{"id":2907,"date":"2016-08-13T12:48:44","date_gmt":"2016-08-13T12:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/?page_id=2907"},"modified":"2016-09-03T12:43:52","modified_gmt":"2016-09-03T12:43:52","slug":"las-vegas-vacation-2016","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/?page_id=2907","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas Vacation 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOW TO VACATION AN ENTIRE WEEK FOR UNDER $2,000<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have to premise this story with a FACT.\u00a0 Marc and I did not have a honeymoon vacation, nor have we had a traveling vacation that did not involve just going to my family in North Carolina.\u00a0 We simply have not had the time (due to kids, then having his mother living with us for 16 years of our marriage) nor have we really had “throw away funds”.\u00a0 This is the first year that we are free of kids and his mother.\u00a0 It is also our 25th year of marriage so we decided we would splurge and go away.<\/p>\n

We spent agonizing amounts of time trying to decide what to do.\u00a0 The things I like to do involve horses, outdoors and dirt … three things that Marc seriously is not into.<\/p>\n

chuckle<\/p>\n

And the things he likes to do is read in a quiet room, sleep in and role playing games.\u00a0 Three things that are too sedate for me.<\/p>\n

What to do, what to do.<\/p>\n

We thought about a cruise (Marc has motion sickness).<\/p>\n

We thought about a train trip across the United States (minimum time necessary was 10 days – too long for us to be away from the business)<\/p>\n

We thought about a trip to New York City and see some shows (WAY TOO EXPENSIVE)<\/p>\n

So many things that we came up with were either “not interesting” to one of us or “too much time” or “too much money”.<\/p>\n

We were sitting around one evening watching some television, which is pretty rare for us, when a commercial came on.\u00a0 What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 We looked at each other and were like, “YES!!!!!”<\/p>\n

And so we contacted a travel agent, told her what we were looking for budget wise, and thus began our plans for vacationing away from Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\u00a0***NOTE TO SELF***\u00a0<\/strong> Do not use this travel agent again.<\/strong>\u00a0 Throughout the process of planning this trip, we had very poor communication.\u00a0 After booking everything for us, we felt totally abandoned by our travel agent.\u00a0 Nothing was explained to us.\u00a0 We had to figure out everything on our own.\u00a0 When we asked questions about reservations, we were answered in terse, one sentence replies.\u00a0 When we found a couple issues in reservations and contacted her via email, we were answered in terse, one sentence replies.\u00a0 When we got to Las Vegas and found some discrepancies in our reservations we sent her a text … and she never bothered to answer us or help us out.\u00a0 Fortunately, the resort must be used to this kind of thing and problems were resolved very quickly through the resort management.<\/p>\n

Let’s talk costs, and we’ll add it up throughout the story.\u00a0 Resort, flight, rental car. $984.00.\u00a0 The travel agent did tell me there would be a resort fee to pay directly to the resort at the end of our stay, $29 per night (x 4 nights).\u00a0 They could not prepay this for us because if we didn’t go for some reason it would not be refunded.\u00a0 Okay, so add an additional $116 for a total of $1100.00.<\/p>\n

When we booked this trip, my fourth child Terry, and his girlfriend Sarah, already had plans to be out of town the same week we’re to go away.\u00a0 This was a huge problem!\u00a0 Terry always takes care of my zoo while we go away for a day or two.\u00a0 He knows the routine, he is comfortable being here with the animal mob, and he is very dependable.\u00a0 Now I’m at a loss what to do for animal care and house sitting.<\/p>\n

We almost cancelled the trip when I thought of my riding buddy, Jeff.\u00a0 Tentatively, I put out a feeler to him about whether he would be available AND whether he’d even want to deal with the mob of critters that live at my house.\u00a0 I knew, already, that he traveled a lot for his work and was pretty sure he would probably be working out of town, but I put it out there to him.<\/p>\n

