Vegas Strips

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What happens in Vegas, right? I’m about to tell you. And that’s because I don’t have much to tell. We got in late at our hotel last night—Harrah’s, which is, as most hotels on the Las Vegas Strip are, a casino with a hotel attached. I booked this hotel because I wanted to be on the Strip, but I also needed the room to be not so expensive. And this room was not. It was $60 with taxes added, so I considered myself quite lucky. But then they add a resort fee, which isn’t in the price listed. And then there’s a fee to park, and if you want Wi-Fi, you gotta pay for that, too. So, just staying at the hotel amounted to twice what I thought I was paying, and that didn’t include Wi-Fi. I skipped on that. But the room was nice. And I decided right before bed that I certainly wanted to order room service for breakfast. It’s nice to do from time to time, and this looked to be the best candidate, since there was no attempt to offer anything at all for free in the mornings. So I got a steak-and-egg plate, with hot chocolate, and dad ordered French toast with bacon and eggs and coffee. It’s easily the best breakfast we’ve had on this trip. And after yesterday—with the Rose Bowl and the long drive afterward—we felt like indulging a little on this lazy morning. Last night was the first night I had heard snoring coming from the other bed in the room, at least for any extended period. So I guess he was worn out after yesterday, so I let him sleep. Seriously, I didn’t get him up until after 8:30, with the hope that we would get out around 11. And we did.

I had toyed with visiting the Hoover Dam this morning, but it was further away, and in the wrong direction, than I had thought. So we lounged around a little longer. And we decided to stop by Verizon so dad could either get a new charger for his old phone or transfer all his stuff from his old phone to the one I had given him. After a bit of a chat, we found out that his old phone could actually use the same charger that went with the new phone I had given him. So we ultimately decided to just get on the road without spending any money or wasting any more time.

There’s LOTS of traffic in Vegas. And not just on the Strip. I was impressed by how many people were driving around in the morning on January 2^nd. But they were there. I had thought about walking up and down the Strip, taking it all in. If I hadn’t been so exhausted last night, I would’ve walked around and seen the sights all lit up. But today was a nice substitute. The sights were all there: the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, the Luxor, the Eiffel Tower, the loads of tourists, etc. I was driving, and I was also taking pictures, which was a bit precarious. But we made it southward and then back northward before getting on I-15 and heading out of town.

Vegas isn’t really my kind of place, though. I’ve had several people comment on my posts this trip that they’re surprised about my first time in California, the Pacific Time Zone, or even seeing the Pacific Ocean. It’s true that these are lots of firsts for me. And this was my first time in Las Vegas and even in Nevada. And when we left town, I set foot in Utah for the first time in my life as well. So that’s three new states on this trip, all of which I’ve been in in the past 24 hours. But I digress.

I’m not really into gambling, and I hate big crowds (except at football games, where I tolerate them out of necessity), and I hate clichéd touristy things. Vegas embodies all of these things. But any serious traveler in the US needs to have visited Las Vegas at least once. Check.

The rest of the afternoon consisted primarily of driving. Dad said he wanted to drive once we got out of Vegas, so I indulged him. The route took us up I-15 into the northwest corner of Arizona before going slightly into Utah, at which point I assumed I would take over. But he insisted on remaining behind the wheel. Sure, I thought. We finished Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris before we got to Utah, at which point we began To Kill a Mockingbird. Some might find this hard to believe, but I have never read this book. Dad said he had seen the movie a long time ago, and he was surprised to learn that hadn’t. So if you’re keeping score: I have never read nor seen the film To Kill a Mockingbird. It consists of 11 discs, and we started disc 3 right before we got to our hotel. So we’ll be listening to this one until Thursday at some point.

The driving went okay—I’ll be nice here, but there were a few times when I was genuinely afraid—and I kept asking him about his ability to see. He was the one, after all, who told me before we started this trip that his cataracts made it difficult to see at dusk and in the dark. Nevertheless, he persisted. Finally, with only about ten miles left, he said he needed me to take over. So he pulled the car over, and I drove the final ten minutes.

We’re staying at the Rodeway Inn in Page, Arizona. It’s the least expensive place we’re staying at, I believe, but it’s certainly not the shabbiest. The room is spacious, the beds are comfortable, and it’s centrally located. The owner/managers are very enthusiastic, too. So I’m looking forward to the breakfast they offer in the morning.

The only real “bust” of the day was the food for tonight. I had seen that a place called the Canyon King Pizzeria was in town; it was shaped like a steamboat, and people seemed to like it. I thought it would be a good novelty, and many of my Macon friends will know from the name of the place why I thought it might make a good story. But we drove up to it, and it looked like maybe some people were in the kitchen, but no other lights were on, and no customers were visible. No hours were listed, online or at the store, so we moved on.



Tomorrow is a big nature day: Horseshoe Bend and the Grand Canyon, with our ultimate destination being Flagstaff for some Route 66 fun. The driving is not too involved, but I’m really hoping the weather cooperates, as well as the traffic. It’s the main reason I asked dad to go on this trip, since he’s mentioned wanting to see the Grand Canyon so many times. One day more…

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