Never liked Swedes anyway
Trip Start
Dec 06, 2006
1
95
188
Trip End
Ongoing
Las Vegas,
Nevada,
United States
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Of course I'll mention when funny things happen, like me looking the wrong way a bit too much and pulling out in front of on coming cars, stopping to say hello before driving on. And when I stood like a divvy wondering why the gas (that's petrol, are you keeping up with this mad language over here?) wasn't coming out when there was a sneaky lever to pull. And when we got diverted for a bit due to a MASSIVE landslide on the way in to Yosemite park.
With a limited amount of time, it was a case of getting in, seeing the major sights and getting out of there. We did just that, we went to Yosemite Valley which is the main tourist destination although it's a big park with trails all over the place. The valley has a visitor centre and I asked what the best plan was and a short walk followed by a drive to glacier point was recommended. The short walk was of Half Dome and then around in an ark with views of where the falls would have been. They rank above Sutherland Falls in Milford Sound on the top ten highest falls. It's just a shame that in November they're as dry as a bone. This was also true of Bridalveil falls on the way in.
This particular bit of Yosemite is a glacial valley carved from a whole lotta granite. Bit lumps of granite. HUGE lumps of granite. It was amazing and the views were unreal, especially from glacial point which looked across at half dome and across the whole valley floor. But no rest for the wicked, after the photo stops, it was time to party in Oakhurst! Maybe not, but that's where the motel for the night was. After some dorm living it was a nice treat and not too much so I think I might stretch to some more private rooms on my US travels.
Yesterday we drove on to Vegas and got here in time to see the bright lights in full force. This place is totally nuts. I couldn't help smiling as I walked about at the tacky buildings. It's plain ridiculous but I think it's great! We had a wander around some of the bigger casinos and I fancied a go on the rollercoaster in New York New York. Ceri wasn't so keen but said she'd come on. I got us in the queue for the front seats and it was great. Ceri kept her eyes shut and screamed like she was having her legs amputated with a blunt spoon but I really enjoyed it, it was a decent ride with a loop the loop, barrel roll and a sheer straight drop. Cracking stuff although I doubt Ceri agrees.
Later we headed to MGM to see Cirque Du Soliel and their production Ka. They should have considered the rubbish Ford name a bit more carefully. It was a spectacular show, brilliantly produced, very entertaining but I was still a bit disappointed that there wasn't more flipping and swinging about. There was too much of what appeared to be rhythmic gymnastics. But there was also some martial arts, some clowning, some very odd theatre and the sets which moved about all over the place were very impressive. There was some sort of story to it but I couldn't tell you what it was about. There were goodies, baddies, a bit of bad blood and bother between them, but relax, don't worry, it all ended nicely with lots of happy circus performers
Afterwards it was time for some gambling and so I got myself a pile of chips and headed to the poker room. At first it went well (ha, now you know what's coming) and a pair of bullets got me up by about 30 bucks, but then we had to move tables and I met my nemesis. I had 3 decent hands and went for it and each time was beaten, twice on the last card and once by a higher card by a bloke from Sweden. If only I'd have won those I'd have doubled up, but as it was I found half my cash gone and called it a night. 50 dollars wasn't a bad loss considering it was a few hours of fun and there'll have been a lot more cash in the casinos coffers than I was offering.
