June 30th - Off to Las Vegas

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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

We started this year’s adventure on a dubious note. At 2:30 our flight from Baltimore to Las Vegas was pushed back from the original 5:45 to 6:40. OK, no big deal, that’s fine. Once we got on the plane however, we were told that weather along our route was going to delay us a bit more. Because of heavy weather in the mid-west, they had to change the route we were going to take. Once the powers-that-be got the safe new route mapped out, they realized we did not have enough fuel on board to safely fly the longer distance we had to go to avoid the storms. So, we then waited for the ground crew to add additional fuel. We finally pushed away from the gate at 7:40, an hour after the revised departure and almost two hours after the original time.

The delay imposed no hardship for us, unlike many on our flight. There were some families on the plane that had to catch connecting flights. They were told they would not be able to make those connections and would have to take the first flights the next day. Since it was a weather related issue we weren’t sure if the airline was going to help with the overnight accommodations or if they were on their own.

When we stepped onto the jetway in Las Vegas it was as if we just opened the oven door to pull out a sheet of cookies. The hot, dry air was enough to take my breath away. I thought it was just me, but then I noticed everyone seemed to be surprised by the hot air. It was about 9:30 local time and the temperature was 110 – down from a high of 111.

Once retrieving our luggage by fighting our way through a gaggle of international tourists (who we found to be exceedingly rude), we caught the shuttle to pick up our rental car. We rented a car from National, of which I am an “Emerald Card” member. By the way, this is not in the least a very exclusive club but it gives its members certain perks not available to non-members. We were able to bypass the counter, go to a designated aisle, and pick a car, any car, from those parked there – no fuss, no hassle. Just about all the cars were at least three levels above the level for which we had paid so I was happy. There was a helpful young man working in that aisle to help its “members” select cars, load luggage, etc. He suggested because of the heat, we select a white car; it would be a bit cooler. Well, that made sense, so I picked a white Ford Focus instead of the nice red one to which I was partial. The Focus seemed to have a bigger trunk than the Toyota, Nissan, or Chrysler products offered. Our four suitcases fit snuggly in the “boot”, we jumped in and headed out.

Just a further note about the Focus, it is a base SE model and is devoid of some of the little things to which we have been accustomed. Nevertheless, it has a lot of nice features, including electric adjustable seats for both the driver and passenger, rearview camera, satellite radio (which we could not use even though both Jill and I have the service in our cars – non-transferrable and not even available from National on a per day basis). My biggest disappointment is the lack of power. I haven’t opened the hood yet but I’m sure it is a 4-cylinder, and that’s ok if it was the engine Ford calls the Eco-boost which is a four cylinder turbocharged engine, even used in some of their full-size pick-up trucks. I am convinced that this engine is not turbocharged. It would certainly have more power than it has –wouldn’t it?

We drove to our lodging for the night – nope not a brightly lit, clinking, clacking casino – we stayed at the humble Travelodge near the airport. I was impressed by this normally 2-star hotel chain. It had evidently recently been remodeled. It was comfy and clean I’d give it the highest rating except for the hair clog in the bath tub. The included “continental” breakfast gave us enough sustenance to get us going.

After checking in, but before hitting the sack, we decided to do a quick tour of the Strip. We started off at the famous Las Vegas sign and drove down Las Vegas Blvd to the towering Stratosphere, turned around and came back up the strip finally turning left at Mandalay Bay to make the quick four block jaunt to our Travelodge. By this time it was going on 1:00 AM but our bodies were still on Eastern Time so we hit the hay for a few welcomed hours of sleep.



Thanks for following us on our journey,

Don and Jill

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