The Vacation - Day 5

Driving back to Vegas
After having as much fun in the Grand Canyon as possible in 4 days, we set out back to Vegas. Stopping here and there for gas and munchies. It seemed a lot shorter, maybe because this time I dozed off in the middle. And we definitely didn't go back through that neighborhood.

We went back over Hoover Dam and it was just as impressive the second time. We didn't stop and get because we'd really seen all we wanted to see and there were SO many tourists and SO little parking.

Luxury!

After we got back into Vegas, came the question of how to find our hotel. We knew it was on the strip. We passed a sign for Flamingo Avenue. I joked to Andy that maybe that was it. Finally we saw signs for downtown. Here we go. The strip! It wasn't dark yet so I didn't get the full effect until later. But it was fun just the same. So many different hotels and casinos. Finally we saw the Flamingo. On...you got it...Flamingo Avenue. Ah well next time in Vegas we'll know. Now to find the Hilton part of the Flamingo...AHA! There it is. We checked in and went up to our room. Gorgeous...but non-smoking? The whole room reeked. I hate to fuss about things especially since they just upgraded us to a nicer suite....but I couldn't breathe. Andy called down to the desk. There was one available on the ground floor. Fine by me as long as it didn't smell.

First floor room....incredible. We had a suite with a full kitchen. Yup a stove, full size refrigerator, microwave...everything. Huge bed and a hot tub...IN the bedroom. Man did we ever do this the right way 'round. Hard painful hiking then full class luxury.

Being nice to people

After getting settled in to the room we went and checked out the pool. Nice not too many people. Comfy. Next time to explore. We got cleaned up and went over to Caesar's Palace to check things out. There was a chinese place there that sounded good. We went off in search of it. The inside of the place was amazing. The ceiling was painted like the sky and there were no windows and no clocks. You would have no idea what time of day it was or anything. Which is of course what they want. We wandered from one end of the stores to the other searching for the elusive restaurant. Stopping along the way to buy Andy some new shoes and check out the signs for the IMAX ride.

As we passed the information booth a woman stopped us. "Are you going to be here tomorrow?" Yes...."Come see our timeshare blah blah blah" I tuned out entirely and looked bored out of my skull I'm sure, Andy continued talking to her, being extremely polite. Then...Lie #1 "well we're booked up tomorrow" Lie #2 "we're flying out the day after that" "Do you have a brochure or anything we could take with us? No brochures but she did give him a VIP card to Planet Hollywood and thanked him for his time.

We continued in search of the elusive restaurant and after realizing we were at the wrong end of the casino we found it! Only to discover it was closed Wednesday nights. So back we went to Planet Hollywood to use our VIP card and get our free appetizer. We get to Planet Hollywood and there's about a 20 minute wait. We showed them the VIP card and BOOM we were in and seated! 5 minutes later we were sipping daiquiris and munching on our free chicken strips. It's good to be nice to people. I'll have try it next time.

City Lights

Back out onto the strip, now after dark. All the lights were twinkling and flashing. Even the McDonald's signs were neon and sparkly. Then we noticed these little buggies. Well to be honest I noticed the girl that was driving one was wearing these flipflops with enormous soles. Then I noticed the little dune buggy. You could rent them apparently to drive up and down the strip. And that was about it. You couldn't do anything else with them. You couldn't park them on the street and run in anywhere, because all the parking was in garages on sidestreets. But the funny things was, these girls that were driving the thing were all dolled up, obviously tourists, driving around a little buggy with a huge sticker on it that said "Rent me." In Vegas I wonder how many times people thought the girls were for rent and not the car?