Part 2…What an exciting location…

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We are thrilled to be so close to the little grocery store, which is very well-stocked.

It’s 8:20 am, and I have been awake for a few hours. For the first night since we arrived, I finally slept for seven hours, feeling fantastic today. Tom should be here in the next hour since his flight took off a little early and is expected to land at 8:22 am. Since he has no luggage other than a small carry-on backpack, he should be able to grab an Uber in no time at all to make the 25-minute drive from the airport.

Although he’s been gone only a little over 24 hours, I missed him. Undoubtedly, he’ll be exhausted and may need to go to bed for a few hours. If he does, I’ll continue to work on today’s post and do the prep for tonight’s dinner. We’re having one of our favorite dinners: homemade “unwich,” breadless subway sandwiches with the quality, gluten-free meats we purchased at Costco and a crispy salad on the side.

Seasons Grocery is easy for us to access, only a few steps from the bottom of the stairs close to our unit.

With all the warnings on bagged lettuce and spinach, I hesitated to purchase romaine for the sandwiches. In the past week or so, I watched a documentary on Netflix called “Poisoned,” which is terrifying about getting sick from everyday groceries in US grocery stores. Since watching that movie, I have been washing and re-washing vegetables more than ever. Unfortunately, washing won’t remove much bacteria. Only cooking can do that, and I can’t imagine dunking lettuce in boiling water before eating.

When I turned on the news this morning, the first news story was about listeria found in bags of fresh spinach. Do we stop eating nutritious greens and salads altogether? I can’t imagine dinner without a salad on the side. Tom eats salad but doesn’t love it. But it’s a perfect side dish with many meals.

There are several streets in the VIllages. This is not the main street but a side street with fewer businesses.

While we were in Ecuador, the only salad I made was coleslaw. It was easy to wash cabbage and peel and wash carrots. But I wasn’t confident about other salad greens not being exposed to tap water and bacteria. I wasn’t so concerned about pesticides there since I found insects on the produce we purchased from Raphael. In the US, finding an insect on a lettuce or cabbage leaf is a rarity, even if it’s labeled as organic.

When shopping at a market in the US, the produce almost looks too perfect to eat. It’s that appearing perfection that may result in toxic situations. None of us can be too careful. I strongly recommend watching “Poisoned” on Netflix. It opened my eyes to be more cautious than ever when preparing produce; even then, there’s no certainty.

This is Mimi and Coco’s Bistro, which we’ll visit in the future.

Today, we’ve included more photos from our walk on the streets in The Village. One of the shops that we found most exciting was the “Seasons Grocery.” It’s a small market. but the ideal spot to stop in for a few items, such as wine, beer, spirits, produce, and a wide array of miscellaneous grocery items. They have a comprehensive deli with a seating area for eat-in breakfasts, coffees, and deli-type lunches.

To gain access to Seasons Grocery, we only need to walk down two flights of steps from the door down the corridor from our unit, and it’s right there, around the corner. This unique area reminds us of quaint shopping areas in Europe and other parts of the world we’ve visited over the past 11 years.

The marina on Lake Las Vegas has many boats, including a large yacht.

Tom is back! It was so good to see him. He had a good time seeing his family members at lunch. He enjoyed the party, returning to the airport shortly after 1:00 am. After dropping off the car, he found a spot to lie down and took a short nap. Security hadn’t opened yet, so he had to wait to check in for his flight.

His flight was full and uneventful. He arranged an Uber, and by 9:20, he was back in the building and on his way to our condo. It was great to see him. He’s not yet ready for a nap, but maybe later in the day. He’s chipper and in good spirits. Me, too.

Another restaurant on the main street in The Village.

We’ll be back with more new photos tomorrow. Have a fantastic day!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, December 20, 2013:

Yesterday morning, we spotted this white mass in a tree hanging over the pool, only 15 feet, 4.5 meters from where we sit each day, waiting for visitors. For more photos, please click here.

Part 1…What an exciting location!…Tom is on his way to Minneapolis…

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Looking over our veranda one floor down to ground level, we can see shops and restaurants. It is referred to as “The Village” in Lake Las Vegas.

When the owner was here a few days ago,  Zoltan explained that our condo is located one floor above what is referred to as The Village, a series of roads (no cars allowed) with restaurants, shops, and various businesses. All we have to do is exit a nearby door to an outdoor stairway to take us down to The Village.

A bar and restaurant are directly below our unit, and rows of various other restaurants and establishments make this an ideal location for us. Tom was concerned it would be too hard of a walk for me to navigate. Yesterday afternoon, after returning from the mailing service, we decided to try it.

We’d expected restaurants but had no idea there would be clothing stores and other shops on the boulevard.

