Vegas Baby!

From: Fontana, CA

To: Las Vegas, NV

Mileage: About 353kms

I left my "campsite" in the morning to find that low level clouds in the valley were soaking the roads.  I ate breakfast at a local cafe and checked my maps.  It was kind of an upscale cafe and I must have made a scene.  Soaking wet, smelly, spending forever at a booth on my own, ruining their washroom...

Anyway, I hit the road and headed for Las Vegas.  Along the way, I was passed by this:

       

Maybach 57S

I'd never seen one of those on the road, or in person.  It was being followed by a Rolls Royce, but that pales in comparison here.  A little further down the road and I entered Nevada

I stopped at the visitor's center in Primm and booked a room for the night.  I got a steal on a room at Planet Hollywood.  I looked around in the adjacent outlet mall for sunglasses.  I bought a pair (finally!).  Anyway, I continued to Vegas and checked into the hotel.  Here's the room (unreal!):

There's another sink on the right side wall

Everything was much bigger and nicer in person.

I really liked the room.  It was very modern and had a cool feel to it.  Wifi was an additional $14 or something, so I said screw it and went down to Starbucks to use the free wifi.  I was only there for a few minutes before I went to the buffet and cleaned them out.

I staggered back to my room in pain and rested for a while.  Eventually, I went back down the casino to do something interesting.  I played blackjack for a while and I think in the end I was up a little.  I chatted with the two other guys who stayed at the table for a while.  Both were named Brian.  One was from Vancouver and the other was from Chicago.  We had a good time as the night went on.  Eventually, I went back to the room and fell asleep instantly.

I woke up late the next morning after forgetting to set alarms.  I frantically got packed and ready so I wouldn't be charged another night's hotel fee.  I checked out and went in search of a place to take passport photos.  I was under the impression that I had to get the photos stamped or something for my visa applications.  So I wasted a bunch of time trying to find a place that could do it for me.  I ran a few errands and filled out my visa applications at an Italian restaurant in the shops at the Venetian (just had coffee).  Eventually, I got the photos taken and rushed to the post office to send off my stuff.  FINALLY, after getting all that crap finished, I weighed my options.  It was almost dark already, and after leaving Vegas I'd have to either set up camp in the desert in the dark, or find a crappy room for the same price as Vegas.  So I decided to stay put and have an early night.

I looked around and finally booked a room at the Rio (an all suite hotel).  So I got a suite for $45 + tax.  I went to check in and the guy told me that I'd been upgraded to a much nicer room in the Masquerade Tower.  He said it normally goes for an additional $300/night.  And here she is:

View from the front door

Bathroom to the right as soon as you walk in.  Notice that it's missing a shower...

Dining room (off to the left when looking at the living room from the front door)

View from the dining room.  Kitchenette and living room visible.  Notice the room at the far end.

This is the room at the far end... the bedroom.  Notice the room at the far end.

The room at the end... the master bathroom.  Laundry area to the right, toiled to the second right, shower to the third right.  Vanity mirror on the left, sink and mirror on the second left. 

What a nice photo...

Jacuzzi at the far end

And of course, the view.

More view.  The room was a corner suite, so I got almost 180 degrees of view.

More view.  The other part of Rio

 I got settled in, and eventually wandered off in search of food.  Everything was closed so I got a side salad (to go) from the TGI Fridays across the street.  I ate it and called it a night.  The next morning, I packed up and got ready to head out.  I ate lunch at the buffet in Rio and had a conversation with the (very nice!) 75 year old waitress who used to live in Santa Monica.  After lunch, I figured I'd take a few photos of Vegas so I could post them.  Here they are!

Iconic

New York New York and part of the strip

Bellagio.  Across the street from that famous Oceans 11 scene I think.

An obstructed view of Paris

 After that, I jumped back on the freeway and left Las Vegas.  I pulled off at one point to fix some sort of clothing item or something, and snapped this parting shot:

Las Vegas in the distance