Kix's Adventures in the Desert Southwest

My sibling and I went down to Arizona and Las Vegas for the one month memorial for my late brother-in-law and my niece's 11th birthday.  We met up with our Utah sister at the Las Vegas airport before beginning our adventure.  Here are the highlights: 1.  I prepaid for a hybrid Prius from Alamo.  We arrived at the rental car park, Alamo had no Prius for me.  Left us sitting in the car park without a car until my CO sister (wearing full *****face) went to have a private chat with the customer service drone.  Shortly after that, we had a hybrid Camry for the price of the Prius.  The hybrid Camry is a sweet car! 2.  Our BIL is buried at a Jewish cemetary in Vegas conveniently near the airport.  The one month memorial isn't a formal affair, you just go and pay your respects to the dead, leaving a stone on the gravesite.  We brought two stones from CO so he'd know it was us.  Our Utah sister forgot to bring a stone, so she trotted out to the road and picked up a stone from the gutter!  Oy!  3.  The drive from Vegas to Kingman is uninspiring.  Two hours of desert shrubbery interrupted only by the majesty of Hoover Dam.  Hoover Dam is pretty cool, but I'd already been there, so we didn't stop. 4.  Why people live in Kingman, I haven't a clue.  To quote Gertrude Stein, there is no there, there. 5.  We attended a Halloween carnival and costume parade, which must be a big deal, because everyone in town was there.  My niece won 3rd prize for her costume, Little Dead Riding Hood.  I thought her costume looked kind of lame -- the only reason she won (in my opinion) is that our Utah sister, a wizard at theatrical makeup, did her face makeup.  They also held a raffle for the adults.  Imagine my surprise when they called my number!  Woohoo!  I won a pumpkin worthy of being photographed in Martha Stewart's magazine, and a gift certificate for a local Italian cafe. 6.  I ate enough catfish at the Dam Bar in Kingman to feed everyone in this forum, and boy, was it tasty!  I love good catfish with hot sauce! 7.  We drove to Laughlin one day because our AZ sister had to attend a real estate class for her license renewal.  While she attended her class, we went bowling at the casino.  It cost $29 for two people to bowl two lanes.  I'd have felt less ripped off had they pointed a gun at me first. 8.  While waiting for our sister to come out of the real estate class, I wa**** on by two toothless yokels carrying a case of beer.  Golly, I felt validated!  Not.  9.  We ate a terrible breakfast at the Cracker Barrel.  Just how much sugar do they use to cure that bacon, anyway?  Lucky for me, I skipped the bacon and had a big bowl of grits with butter (as the Lord intended them to be served). 10.  While in Vegas, we stopped at Trader Joe's (woohoo!), where I bought four blocks of their jalapeno jack cheese, two bags of raw cashews, and an insulated bag to get the stuff home.  We also stopped at Costco, which was a couple of blocks away, to get some Casper hot dogs (Casper dogs are famous in Oakland -- Costco in CO doesn't carry them).  My sister brought an extra suitcase just for the food items.  I wondered if the drug sniffing dog would get all jacked up over the hotdogs, but everything made it home safely, so I guess the dogs only like drugs.  11.  We stayed at the Excalibur, which was OK enough.  We had a room with a view of the Strip.  I hadn't been to Vegas in over 25 years, so the Vegas I remember is more like the old Rat Pack days.  Now, it's like Branson with gambling.  You can't really walk the Strip anymore because it's so big, and that's a shame.  It used to be fun walking the Strip and going into all the casinos. 12.  The buffet at the Excalibur was delicious, affordable, and WLS-friendly.  The brisket was tender enough to cut with a spoon.  There were umpteen dishes from which to select, so I took one bite of everything that didn't look like it would kill me.  13.  Slot machines aren't fun any more.  You don't get the adrenaline rush of pulling the handle and watching the money pour out of the machine.  Now, you push a button and if you win, a voucher comes out of the machine that you redeem at an ATM.  Having said that, I won $50 playing 18 cents on the 2 cent machine and $10 playing $1 on the 5 cent machine. 14.  When we came home, I discovered the dogs must have been really mad at me for leaving them, too.  Until this trip, my sister was the one who went away and I stayed behind.  We had an in-home dog sitter who the dogs know and love, but they were obviously chapped at me for leaving.  I found a huge whiz spot by my bed, another huge, long whiz spot in front of my bedroom door, and a third whiz spot near my recliner.  Think they were trying to tell me something?  15.  Darn those Rockies!     Congratulations to the BoSox. Kix

Wow Kix, sounds like you had a good trip... I love Vegas... you gotta try the poker machines they are the best..

Sorry about the Rockies... I had a bet with my DH they would win, now I owe him a dinner..

Casper Hotdogs ..love em...they sell them in our local Safeway..I get them and steam them just like they do at their store. I worked in San Pablo for years and they had a branch there. They just closed it recently. They still have one in Richmond. Glad you able to enjoy them...

