Trip Notes, Three

Until I went back to my home town last week, I had no idea that they had slot machines or casinos. I always enjoy the process of losing a little money in a slot machine or two, and my friend, with whom I stayed loves it too. She and my daughter and I went to the casino on Saturday night. I didn't lose any money this time, and I even won a little - but my lucky daughter - who always wins something - won $1,054! Why couldn't that have been me???

I got something else while I was there......smoker's throat. There were soooo many people smoking that it was impossible to escape it, and after I had been there 15 minutes, I felt as if I had taken up smoking again (after 28 years of being a non-smoker.) I tried hard to find a machine that didn't have two smokers on either side, and several times I had to move to another machine in order to escape it. Tell me......is there a no smoking casino anywhere in the world? I sure would patronize one, if it exists!

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This was my second day back at work after a six-week hiatus, and I worked 10 hours and 10 minutes! Mel (my boss) has 2 huge weddings and a 50th anniversary party tomorrow. I did 4 flower girl halos (head wreaths), 33 corsages (10 of them wristlets), 38 boutonnieres and 11 arrangements! Two other women, and Mel, worked all day long on all types of centerpieces, altar arrangements and other stuff. I go back at 9am tomorrow. Right now, I am going to run a bathtub full of the hottest water I can muster and soak in it for at least 30 minutes. See you later......

maybe.

NJ and the Big Apple ~ Part 4 ~ Views

I was told what buildings these were, but since I didn't write it down, I promptly forgot. I think that top one is city hall.

I liked this one for the gingerbread, although it isn't the fanciest builing in NYC, by a long shot. I assume that the greenish areas on top and over the windows on the mansard roof are copper which has oxidized.

These last two views and photos made the whole trip worthwhile for me. After we took the PATH train back to Jersey City, we entered the parking deck to find our car. I saw this view of Manhattan, and I couldn't stop shooting photos of it. The late afternoon sun was hitting the buildings along the water's edge, and although it doesn't look that bright here, they could have been on fire with the golden glow. It was a "take-your-breath-away" moment, and I am grateful for it.

The next day, we left NJ and headed south. After we found out that we couldn't see the Egyptian Exhibit in Philadelphia, we needed something interesting to do, so we made a decision to head for Atlantic City. We arrived about 3 pm, and found it bustling (as usual), at least in the area of the casinos. Mr. kenju headed for the Boardwalk. Seeing the ocean is a must for him, but I was more interested in the one-armed bandits. I promptly gave $$ to The Donald, to my dismay. I won some and lost some, but the net was a loss of $20 - my usual limit (I'm SUCH a big spender). Our hope of winning enough to offset the trip was not realized this time......LOL.

We headed south again; spent the night in DC with Miss kenju and headed home on Sunday morning. For some reason, The VA DOT thinks it is expedient to have road construction/repair on Sunday, so we were immediately in a massive traffic jam, stretching for miles. Our first destination was IKEA. I had seen their catalogs, but I had never been to a store, so I was looking forward to it. A trip which should have taken no more than 20 minutes stretched into 45, but we finally pulled into the parking garage. IKEA (which I have always pronounced "eye-kia", with the stress on the second syllable) is actually "EEE-KIA" (long E), according to my Swedish neighbor.

If you have not been to Ikea, I recommend it. They have stuff for every room in the house; from gadgets to furniture and their storage solutions are great. It is probably a good thing I didn't win a lot of money in Atlantic City, because I might have spent it all at Ikea!! The best thing I saw was a kitchen brush with a suction cup on the end of the handle. You can stand it up on the sink or the counter; it takes up less space and it dries easily. Genius. After 2 hours in Ikea, we had lunch there (3 hotdogs for $1.50 - no kidding) and then headed back to Raleigh. We were glad to get home.