And he said, “YES!”<\/p>\n

WOW!<\/p>\n

\"ZOO_MANUAL\"<\/a>So I carefully started documenting the daily routines for the zoo care and I wrote him a seven page manual for living in the zoo.\u00a0 It detailed out each pet, what they eat, what kind of behaviors could be expected from them on a daily basis.\u00a0 The manual contained one page of phone numbers for emergencies.\u00a0 Jeff also wanted to care for the horses so he could start learning what kind of work goes into that, as well.<\/p>\n

Really?\u00a0 Oooo Kkkkk …<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

The day of departure arrives.\u00a0 Marc and I went to bed early, as we needed to be up and on the road to the Philadelphia Airport by 3:30 am, and we laid there and tossed and turned – like little kids anxious to go to Disney World.<\/p>\n

gawd<\/p>\n

We drove to the Philly airport in record time.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because there were no cars on the road at 3:30 am on a Monday morning.<\/p>\n

Okay, first issue with the travel agent arose the night before when we were pre-booking the parking lot.\u00a0 The travel agency offered a 20% discount for one parking lot.\u00a0 She didn’t arrange it for us, we had to arrange it ourselves.\u00a0 I thought it *WAS* already paid for as part of our package, because the paperwork “APPEARED” to have it booked and paid.\u00a0 I went on line to confirm and found out it was not.\u00a0 I did a little research before booking the parking lot and found that the “recommended parking lot” was more expensive, even with the 20% discount, than parking at a different parking area.\u00a0 So, first overage costs to us arise.<\/p>\n

$1100 plus $55 for parking.<\/p>\n

As we entered the airport to leave, I began to worry what other costs were not going to be covered.\u00a0 I had asked for a full blown package, everything paid for in advance, so I didn’t have to worry about paying anything on the back end.<\/p>\n

And we’re so early, very early, that we sit around in the airport two and a half hours waiting for the plane.<\/p>\n

sigh<\/p>\n

TAKE OFF!<\/p>\n

Marc was our photographer on this trip.\u00a0 He got some nice shots saying good-bye to The Lehigh Valley and all this humidity.<\/p>\n

\"leaving_lehighvalley\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"dodie_ontheplane\"<\/a>See that fella next to me?\u00a0 Funny story.\u00a0 We were sitting in the airport lounge and his wife and I started talking.\u00a0 Oh yes, I’ll talk to anyone who will listen.\u00a0 They were traveling to Las Vegas with their two boys.\u00a0 We discovered we were on the same plane, in the same row on said plane *AND* staying at the same resort.\u00a0 We did not (however) have the same travel agent because she mentioned they got a wonderful package deal (resort, airfare, rental car) for all four of them for $1400.<\/p>\n

Huh!<\/p>\n

Five hour flight.\u00a0 ugh.\u00a0 I read a book on my Kindle.\u00a0 I snoozed.\u00a0 I ate a sandwich (which I brought with me because everything on the plane costs money, and a sandwich was $11 if you bought it on the plane) None of this was explained to us by our travel agent.\u00a0 I found all this out from talking to friends about our trip.\u00a0 They advised us to pack our own food for the trip.<\/p>\n

THANK YOU, FRIENDS!<\/p>\n

Finally, coming into the last half an hour of flight.\u00a0 More photos here of the Grand Canyon and of Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.<\/p>\n

\"grand_canyon1\"<\/a>\"grand_canyon2\"<\/a>\"grand_canyon3\"<\/a>\"grand_canyon4\"<\/a>\"grand_canyon5\"<\/a>\"lakemead_plane\"<\/a>\"lakemead_plane1\"<\/a>SO EXCITED!\u00a0 We’re here and touching down in a few minutes and I need a cigarette (chuckle)<\/p>\n

