With the Xmas New Year break I thought I’d catch up with the blogs but as they say “the best plans of mice and men….” Anyway, I ended the last post we arrived safely in Vegas and were camped in the KOA Sam’s Town RV Park. We had a few weeks here because we were on Plan B where we had decided not to store the rig but to sell it. We didn’t know how long that would take and with 10 eager potential buyers we didn’t think it would take long. Unfortunately not one of the buyers bothered to show up to view the rig so eventually we fell back to Plan A which was to put the van into storage for 6 months and return to the USA in July to continue travelling.
Paying for Its Sins?
In the first few pix in the gallery you could find yourself asking if Vegas was paying for it’s sins. Even though it was still only November the only way to get out of LV by road meant driving through snow. Snow in all directions covered the mountains surrounding the city. Then to add insult to injury we had one of nature’s rare desert downpours and instantly a river flowed under and through the Linq Casino carpark. However that didn’t dampen this, our second stay in this fun town.
No Marathon Feat
For the most part when we have visited this city we have spent most of our time, as most tourists do, on the strip. During this stay we got to see the Las Vegas marathon as well as catch up on seeing some old faves like the Bellagio Fountain and the ‘volcano show’ at the Mirage. For Shane’s birthday we even had a helicopter trip around the Strip at night. That was an exciting night flight. The pilot joked as we got into the helo that we’d do a few barrel rolls. What we didn’t expect was when we had to do two left turns to return to the airport that he’d pull the stick sharply causing the aircraft to roll dramatically on a steep angle. In the video I have posted (here) you can hear the girl in the seat behind us scream and then laugh with relief.
Things are Great Downtown
As much as we enjoyed walking the Strip we decided one day to try “The Fremont Street Experience”. This is the site of the original casinos that made Las Vegas popular. In recent years it has undergone a renaissance of sorts and wow, have they made these few blocks into something special. For 2 complete blocks the street has been converted to a pedestrian mall with a massive video screen that completely covers the street and runs for the entire 400 or so metres of the ‘experience’. Huge speakers pump out music and street bars line both sides of the mall. There are 3 live stages that go with rotating bands from 5pm to 1am and all the time zipliners are zooming overhead at rapid speeds. But the best part is the people watching. I have included some shots of just a section of the crowd. Many of the costumed (& not so costumed) earn money by charging people to be included in photos with them. All this is for free.
Stay at Your Own Risk
We loved this area so much that when we couldn’t get a buyer for our rig and had to put it in storage we actually we moved into The Plaza Hotel at the top of the FSE for 4 nights. One block to the side of the Plaza Hotel is Main Street Station Casino Hotel whose architecture was stunning. We ate there under the arches where they offered the best buffet in town. On another block was a ‘mini-shopping town’ called Container Park which is made up of shipping containers. With all this in such a close area your wallet and your health could be at serious risk here (but it’s worth it). You really need to check out our video (here).
Finally
In the last few Vegas shots you’ll see a ‘self-driving car’ which can be unnerving the first time you see one. I have also posted 3 pics of the ‘crowd’ from Shane’s 65th Birthday Bash at the Rainforest Café which has been another favourite haunt of ours across the States.
All Good Things
Fun and games over it was time to move on but this time it was by plane on our way home. After a sunrise takeoff our first stop was San Jose just south of San Francisco. We had an 18 hour layover so we grabbed a hire car and drove up the highway to San Francisco’s most famous landmark, The Golden Gate Bridge. In the gallery you’ll see Shane’s traditional photos of the homes and structures that make up a place. San Francisco has a style all of its’ own and you can see that in her random photos.
Not a Bridge Too Far
It was a bit over an hour to San Fran and the freeway traffic was almost as bad as LA but it was worth the trip. From the lookout on the south side of the bay Alcatraz Island Jail sits serenely in the middle of the harbour. The cityscape is also visible from there. We are looking forward to returning and having time here to investigate this place more thoroughly. The Bridge itself is everything we expected. Massive, busy, high, unique and red, very red. We drove across to the north side for some photo ops from that side before returning back to our hotel in San Jose.
Well that’s it for this post. Just one more to do before I have finished this our third 6 month trip to the USA. I hope to have our final stopover (Hawaii) up in a few days. Till then same channel, same location.
Cheers for now
Garry & Shane