It has been such a long week! Vegas last weekend was a blast, and somewhat of a bust, at least in the beginning… Since Ann, Mychael and I were driving about ~260mi from Southern California to Vegas, we had about a four and a half hour trek in front of us. We left Friday morning at about 3:00AM so we could make it in time to have breakfast with Nette.
To skip most of the “too-boring-to-type-about” drive up, it went fairly well, I drove the last 100 or so miles from Baker, California and we made it to the strip by 7:30AM. Traffic was minimal, so good times right? Well… We got into the parking structure at Caesar’s Palace and noticed a raunchy smell… Turns out the car is having issues, in the engine area… I am not a car buff, nor do I pretend to know anything about cars, but I know that smell, and it is bad.
To carry on, instead of getting breakfast, we spend the next six or so hours figuring out what the hell is wrong with the car. We went to our fair share of mechanics throughout the day until Sears finally tells us what is wrong and refers us to a specialist. It turns out that the gasket and seal in the engine is shot, as well as many of the other various parts and hoses which keep a vehicle running. I do not think those parts were ever serviced or even looked at in the life of the car; it’s a 2001. Did I mention by this point I am STRESSED BEYOND BELIEF? We all had to be back to work and or school on Monday, and plane tickets were not looking good… After dropping the car at the specialist, we waited for a Taxi to pick us up and take us to the hotel. We waited for about an hour and a half, what the hell Nevada?
Anyway, it was a forty-five minute ride for about 12 miles, and it cost us $25. We stayed at Circus Circus, one of the older, less voluptuous hotels on the strip, but they had recently remodeled the interior and it was actually extremely nice! After being checked in we went to the room and had our bags delivered, then it was time for Ann and I to get food since we had not eaten at all that day. After eating, we played some slots to get rid of some of our stress and money…
The rest of the day was just a waiting game. Will the car get fixed? How do we get around? Is the whole trip going to suck? Quite possible if you would have asked me that day… We got a call from the mechanic and he said he will have it fixed by Sunday, and he had a huge list, meaning it was going to be costly. So we rented a car and when the time came we went and picked up Cindy from the airport.
On Saturday we did the touristy deal and walked the strip going to the stores like the Coca-Cola store, the M&M Store, etc. Cindy bought some cool things from the stores, maybe she will post about it on her blog when she gets some time. I would have taken pictures of various things, but I forgot my camera in the trunk of my car, back in SoCal, dammit… Cindy did bring her camera; we got a few pictures, but not very many. I did get some nifty trading cards from various Hispanic people throughout our walk, cannot post them here though! 
Later that day when we were resting I decided to go and donate some more money to the casino. I played $20 on video poker, lost it, then another $20 on some slots and lost it. Bust right? Well I decided, from now on I take my chances playing roulette, I usually have some luck with that the whole two times I have played… Anyway, got a seat at a table with some cool people, they were relaxed and helpful. I played, for about an hour and from $50 I was up to over $110, doing the best at the table. So, I stood up and walked away ahead. Even though after the $40 I lost, it ended up only being like $20 ahead, still works for me though!
A few hours after winning my first go-around, Mychael, Cindy and I decided to go up to the game zone and play the carnival games. Shortly after I bought Nette and I a much-needed drink, she got a Seventy-Seven and I got a Jack & Coke, I am so simple! Feeling more relaxed after the alcohol intake I decided to try my luck again at roulette, long story short… Lost my $50 that I put in, gambling is so risky right? After loosing, Nette bought me another Jack & Coke, and I was ready to play some games with Mychael and Cindy. Everyone ended up winning a bunch of stuffed animals, too bad the animals were not filled with a few million…
Anyway bringing this into a quick wrap-up, we got the car back Sunday morning and left Vegas at about 1:00PM and got home around 5:30 or 6PM. Overall, I had a good time, I really like Vegas… It is definitely a city to check out every once-in-a-while… It figures there had to be stress on a vacation, but I think we all worked through it and made the best of it. The next Vegas trip is April 2009 for Cindy’s 21st birthday; we will be flying both ways.
If you read this all the way to the end, thanks, and the pain you may feel is only about One-Thousandth of what I felt. Leave a comment and share the love wont you?
P.S. the car repairs were around $1800, and Ann was already looking for a new car a few weeks before this trip…
