AYCJ - Day 29 - Las Vegas

Tuesday, October 5 - Day 29 of my 30-day JetBlue, All You Can Jet Adventure. Is it really almost over? Have I really been on the road for 29 days?

Since I got to bed at 4 am, I'm tempted to just sleep all day... but I can't! It's the last 2 days, I'm in Las Vegas, and I have to get up and do something! It was at least 11 am before I really got moving, and this is one time when I'm glad that the hotel cafe serves breakfast all day long. Even though it's almost lunch time, what I really want is bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast and coffee. So that's what I had before I set out for the day.

When I'm in the enclosed hotel/casino atmosphere for awhile, I start to crave some fresh air and sunshine. And since I had rented a car, I decided to go for a drive and explore some areas beyond the strip. I drove first up the strip, to the north end, the somewhat older, downtown area. Then I turned west on Charleston, and headed out to Red Rocks, which my friend Kathy had told me about the previous day.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is about 15 miles west of the Strip. It's nice to know that a protected area of natural beauty is not so far away. I paid the $7 admission fee, and walked

through the exhibits in and outside of the Visitors Center. There is lots of information there, and I may have to come back someday to really read it all, but, as I've done before on this trip, I took in what I could in limited time, and decided to drive the 13-mile scenic drive. There are many hiking trails too... but I drove, and stopped to take some pictures along the way.

It was late afternoon when I drove back from Red Rocks, through another area of Las Vegas, and returned to the hotel. I was tired

from the driving, my eyes were dry (I am in the desert, aren't I?)

and I went to the coffee shop in the hotel, where they have free WiFi.

After working on my laptop for awhile, I pause to realize just how much noise a casino creates. There is a constant din, a large variety of electronic sounds from the machines. I rather miss the old clink clink clink of coins from old fashioned slot machines. The electronic/computer versions of those sounds just aren't the same... but they are noisy!

The noise is getting to me, and I'm a little tired, hungry, and cranky. So I picked up some food

to go from the food court in the hotel, and took it to the relative quiet of my room. I watched the sunset, and took a little nap, to catch a second wind for the final AYCJ night.

Thanks to JetBlue's AYCJ Facebook page, I learned that a group of fellow AYCJ'ers were meeting at New York New York Hotel at 9 pm. I drove over there to meet them. It was nice to trade stories with other travelers on this crazy 30-day adventure, here in our 29th day. I have been out on the road the entire 30 days, and was surprised to know that most people had stopped back home at least once during the 30 days. I don't know how many passes JetBlue sold, but I'm curious how many others were out traveling the whole 30 days?

Unfortunately, I had gotten a couple calls I had to return, and was still feeling rather tired, so I left the group a bit early and returned to my hotel. Finding the poker machines that my friend Kathy had showed me how to play, I put in one whole dollar, gave the cocktail waitress a dollar tip for my Manhattan cocktail, and played at that machine for about 45 minutes. I didn't win any money, and had dropped to about 15 cents, but when I got it back up to 50 cents, I finished my drink, cashed out, and called it a night. So for $1.50, I had a cocktail and almost an hour of game time. As I've said before, I guess I'm not what you'd call a high roller!

AYCJ - Day 28, Part 2 - Viva Lost Wages

Monday, October 4, Day 28 in my 30-day JetBlue All You Can Jet Adventure. Here is part 2 of Day 28, my first night in Las Vegas.

Having checked into my room at the Orleans Hotel, I met my friends Kathy and John, who were downstairs in the casino, playing at their favorite machines while they waited. I stopped into the TGIFridays Restaurant in the hotel for a quick and inexpensive cup of soup and salad. I hadn't eaten anything for awhile, and needed a little something to keep me going.

Then Kathy and I headed to the Mirage where she had gotten tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show set to Beatles Music, "Love". What an amazing show. So much talent, amazing visuals, design, and a beautiful, inventive production. The music of the Beatles has been a favorite of mine since, well, since the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan, and if you're too young to remember that, well, trust me, that was a few years ago, and it was great.

There were a couple problems during the show, but it wasn't with the production, the problem was with audience members. Excuse me a moment while I complain and rant about rude people in an audience.

Why would anybody pay good money to see a live theatrical production, and then talk continually to their friends throughout the show? Are they too dumb to realize that sound carries, and others can hear them? Or are they too selfish, rude, and inconsiderate to care?

Other audience members did not buy tickets to listen to you talk to each other. We paid to hear and see a professionally written and produced performance.

We had 2 guys behind us, behaving like 9 year olds, sounding like they were about to get into a physical fist fight. I tried to ignore them and enjoy the show, but it was difficult. Ushers had to intervene to get them to be quiet.

A couple rows back, across the aisle, 2 women couldn't stop talking. If you can't stop talking for 90 minutes, then maybe you should just stay home and watch TV. Don't go out, and especially don't get tickets to any event where there are other audience members around you, because we are not there to listen to your chatter. It's rude, selfish and inconsiderate, to the audience, and to the performers.

While I don't like to generalize, and don't want to sound like an old fuddy duddy.... the offenders in this case seemed to be people in their 20's and 30's, though their maturity level seemed to have stopped in their teens. Do people really not realize how rude they're being?

After the show, an usher told us that this happens at almost every performance. They have to intervene and ask audience members to be quiet. Alcohol has something to do with this, as people are out drinking before they come to the show. But why would you spend money on an expensive show, if you don't care to watch it? Why do you want to disrupt everyone else's enjoyment? I don't understand it, and if anybody can explain it to me, I welcome a discussion about audience behavior expectations. Okay, enough of that... I got it out of my system, and feel a little better now.

