Up early and on the road as there is no reason to sit in a Walmart parking lot and take in the sights. The early morning drive takes us through the Mojave Desert and many small towns before joining up with I-15. The kids are still asleep as is Wendy, though she wakes up after a while and moves up to the front couch to take in the scenes on the ride. The small towns seem to be at each intersection with homes spread out across a wide area. I use the term homes loosely as many are just old beat up mobile homes or tin shacks with many out buildings. I can’t imagine what anyone would be doing living in these areas. There doesn’t seem to be anything for miles between them and no stores (food, pharmacy, etc) would be an hour drive.
Back on the interstate and we now have a short drive to Las Vegas. We climb up yet another mountain range before an ascent into a valley. Just as we come over the Nevada line, we pass Primm, NV with its many casinos and amusement rides. Jackson announces he feels like he has been here before from Fallout – Las Vegas, a video game he has played. He is amazed that it looks like the game. I know it from the DARPA Grand Challenge, a contest where university students built self controlled robot vehicles that had to navigate a course across the desert and mountains. The first year none of the vehicles finished the race. The teams went back to the drawing board and the following year there were 5 vehicles that finished. Looking out over the terrain, I can see why they picked this area for the challenge.
Another rise over a range and as we start the descent we can see Las Vegas in the valley. I start pointing out some of the places on the strip and check the map for a spot to fill the propane tank. There is a Camping World just a couple miles ahead and I pull in to fill up. I also pick up some supplies and then pull into a spot off to the side. We start the process of packing which takes over an hour and then fix some lunch. We also need a stop for gas and a few items at Walmart, so one more stop before heading to the hotel.
It is now 1:00 and I call the TheHotel once more to confirm logistics of pulling this rig in. Won’t be using valet to park, but they told me months ago that there is plenty of parking in the back by the convention center. I pull into the south lot of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center as instructed and look for the tour bus unloading. After a false turn into the Four Season’s drop off – requiring a back-up across many lanes of traffic, I find the spot for the tour buses and look for someone to help with our bags. This is at the back of the convention center and a LONG walk to the front desk at TheHotel (which is connected to Mandalay Bay). I call once more and they tell me they will send a bellman out, but it will be a 15 to 20 minute wait. That is how long it takes to make the walk.
He arrives and is very pleased to help us. Wendy and the kids walk with him to the front desk while I pull the RV to the other side of the lot next to 5 other RV’s. I walk in and stop at security to give them the RV’s info. They will send someone out to put a parking sticker on the windshield and keep an eye on it for us. I know this hotel well after spending many weeks here at various conventions. That was one of the reasons I picked it. We check in and head to our suite and call down for the bags. The room is beautiful with plenty of space for our crew and all our gear.
After unpacking and settling in, Wendy and I head down to the Concierge to check on things to do with the kids. We tell her we are seeing Chris Angel – Believe this evening and she tells us it has mixed reviews. We heard that from the bellman also. I’m a little disappointed as the tickets for the show were not cheap. I wanted to do a magic show and the kids all know him from his shows on TV. His illusions on TV are incredible, but we hear they don’t play well on the stage.
We get back up to the room and I realize we are now tight on time. We need to grab dinner and I wanted to eat at the Burger Bar, one of my favorite spots to grab a quick bite. We all rush to get out the door and arrive at the restaurant with only about 50 minutes to show time. The girl at the front assures us we can make it out in time. Everyone finds something they like on the menu; my favorite is a Kobe beef burger with a Chimay to wash it down. We finish and get the check with 5 minutes to show time. A rush to the ticket office and another rush to get to our seats. Walking down we see there are people sitting in our seats, but upon closer inspection they are dressed as clowns. Turns out they are part of the show and we wait for them to move and take our seats in the 3rd row. I bought tickets for all our shows months ago, and there were great seats available.
The show was just as everyone told us, good entertainment, but not what I had hoped for with a Cirque Du Soleil production. Chris Angel is not the best on stage. Not as polished as he appears on TV, but I guess they can do a lot with production and editing to pull it off on the small screen. We do enjoy the show, but I had hoped for more. You were able to see though some of the effects. Props placed in the same place for disappearances (must be where the trap door is), wires that are visible, large spaces under steps for the artists to slide down, etc.
We leave the theater and head out to the casino floor at the Luxor. Wendy and the kids find an Oxygen Bar where they are offering water massages. They all decide to give it a try and I find a bar to pick up some waters and a beer. When I come back the girl working the stand is strapping some contraption on Jackson that activates the muscles and creates contractions. She puts one on me and turns it up. It feels like you are getting a Charlie-horse in your shoulders. Not the most pleasant experience, but Jackson says he loves it. After the massages, she gives us a hard sell on the device. She will drop the cost from $160 to $80 since we spent $80 on massages. Jackson still decides that is too much and we head off to walk back to the room.
A couple stops along the way to take in some of the shops between the Luxor and Mandalay Bay. There is a really neat photo gallery by an artist Peter Lik. Charlotte, Jackson and I spend some time in here while Wendy and Georgia look at some other shops. This works are from many of the National Parks we have just visited and we try to figure out exactly where the shots were taken.
Further up we look in on the Minus5 Ice Lounge. The kids have seen this bar featured on a show. All the furniture and artwork and even the glasses they serve the drinks in are made of ice. They feature vodka and you don a fur coat before entering. We can’t see much inside, but we do see people putting on fur coats to head inside.
Onward back to the room and we retire around 10:30. I reflect that this is probably the earliest I have ever been to bed in Las Vegas, but it is nice to crawl into a nice bed in an air conditioned room.