Journal Entry for Tuesday, Nov 29th

Staycation – Day 3 After another breakfast in our room over GMA and our books, we decided to drive over to the Palms, where Connie had some free slot play. We had a huge lunch at their 24/7 Café, using a $50 LVA that was about to expire. We played some more after lunch and then drove to the Stratosphere Casino for ‘happy hour’ at the 107 Lounge, located on the 107th floor of the Stratosphere Tower. Without a doubt, the best view of the city, it is even more impressive at night when the city is in full glow. The happy hour here, with 1/2 price martinis and 1/2 price appetizer's, is one of the best deals in town. We both tried the Blue-Tini (made with Absolut Açai Berri Vodka, Stolichnaya Blueberi Vodka, fresh lemon and blueberry), which we thought was a little too sweet. However the Chocolate Masterpiece Martini (Made with Godiva Chocolate Vodka and dark and white Godiva Chocolate Liqueur) was to die for. We also ordered the Cheese Plate Combination with St Andre, Maytag Blue and Manchego cheeses, fresh seedless grapes, dried apricots, and multigrain and walnut raisin toast. It was an excellent accompaniment. All for 1/2 price; such a deal. After a very relaxing couple of hours here we went to the Paris Casino where we had tickets to the Anthony Cools show. He is a hypnotist and comedian. Quite different and very funny. By the time we got back to our suite it was nearly midnight, and needless to say we headed straight to bed.

Journal Entry for Monday, Nov 28th

Staycation – Day 2 After breakfast in our room, we picked up the car from valet and drove to the Palms to see Hugo in 3-D; only to find the theaters there closed for the day. Hello? So we then drove to the South Point and saw it there. Click “read more” at the bottom of the post for our review. After the movie we went to the “M” and played for a couple of hours before heading over to see the Mystic Falls Park Christmas show at Sam's Town. After ordering a couple of Mimosa’s, we sat back and enjoyed the show - a four story rolling waterfall inside a ten-story atrium comes alive with a lights and laser show that are complemented by fountains that shoot eight stories into the air and a special symphonic holiday music score recorded especially for Sam's Town by the Indianapolis Philharmonic Orchestra. We try and make it a point to visit this every year to get into the “holiday spirit”. After the show we drove to Brad Garret’s Comedy Club at the Tropicanna Casino. The headliner was Monique Marvez, a standup comic from Miami, known for her biting sarcasm and sardonic attention to gender issues. We both thought she was quite funny and enjoyed the show. Finally, it was time to return to our suite at the RIO and catch some shuteye.

Journal Entry for Sunday, Nov 27th

Staycation - Day 1 - And The Celebration Continues Connie Reading Her Book in our LR Suite After our Thanksgiving dinner at Mimi’s Café, we started our 41st anniversary celebration by attending Kathleen Madigan’s comedy show, “Gone Madigan at the South Point Casino. After taking a day off, today we started the continuation of our anniversary celebrations by watching the Patriots trounce the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-20. We then drove to the Strip and checked into one of the RIO Casino’s all-suite hotel rooms for a three night staycation. After getting settled, we went down to their Village Seafood Buffet for dinner. This 7-day a week, 13,000 square foot all-you-can-eat seafood buffet features lobster, snow crab legs, shrimp, fresh shucked oysters, sushi and dozens of seafood items from around the world. Even though the lobster tails were small Australian rock lobster, you don’t even want to know how many we ate! After this delicious meal we walked over to The Crown Theater to see the “The Platters, The Cornell Gunter Coasters & The Marvelettes” show.  For a full hour they performed some great renditions of such rock and roll classics as My Prayer, Please Mr. Postman, Charlie Brown, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Yakety Yak and about 20 other million selling songs. It was very good. After the show we went up to the  VooDoo Rooftop Nightclub for a nightcap. Long past our normal bedtime, we finally made it back to the room and straight to bed.

Journal Entry for Friday, Nov 25th

Black Friday Well today is what is now known as Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving Day. Traditionally it is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and is perhaps the biggest shopping day of the year. Though not the original explanation, today it is generally understood to indicate the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black". It is also our 41st wedding anniversary; and in all of our 41 years together, I think I can honestly say that we have never gone shopping on this day. Today after exchanging cards, Connie made us waffles for breakfast. Between watching some prerecorded TV shows, we watched our latest Netflix movie, Arthur. In this fresh new look at a classic story, Russell Brand reinvents the role of loveable billionaire Arthur Bach, an irresponsible charmer who has always relied on two things to get by: his limitless fortune and the good sense of his lifelong nanny and best friend Hobson (played by Helen Mirren), to keep him out of trouble. We actually enjoyed it and would give it a strong 2.5 Stars. Connie starting a new book, and me playing with my photography site, we whiled most of the day away. At dinner time we, as like I’m sure most Americans did, had leftovers from yesterday’s turkey dinner. Following dinner we headed over to the South Point Casino to see Kathleen Madigan’s comedy show “Gone Madigan”, based on here newest CD. This is the third time we have seen her in person and again we were not disappointed. We were in stitches for the entire show and both agreed that it was her best performance yet. If you haven’t seen her before, or just haven’t seen her for a while, you can pick up her latest CD on Amazon for $12.00. Check her out now … Kathleen Madigan @ Amazon

