Religious Jesus signs and huge Halo Tangerine signs
Day 2, Saturday, February 22
Bakersfield to Las Vegas
Highlights
Beautiful mountains and valleys with road going above 4,000 feet elevation several times
So many wind turbines
Friendly crows, which we fed, at a rest stop
Barstow gas station, then Subway shop several miles later, when Bob suddenly discovers he left his debit card at gas station, then discovers it in his pocket.
Enter Las Vegas - massive office buildings 40 stories high, oops, casinos/resorts, everywhere
Very nice suite in our hotel/casino/brewery, the Ellis Island
Our first walk in Las Vegas - the Belaggio casino and its beautiful fountain displays and shops and conservatory with giant rats on display, quite crowded (both caucuses and Trump rally taking place today).
Videos:
Fountains of Belaggio Belaggio conservatory
Kim Jong Un of North Korea look-a-like being photographed with missile on street corner
Stop at CVS drug store for camera chip
Walk back to hotel and relax and watch TV
Day 3, Sunday, February 23
Las Vegas
Drive to Albertson store for groceries, then return to hotel
Walked over the pedestrian bridge to the Excaliber casino
Bought $8 Duece bus 24 hour tickets and rode to furthest north stop, the Fremont Street Experience, to which we would return in the evening to see the 4 block canopy of 12.4 million LED lights lightshow.
Took bus back several miles in lots of traffic and got to see provocative advertisement trucks with pictures of nearly nude women who could be hired as "independent escorts".
Walked to the New York/New York casino which has the Chin Chin Chinese restaurant. Because of the noise, we got carry-out and ate in the nearby MGM outdoor park, which was quite pleasant.
Took monorail to Mandalay casino
Caught Deuce bus again and went to see the Freemont Street Experience light show. While there, watched two young ladies in costume whip a tourist, saw a tourist couple pose with two other exotically dressed young ladies, saw a strange looking bicyclist, and much more. Also saw tourists ride zip line down Freemont Street. Then we rode bus back to Ellis Island casino and resort. Before going to our room we thought we would at least stop in casino for a look, but like most casinos it was too loud to be pleasant, so we left.
Day 4, Monday, February 24
Las Vegas (Best day of the trip)
We took the bus to the Strat tower, the tallest free standing tower in the US at 1,149'. As we walked toward it, we saw a person jump from the top using the ropes for this adventure.
Video of jump (Sadly, I do not know how to rotate this video so it is not sideways)
We rode an elevator to the top of the tower. The view was spectacular as we walked around the enclosed floor near the top. Then we went upstairs one floor and walked on the porch outside. Awesome. We went back in and watched a guy get prepared for descending to the ground by being harnessed to a rope and then jumping.
Video of guy preparing to jump and then as he jumped - best if watched in slow motion. Camera picked up most of fall, but must look closely. He steps off platform at 1:07 minutes and falls until 1:29 minutes.
After Strata we took the bus to the Wynne casino/resort where we went to their highly recommended buffet. It tasted great and included so many types of food. Bob ate a lot of salmon, first in the form of lox, then simply large junks of grilled salmon. Shirley was amazed by the selection of desserts.
Visited many casinos to see different attractions. We began by visiting the outside of the Mirage.
We went inside the Forum Shopping Center at Caesar's Palance, which was very noisy. Saw the King Neptune statue, which is a big tourist spot. Then when we walked out the entrance we saw a bird with a long tail and a bunny rabbit.
Saw the Belaggio fountains as Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas was played.
Walked into the Cosmopolitan Casino, where there were impressive chandaliers
Walked through the Bally Casino on the way home.
Spent the evening watching the TV and getting ready for leaving tomorrow.
Day 5, Tuesday, February 25
Las Vegas to Bakersfield
If you are wondering about Zzyzx, it is fun to look up or go to this link and read about the scam artist who was a radio evangelist, claimed to be a military boxing teacher, a doctor, dean of a college (he also created several universities), and created a resort/spa that he named so it would be the last word in health.
Day 6, Wednesday, February 26
Bakersfield to Carmel with Stop at Hearst Castle
Views from the bus as we drove up to Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle exterior
Hearst Castle dining room and entertainment room in main castle
The bus ride down from Hearst Castle
A stop at the beach on the way to Carmel
Highway 1 up the coast of California is a beautiful, if windy and hilly, road with lots of pretty plants this time of year and plenty of places to pull over for wonderful views.
We reach our motel in Carmel which is built next to a river