So just a little while ago I was out shoveling snow--not a huge accumulation, just the trampled down dribs and drabs from the past week while we were away, plus another couple inches this morning. My hands got numb, even with warm gloves, and I see it's 10F right now. So it's warmer now than when we left town. Woo hoo!

Now it can be told: we went to Las Vegas. The idea was to experience a bit more warmth than here, and, for the most part the goal was accomplished. On two days we took trips to Death Valley National Park, just over the California border, and on both occasions we were able to walk around (more briefly on the second occasion) without jackets.

The Residence Inn (by the Convention Center) was fine, if a bit worn. One night we burned one of those composite logs in the fireplace. A hot breakfast was served and we tanked up daily on eggs, bacon (or sausage, or corned beef hash), Belgian waffles, yogurt, and the like. The low point in the list were the scrambled eggs--great deep yellow, leaden, rubbery lumps (which I ate nonetheless to fill up). The morning we left, yesterday, the whole appearance of the breakfast room changed as the great hordes descended, lining up for their turn at the grub. Fortunately, we'd already filled our plates and sat down by the fireplace. Families with lots of kids obviously found the Residence Inn a cheap way to "do Vegas."

Being a tightwad and skinflint I also enjoyed hitting three of the casino buffets. All were cheap and plentiful, but one stood out as proving "you get what you pay for." In the literature rack at the hotel there was a two-for-one coupon for the buffet at Terrible's Hotel and Casino. The price was right, working out to $5.00 apiece, but portions of the buffet, at least, lived up to the "terrible" moniker. (And I write this as the personification of a non-picky eater.) For some odd reason the evening we went there was called a Mardi Gras evening at the buffet, even though Mardi Gras comes before Easter, not after Christmas. My theory is it was because somebody got a really cheap deal on catfish. It was described as "blackened catfish" and since I'd ordered exactly that in restaurants before, I was looking forward to it. Needless to say, it resembled no restaurant item I'd had before. It was limp and soggy, with some sort of red Cajun stuff sprinkled on top. The other disappointment was the Jambalaya, which I soon realized was an excuse to dump various unused food portions into a mix of Spanish rice and serve it to the unwary. Great hunks of chicken on the bone, a big triangle of processed meat, etc. Yuck. Having said that, it's also true that I didn't go home hungry. They had real, not powdered, mashed potatoes, and the frozen yogurt was of a good quality and not like flavored ice as in some places. Other food items were decent too, but it was a matter of Diner Beware (and steer clear of the Mardi Gras specials...).

Hmmm. I seem to have spent a lot of the space talking about food. I could also emphasize exercise, since on this vacation we got lots of it. We walked, I estimate, seven miles our first day, down and up the strip, and we also took fairly challenging walks in natural surroundings. (Bottom line? I gained no weight!!)