The smooth, even streets were easy for me, and I made it all around the area without thinking I couldn’t easily walk. The only tricky part was after we were done checking everything out, we walked up a very steep hill to make our way to the main entrance of our building.

After speaking to the reception desk staff member, we discovered an easily accessible door to reenter the building using a code on the keypad of an exterior door. This way, we could avoid the steep hill most people our age would struggle to navigate without getting out of breath.

It was an easy walk on the paved roads (no cars allowed) in The Village.

Over the next week, we’ll dine at one of the restaurants and have dinner. We’ll retake new photos at that time when the area is beautifully decorated with pretty lights and Christmas music playing in the background. We looked over our veranda at night to see the lights and hear the music. Lovely.

Although it is cold here now, requiring warm clothes both during the day and at night, we’ll each bundle up with the clothes we have on hand. Many don’t realize that the weather in the winter in Las Vegas is rather chilly. On a few occasions, it has snowed here, but it melted right away.

There were even some offices, a salon, and a spa along the boulevard.

As I write today’s post, I’m a little tired. I’d set the alarm on my phone to awaken Tom at 5:30 am. Tom’s hearing loss prevents him from hearing a phone’s alarm. I put the phone on my nightstand, thinking it would surely wake me in time to wake him—no such luck. At 3:30 am, we were both wide awake and got up for the day.

Neither of us slept much, but it will be much harder for Tom, who has to wait all night at the airport after he leaves the Christmas party around 1:00 am, waiting for his. I can always take a nap this afternoon. He won’t be so fortunate. Perhaps he’ll nod off a little on the outgoing and returning flights. It’s hard to nap while waiting at the airport. He’s flying in and out at Sun Country Airlines, a smaller, quieter airport a few miles from the main Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.

A beauty center is located in The Village.

As for me today, there’s not much on the agenda. I am working on health insurance stuff and other paperwork. I spent most of the morning ordering Christmas gifts online for the grandchildren and have completed that task.

It’s odd for me that Tom is gone. I will not pester him with texts or phone calls, leaving him to think only about his day and evening with his old friends from his railroad days and adult children.

We were surprised to see so many restaurants. We checked out the menus and will visit some soon.

That’s all for today, dear readers. I’ll be back with more news and photos of the beautiful Village here in Lake Las Vegas. We’re delighted we chose to stay in this lovely location.

This restaurant is located directly below us. We need only to take a stairway down to The Village.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, December 19, 2013:

Of nine members of this warthog family, there are two moms; one has four babies, and the other has three. From watching this family almost daily over 18 days, we believe the mom shown above is the mom of the three babies, who are all nursing if you look closely. (It’s hard to see the third). Thus, the baby on whose chin she rests belongs to the other nearby mom, who seems comfortable with this situation. We couldn’t have laughed more when the fourth baby, whether hers or not, provided this chin-resting spot. For more photos, please click here.

A pleasant weekend at Lake Las Vegas…

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The entrance to the building where our condo is located is in Lake Las Vegas, Henderson, Nevada. There’s a parking garage we’re using on the lower levels.

Note: Today’s photos were from a few websites promoting the property. After today’s delivery of our final batch of groceries from Smith’s Marketplace to get us through Christmas, we’ll be done shopping for a while. It’s always quite an ordeal to settle into a new place when we must buy many staples and ingredients we regularly use in cooking, along with meats, cheeses, eggs, cream, sour cream, Greek yogurt, butter, and tons of vegetables.

Adding soaps, cleaning supplies, laundry, and paper products, we had quite a lengthy grocery list. It took shopping at Walmart and Costco, eventually finishing with an online order from Smith’s. As for today’s arriving order, we’ll be in great shape for the next few weeks.

With that project almost entirely tackled, we can relax and enjoy our time in this lovely location. I have unpacked all the clothes and miscellaneous items I will use here, but Tom is unpacking now and will be done soon. Right now, the condo is looking neat, clean, and orderly.

The pool is for the exclusive use of residents. It’s cold now, and I doubt we’ll use this unless it warms up.

Speaking of the clean condo, I hoped to find a house cleaner for every week or every other week. Yesterday, I contacted the cleaner the owner uses, but we were shocked when we heard the prices. The cost is $125 a week for weekly cleaning and $150 for biweekly cleaning. We are not willing to spend $500 monthly for weekly house cleaning or even $300 monthly for biweekly cleaning.

Tom assured me that we could do this ourselves. He’ll do all the floors, and I’ll dust, clean, and do the bathrooms. We are very good at cleaning the kitchen daily, so there’s nothing to do there other than wipe the glass shelves in the fridge every few weeks.

