Day 1: Baltimore to Las Vegas

Sunday, October 19, 2014

So, this trip is a little departure from the usual in that my parents are along for the ride. They have visited the East Coast several times over the years and by their own admission are "perfectly happy to sit on the deck and watch the deer in the yard," but my relentless begging to expand their American horizons has finally paid off; we are flying out to Vegas! 

The trip is off to a hectic start; the day before we are to fly out I ran the Baltimore marathon, only to find out my horse had an upset stomach, so between going back and forth to the barn and picking up my parents from the airport there was very little time to get ready.

Yep, I am one of those freakishly happy runners!

Pony is doing much better the next morning and we take my parents to Ross, DSW and REI for some much needed shopping. Everything gets quickly converted into euros, followed by a “Maar dat is toch niet te geloven?!” (But that's unbelievable!)

Oh, to be a European shopper at an American discount store!

We never did find the hiking boots we had set out to find, but on the plus side they ended up with several bags of clothes and sneakers. 

Sandy whips up yummy baked turkey & mozzarella sandwiches when we get back and then I head back to the barn for a final check up, while my parents hang out ... where else? On the deck watching the deer.

I make it back home just in time for us to have an early pre-flight dinner at Wegmans, my favorite grocery store. They have a huge buffet with lots of different things to choose from like Asian, soups, American, organic salad bar, hot vegetables, Mexican, fruit ... there's something for everyone. 

Getting to the airport and check-in goes very smoothly and we are all ready for our in-flight nap, except there’s a screaming toddler sitting across the aisle from us, taking great pleasure in slamming her tray table against the seat in front of her over and over again, while her mother looks on dispassionately. Eventually she stops screaming and I think everyone drifted off to sleep for some time.  I myself wasn’t so lucky … I did, however, make quite a dent in Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

Well, we are certainly not in Baltimore anymore! Even the airport has slots.  

It’s nice and warm when we step outside. The first rental shuttle drives off just as we get there, but a second bus arrives before too long and we manage to beat everyone to the Budget counter where a friendly woman gets us checked in without really pushing for unnecessary upgrades.

My parents are taken aback by the substantial Ford Explorer that awaits us, but once they settle into the spacious backseat they are quite pleased. 

Either Google maps steers us wrong, or there is some operator error (me? impossible!) but it takes a few tries before we find the US15.

I point out some of the trademark Vegas hotels like the Luxor, Excalibur, Paris, even the Trump we’ll be staying at later during the trip and that’s enough to make even the weariest of travelers perk up a little. 

Since we only need a place to crash before heading out tomorrow morning, we decided to save some money and stay near the Fremont Street Experience. Thanks to Hotwire we got a great deal on two rooms at the Downtown Grand.

Cool lobby

Our rooms

It's late and feels even later due to jet lag, but we can't resist the lure of nearby Fremont Street. A live band is playing center stage making it almost impossible to hear one another, but from the scantily clad woman dancing on a table outside of the casino, to the horned man sprouting white feathered wings and the Marilyn Monroe impersonator there is more than enough for the eye to see. Overhead zip-liners zoom past against the backdrop of the giant screen as the casino lights twinkle all around us. We might be tired, but Vegas never sleeps!

We spend some time watching the airbrush artists at work (slow and not as talented as the ones we’ve seen in other cities in my opinion) and walk towards the Plaza, along the way spotting an obese man sporting an itsy bitsy yellow bikini with matching bunny bottom, a transformer, a Halloween ghoul, a couple of strategically body-painted topless girls and probably some other things my mind has blocked out.

They’ve made some changes to the Fremont Street experience since we were last there, most notably the addition of a zip line running the length of the concourse that looks awesome! Next time I am so doing that!

There’s an ABC store near the end and I’m both elated to be there because it reminds me of Hawaii and also sad because it’s NOT Hawaii. They do, however, have my beloved Maui caramacs (macadamia nuts covered with caramel and chocolate). 

My dad looks like he’s about to fall asleep so we head back to the hotel for some much need rest.

Bikes at the Hogs & Heifers Saloon across from the hotel 

Tomorrow we hit the road!

♥

Dinner: Wegmans
Hotel: Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino