401K/retirement papers that needed a Notary to witness and sign them. So off we went to find a Notary person, can’t be too hard, there’s one in every bank and/or credit union that I’ve been too. So we try a bank, NO, you have to be a member. So we find a a credit union, they are more friendly but once again, without being a member, no joy there either. Finally we find a Fed X place and they can do it, only $5 per stamp and we needed two stamps, boy what a racket. But we got it done and sent off, another item completed.

I wanted to stop by a local gun shop to get prices for what I need for my upcoming gun class. This was a nice place and the folks were nice, gave us all the information we needed. We’re still not sure what we’ll do for the stuff for the class but at least we have more information to help make our minds up.

Lorraine wanted to shop at the Outlet Mall so that was our next stop. We got a bit of a walk and she found a couple of items she needed too.

Yesterday we had another quite day at home, didn’t have much to do so we watched a movie and part of a football game. Lorraine had our clothes ready so I just changed and we headed out to see our show. We got there in time to hit the slots for while before they started seating folks. Once they opened the doors, we got to our seat and yes, they were as good as we had hoped, very close to the stage and not directly in front of the huge speakers.

The show is about the rise of Frankie Valli and 4 Seasons, four guys from New Jersey and the trials and tribulations they went through. Of course, all of this was done as a musical show with lots of singing, dancing, costumes changes and props. I think there was 20 people in the production, some playing different parts. I have to admit, I didn’t think I would like it but I did enjoy it, very well done and the two hours passed by quickly.

After the show, the crowd got to me, there must have been 5 – 6000 folks exiting the theater and I don’t do well in crowds. So I found an “unused” exit and went out that way. Once I got out to the casino, it took a few minutes for Lorraine and me to find each other and then we waited for the valet to bring our car around. After fighting the crowd, we didn’t spend anymore time on the strip than we had too, way too many folks and the traffic wasn’t fun either.

As I said earlier, we are here in HOT, sunny Vegas. It’s been getting to 100F most days, down in the 70s at night. We did have one storm pass through on Thursday night, we got lots of lightening and some rain. The forecast is for a cooling trend, they say the high on Wednesday may only be in the 70s, we’ll see.

We are going to stay here until Saturday, we have a couple of things we still want to do. Then we will head out to Pahrump for a week. We went there last year with our friends Dennis/Barb. After that, we are planning on going to Laughlin for awhile. After Laughlin we will head back to the Bay area to see our daughter and grand daughter so all the above stops depend on how long Lorraine can wait before we head to the Bay area. Kaitlyn, Nana’s on the way, see you in three weeks.

And now to add some pictures, not as many to pick through this week.

Old Las Vegas on Fremont Street. The following are of the canopy light show, it’s about two blocks long and 30 feet wide.