2016 Las Vegas
Day One-Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Up at about 4:30 AM on Tuesday the 29th. We had a 7 AM flight. It was supposed to take a bit over 2 hours to get there, but the Captain turned on the afterburners and we made in an hour and 40 minutes. Neither Margo nor I got an early start to bed on Monday evening, so we both slept some on the plane.
We touched down, got our rental car, a Kia Rio. I put this car on the Not Recommended list. It didn’t give us any trouble, but the passenger seat is too low, and it had a whistle the whole time we had it. On the last day it developed some sort of banging sound as well.
Anyway, we drove out to Pahrump and spent the rest of the morning and half of the afternoon with Aunt Prim and Uncle Donnie. Aunt Prim was thrilled that we would take time out to come to visit. They treated us to breakfast and lunch. They wouldn’t let us pay for any of it.
We visited a local museum and the Pahrump Valley Winery. At the museum there was lots of local history, and plenty of antiques. There were multiple displays on the atomic testing that was done north of Pahrump and a bit on mining and, believe it or not, cotton farming. For a period lasting from about 1947 to 1970 there were several men growing cotton in the Nevada desert.
Pahrump has a large aquifer underneath it, so water was not really a problem. But, the growing season is a little too short and Pahrump is in the middle of nowhere, so getting the stuff to California to be sold was an issue. So cotton died out in the 70s. We did visit a country club that was as green as any you see in Colorado. Aunt Prim says that when she misses home, she goes there to see all of the green grass and trees.
They invited us back and hoped we could stay later. They said a trip to Death Valley was worth the efforts to see Scotty’s Castle and the Borax mines. Death Valley has an odd appeal on its own, so we might take them up on the offer. I doubt we will stay with them, as Aunt Prim is expecting. We just do not feel comfortable staying at someone’s house. We not only feel like we are imposing, but mostly we feel obligated to be on their schedule. In a hotel we can come and go and not feel bad about it. Pahrump has a few casinos and I am sure Margo would want to try her luck.
We left about 3:15 PM and was checking in between 4 and 5 PM at the MGM Grand. I talked Margo in to taking a nap so we would not be exhausted. I took one until about 6 PM. It don’t think she slept at all. Our evening plan was to head to Downtown Las Vegas and casino hop for a bit, and the do Slotzilla at 9 PM.
Things worked just as planned. We worked in a bite to eat and a bit before 9 PM we checked in for our zip line adventure. Slotzilla comes in two flavors. The first is a standard sit down line that is 77 feet off the ground and takes you 850 down Fremont Street, above all the revelry. They call that one the Zip Line.
The one we signed up for was the Zoom Line. It is 114 feet off the ground, and you travel 1,800 feet, reaching speeds up to 35 miles per hour. The kicker is that instead of sitting down, you fly Superman style, suspended prone, looking at the ground. It was a kick.
They put you strap you into a harness and have you lay down on this bed like contraption. The bed goes up and down about three feet. So you get on, and they raise you up to the zip line and latch you in. Then the bed is lowered, but you are now suspended by the cable, waiting for the doors in front of you to open. Up until that moment, you could not see forward, and the views to the sides were mostly obstructed as well. The doors open and you see exactly how high you are and the adrenaline kicks in.
Neither Margo nor I where scared at all. We ended up suspended for about a minute, while they finished strapping in one more person. There are four lines that go all at once. The guy said three…two….one, and we were off. Actually it was more like threetwoone. At first I felt front heavy and that I would topple forward, but that did not last. Quickly I had both arms out in front just like George Reeves.
As this ride is gravity powered and the heavier you are the faster you will go, I jumped out to a lead and was the first to arrive the third of a mile down Fremont Street. Their braking mechanism could use some work. It was quite a jolt when I came to a stop. Margo was behind me, maybe 7-10 seconds later. We were both smiling pretty big when we climbed down the stairs.
We spent the rest of the evening casino hopping. Margo wasn’t doing very well. But, I was staying close to even, until I hit a $350 jackpot. Yeah for me! That ended up being pretty much the end of my good luck. Over the next two days I gave all of that back, but I did stay well under my loss budget, so we can call that a win.
We touched down, got our rental car, a Kia Rio. I put this car on the Not Recommended list. It didn’t give us any trouble, but the passenger seat is too low, and it had a whistle the whole time we had it. On the last day it developed some sort of banging sound as well.
Anyway, we drove out to Pahrump and spent the rest of the morning and half of the afternoon with Aunt Prim and Uncle Donnie. Aunt Prim was thrilled that we would take time out to come to visit. They treated us to breakfast and lunch. They wouldn’t let us pay for any of it.
We visited a local museum and the Pahrump Valley Winery. At the museum there was lots of local history, and plenty of antiques. There were multiple displays on the atomic testing that was done north of Pahrump and a bit on mining and, believe it or not, cotton farming. For a period lasting from about 1947 to 1970 there were several men growing cotton in the Nevada desert.
Pahrump has a large aquifer underneath it, so water was not really a problem. But, the growing season is a little too short and Pahrump is in the middle of nowhere, so getting the stuff to California to be sold was an issue. So cotton died out in the 70s. We did visit a country club that was as green as any you see in Colorado. Aunt Prim says that when she misses home, she goes there to see all of the green grass and trees.