So we arrive in Las Vegas.\u00a0 We are well taken care of with shuttle service to the car rental lot, which is about five miles away.\u00a0 it’s hot out here, but it doesn’t feel overly hot.\u00a0 I’m not sure the temperature until we get into the rental car and we’re driving towards The Strip.\u00a0 It is 10:30 am … yes, still early morning and it is 104 degrees.\u00a0 I’m here to tell you that everything they say about dry heat is true.\u00a0 I was not hot.<\/p>\n

\"1030am_vegas\"<\/a>We got very very excited driving into the strip.\u00a0 As far as the eye could see were casino after casino after casino.<\/p>\n

\"welcome_vegas\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ceasarspalace1\"<\/a>\"harrahs1\"<\/a>\"strip_day1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"room_view\"<\/a>Above photo is the view from our room during the day. Getting this view was a little bit of a hassle.\u00a0 When we arrived at the Resort (again, thanks to the travel agent who didn’t have any communication with us) they first told us.<\/p>\n

“Ah, early check-in is $55.”<\/p>\n

WTF???<\/p>\n

“But we do have a smoking room available and can check you in right away.\u00a0 The room is already booked and paid for but you have to pay the resort fee up front.”<\/p>\n

I did know about the $29 a day resort fee.<\/p>\n

“Do you have a credit card with\u00a0 you?\u00a0 The fee for four nights is $259.”<\/p>\n

WTF?\u00a0 $259 divides by 4 is NOT $29.\u00a0 That’s more like $65<\/p>\n

Once again, our travel agent has let us down.\u00a0 No biggie, we just won’t eat as much as we were going to … because that extra funds has to come from somewhere and I’m certainly not taking it out of my day trip expense bucket.<\/p>\n

Who needs to eat anyway?\u00a0 Although we did go off the strip and had dinner at the In And Out Burger joint.\u00a0 Mmmmm, french fries.<\/p>\n

And a note to all you first time travelers to Las Vegas … none of the resorts on the strip have a refrigerator or coffee pot in the room.\u00a0 They want you down in their resort area eating, drinking and playing in the casino, not up in your room having a leisurely cup of coffee or eating snacks.\u00a0 When you get to Vegas, go off the strip and purchase a cheap styrofoam cooler and a cheap coffee pot.\u00a0 Coffee in the resorts runs about $4 a cup.<\/p>\n

Updated totals so far.\u00a0 Resort, flight, rental car. $984.00.\u00a0 Parking at Philly $55.\u00a0 Resort fee (not $116 but $259) GRAND TOTAL $1,298.00.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The best part of Vegas is the night.\u00a0 We spent two hours in the afternoon doing a Wydnam Resort Tour, the price of collecting our free $125 in slot vouchers and free lunch.<\/p>\n

Free is good, right? Especially since we’re now having costs we were not expecting.<\/p>\n

They were very sad that we didn’t fall for their plot to get us to purchase a one week time share in Vegas.<\/p>\n

HA!\u00a0 But we got our free slot money, free lunch and a $100 gift card for a Las Vegas restaurant to have dinner.\u00a0 Well worth the boring two hour tour.<\/p>\n

We went back to the hotel room and rested.\u00a0 I was sure that the time lag would catch up to me and I’d be fast asleep by 9:00 pm, but I was wrong.\u00a0 As soon as it got dark we went out and started exploring.\u00a0 We stayed out until midnight (which would be 3:00 am our time.)<\/p>\n

\"strip_night1\"<\/a> \"strip_night2\"<\/a> \"strip_night3\"<\/a> \"strip_night4\"<\/a> \"strip_night5\"<\/a> \"strip_night6\"<\/a> \"strip_night7\"<\/a> \"strip_night8\"<\/a> \"strip_night9\"<\/a> \"strip_night10\"<\/a> \"strip_night11\"<\/a> \"strip_night12\"<\/a> \"strip_night13\"<\/a> \"strip_night14\"<\/a> \"strip_night15\"<\/a> \"strip_night16\"<\/a> \"strip_night17\"<\/a> \"strip_night18\"<\/a> \"strip_night19\"<\/a> \"strip_night20\"<\/a> \"strip_night21\"<\/a> The big round ferris wheel looking thing is called The high Roller.\u00a0 A lot of the photos we took from there.\u00a0 It’s a 30 minute ride which takes you up over 1400 feet and you can see everything.\u00a0 It was a remarkable view from up there.\u00a0 The sides are completely glass so your view isn’t obstructed by anything.\u00a0 That was fun!<\/p>\n