Journal Entry for Thursday, Nov 24th

Thanksgiving Day 2011 Click photo to enlarge Today was just another beautiful, warm and sunny day, in the low seventies. We sat around most of the day, I playing on the computer, Connie reading, and watching a couple of prerecorded TV shows. After finally showering and getting dressed we headed out to Mimi’s Café for our Turkey Day dinner; and what a dinner it was. I had the homemade Roasted Tomato & Basil Bisque while Connie had her favorite, French Onion with Swiss, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Click photo to enlarge These were served with a warm bread basket that included Mimi’s famous carrot raisin nut bread and other assorted breads and biscuits. Dinner was a traditional meal with four generous slices of white turkey breast on top of a cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli, squash, side of cranberry sauce and oodles of gravy. For dessert we both had two huge squares of Mimi’s Bread Pudding, baked from scratch with plump raisins, vanilla and a special spice blend that was served warm with a buttery whiskey sauce. These were so big that we had them both boxed and had them for dinner later in the evening.

Journal Entry for Sunday, Nov 20th

Final Sendoff Dinner at Coyotes Mexican Cafe We set the alarms for 6:00am, as we had to have Rick to the airport by 8:15 to catch his flight home. We enjoyed a nice leisurely breakfast of eggs over easy, sausage and English muffins before getting ready for the morning’s airport run. I know Connie was thrilled to have this opportunity to spend time with her brother and only wished it could have been longer. After saying her goodbyes, she asked Rick to pass on ‘hugs’ to Belen, Marisa and Cayden from her. Click the picture on the left to enlarge.

Journal Entry for Saturday, Nov 19th

Eldorado Mine Tour Today I took Connie’s brother Rick to the Techatticup Mining Camp in Eldorado Canyon for a tour of the Techatticup Mine. The Techatticup Mine is the oldest, richest and most famous gold mine in Southern Nevada. Along with others in the nearby area, it produced an estimated 250 million dollars in gold, silver, copper and lead. This was actually the fourth time in two years that I have made a visit to this area, yet each time I visit I seem to find new things to photograph. After a tour of the mine and the old mining camp on the surrounding property, we drove down to Nelson’s Landing, located at the edge of the Colorado River. To see more pictures, check out this page on my Photo Gallery site …Techatticup Mine Tour. After we returned home we showered and changes and headed out to Coyotes Mexican Cafe & Cantina where Rick treated us to dinner. Though not the best Mexican food in Vegas, the portions were huge and the service was very good. The Mexican beers that we ordered each came with a ‘chilled’ glass. I can’t remember that last time I was served a chilled glass with a beer. It was a nice finish to a very enjoyable visit with family.

Journal Entry for Friday, Nov 18th

J. Edgar and Texas de Brazil
Today we picked up Connie’s brother from his week long training seminar at The Orleans Casino and headed to the South Point Casino to see the movie, J. Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, who became one of America’s most powerful men as head of the FBI for nearly 50 years. Serving through eight presidents and three wars, Hoover utilized methods both ruthless and heroic to keep ‘his’ country safe. Always projecting a guarded persona in public and in private, he let few into his inner circle. Among those closest to him were his protégé and constant companion, Clyde Tolson, played by Armie Hammer, and his loyal secretary, Helen Gandy, played by Naomi Watts. He lived most of his live with his mother, played by Judi Dench. Though the movie is well acted, it is somewhat shallow in that it never really provide and great detail about anything; either his life or the secrets that he collected on individuals that he used as blackmail to keep his job through eight presidents. I think if there were more emphasis on the FBI itself and G-men with Tommy guns, and less on his relationship with Tolson, I would have liked it more. It was good, but not great. We give it 3-Stars.


After the movie, we took Rick to Texas de Brazil for dinner. He was impressed! After sampling the lobster bisque and their extravagant 60-item gourmet salad area featuring imported cheeses, specialty salads, gourmet vegetables and traditional side items, he had nearly every sizzling meat offering that the carvers provided, including filet mignon, and several cuts of beef, pork, lamb, sausage, and chicken; all flame-grilled to perfection. Needless to say, we were all stuffed by the time we left. After dinner we stopped the Ethel M's Cactus Garden on the way home to view its eight acres of cactus, which at this time of year are covered in tens of thousands of Christmas lights.