Of course, we didn’t expect the rates to be comparable to what we paid in Ecuador, $20 plus a tip for three hours, cleaning an entire two-story house. But, here, we were expected to pay $65 to $80 for cleaning this two-bedroom, two-bath, one-story condo. Thus, we’re on our own. It’s good exercise for both of us!

The second-floor lobby. A lobby on the ground level is staffed during business hours.

Today, around 1:00 or 2:00 pm, the owner will stop by to change the kitchen’s reverse osmosis water dispenser filter and bring us a microwave. We are appreciative of him doing this. He and his wife don’t use a microwave due to their choice for health reasons.

I told Tom that I’ve never been without a microwave since the day Elvis Presley passed away in August 1977. It was presented to me as a gift from a guy I was dating then, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled amid my tears about Elvis. Since that time, I’ve never been without a microwave. Every holiday home we’ve rented in the past 11-plus years has had a microwave; some were old and worn, but many were newer models.

There are multiple meeting rooms in the building, but also comfortable seating in public areas.

Most recently, our first microwave in Ecuador bit the dust, and Sylvie brought us another used model. That second replacement model, which was also old, had the wrong glass turntable that didn’t sit properly. Whenever we turned it on, with whatever we had inside, it caused the glass turntable and the food container to bang on the sides. I do not doubt that Zoltan, our landlord, will bring us a lovely new microwave.

After all, since we’re the first tenants to occupy this lovely unit since it became a holiday home, everything is new and of high quality. We’d highly recommend this place if you ever decide to come to Las Vegas for a short or long stay. The information regarding the rental may be found here at this link.

It is only a 33-minute drive to the strip and 28 minutes to the airport. There are many restaurants here in Lake Las Vegas, many of which we can access right outside the building. We can see a  vehicle-free boulevard from our veranda with shops and restaurants, which we’ll soon explore. That will be fun, especially after the holidays are over.

The building’s fitness center is where I will work out.

Last night, after dinner, I walked down the long hallway to the fitness center to find an excellent facility, as shown in the photo above. I will start slow since I’m not in the best shape right now, and I look forward to improving my gait and stamina for longer walks.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for your patience while we didn’t post for a few days. It’s terrific to see many of our readers with us again.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, December 17, 2013:

This photo was taken a few years ago by Louise and Danie. But the house’s condition has remained constant, and this photo is exactly as we expected. For more photos, please click here.

We’re back online!…An unreal experience on the road in Ecuador

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The condo has special lighting to create a mood, all operated digitally with the option of changing colors. We’re thrilled with the large refrigerator, dishwasher, range, and many amenities, except for a microwave. We are the first renters to occupy this holiday home.

Note: We’ll post a few photos of our condo and its grounds daily. Stay tuned for more. Thank you, reader/friends, for all your well wishes, love, and support during some challenging times.

We’re sitting on the comfy sectional in the beautiful great room of our new holiday home in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada. We love this place and couldn’t be more pleased with it and to finally be here. The lovely condo is fully equipped with almost everything we need to make this feel like “home” for the next 105 days.

Deciding not to post for two days wasn’t an easy decision. After the long day of travel before we departed Ecuador and our expected late arrival in Las Vegas, I didn’t feel like preparing a post while we waited for boarding. We were seated at the gate, and I couldn’t motivate myself to take out my rickety laptop and try to type when the screen would flop down with no way to support it.

We flew on Copa Airlines. The first short flight had entertainment screens, but the longer seven-hour flight did not. It was a long seven hours with nothing to keep us occupied. A baby behind me cried hysterically for over an hour, and the kid kept banging on my seat while on the dad’s lap. I only cared about getting to the US safely and ending the flight. The baby was a mere annoyance.

Then, on Friday, with only two hours of sleep, preparing a post was out of the question after we’d arrived at the condo at 3:00 am, which was 6:00 am to us. I never fell asleep until 4:00 am and awoke two hours later.

Yesterday, I was dragging more than ever. It wasn’t jet lag since the time difference wasn’t a big deal. Lack of sleep was the biggest problem. Tom was tired but slept a little longer and handled it better than me. We had a busy day ahead of us, and I knew it would be another long day with lots of walking.

The big TV monitor has DISH TV and lots of amenities. Our digital equipment is charging on the floor.

We started with breakfast at Denny’s, which was close to Costco, where we had to pick up my new laptop (which I am using now that is set up with all my files-very nice) and at Walmart, where we’d buy paper products, soaps, and some staples. We had sticker shock when the bill came for our breakfast. It was $46 with tax and tip. Wow! I guess we’re in the US now!