On day 2 we woke up very refreshed.\u00a0 The mattress in our room is heavenly.\u00a0 I wish our mattress at home was that nice!\u00a0 I didn’t have an ache or pain anywhere when I woke up.<\/p>\n

Now, it’s 6:30 am Vegas time (9:30 am our time)\u00a0 Who would believe I could sleep that long.<\/p>\n

Tuesday’s agenda, do another Wyndam 2 hour tour (just call me Gilligan) and get more bonus prizes.\u00a0 Two free tickets to ride on The High Roller, two free buffet tickets, free breakfast and a free tour.\u00a0 Yeah, Marc is already having fits over me doing these “tours” but I told him that free is free!<\/p>\n

Then off to the Shelby factory and museum and do some more foot touring of Las Vegas.\u00a0 Seriously, it is not hot out here.\u00a0 We’re out walking around and we’re very comfortable.\u00a0 One thing I saw in Vegas that was a shock to me, as I’ve never been exposed to this before, were the number of homeless people.\u00a0 Sleeping right on the sidewalks, sitting with hand written signs, and it was remarkable to me that this is a common sight in Las Vegas.\u00a0 They sit on the cross ways and alleys in between Casinos.<\/p>\n

Another amazing thing to me was how clean the Las Vegas Strip was.\u00a0 We didn’t see one cigarette butt (no smoking on the sidewalks – signs everywhere), one cup, one tissue.\u00a0 Nothing.\u00a0 The Strip is very very clean.\u00a0 I found out later that the casino’s employ 24\/7 staff and their only job is to keep the walks in front of the casinos pristine and dust free.\u00a0 Off the Strip, we did see some trash, but not a lot.<\/p>\n

Let’s go back to that non smoking law.\u00a0 That’s right.\u00a0 No smoking on the sidewalks.\u00a0 If you want to smoke on The Strip, you pop into a casino, play a slot machine, get a free drink and smoke.<\/p>\n

That took some getting used to!!!!<\/p>\n

\"dodie_slots\"<\/a> \"marc_slots\"<\/a> \"marc_slots1\"<\/a>Okay, enough about smoking.<\/p>\n

NOTE!\u00a0 All photos in this vacationing album are taken with Marc’s Galaxy6 phone.\u00a0 You can tell the ones I take because they aren’t clear and they have no photo value.\u00a0 Marc has a very good eye for taking shots!<\/p>\n

Tuesday – STOP #1 – Shelby factory and museum.\u00a0 (We all know that Marc is a Mustang and Shelby fanatic … except for the Dodge Shelby’s – he thinks they suck.)\u00a0 Cost to visit the Shelby Factory and Museum for two and a half hours?\u00a0 $0 – FREE!<\/p>\n

\"shelby1\"<\/a> \"shelby2\"<\/a> \"shelby3\"<\/a> \"shelby4\"<\/a> \"shelby5\"<\/a> \"shelby6\"<\/a> \"shelby7\"<\/a> \"shelby8\"<\/a> \"shelby9\"<\/a> \"shelby10\"<\/a> \"shelby11\"<\/a> \"shelby13\"<\/a> \"shelby14\"<\/a> \"shelby15\"<\/a> \"shelby16\"<\/a> \"shelby17\"<\/a> \"shelby18\"<\/a>By now it’s well into the afternoon in Las Vegas and we decide to head back and do some more foot walking exploration.\u00a0 And then hit the casino.\u00a0 While we did not come to Las Vegas to gamble, we do have free slot tickets so it’s not really gambling, if it’s not your own money … right?<\/p>\n

