Viva Las Vegas......well kind of
Trip Start
Oct 05, 2008
1
5
23
Trip End
Ongoing
Las Vegas,
Nevada,
United States
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Anyway, after San Francisco we took a trip to Vegas to see what it was all about and to also use it as an opportunity to get out to the Grand Canyon. We booked a room in the Sahara casino - at agrand totak of $30 a night! Out of season and in teh week they struggle to fill the rooms so there are beargains to be had and it was actually the cheapest place we stayed whlsit in the US! We were on the northern end of the strip and the hotel was really nice - the room was huge and as we were up on the 24th floor we had some pretty cool views of 'the strip'. We went out for a stroll on our first evening and took in all the lights and themed places, such as Paris, New York, New York and Luxor - got to say the lights were really impressive, but the green side of me thought 'what a waste of electricity!' The next morning we went for a stroll and sorted out our bus tickets for San Diego. It soon became clear that, unless you fancy some afternoon gamling, there is not much to do inVegas in the day. We filled our time and that evening we went for a flutter - on the 1 cent machines (what high rollers we are...!) - but actually managed to come out $13 up, mainly thanks to the mighty 'deal or no deal' machine. We headed on to a few more casinos, playing the cheap machines nad managing to win our money back each time. It was quite cool, though I still cannot really see the thrill of gambling. I guess poker may be more exciting, but as I do not have a clue how to play it, this was off the cards...
We did notice tghe view of vegas being glamorous seemed to be way off the mark - it mainly seemed to be inhabited by morbidly obese Americans, driving ridiculously big cars - who would park up at a machine/table and drink, smoke and gamble for the day/night. We also found the casinos themselves a bit odd and at times vulgar - it was good fun to visit, but certainly wouldn't travel direct from the UK to go there.
The highlight of the trip inland was definitely a visit to the Grand Canyon. We took a bus from Vegas, also stopping at the Hoover Dam and taking a short drive on Route 66. I had visited the Grand Canyon a few years back but was again amazed at the sheer scale of the place - Daisy was staggered by it. We were at the South Rim and took a short trail from Mather Point to the visitors centre - the weather up top was really pleasant and didn't feel like November at all! We took plenty of photos and was also lucky enough to see a Condor. Although we were only there for the day, all the vulgarness of Vegas seemed to melt away - showing natural beauty once again far exceeding anything man made... It was a long drive and a long day, but definintely worth the effort.
Next stop - San Diego
