Monday in Henderson

Monday started with a lie-in, followed by breakfast at Denny's. I prevailed on Hank and Colette and they indulged me with a visit to  Ethel M's chocolate factory and cactus gardens. Ethel M is the wife of Frank Mars who made all the candy bars you grew up with: Snickers, etc. Anyway, after they retired they began making serious chocolates in Henderson and the factory and its adjoining cactus gardens are open to the public. If you are wondering where you might find several buses packed with Asian tourists, this is the place. Might have been a highlight if they had been making chocolates on Monday -- they were not.

The afternoon was spent with a bit of visiting at the hotel, eating leftovers, and visiting with cousins at HB's house. There was also a short excursion to some air-conditioned lockups to see some of HB's vintage car collection. The cars are quite fabulous, but collecting blue and white plates is more my speed.

Later in the evening we all met at the Sonrisa Grill at an Italian-like village at the other end of Lake Las Vegas for a Mexican nosh. It was another chance to get caught up with the cousins.

 The view of Lake Las Vegas from our room

 View of the hotel from our patio

 Kris and Hank returning to the hotel

 The hotel drive with Italian-style villas in the distance

 "My stars, how do Mars make such

wonderful candy bars?"

 Hank, Kris, and Colette in the cactus garden

 It's the season for cactus blooms

 Visiting in the loggia of the hotel

 Cameron, Millie, Ann, SKT, KBT and Chris

 HB, Norma, and Kris

 HDT Jr., SKT, and Cam

 If I were a car guy, I would have remembered

what kind of car this is

 Because I'm an Anglophile and watch lots of Masterpiece,

I know this is a Bentley 

 Hank, Colette, HB, Dorothy, Kreg, Eric, and Joan

(Norma's children)

Kris, Cam, Millie, SKT, Phil, waitress, 

Ann, Phyllis, and Chris

This has been great fun. The hotel, as you can see above, is very nice. The rate Norma arranged for us is very good, but in general, I think a Comfort-Inn-Hampton-Inn-type place is more my speed. I guess I'm too tight; I don't need a bell hop, I like the breakfast to be included, and the other amenities are not much use to me. I guess I spent too many years traveling on the cheap with study-abroad students. Oh well, that's all for now.

OXO

D.