\"casino_royale\"<\/a>First stop, after we park, is to go to Casino Royale.\u00a0 Oh my, this place was lit up with mirrors on the low ceilings and machines filling every inch of the place, but quite honestly, it was a real dive.\u00a0 I was disappointed.\u00a0 We had a free $10 slot ticket for Casino Royale, so we played it an got out of there.<\/p>\n

We’re getting a wee bit hungry since our free breakfast has worn off hours ago and we have a free $25 coupon to Toby Keith’s Restaurant<\/a>.\u00a0 It is an wonderful experience!\u00a0 We were served our tea and soda in a quart sized mason jar.\u00a0 The food portions were HUGE!\u00a0 You have to click this link and visit their website, the pictures they show about the food is truly real.\u00a0 We had so much food on our plates that we actually had enough leftovers to put into boxes for lunch the next day … and then some.<\/p>\n

With very full bellies, we headed out for some night life casino hopping.<\/p>\n

\"day2-4\"<\/a>\"day2-1\"<\/a> \"day2-2\"<\/a> \"day2-3\"<\/a> We visited seven casinos Tuesday evening.\u00a0 We were playing the penny slot machines and having a blast.\u00a0 We started the evening with $125 in slot tickets.\u00a0 We finished the night with $137 in cash to play with the next day.\u00a0 WHOO HOO, up $12 and we’re ready to retire!\u00a0 Marc had one really big win of $82.\u00a0 It was way exciting!<\/p>\n

Grand total spent by end of Day 2:<\/strong> <\/em>$1,298.00 plus dinner $45 = $1,343.00<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

GRAND TOTAL WINNINGS\/LOSSES end of Day 2:\u00a0 $12.00<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Agenda for Wednesday, Day 3 – this is going to be a very busy day!\u00a0 Now we’re going to be tourists.\u00a0 Mob Museum.\u00a0 Paradise Oasis Gardens and Museum.\u00a0 Pinball Hall Of Fame.\u00a0 Palace Station to play $100,000 bingo.\u00a0 And Marc’s favorite thing to make is Popovers … the restaurant that he got the recipe from is located here in Las Vegas.\u00a0 We looked at the menu on-line and we know this is going to be a real expense to eat there, but we HAVE to eat there!\u00a0 Marc wants to taste the Popovers directly from the restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u00a0First stop – MOB MUSEUM!<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 For those of you that know me well,\u00a0 you know I am totally a Mob Era fan.\u00a0 I probably have 20 books written about the Mob from the late 1800’s until their shut-down in the late 1970’s.\u00a0 I know all the families, their Don’s and how they were captured or killed during the FBI take down in the 60’s and 70’s.\u00a0 I did not, however, know many things that I learned while at the museum and it was such an exciting adventure.<\/p>\n

\"chapel\"<\/a>To get to the section of town where the Mob Museum is located, we had to go through Chapel Alley.\u00a0 I swear to you, I quit counting after 30 … yes, there were more than 30 “GET MARRIED HERE” chapels.\u00a0 Many of them had signs out front with the historical symbol on them, clearly stating they were here first.\u00a0 Now how is that possible that so many could have been first?\u00a0 It cracked me up … What happens in Vegas, stay in Vegas … unless you get married, then you have to take that home with you.\u00a0 Just past Chapel Alley, almost to our destination, I saw a couple building that said, “IMMEDIATE DIVORCE” … TOO FREAKIN’ FUNNY!<\/p>\n

Things I knew (that you may not know) – Mob money built the first hospital and the first orphanage and the first college in Paradise, NV.\u00a0 What I did not know is that the mob was key in the completion of Hoover Dam a year ahead of schedule and over one million dollars under budget.<\/p>\n

