Recovering from Vegas.

Shirley Porter, Karolyn Timarkos, Kristi Clark, Dustin Elter - Juice & Java.

We are now in King, North Carolina, staying with friends, and recovering from Vegas. Don't get me wrong, we loved it, but Vegas should have a compulsory 1:1 ratio - if you spend a week there, you need a week to recover. We have walked through most of the major casinos on The Strip and, consequently, feel like we have toured France, Italy, Egypt, and the Mediterranean - we even went for a gondola ride through the streets of "Venice" and under ther bridge of sighs, which looked just like the real city, only cleaner and less crowded. A great way to travel Europe!

I missed the Bunny Club. Spent $15 on a taxi to get there on our last night, only to discover that it didn't open until 9pm, and we had tickets for Rod Stewart at 8pm. Was too tied after the concert, and couldn't afford to spend another $30 getting there and back. Forlornly bought two fridge magnets, one for me, one for Jade. Next time I'll know!

My friend Kristi and her boyfirend Dustin are in the kitchen baking pumpkin cupcakes - we are having two Thanksgivings - one tonight, and one tomorrow. How spoilt! Last night we went with them to the supermarket - it usually takes then 10 minutes; with two Kiwis in tow it took over half an hour, and they had to keep explaining to people, "It's okay, they're from New Zealand" as I took photos of everything!

I have an animal to share my bed here! An 8 month old Shih Tzu puppy called Bubbles, who is just adorable. I miss jackson terribly, so it's nice to have someone on the bed for a bit.

I was up till 1.30am this morning watching TV3 News and Campbell Live streaming live from NZ with the coverage of Pike River. Just terrible, and what an awful time the residents of Greymouth and Reefton must be going through. Very, very sad.

After a couple of days of clouds and drizzle, we are back to blue skies. I'm off now to take photos of fallen leaves. Love to everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving!

More photos from King, NC.