Before I get further into yesterday’s events, I’m anxious to share details of the harrowing event during that 3½ hour drive from Mirador San Jose to the Guayaquil airport. We started on reasonably good roads at 8:15 am as planned, and all was going well. Our flight wasn’t scheduled until 2:53 pm, so we had plenty of time and didn’t need to rush on the two-lane roads with many trucks and slow-moving vehicles. Tom didn’t speed.

When we were about halfway to Guayaquil, Tom mentioned there was a cop with flashing lights pulling him over. My heart sank. Oh no. He hadn’t done anything wrong, wasn’t speeding, and was following all the lines on the road, allowing passing at specific points.

Tom calmly rolled down the window. He was not asked to provide his driver’s license or his name. The cop used a translation app on his phone, which stated he’d passed two vehicles where it wasn’t allowed. This was not true. He didn’t hesitate to say the fine was US $190 (they use US currency in Ecuador).

Of course, we objected that he hadn’t done anything wrong, but the cop (with two others with him) held steady on the amount of cash we had to pay. We asked for a ticket. He said, “No ticket.” Pay the $190, or “they” will come to get you.” Oh, good grief. He was threatening jail.

There was no negotiating with him. Of course, this was a scam. They saw our vehicle loaded with luggage, knowing we were tourists heading to the airport and most likely would have cash on us. Thank goodness we did. We handed him $100 at one point, suggesting that was enough! This didn’t satisfy him. Those three cops would be splitting our $190.

We had no choice but to pay. There was no alternative. After we handed over the cash, I asked for a receipt to make the point that we knew it was a scam. No go. He wasn’t about to give us a receipt!

We spent about a half hour dealing with this. Tom carefully drove away, checking periodically to see if they were behind us. They weren’t. We both looked at each other as we took off and said, “Get me out of here!” Neither of us could wait to leave Ecuador.

The comfy velour sectional sofa is perfect for us. The owner, Zoltan, and his wife Agnes brought us a fluffy blanket for lounging.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time for our flight. There was a 22-minute delay when the plane didn’t arrive at the gate. But about 15 minutes into it, we were able to board. Weird food served. Tom ate nothing for 36 hours until yesterday morning’s breakfast at Denny’s. I ate a few bites of chicken.

After breakfast, we headed to Walmart, where we spent over $300. Tom was desperate for a haircut, and we found a nearby Great Clips with a 20-minute wait. I was happy to wait in the car to rest my weary body. While waiting, I searched online to buy a clothes drying rack. There isn’t one here. When I found one, I got out my wallet for the credit card company and noticed my wallet wasn’t in the bag.

While we were having breakfast, my bag fell off the booth’s bench and ended upside down on the floor. I carefully scoured the floor to see if anything fell out. Nothing had. Then, while waiting for Tom, ready to make the purchase, I suspected my wallet had fallen out of the bag when it fell on the floor at Denny’s.

When Tom returned after his haircut 30 minutes later, we had no choice but to return to Denny’s to see if they found my wallet. It wasn’t there. Oh, no, I thought, what if someone found it and kept it? Worrying about this only increased my exhaustion when we went to Costco to pick up my new laptop and buy groceries. We didn’t buy any perishables at Walmart and needed meat and produce from Costco.

We are content with the fact there isn’t a dining room and prefer sitting at the counter for our meals.

As it turned out, my Fitbit showed we’d walked over three miles by the time we returned to the condo. Our unit is a long walk from the parking area to the condo. Shortly after we arrived, the owner of the condo, Zoltan, and his wife came with a few odds and ends for us to use. They are both so kind and thoughtful. The only item the unit is missing for our needs is a microwave. We’ll try to figure out how to live without a microwave, which we often use.

Much to our delight, my wallet was on the nightstand when we returned to the condo. In my tired state, I hadn’t realized I left it behind. Whew! That was a relief.

Tom had quite an ordeal getting all the groceries from the car to our distant unit. But he used a luggage cart that made the task considerably more manageable.

We didn’t prepare dinner last night. Tom bought an apple pie at Costco and was happy with a piece of that, and I ate a bowl of Greek yogurt and raspberries, which hit the spot. I spent most of the evening setting up my new laptop, and I’m completely done. I wanted to ensure I could use it this morning to prepare the post.

By 9:00 pm, I headed to bed, falling asleep shortly after that. Unfortunately, I awoke at 4:00 am and never went back to sleep. I feel fine today, and after uploading the post, I will finish unpacking after we watch the Minnesota Vikings game at 10:00 am this morning.

We are both content in this amazing location and living in this lovely area and good-sized, well-appointed condo. Ah, what a relief!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, December 16, 2013:

At first glance, these could be a fashion-forward pair of women’s black boots. Nope. They’re the hind legs of a warthog. Actually, all four legs have these spiky heels. This made us laugh. For more photos, please click here.