\"mob1\"<\/a> \"mob2\"<\/a> \"mob3\"<\/a> \"mob4\"<\/a> \"mob5\"<\/a> \"mob6\"<\/a> \"mob7\"<\/a> \"mob8\"<\/a> \"mob9\"<\/a> \"mob10\"<\/a> \"mob11\"<\/a> \"mob12\"<\/a> \"mob13\"<\/a> \"mob14\"<\/a> \"mob15\"<\/a> \"mob16\"<\/a> \"mob17\"<\/a>Next stop, Paradise Oasis … we sat in the parking area and ate our leftovers from the night before as our lunch … and we STILL had food left over.\u00a0 That was the biggest serving of food I have ever seen at a restaurant!\u00a0 There is something to be said about Texans!<\/p>\n

Here are some interesting facts about Las Vegas.\u00a0 Yes, it is located in the middle of the desert.\u00a0 It was chosen because there were seven oasis and a small railroad town sprung up around these oasis.\u00a0 The town was called Paradise, NV.\u00a0 A small Saloon which hosted card games and betting was built outside town in the meadows surrounding the oasis.\u00a0 Soon a second saloon was built, and a third.\u00a0 Soon, a Madame and her six night-girls took up residence and the red light district of this small western town became known as Las Vegas (Spanish for The Meadows)<\/p>\n

The original strip of gambling establishments is still there, on Fremont Street and there are guided tours of this area, with historical facts and stories.<\/p>\n

ANYWAY!\u00a0 In 2000, the last of the seven oasis dried up on the surface.\u00a0 By the year 2007 all the underground water in the seven oasis was gone.\u00a0 And it’s gone forever, the water reservoirs for the oasis are collapsed.\u00a0 The museum at Paradise Oasis showed the water usage of Paradise\/Las Vegas and it is off the charts.\u00a0 All water in the town now comes from Lake Mead.<\/p>\n

Over the years as Las Vegas grew and construction continued, many very well preserved fossils were found in the surrounding desert.\u00a0 These fossils are on display at the museum and it was very cool to see little hoof prints and paw prints and huge bones and skeletons found here.<\/p>\n

\"po_1\"<\/a> \"po_2\"<\/a> \"po_3\"<\/a> \"po_4\"<\/a> \"po_5\"<\/a> \"po_6\"<\/a> \"po_7\"<\/a> \"po_8\"<\/a> \"po_9\"<\/a> \"po_10\"<\/a> \"po_11\"<\/a> Now, many of my friends know I am a BINGO nut.\u00a0 I go to BINGO games all the time.\u00a0 I don’t know why, something about BINGO just makes me smile.\u00a0 There is a place in Las Vegas called Palace Station that has $100,000 BINGO games and I am all about visiting there.\u00a0 The BINGO games run on every odd hour from 9:00 am until 1:00 am.\u00a0 After spending two hours at the Paradise Oasis, we head over to the BINGO game.<\/p>\n

Palace Station is one of the first casinos to build off Fremont Street.\u00a0 They are not “on The Strip” but are very close to it.\u00a0 The casino proper is still in it’s original building, but it has grown into a resort.\u00a0 They had a historical placard at the front door telling the history of the casino.\u00a0 Interesting read!<\/p>\n

I played nine games of Bingo for $6.00 … the last and final game was a blackout game and I sat with only two numbers to blackout … for thirteen calls.\u00a0 That’s right, thirteen numbers came up while I sat there waiting for two to blackout … when someone yelled BINGO, my little heart was broken.\u00a0 The blackout started at $5,500 and I had TWO numbers to go … and the amount went down every number called.\u00a0 By the time it was paid, it was worth $325.\u00a0 And I didn’t win.\u00a0 But it was a fun 90 minutes of play for $6.00.<\/p>\n