Sure miss ya while you were gone.. glad your home.. sorry about the loser****ting on ya..

I gotta go get ready to take the grandkids treak or treating..

Welcom back

Lynn

Lynn, Aren't Casper dogs the best?!  I used to go to the one on 1st Avenue in Oakland, but I think they closed it, too.  I hadn't heard about the San Pablo site closing.  One of my satellite offices was at the Tom Powers Health Center in Richmond, so on the days I was working at that office, I guarantee you could find me on Macdonald Avenue snarfing up a Casper dog (or two). We usually boil the dogs, but I think the next time I cook them, I'll steam them to get that true Casper's experience. How was the trick or treating? Kix

Kix,

Treat or treating was sooo fun... the kids actually got tired before me.. who would have thunk it. 2 years ago I could bearly get up to answer the door for the kids.. now I am out and about with them. It was alot of fun, and boy did they get alot of candy... Oh yeah before I forget... if your going to eat your casper dogs with a bun, make sure to steam it too...so tasty, even if you just have a bite or two of the bun, its worth it. Have a great weekend Lynn

I think slot machines are lame now too!  It was a lot more fun before the little paper vouchers (and you didn't spend as much money because it took a little longer to put money in and pull the lever instead of inserting a slip of paper and pressing a button over and over again as you watch your money drain away..) And when a slot machine pays out with actual coins dropping, its definitely more of a rush! My husband is from Phoenix and he had a lot of crap to spew about Laughlin and even more about Kingman when I read your post Sounds delightful.  Is it as fun as Barstow?  That place was just depressing... I got hit on the other day too!  It was by a nice enough guy, a checker from the grocery store, but I honestly wasn't sure if he wa****ting on me or if I was imagining it until he noticed I bought two steaks, and asked me if one was for my husband... I said yeah and he dropped the whole conversation and told me to have a nice day.   I still wear my wedding ring, but on my middle or first finger.  Its been a number of years since anyone flirted with me, I was not sure how to react, but I did feel validated at least, and he was a good looking guy with all his teeth.

Dunny,  Whatever your husband said about Laughlin and Kingman is most likely true.  Both places make Barstow look like a luxury resort. Now that my BIL is deceased, we are hoping to lure our AZ sister out of that armpit, but I don't think it will happen.  She is just like our late mother, who always had excuses why she couldn't do something. I've always been clueless when it comes to flirting, so it took me a minute to realize what Cletus and Vern were up to.  Ugh!  Congratulations on getting hit on by a guy with a complete set of teeth! I look forward to having a similar experience someday.  Kix

HEY KIX,            ARE YOU SURE YOU DIDNT FALL ASLEEP AND END UP IN GEORGIA? BETWEEN THE CATFISH AND HOT SAUCE, TOOTHLESS YOKELS AND BUTTERED GRITS I SWEAR YOU WERE IN MY TOWN LOL.... CANT SAY IT WASNT AN ADVENTURE HUH? IF WOULD HAVE BEEN HOLIDAY TIME, YOU MIGHT HAVE YOUR OWN RENDITION OF CHRISTMAS VACATION LOL... GLAD YOU ARE BACK... HUGS MARGE

Marge, it sure was an adventure!  The catfish with hot sauce was worth the trip.  Yum, yum!   Kix

Oh, Kix, I've miss you and your charming wit!  Sounds like your Vegas trip was an interesting adventure.   Glad you got to drive the hybrid Camry!  I've had problems with rental car companies before, and I can put on full *****face like nobody's business.  Situation always amazingly gets resolved.  Go figure.   I love Gertrude Stein.  I was a music major in undergrad, and I have fond memories of working on a song w/ lyrics by Gertrude Stein - I think the song was called Preciosilla.  Just nonsense lyrics, but fabulously fun to sing.   Thanks for having some catfish w/ hot sauce for me - it's one of my favorites.  My roommate occasionally makes panfried catfish crusted with cornmeal and collard greens for dinner.  On those days, I have a little bit of heaven on my plate.  Yum, yum, yum!   It's weird to get hit on....  I don't know quite how to react, but I'm figuring it out! 

Gotta love dogs - they communicate the only way they know how.  At least they didn't whiz in your bed!   Sorry about the Rockies - I was rooting for you, but apparently it didn't help...   Welcome home -  Kellie

Kellie: I'm not very skilled at *****face.  I was speaking to the rental car drone in a stern voice, but I guess I didn't quite convey my message.  My CO sister has one of those faces that looks like a death mask when she's mad, so she gets quicker results than I do.   I love collards, but I've noticed some restaurants don't rinse the greens before cooking them, and I don't feel like eating grit in my greens.  The catfish really was outstanding, in fact, I'm almost obsessing about it as I write this reply.  Too bad there isn't a drooling emoticon. I was also a music major my first year of college.  I majored in flute, minored in piano and voice.  I burned myself out having to give 800 recitals that year and switched over to political science.  I haven't played in years, although I am thinking of renewing my interest in the oboe. Kix