Apartment Hunt Weekend: Part I
Friday night us three started our evening around 8 with some supper. We were on our way to pizza on the strip and decided to eat at Mugsys on the west end of town. Both girls had been there before. They split a pizza and I had a delicious cheeseburger. This burger had a “scoop” of “cheddar cheese” on it. It was a red “cheese” that had a creamy consistency. The burger was formed by hand and the but was grilled. It is my favorite burger in town, even if I didn’t get the delicious battered fries. Then we watched a very disappointing Sex and the City. Don’t waste your time with it unless you are a fan.
We were up at 6 and in Panera shortly after 7 for bagels and sandwiches. I had Helen, the GPS, on occasionally on the way down. The Garmin receivers show you the actual time you should arrive and seeing that number makes me a little crazy. We made it just on time and had no problems finding the loft.
Werthan Lofts is a large, 1872 burlap bag mill that is being converted into lofts. The building we looked in was the largest and had the most units, all small one, maybe two, bedroom spaces. The courtyard of the property is on top of a parking garage and is started to be landscaped. There is a long pool that will be done within weeks and a bocce ball court. All units have a terrace overlooking the courtyard. The place is slick and no one can deny that. It is history and modern. It is ridiculously trendy. But…. the unit is small.
In fact “small” as the first thing in my mind when I walked in. We had seen pictures of the kitchen and the living area but there wasn’t a photo that showed the true size of the living area. It was a very small area that definitely couldn’t accommodate our couch, love seat and recliner. But I’m fine with cutting back furniture. Two people don’t need 6 places to sit. What I wasn’t keen with was the lack of storage. The kitchen had gobs of space but there wasn’t a broom closet you usually see in a kitchen. The only two closets were in the bedroom. One had a stackable washer and dryer that could accommodate brooms but the Floor Mate would be a stretch. The closet for clothes had bi-fold doors and wasn’t larger than the closet we have now. The unit has 14’ ceilings but the the bathroom had a typical ceiling height which made it feel small and cave-like. There wasn’t much space in it for a storage cabinet.
The whole place did have great security. All entrances are gated. All doors require a keycode. It was very nice. Beth really enjoyed the pool but I wasn’t sold on the unit or the overall vibe. The area around the block wasn’t terrible but it didn’t make me feel comfortable. There was Krogers across the store which is a plus and its technically in a great, tight neighborhood. There will also be construction going on for a while around the place as they continue to remodel additional buildings on the property.
Afterwards we drove over to the Farmers’ Market. It had some great produce and a lot of junk. I’m sure the food stalls and I would be best friends if I lived in the area.
We moseyed downtown for some eats. We parked and walked a few blocks to the Wildhorse Saloon. Nothing caught our attention before it so we ate there. The place is a massive with a huge dance floor surround by three stories. The food was damn good too. Beth & I munched on a pulled pork sandwich (she had fries and I had homemade chips) and Holly had a burger.
We saw another place which I will talk more about later. Hopefully.
Helen took us right to the hotel where we are now before our 5 o’clock showing. I can say that having Helen has made our trip today incredibly easy. I can’t imagine navigating downtown and finding these places. I pointed and laughed and a family I saw at a rest area that had a stack of printed maps from MapQuest. I remember those days! ;)