\"bingo1\"<\/a> \"bingo2\"<\/a> \"bingo3\"<\/a>We left there with big smiles on my face (not so sure how Marc felt about BINGO, but I loved it!\u00a0 Back to the hotel and walk around a bit. Here’s some photos from the Pink Flamingo.\u00a0 One of the original “sin city” casinos, it moves from Fremont Street onto the new strip and became one of the icons of Las Vegas.\u00a0 The casino inside was pink.\u00a0 No kidding.\u00a0 I don’t know why Marc didn’t capture some photos of that.\u00a0 BTW, these birds hanging out on the street are alive and people are stopping to pet them.\u00a0 I would NEVER let anyone pet Molly, she would bite their finger off.<\/p>\n

\"flamingo_2\"<\/a>\"flamingo_1\"<\/a> \"flamingo_3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We stopped to see the fountains, which we had seen from the top of The High Roller, but didn’t see in person close up … unfortunately, I was hungry and Marc was hungry so we didn’t stay to see them.<\/p>\n

\"fountain\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now it’s time to get ready for supper.\u00a0 Marc is a huge fan of the Pop-Overs made by the BLT Restaurant<\/a>.\u00a0 I invite you to visit this website and look at the menu.\u00a0 Everything is a-la-carte.\u00a0 We knew this meal was going to\u00a0 break the bank, but Marc really wanted to go there and try their signature pop-overs to see how close they were to his own.\u00a0 And you know what?\u00a0 Everyone needs to splurge on one expensive meal, once in a while.\u00a0 Total with tip (and we did not have any alcohol) was $150.00 – yes, that’s right, $150 for two people to have dinner and ice tea.\u00a0 WOW!<\/p>\n

\"BLT-1\"<\/a> \"BLT-2\"<\/a> \"BLT-3\"<\/a>After eating, we decide to go to the casino and try and win our money back.\u00a0 We also had a free spin on the One Million Dollar slot machine.\u00a0 Obviously, since you’re reading this story, we did not win the $1 million.<\/p>\n

We did, however, win a little bit of money at the slots before going to bed.\u00a0 We spent $40 between us and cashed in our slot tickets for a grand total winnings of $42 so we’re up another $2.\u00a0 YAY US!<\/p>\n

Grand total spent by end of Day 3:<\/strong> <\/em>$1,343.00 + $40 Mob Museum + $36 Paradise Oasis + BINGO $6 + BLT $150 = $1,575.00
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

GRAND TOTAL WINNINGS\/LOSSES end of Day 3:\u00a0 $12.00 + $2.00 = $14.00
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Today is the last full day we will spend in Las Vegas.\u00a0 Day 4 we awaken to a couple of puffy clouds in the sky.\u00a0 Maybe three of them.\u00a0 Yes, the humidity has come up in Las Vegas, it’s at 10%.<\/p>\n

You laugh, but apparently that is a big deal in Las Vegas to have any kind of humidity!<\/p>\n

Our plan for today is to go to Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.\u00a0 I am very excited to take a trip out of the city.\u00a0 While I am enjoying city life for a couple days, I am missing the wide open spaces. The houses in Las Vegas and low and have clay rooftops.\u00a0 It was very cool to see the different kinds of architecture out here, meant to keep the home cool.\u00a0 We also saw a lot of homes with solar panels.\u00a0 Guess when the sun shines every day, you can run your home off the sun!!!<\/p>\n

\"drive_lake_1\"<\/a> \"drive_lake_02\"<\/a> \"drive_lake_03\"<\/a> \"drive_lake_04\"<\/a> \"drive_lake_05\"<\/a> \"drive_lake_06\"<\/a>We were following a tour bus, and it pulled into the overlook area, so we did, too.<\/p>\n

\"lakemead_01\"<\/a> \"lakemead_02\"<\/a> \"lakemead_03\"<\/a> \"lakemead_05\"<\/a>These pictures will not do any justice to what we saw and how we felt leaning over the edge to look down upon the waters of the dam.\u00a0 It was colossal.\u00a0 Huge beyond imagination and I actually got a wee bit nervous walking along the edge of the dam.\u00a0 I felt like someone from the crowds of people was going to knock me over the edge.\u00a0 Weird vertigo feelings!<\/p>\n

