Scene Trip

I left the apartment at 4:20am, as dad went through his workday morning routine. I rode my bike to the Anaheim station in eerie darkness. I arrived 20 minutes early. This was my first time riding the Megabus to Las Vegas and my first time on the West Coast. Before, all my West Coast bus trips were Greyhound or Cascade Point, and all my Megabus trips were East Coast.

A bus to San Francisco was loading when I arrived. Once that bus left, I saw that there were only four other people at the stop. We were first to board and it was very cool and relaxed. I watched some Vegas videos and worked out the final details of my itinerary during the first stage of the trip.

As expected, we took on most of the passengers in Los Angeles. In Riverside, we took on a bit more. After leaving Riverside, the driver announced that there was going to be a rest stop, which the website didn’t mention. I wondered if the stop was going to be the same one Greyhound uses.

No, it was a different stop: a truck-oriented travel center in Barstow. I got protein bars.

Between Barstow and Vegas, the bus had to be stopped and "reset" a few times, which caused a moderate delay. People, as usual, overreacted. Furthermore, during this period there was a guy on his phone having troubles with a financial inquiry of some kind, which was slightly irritating, for both of us.

Nevertheless, I’ve had numerous worse experiences, especially on Greyhound.

A weather check revealed that the high was going to be 112 degrees Fahrenheit, and the low was to be 87 degrees. When I got off the bus I realized that I hadn’t anticipated the heat.

My first stop was Fry’s, where I decided to purchase my first 4K Blu-ray: Flight of the Butterflies, which also comes with a standard 3D Blu-ray copy. I decided picking it up in Vegas would make it even cooler.

At Fry’s, I looked for chapstick and sunscreen, which I couldn’t find, but I got water.

Leaving Fry's, I noticed my butt was feeling the sting of a sunbaked seat.

I set out for Paradise Road on my way toward the heart of the Strip, as recommended by Google Maps. Just trying to get to the first turn (onto Paradise Road) turned out to be a much longer ride than expected. Unfortunately, it was a one way road in the wrong direction, leading me to backtrack and take the Strip itself.

For the most part, biking the strip was not too bad, much better traffic than Manhattan, and less confusing than D.C. However, bike parking on the Strip is non-existent.

My first stop was the Paris Hotel and Casino, which blew me away with how beautiful and transporting it was. Then it was onto The Bellagio, which incidentally is where I parked my bike and left if for a long time. The Bellagio was neat but nowhere near as impressive as Paris. Yet, the lobby had impressive displays of an aquatic nature (including a life-sized snorkeler) and there was some cool gelato to look at.

Caesar’s Palace was next. It creates a Roman atmosphere in the same way that the Paris creates a Parisian atmosphere: pure transcendence by way of design, humidification, and temperature control. Specifically, most of the atmosphere is in the resort's buil-in mall, The Forum Shops, which, in its own way, rivals the best malls in the world. These places kept making me think it was early evening and cool even though it was early afternoon and hot. Another cool thing was the restroom area at one end of the Forum Shops, which had a drinking fountain with a water bottle filling station. I have one of these at my gym and the water is always so refreshing and the convenience undeniable. This probably saved a few bucks.

Then it was off to The Mirage, specifically for the dolphins! I love dolphins. I also saw a normal tiger, a white tiger, and some lions, but the dolphins were the real focus. I’m glad I took time to see the land predators, because if I had not then I would’ve missed a cool show put on by the trainers featuring dolphin breaching, calling, and other fun.

Then it was onto The Venetian and The Palazzo atrium. Once again, like Paris and Caesar’s Palace, the atmosphere was sublime. The Gondoliers were all over the place and singing and false Venetian facades were everywhere. I’m so glad that the Expoza travel guide introduced me to these Euro-themed fantasy resorts. I always overlooked them in the past, which was clearly tourist folly.

I briefly checked out Treasure Island for the gift shop, but was unimpressed.

I then made a mad dash for my bike so I could get to the Port O’ Call buffet at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino comfortably before the 9pm closing. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, which included a line that wasn’t terribly long, though I was still worried about getting in on time. My big complaint is that they didn’t have self-serve drinks. This buffet was nothing to raise the roof over, but it was on my wish list for years.

After the buffet, I had to hustle to Mandalay Bay so I could make good on my Red Square reservation.

But first, I stopped at a CVS to get more water and a Starbucks iced and sweetened coffee. Unexpectedly, it started to rain as I left CVS.

I was late, but they had no problem seating me as they weren’t very busy. I asked if I could experience the vodka vault without purchasing a vodka flight. They said no. Meanwhile, I had coffee and cold water.

So, I was going to buy a flight, after consideration, but the girl discouraged me, telling me that the vault wasn't as cold as usual. She let me check it out, after all, so I actually did get to go in without getting the flight. It turned out that the so-called vodka vault is not a vault at all, it’s just a refrigerated room with windows near the bar. I was hoping it was going to be a spacious, underground vault with a VIP atmosphere, but not even close.

After Mandalay Bay, I decided to check out the Mandarin Oriental. The Mandolin Oriental is posh, yet the staff were cool with me hanging around and taking pictures while buying nothing. Apparently, they are the only 5-star non-gambling resort in Las Vegas.

Incidentally, there was a live band in the Sky Bar and the party was just getting started, apparently at midnight. This place had some great views of the rain-slick Las Vegas.

I also found an empty but accessible restaurant that become my own private luxury retreat for a while.

I noticed that places (Red Square and Mandarin Oriental Sky Bar) seem to stay open past closing time if there’s enough demand.

Then it was time to head back to the bus stop.

I was looking forward to using the restroom and refilling my water bottles, both things which I achieved. However, in accordance with a recent unlucky streak with buses, especially for return journeys, the bus was a half-hour late, while I was a half-hour early. Furthermore, the boarding process was so long that departure was delayed another half-hour. Once again, I’ve definitely had worse, but is it too much to hope that the next bus runs no more than five minutes late? Let alone actually match the schedule.

On the ride back we stopped at a different 24-hour service store. I got a Starbucks Dark Chocolate Coffee with Protein, two brown sugar cinnamon granola bars, one banana, and one orange. The ride home was especially foggy, and thankfully light on traffic.

Overall, it appears that my hands weren’t seriously burnt, and my lips weren’t seriously chapped.

I’m happy to say that this trip was full of sights that I’ve never really seen elsewhere.

I was eager to get back to Anaheim and bike home. Upon arrival (during a beautiful sunny morning), another cruel twist befell me: my rear tire was flat. I saw the irony right away: I finally had my bike to speed around Vegas (something I sorely missed during my previous trip), only to be ground to a crawl on my own turf.

I set out with vague feelings of needing to go to the restroom, but figured it could wait. Well, further on, it really couldn’t wait much longer. After a few miles of holding it, I managed to make it to the Metrolink bathroom, which, of course, was being cleaned, making me wait even longer. But success was ultimately achieved.

After that, I stopped by Orange Cycle to get a proper thorn resistant tube and a new set of brakes. Unfortunately, bike issues wiped out the money I saved from Las Vegas. After all of this, next week better go more smoothly.

Scene Trip

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Travel Log: Las Vegas July 29, 2016

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Las Vegas in Stereo July 29, 2016

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Las Vegas July, 29, 2016