Las Vegas Weekend

Last weekend was Labor Day Weekend (Monday, Sept. 3rd is Labor Day). It also turned out as an unplanned Las Vegas weekend for me.

I got a call on Thursday night from my uncle asking me if I wanted to come with them to Las Vegas. They'd be driving from Sacramento early next morning. I decided to tag along, making me the 7th person in the party along with: Uncle Jose, Auntie Fely, Ate Marilyn, Mark, Erick, and Micah.

Instead of having me take a train or plane to Vegas, they decided to just drive down from Sacramento to Los Angeles (about 375 miles or 6 hours) and then drive up to Vegas (about 280 miles, 4.5 hours). That's 655 miles of travel or almost an 11-hour drive.

During the drive, I didn't feel how hot it was outside until we got out for a restroom break. From the cool comfort of the aircon, we stepped out into a scorching heat that maxed out at 113 degrees Fahrenheit (or 45 degrees Celsius). It's almost hard to imagine how other places could be hotter and drier than that.

We arrived mid-afternoon and checked in at the hotel. Las Vegas turns out to be hotter than the Philippines, I think. I tried out a few slot machines in the MGM Grand Casino and lost. I had a few winning moments but lost all that I won to subsequent tries.


The next day, we went to Stratosphere - another hotel and casino. At 1,149 feet (350 m), it dwarfs all other structures in Vegas including other hotels. The top of the tower had 3 thrill rides which we rode: Big Shot, Insanity, and XScream. They are the top 3 highest thrill rides in the world and it is no wonder that they incorporated that "altitude-element" in their features. I can't believe I'd had another thrill ride experience just 2 months after the Magic Mountain Experience.


We just walked along Las Vegas Strip at night and caught a few shows along the Mirage and Treasure Island hotels. The Strip was so busy that you just had a few inches of space from another person in all directions. Traffic was also heavy along Vegas boulevard that it took about an hour to trek its few-couple-of-miles length.


On Sunday morning, we left and proceeded to meet a couple of my cousins in Anaheim. We'd spend the night in a hotel there. We also met and dined with some extended relatives at night.


On Monday before driving to my place, we drove to El Monte to visit my grandmother (the sister of my mother's father). She's 89 years old but her face and arms were almost wrinkle-free. She is also still able to carry conversations and seems to have her memory intact. I couldn't figure out what she was saying though as she spoke in Cantonese. The way she spoke and looked at people just suggested a certain sharpness that defies her age.


Nevada turns out to be the second state I've been in the US. It comes as no surprise and I had an inkling before that it would be so because of Las Vegas and its proximity to California. I have no idea which state I will set my feet on next but I would guess that it would be somewhere in the East.

More pics can be found on my Multiply site.