Good-bye Vegas and Hello LA

We were not sad to leave Vegas. We are pleased that we went, but one can only deal with neon lights, blaring music and people everywhere for so long!

We ubered to the airport to collect our rental car and set off for Route 66 heading to LA.  Unfortunately, our trip down Route 66 came to a grinding halt when we came to a notice “Road Closed”. We had to backtrack and Google took us on a long route, with not much to see.  The vegetation varied from Karoo bossies to not much at all!  We did manage to stop at Peggy Sue’s Diner, which is a 50’s diner on Route 66 – quaint with heaps of memorabilia on show. 

We eventually rejoined the Inter-State and were sailing along merrily when Google told us that there was an accident ahead and we needed to take a detour. We drove through quite some areas! Let nobody tell you that the US do not have informal settlements and poverty!  On that note, every city we have visited has had people living on the street. Every city has had beggars.

We eventually arrived in Los Angeles as the sun was setting. (About 5.45). The traffic was worse than CT peak hour – and remember it was Sunday!

We had not booked accommodation in LA but had a few places earmarked. Well, we got to the first one and kept driving! We got to the second one…..and kept driving. And we did the same for the 3^rd one too!

We decided to try a different area, but that was no better! So we increased our budget and found a better area – Santa Monica Pier.  The only issue was that parking our rental car was going to cost a bomb! So a couple of calls confirmed that a lot of places charged a lot for parking. By now it was pitch dark and we were tired! I called a Motel in Hollywood Downtown and they could accommodate us, and parking was free! Bonus! We drove across to Hollywood, through heavy traffic again (this was well after 8 by now) and checked in at Dixie Motel. Quite basic, but clean! We found some supper close by, and fell into bed!

Vegas Day 3 Grand Canyon

We had booked a tour to the west rim of the Grand Canyon today.  We were collected at 6.25 so we had an early start!

It was about 3 hours on the bus to get there.  We stopped at a garage just after crossing from Nevada to Arizona and these slops were for sale. Not sure if it’s because Arizona is in the desert and they don’t see grass often?

There are 2 viewing areas at the West Rim. Eagles point and Guano point. All we can say is wow, wow and wow! The pics below do not do it justice. The Grand Canyon is majestic, magnificent and beautiful.  Today was a clear, sunny and quite chilly day. But a stunning day for viewing. We went on the Skywalk, which is a pathway built out over the Canyon. It has glass floors, so you can look straight down the Canyon below you. (Dylan, I did it! But on the sides of the walkway, the glass was frosted, so it was easier than I thought it would be). Unfortunately, you can’t take pics on the Skywalk as they want you to purchase the pics they take of you. However, we took pics after we had been on it to show you. As it is on glass you have to put covers on your shoes so that you don’t scratch the glass bottom.

The views were amazing as we walked around Eagle and Guano points. Unspoilt and beautiful! The river in the pics is the Colorado River. It makes us realize yet again what a beautiful creation God has given us. The West Rim is the smallest compared to the South and North rims. The south rim is currently closed due to snow. I am not sure if you can make out the eagle in the pic below – this is where the point gets its name.

These trees are called Joshua trees. They were apparently originally planted by the Morman people and were named Joshua trees as they look like Joshua’s arms raised to the heavens.

On the way back we stopped at the Hoover Dam. It was built in the 1930s. It supplies water to Nevada, Arizona, Utah and a large part of California.  The last time it was full was 2001. It is currently at 25% capacity.  A huge construction.  And half is in Arizona and half is in Nevada.  The interesting point is that Nevada and Arizona are in different time zones, so we changed zones about 4 times in 15 min!

We are really pleased that we went to the Grand Canyon.

We spent the evening walking around the strip for the last time.

Vegas day 2

We started off by phoning our boys, who are both at our place now. Mommy’s heart was happy!. Brad got a puppy last week, so he and Leo have come to our place, as Dylan will be returning to Stellenbosch next week to start the 4^th year.

Leo, who is an Italian greyhound has met Abby. They are getting on well, despite the massive size difference.

Our day was a lot of fun. We caught the bus to do some curio shopping. Then we went to the Hunger Games Exhibition. I need not tell you I had no clue what Hunger Games was, and the Exhibition was not great, but what we didn’t know was that the highlight of the Exhibition is shooting a bow and arrow at moving targets. Well, the poor guy who had to assist me is probably still laughing at this dumb, left-handed, badly co-ordinated woman. I must mention that I did hit one target. We will not mention how many I missed!

After that, we went to New York New York, another themed hotel and casino, and went on their roller coaster which takes you high into the sky.

We visited the Coke shop where you can buy Coke paraphernalia as we have never seen before. Outside the shop is a huge Coke bottle. You can do Coke tasting at the shop, as there are so many flavours here.