And as a small historical note, you can see that at one point the water in this dam was much much higher than it is today.\u00a0 (Remember about the Oasis problem?) Well, Las Vegas has been in a drought since 1997.\u00a0 That’s right, we read the placard and the water levels of the dam have been dropping an average of two feet a year since 1997.\u00a0 There is a run-off built into this dam in case the water levels get too high.\u00a0 The last time any water was in that run off was 1983.<\/p>\n

\"hoover_01\"<\/a> \"hoover_02\"<\/a> \"hoover_04\"<\/a> \"hoover_06\"<\/a>\"hoover_07\"<\/a> \"hoover_08\"<\/a> \"hoover_09\"<\/a> \"hoover_10\"<\/a> \"hoover_11\"<\/a> \"hoover_12\"<\/a> \"hoover_13\"<\/a> \"hoover_14\"<\/a> \"hoover_15\"<\/a>Not to be outdone by Vegas, Hoover Dam had it’s own casino (chuckle)<\/p>\n

So, back to the city we go.\u00a0 Now I’m really really excited because I am a PinBall wizard.\u00a0 In 1976, I won the PinBall Championship held in Virginia Beach, VA … and I played pinball every opportunity I could after that, though I was never in a competition again.\u00a0 Las Vegas has the largest PinBall Hall Of Fame, all the old pinball and video games you used to play as a kid.\u00a0 I was saving quarters for a long time to go there and play.<\/p>\n

\"pinball\"<\/a> \"pinball_1\"<\/a> \"pinball_2\"<\/a>We stopped at a Chinese Restaurant next to the college.\u00a0 Yes, there is a college in Las Vegas.\u00a0 Now, I felt a little out of place in the restaurant as we were the only non-asian people in there.\u00a0 But, you know the food is gonna be good when all the asians eat there!\u00a0 And it was AWESOME!\u00a0 The food was to die for.<\/p>\n

Then, off to play some more penny slots.\u00a0 And win some money.<\/p>\n

\"cashier0\"<\/a>\"cashier\"<\/a>We played at The Linq (the best casino we found while there) until bedtime.\u00a0 We were up, then down, then up, then down but played for four hours and went to bed with only a small loss of $11<\/p>\n

Grand total spent by end of Day 4:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em> $1,575.00 + gas for car $22 + $20 PinBall + $32 dinner = $1,649.00
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

GRAND TOTAL WINNINGS\/LOSSES end of Day 4:\u00a0 + $14.00 – $11 = $3.00
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Day 5 and time to go home.\u00a0 I had the most marvelous time with Marc in Las Vegas.\u00a0 It was really nice not answering the phone, or email, or facebook or anything.\u00a0 And to have Marc all to myself was amazing.\u00a0 We did not watch any television, or movies, or anything electronic.\u00a0 I have to say it was a great mental downtime.<\/p>\n

We had some coffee, checked out of the hotel and played slots while we waited to drive to the rental car return and get started on our trip home.\u00a0 We lost money on the slots today and went home with a total of $12.00 lost gambling.<\/p>\n

Man.<\/p>\n

We bought food to take on the plane, because now we know that we need to do that (we’re not all that uneducated by this trip) bringing our grand total spending for the week to $1,595 plus gambling losses of $12.<\/p>\n

Not bad, not bad at all.<\/p>\n

\"leaving_1\"<\/a> \"leaving_2\"<\/a> \"leaving_3\"<\/a> \"leaving_4\"<\/a> \"leaving_5\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HOW TO VACATION AN ENTIRE WEEK FOR UNDER $2,000 I have to premise this story with a FACT.\u00a0 Marc and I did not have a honeymoon vacation, nor have we had a traveling vacation that did not involve just going … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":74,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2907","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2907"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3140,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2907\/revisions\/3140"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}