Flashpacking California & Nevada USA – March 2004

Needless to say we can’t believe its March already.

Explored Bakersfield, mainly to try and find a mall to do necessary Levis shopping. It was such an urban sprawl that we couldn’t find a downtown, a shopping area….. anything that would describe itself as a centre. Can’t imagine living anywhere like this – so grey and dull, must be a very depressing. We gave up and headed east on 58 across beautiful desert scenery. We were waiting to see John Wayne riding across the plains saying “get offa my horse”. There were lots of tiny desert towns sprouting up in the sand – all very strange and what a barren place to live but I would assume very cheap.

Next stop Barstow – crikey what a dump. Again needed to find a mall, and again couldn’t find one. Found a pathetic excuse for one which had a total of 3 shops open, the rest all boarded up. Left there as fast as we could following a clapped out van with 5 mattresses on the roof and headed to the state line of Nevada. Its odd because as soon as you pass this line the lights start flashing advertising casinos in huge hotels.

The road to Vegas is long and straight and a total desert, there is nothing for miles around. It was dark and you could see the glow of Vegas in the mountains in the distance. We eventually turned a corner and there it was… what an electric bill it must have. The Luxor (Pyramid hotel) has a huge beam directing out of the point of the pyramid up into the sky. You can see this way before you can see anything else in Vegas. Getting nearer we could see the strip – what a sight. Andy kept saying “wow… wow” over and over again as the amazing spectacles of light and architecture became apparent in front of us. We drove up the strip glad to stop at each of the lights to look at everything around us. Passing New York with its remake of the New York skyline and roller coaster, Paris with its Eiffel Tower and Hot air balloon, and Excaliber that is basically a beautifully lit castle.

We parked at the best hotel in town – the Bellagio just to see the price. Typically Andy managed a fantastic deal in an upgraded room and delighted, we parked and entered probably our most favourite hotel in the world. My god the room, it was beautiful and even had remote control curtains and a view right down the strip, looking at Caesars Palace, the Venetian, The Mirage and at the end the huge tower of the Stratosphere. Went to the casinos and ordered 2 huge cocktails to celebrate. We both just had the most amazing stupid grins on our faces that we couldn’t shift for ages – it was lovely.

Simply couldn’t get out of the bed…. It was sooooooo gorgeous. Went to the lobby to meet up with Mick (one of Andy’s mates) and we waited and waited . After an hour of coffee and people watching we gave up and hit the strip but first walked through to the most amazing conservatory that has a seasonal display. This time it has a swan and butterfly theme and looked and smelled totally incredible. Walking through one hotel to another and another we had a deal of having a beer in each and a few dollars on the machines. After a nice win the deal was to move on. Instantly I put a dollar in and got $15 out – we liked this. We gawped at the lovely setting of each hotel, were amazed at the free drinks you get when sitting at a machine, and were nervous at the money people were playing on the tables, $100 bills were everywhere and lost in a flash. We could only manage the nickel slots and it was incredible to see people settled on the 1 and 2-dollar slots with hundreds in the machine already. Hour after hour slipped by as the casinos take all notice of time away from you to keep you from leaving. No glimpse of daylight, no clocks, constant oxygen and lights on the machines and tables and free booze. All cleverly geared up to keep you gambling as long as possible. We loved it. New York has its reconstruction of the cities streets with cafe’s and deli’s, Caesars Palace had moving Greek statues and fountains, the list of attractions and amazing decorations go on and on. Nothing, however, in our opinion could beat the fountains of the Bellagio. Quite breathtaking the lit fountains dance to pieces of music and shoot water as high as the hotel – brings a tear to the eye. After hours of walking and playing the machines and drinking we fell exhausted back to our room at some wee hour in the morning.

Well we managed half of the strip yesterday so today we do the other half. First stop our second favourite hotel – the Venetian. Here they totally remake St. Marks square and Venetion Streets with real canals and singing gondoliers. Paris too is amazing with a recreation of the Parisian streets with lights and trees, shop fronts all amongst the rows and rows of slot machines and tables. Every hotel has a theme, the Mirage has a rainforest and an erupting volcano, the Flamingo has real flamingo and penguins, Treasure Island has 2 huge pirate ships and a show every night the list goes on, and most are linked with a monorail to ease the movement between the hotels

We returned to the Bellagio, totally exhausted and called home. Here I heard that my flat at home had a huge water leak and has been badly flooded. The extent of the damage was such that we had to go home….. we were gutted. I booked flights for the 6th and we realised that our trip was now almost at an end…….

Knowing we needed to get back to LA for our flight we packed and had our last coffee in the lobby, people watching and listening to lovely piano playing. Didn’t want to go. Tore ourselves away and headed back down the I 15 back to nasty LA. Once in LA it took over an hour to reach one side to the other on just one freeway, its just so huge. As we are here we thought we might as well have a look about so we drove down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood at sunset. It was truly horrid. Cheap, tacky, smelly and full of poor homeless people with a sense of misery and danger. LA has been the ONLY place we have been to on our trip that made us wary of our safety. How weird. Drove along the little pocket of luxury of Beverly Hills, and Rodeo drive. Its weird that here is where all the movie stars live in their luxury isolation when only a few minutes walk away is poverty and sadness. How can they enjoy living here? the contrast between insanely rich and poor in such a small area was not only bizarre but also quite disgusting. Drove through Hollywood Boulevard to gaze at the stars in the sidewalk, unimpressed we found a motel, and starving could only find a horrid burger joint… another years worth of fat here we come.

Last day of our trip. Very sad today but also quite excited to see our families and friends again, so much sooner than expected. So we shopped, and headed to an airport motel with some Brandy. This was no easy feet with hideously crammed Friday night traffic and screaming police cars and a spotlight helicopter chasing a car down the freeway meant a long haul down to the airport. One car and 12 cop cars – bit different from home, be lucky to get one!!!!

A very fast return to the airport, return of the car, and check in meant our final pictures of the trip, Amanda and Andy just like the first pictures are at the airport… don’t look very different do we?.. A bit browner maybe.

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