Journal Entry for Sunday, Nov 13th

Airport Duties Lunch at East Coast Eats Friday we traveled to Jim’s house to pick up him and Patrick for the trip to the airport and their return home – back to Kansas. We stopped at an In-N-Out Burger for a quick lunch on the way to the airport and were once again treated by Patrick. On Saturday, it was off to the airport again to pick up Connie’s brother who was flying in from Colorado for a week-long training seminar at The Orleans casino. We took him to our favorite new place, East Coast Eats, for lunch. He agreed that the Steak Bomb and homemade onion rings were the best he has had. For dinner we picked up five slices of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory just up the street from us. Valley of Fire State Park Today I cooked us a nice big breakfast before we headed off for the Valley of Fire State Park for a day of hiking and picture taking. Upon our return we picked up some chicken wings and I cooked up some nachos that we ate over the New England Patriots vs New York Jets game, and what a game it was. The Patriots ended up trouncing the Jets 37-16, giving them first place in the AFC East.

Journal Entry for Wednesday, Nov 9th

Buca de Beppo Waiting on Dinner Today Jim and Patrick came over for some wine and conversation before heading to the Strip for dinner and a show. Patrick treated us all to dinner at Buca de Beppo’s, a “funky” Italian ‘chain’ restaurant that is one of his favorites. Though we had an unfortunate experience with the service, the ‘huge’ portions of food, meant to be shared and served family-style, perfect for passing around the table, were very good.  The calamari, coated in zesty breading was fried to  perfection and served with spicy marinara sauce, was the most tender I’ve had in a long time. We all thought the lasagna was excellent, however, the meatballs and spaghetti was just average. Now this is a Sundae! The highlight of the meal was dessert. We opted to share the colossal brownie sundae. Twelve decadent chunks of freshly-baked brownies layered with six scoops of vanilla bean and chocolate ice cream, topped with caramel and chocolate sauces then buried in mounds of whipped cream and topped with a cherry! We were bummed, Connie got the cherry. After dinner we all headed over to the Hilton Casino to see the Greg London show, Impressions That Rock. It wasn’t quite as polished at Patrick was hoping for, however the rest of us really enjoyed. It was a great way to top off a nice day of sharing with good friends. Again, we thank Patrick for treating.

Journal Entry for Tuesday, Nov 8th

Dinner at Luxor Cafe Today we lounged around playing on the computer, reading, watching TV, etc. until mid-afternoon, at which point we finally showered, dressed and headed to the Strip to meet Jim and Patrick for dinner. First, we stopped at Ellis Island where we both had $10 free slot play. Then we headed over to the Palms where Connie had $10 more dollars in free slot play. Connie played slots and I played poker while we waited for Jim to text us with dinner info. Even though we both won money at Ellis Island, we ended up loosing at the Palms. As they were spending a the night at the Luxor, we ended up meeting them for a light dinner at the Pyramid Café. Connie had pancakes, Jim and Patrick both had hamburgers, and I had the chicken pot pie. This was the second time I’ve had this dinner selection, and, as usual, it was excellent. We made plans for Wednesday and then all went our separate ways for the remainder of the evening.

Journal Entry for Sunday, Nov 6th

Brunch With Jim & Patrick After picking up Jim Herring and Patrick at the airport on Friday evening, they took Saturday to run some errands, take care of some things around his house, get in a little gambling and carousing on the Strip, and to take a nightime helicopter ride over the Strip. Today we had them over to our place for a champagne brunch. We started with mimosas and a fruit cup topped with a dollop of French Vanilla ice cream and accompanied with a fresh baked pumpkin bread that Connie had made. For the main course we chowed down on eggs, garlic browned potatoes, bacon, and English muffins, accompanied by coffee and refills on mimosas. After a nice long leisurely breakfast, we retired to the living room for a few more hours of relaxing conversation. It is always nice to spend time with good friends. After making some dinner plans for later in the week and reservations to go see Greg London’s “Impressions That Rock!” at the Las Vegas Hilton, they headed out for a stop at Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory before returning back to Jim’s house. Click on picture to enlarge.

Journal Entry for Friday, Nov 4th

Tower Heist From a low of 43 degrees this morning, to a high of 63 this afternoon with partly cloudy skies, it was just one more very nice “fall” day. After lunch at home, we went to see the movie Tower Heist, a comedy caper about working stiffs who seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler who stiffed them, starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy. Workers at a luxury Central Park condominium, they discover that the penthouse billionaire has stolen all of their retirement monies. They seek revenge by plotting a break-in of his penthouse and a heist to reclaim what he took from them. Though a little weak in places, overall we thought it was a fun movie with a very good cast. After all, isn't that why one goes to the movies - to be entertained? We give it 3-1/2 Stars. Before returning home, after the movie we headed over to the “M” Resort for a little gambling action and dinner. I won $350 in the poker room. Later in the evening, I went to the airport to pick up Jim Herring and his friend Patrick, who will be in town for the next week.