It was about 11 pm when we exited the show, and went into the Beatles Love store, where I purchased a couple inexpensive, lightweight souvenirs (a fabric patch and a shopping bag). I haven't been shopping at all on this trip (more to carry around!) but we're near the end now, so I spent just a few dollars on a couple small things.

It was close to midnight, and Kathy's Las Vegas tour begins. She has lived in Las Vegas for a few years now, and should really work for the visitors bureau! The Strip was pretty empty on this night, which was unusual, but made for pleasant driving. She took me to the Wynn hotel, and we gambled at a couple poker machines, where she showed me how you can play for awhile, and not spend too much money. That's a helpful tip, when you don't have an unlimited budget. I didn't win anything, but at least didn't spend too much either. Then we went to the Bellagio, to see the Conservatory, where beautiful plantings are changed several times a year. I didn't get to see the water fountain performance, but someday I'll be back, with more time to spend.

The buildings in Vegas are so over the top. It's interesting to see the designs, the marble and other extravagant materials used in these hotels and casinos. They obviously have money to spend, and money doesn't always buy taste, but the designers must have a great time working on these projects.

There's obviously a lot of profit in the Casino industry. We were

near a "High Rollers" room, where a woman was playing at a $25 slot machine. That's not 25 cents. That's $25 per button press. She couldn't push the button fast enough. It was something to watch. Press, reels spin, nothing. Press, reels spin, nothing. Then she would win something. Press. Press. Press. Must-spend-money-faster! It was amazing. Don't know if she actually came out ahead, but, every 4 presses was $100 spent! And I don't know about you, but that was way out of my league, budget-wise.

We returned to The Orleans to play a few games and have a cocktail while we played. We realized we were getting a bit tired... then realized it was it was 3 am! That's Vegas for you. It's funny that you can just walk around the hotels at 2 in the morning, sightseeing, being a tourist, and it's not a big deal. The 24 hour restaurant at the hotel offered special breakfast deals from midnight to 6 am. It really is a 24-hour city.

Because things are going 24-hours a day, the cleaning and repair crews have to do their work, even while people are up and gambling. On this, the first night in my hotel, they were doing plumbing work from 1 am to 4 am, so there was no water in the room.

Since I was just getting in at 3 am, I checked at the front desk to ask what I should do if I wanted to wash my face and brush my teeth before I crashed. She offered to send housekeeping up with some bottled water, and I was concerned that it would take too long for that to happen. I agreed to that and returned to my room. I got some ice from the ice machine to kind of brush my teeth, wiped off my face, and waited for housekeeping. Forty minutes later, I couldn't wait any longer, put the "Do Not Disturb" on my door, and went to bed. About 4 am, I heard water start to flow through the pipes, and I went to sleep.

This was a 6:30 am to 4 am day. Another long one, but, that's what you do in Vegas, right?

AYCJ - Day 28, part 1 - Travel, Seattle to Las Vegas

Monday, October 4, Day 28 of my 30-day JetBlue All You Can Jet Adventure. Another rather long day. Here is Day 28, Part one - the travel part.

Up at 6:30 am, my sister Karen drove me to the Seattle Airport by 8:30 am, for my morning flight to Long Beach, then Las Vegas.

Every time I pack up again for a new place, that feeling of "did I forget something" will run through my brain. Today, there was a little something... Entering security, take off jacket, check, shoes off, check, laptop out, check, toiletries out, check. Then they stop my purse while it's in the machine. Oh no, I didn't pour the water out of my water bottle.... D'oh! Carry empty water bottle, and fill it up at a drinking fountain after security. But don't carry water through security.

She asked if I wanted to go back before security and drink it, but leaving my belongings there while I go back through to drink the water didn't seem like a good idea. So she found someone to empty the plastic bottle, sent it back through the machine, and all was well. It only cost me a few minutes, but it's the little things that can hold you up.

We left Seattle, where it was slightly overcast but dry, and arrived in Long Beach, California, where it as raining. That seemed backwards, but oh well. Everything appeared to be on schedule, so I called my friend Kathy in Las Vegas to coordinate our evening. She got us tickets to a show tonight in Vegas at 7 pm. My flight was scheduled to arrive at 4 pm, so it seemed like that wouldn't be a problem.

Until of course, we boarded the plane for the 50 minute flight... and sat on the runway for an hour. The pilot said it was a delay in Las Vegas, but still not sure why we sat there. I panicked a bit about timing, and Kathy and I developed a few Plan B's, in case I didn't get to Vegas in time.

photos: rainy in Long Beach, sunny arriving in Las Vegas

We left an hour late, arriving in Las Vegas by 5 pm. Caught the shuttle to the terminal, found baggage claim, and caught car rental shuttle to rental place. This process always seems to take a bit more time than you plan on. By the time I got my car and was heading out to Las Vegas Blvd, I was a little stressed about the time, and managed to make one wrong turn as I left the airport. Quickly turning around, while at a stoplight my phone rang. Kathy was at the box office, and managed to swap our 7 pm show tickets for 9 pm show tickets. Oh good, no more rushing around, I can breathe, we had time to spare! Whew!

Arriving at the Orleans Hotel, which is off the strip on Tropicana Ave., I drove around, trying to figure out where to check in, found it, got my room key, drove around to the parking garage and parked. Then I had to figure out how to get from the garage to the Hotel Room elevators (you have to walk through the Casino, of course!) But that all takes time as well, so I was very happy that we had a 9 pm showtime instead of 7 pm, because I'm not sure I would have made that!