Our next stop was the Hi Roller, which is a massive big wheel. It was interesting to see Vegas from it. After the Hi Roller, we went zip lining. William was keen to zip line. I decided…..you only live once! And so, with much fear and trepidation – in fact, I was petrified! – we were saddled up, and off we went. You are in a seated position. 4 people go at a time. If you lie back, put your feet in front of you, you will go faster. Well, William and the other 2 ladies did all that and went zooming along. I sat upright, kept my feet down and chugged along, but that was enough for me.  And I believe I got my money’s worth! I do have to admit that I enjoyed it.

Madame Tussauds was our next port of call. We were really disappointed. It wasn’t very big, and due to covid, you can’t stand with the exhibit. We visited the Venetian hotel and casino where you can travel around on a gondola in the water channels. We also visited Circus Circus – a Hotel and casino themed like a Circus and looks like a Circus tent from outside. They do have a circus show as well.  As we walked through the casino we heard ching, ching, ching. You still have to insert coins into some of their machines and when you win, it spits out coins. A sound from many years ago!

We found a place called In n Out Burgers for supper. The nicest burgers we have had here. Interestingly, in most places in the US, if you want lettuce and tomato on your burger you have to order a deluxe burger. A standard burger gives you a bun and a patty. Chips means Crisps, and French fries are cooked potato chips. There have been a few occasions when we thought we were getting cooked chips and were handed a packet of crisps!

We walked to the Bellagio Hotel to see the water show – beautiful fountains with white lights. Then we walked to The Mirage Hotel, where there is a volcano that erupts – a fire show. Very interesting.  And the blasts of fire were warm, which was welcoming as there has been an icy wind blowing.

Vegas is a different place, to put it mildly. Everyone walks along the streets drinking from mid-morning until who knows when! You can buy alcohol more easily than cooldrink. There are scantily clad girls everywhere offering to have your pic taken with them. (Obviously for a donation). It is unbelievable! In these temperatures, they must be freezing!  The sad part to us is these are someone’s daughters.  Shops that sell drugs have security outside them, so you see them from a mile off.

Vegas Day 1

We landed in Las Vegas last night at about 21.10 local time. Our Uber driver from the airport was such a nice guy. Pointed out landmarks as we drove up The Strip to our hotel. No movie, no blog, no nothing can prepare you for Vegas.

We walked into our hotel – well should I say we walked into a casino! There we were dragging our massive cases through the slots machines, tables etc until we found the Hotel Reception Desk – in the middle of the casino! We checked in, and off we went through another part of the casino looking for the entrance to the rooms. The one wheel on William’s case has broken, so he is literally dragging his case!

After unpacking we went downstairs looking for a late supper. We then took a quick walk outside, but at about zero degrees with no jackets on, that didn’t last too long!

This morning we started off by visiting the Bellagio Hotel. We wanted to see their conservatory/botanical garden. It was much smaller than we had understood it to be, but amazing creations from flowers.

Our next mission was to buy a new suitcase for William. We also bought small bottled water, cooldrink etc and loaded it into the new case (after we had paid for them obviously!) The only problem was that our hotel was a lot further than we thought,  so William pulled his new case a long way. And in Vegas, you don’t just walk along the pavements.  Often you have to go up and along bridges. (And not all have escalators. My dear husband and his suitcase had a good workout!)

After that ordeal, we boarded the Hop On Hop Off bus and headed to Downtown Vegas to visit The Mob Museum which was incredibly interesting and sad, as is a lot of history.

We walked down to Freemont Street where we had some Chinese food for lunch – a lovely change from oily everything!

Our next Hop off was at the Strat, where we went up 109 floors and viewed Vegas and beyond. We are in a desert!

We continued our Hop on hop off tour back to the strip. Lots of hotels and casinos here have taken on a theme of a country. We visited Paris and went up to the Eiffel Tower. It was about 5.30 pm and the sun had just set. Stunning views, but very chilly!

We purchased a 24hour bus ticket, which allows us to use the busses as much as we like for 24 hours. We headed back to downtown Vegas – to Freemont. Freemont is the original Vegas strip. It has the largest screen in the world which is overhead. It spans 419m long and 27m wide. Quite amazing!  And all along the strip are stages with people singing, dancing and acting. Needless to say, there are casinos and bars lining it, with some eating spots.  It was loud, very loud and busy! We are getting old!

We returned to the uptown Las Vegas as it was time for me to work. The time difference of 10 hours means that our late Thursday night was your Friday morning.

The cabin controller welcomed us to Vegas as we landed. She said….as the saying goes….what happens in Vegas, and the whole plane chorused back…. Stays in Vegas. She laughed and said. No, that is yesteryear. It is now……whats happens in Vegas, is on social media tomorrow morning!