This report covers Monday, June 12, 2000, Day 8 of our Las Vegas/Henderson trip.
Lots of business taken care of today, but not the kind that makes interesting reading unless you don't have a life. So let's get on with Day 8, a.k.a "Trip Report Lite."
Prior to our purchase, all local utilities and services were in the name of Del Webb. At the walk-through, we were told that we have four working days to contact the utilities and convert the accounts to our names. This was the deadline day, so that's what we did.
Prior to this day, we had already set up our accounts with Cox Communications for cable and with Sprint for telephone. Both companies waived their deposit requirements, as did all the others we contacted today, and it seems this is common if they do a credit check and find no problems with the applicant's credit history.
Today we made phone calls to Nevada Power Company for electric and Southwest Gas for gas service. Water and sewer service with the City of Henderson cannot be established by phone, though fax or mail are permitted. So we visited the city's satellite service office on Green Valley Parkway, bearing the required photo identification, and had our account established in minutes.
The best dining recommendations often come from knowledgeable locals. When we were out with our friends the evening before, Marge Downing urged us to try a certain place she considers the best deli in the area, and she was right!
The deli is Samuel's, located in Henderson in the same plaza where Trader Joe's is at Green Valley Parkway and Sunset. We stopped there for lunch and can't wait to go back. At about noon, the place was packed with folks chowing down on huge sandwiches and other specialties, and we squeezed into the only booth available.
Samuel's menu is extensive. The offerings include many breakfast items, including a variety of smoked fish; huge salads; matzoh ball soup; etc. A plate of sliced dill pickles is placed on the table as soon as you sit down, and the waitresses seem to know almost every customer by name. Sandwiches are king here, with most of the prices in the $7 to $9 range including a choice of one side dish, but you must have a huge appetite to leave without a doggie bag.
I wanted an order of kishke for an appetizer, and was disappointed that it was sold out. Had it been available, however, I might not have been able to finish the monster of a combination sandwich set down before me: a mile-high creation of corned beef, pastrami, tongue and Swiss cheese on light rye, with a layer of sweet cole slaw and thousand-island dressing, accompanied by a side of the same cole slaw.
This was as good a sandwich as I've ever had, and Rosalyn loved her Chinese chicken salad. Chinese-style salads are very popular these days, but this one was quite different from what we've previously encountered. The chunks of chicken were huge, warm, and tasted as if they had just been home-cooked in mom's oven. The dressing was a little too sweet for me, but there were at least five different kinds of nuts in the bowl. A unique creation indeed.
Samuel's Deli. Can't wait to go back, and hoping the kishke will be in the house.
On the way back to our new home, we stopped at the area postal facility on Horizon Ridge to sign up for mail service and pick up our mailbox keys. The junk mail is already arriving in droves.
We'll sign up for trash service when we return for permanent residence. We have one pickup a week back in MA, and there are severe limits on what we can put out. It seems to be much more liberal here, with two pickups a week and fewer restrictions on what we can leave at the curb. The trash pickup is covered by our real-estate taxes back east, but here it will cost $29.75 every three months.
Briefly, other things we did on this day: Took delivery of the components for the central vacuum system; initiated some contacts to find craftsmen to build our living-room media wall and complete the unfinished back of our kitchen.
By the time this trip is over, I may have to play slots at the airport to say I gambled. Sure hope not.
End of Day 8.
--Best wishes from David and Roz …in Las Vegas/Henderson
