(I would also point out that Allegiant uses McCarran Airport in Vegas just like the other airlines. This in contrast to Arizona where they fly into Mesa. The Mesa experience is much more Walmarty for some reason. Whatever.)
Vegas will never be a favorite destination for me. Too many people. Too much noise. Everything so over the top. Not sure if Sunday was any more congested because of the marathon (or if the marathon contributed to the long lines at check-in today), but I'm betting that it's something every week/weekend. With 40 million visitors in a year's time, it's gotta always be busy.
But this was a good weekend for the family. Saying a formal good-bye to Martha was a healthy experience. It was great to see all of the family. Saturday was well done, well attended and I think would have been well liked by Martha (given that doing nothing was not an option for her!)
A special thanks to Tahoe Phil for hosting the post-service social gathering.
I'll try to complete a Martha entry for the blog later this week.
Some random thoughts from the weekend:
1. The Strip has changed quite a bit from the '80's when I met Wally there a couple times a year. Bigger hotels. So many big places off The Strip too.
2. I don't remember previously renting a car in Vegas. The car rental facility reminds me of PHX. Hertz rates were reasonable. The email receipt was in my Yahoo in-box before I got to the gate.
3. 2 and a half days, three nights in Vegas is an eternity.
4. Vegas beer is cheap, coffee not so much so. Not saying it's double, but the Starbuck's tab for three, with a couple of pastries was always $20+.
5. The publicly piped-in music never stops. Never country.
6. Didn't see a clock outside the room. The 24-hour Starbuck's didn't stock the NYT.
7. The marathon completely shut down LV Boulevard beginning at 1400 local for the rest of the day. Bet that doesn't happen often. It was a marathon in the Rock 'n Roll series of marathons, so they had bands playing at various spots along the route. Loud bands. Other than getting to run on a shut-down LV Boulevard, and finish in the neon lights, the route didn't seem that great too me.
8. The Flamingo Hotel goes back a long time. Far from luxurious, but adequate. Excellent location. The math on tearing it down and replacing it with a newer model must just not work for now. A crowd not much different than what you would see at one of the Iowa casinos.
9. Sidewalk hawkers everywhere. Tickets to shows, tickets to dinners, invites to strip clubs, yada, yada, yada.
10. Buffets. Good grief.
I'll get back here later today. Now MLI.BCOT
Just a little later...
I'm giving the nod to 2 as Daughter of the Day for her patience in being my roommate in LV. It was another successful trip where we accomplished our travel goals while simultaneously not driving the other party over the edge. Thanks, Kiddo!!
That Home Page pic taken with the Canon mini-digi yesterday won't stay here long, but it is a good remembrance of the weekend with the fam. It was obviously a lower-case fff. We missed the NY'ers and the rest of the Dornies. Maybe a March Madness venture to C-town?
Then there was the fact that I had two Hertz cars waiting for me at McCarran. My name was on the Gold Card sign twice as we hit the Hertz garage for car pick-up. I consciously looked in my email on Friday morning before leaving my office for my reservation and couldn't find one...so I made the second one (as it turned out). The counter agent who then assisted me to remove one of the cars was amused. Sometimer's strikes again.
Cold here upon our return. But the BEATER fired and we all made it to our respective homes. Hello work!
BCOT...again
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