They invited us back and hoped we could stay later. They said a trip to Death Valley was worth the efforts to see Scotty’s Castle and the Borax mines. Death Valley has an odd appeal on its own, so we might take them up on the offer. I doubt we will stay with them, as Aunt Prim is expecting. We just do not feel comfortable staying at someone’s house. We not only feel like we are imposing, but mostly we feel obligated to be on their schedule. In a hotel we can come and go and not feel bad about it. Pahrump has a few casinos and I am sure Margo would want to try her luck.
We left about 3:15 PM and was checking in between 4 and 5 PM at the MGM Grand. I talked Margo in to taking a nap so we would not be exhausted. I took one until about 6 PM. It don’t think she slept at all. Our evening plan was to head to Downtown Las Vegas and casino hop for a bit, and the do Slotzilla at 9 PM.
Things worked just as planned. We worked in a bite to eat and a bit before 9 PM we checked in for our zip line adventure. Slotzilla comes in two flavors. The first is a standard sit down line that is 77 feet off the ground and takes you 850 down Fremont Street, above all the revelry. They call that one the Zip Line.
The one we signed up for was the Zoom Line. It is 114 feet off the ground, and you travel 1,800 feet, reaching speeds up to 35 miles per hour. The kicker is that instead of sitting down, you fly Superman style, suspended prone, looking at the ground. It was a kick.
They put you strap you into a harness and have you lay down on this bed like contraption. The bed goes up and down about three feet. So you get on, and they raise you up to the zip line and latch you in. Then the bed is lowered, but you are now suspended by the cable, waiting for the doors in front of you to open. Up until that moment, you could not see forward, and the views to the sides were mostly obstructed as well. The doors open and you see exactly how high you are and the adrenaline kicks in.
Neither Margo nor I where scared at all. We ended up suspended for about a minute, while they finished strapping in one more person. There are four lines that go all at once. The guy said three…two….one, and we were off. Actually it was more like threetwoone. At first I felt front heavy and that I would topple forward, but that did not last. Quickly I had both arms out in front just like George Reeves.
As this ride is gravity powered and the heavier you are the faster you will go, I jumped out to a lead and was the first to arrive the third of a mile down Fremont Street. Their braking mechanism could use some work. It was quite a jolt when I came to a stop. Margo was behind me, maybe 7-10 seconds later. We were both smiling pretty big when we climbed down the stairs.
We spent the rest of the evening casino hopping. Margo wasn’t doing very well. But, I was staying close to even, until I hit a $350 jackpot. Yeah for me! That ended up being pretty much the end of my good luck. Over the next two days I gave all of that back, but I did stay well under my loss budget, so we can call that a win.
Day Two-Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Day Two in Vegas was spent on The Strip. We gambled at MGM, Caesar’s Palace, Rio and New York New York. I was doing nothing but losing, so Margo was happy to take a break and do a little shopping. We went to M&M”s World, World of Coca Cola, and Hershey’s Chocolate World. That’s a lot of worlds. They are all close to the MGM Grand, and the weather was sunny, but cool.
By the time we had finished the three worlds and gotten our fill of junk food, we headed over to Caesar’s Palace. Our Reba McIntyre-Brooks and Dunn concert was at The Colosseum over at Caesar’s, and we wanted to make sure we didn’t have a problem getting in, due to traffic.
The concert was great. I had forgotten how many great songs Brooks and Dunn had over the years. Margo plays Reba quite a bit, but I even forgotten a few of her songs. They did a great job and had great chemistry together. The show lasted a bit over two hours. We both had a great time. Our seats were decent. Not great, but the great seats were more than what I was paying for the whole vacation. But, the people that had them got their money’s worth.
By the time we had finished the three worlds and gotten our fill of junk food, we headed over to Caesar’s Palace. Our Reba McIntyre-Brooks and Dunn concert was at The Colosseum over at Caesar’s, and we wanted to make sure we didn’t have a problem getting in, due to traffic.
The concert was great. I had forgotten how many great songs Brooks and Dunn had over the years. Margo plays Reba quite a bit, but I even forgotten a few of her songs. They did a great job and had great chemistry together. The show lasted a bit over two hours. We both had a great time. Our seats were decent. Not great, but the great seats were more than what I was paying for the whole vacation. But, the people that had them got their money’s worth.
Day Three-Thursday, December 01, 2016
We only had about half a day for Day Three. Our flight was at 5 PM, so we needed to leave for the airport around 2:15, just to be sure. Margo wanted to have a water massage at The Stratosphere, so that is where we went. The Stratosphere is at the far edge of The Strip and doesn’t get near the traffic or congestion. Should we go back, I am going to talk Margo into staying there or Downtown. The Strip is a nice place to visit, but staying there has become too expensive. All of the MGM properties are charging for parking now. That is about half dozen of the prime ones on the south end. We paid $18 per day to valet at the MGM. It was $10 to self-park, but it is half a mile from the back of the parking garage to The Strip. Who wants that hassle? The other hotels we visited, parking was still free. You just tip the valet. That is the way we went.
We gambled until it was time to go and then we left. I was dead tired and actually slept for most of the flight home. It felt good. It was a nice little trip and Margo had a great time for her birthday. Mission Accomplished.
We gambled until it was time to go and then we left. I was dead tired and actually slept for most of the flight home. It felt good. It was a nice little trip and Margo had a great time for her birthday. Mission Accomplished.