We flew to Las Vegas via Houston which means we touched down in Texas, adding one more to our long list of states and provinces – almost losing count….. Arrived in Las Vegas and took a taxi to our (Worldmark) unit a bit south of the strip intending to pay by credit card as we had used up all our cash in Miami and New Orleans, but unfortunately taxis don’t take credit cards in the USA. The taxi fare was $17 plus tip $19 – we had a total of $22 between us – leaving us a total of $3 ($2 after Yasuko visited the casino). So there we were – STRANDED - in the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas with only $2 in cash. Fortunately our resort had a (free) shuttle bus to the strip and we had credit cards, but it was still a bit tricky. We couldn’t take a bus or taxi or buy anything unless it was by credit card and we had to wait 48 (business) hours to transfer funds – (fatal error).
We soon found that walking from one casino to the next around a ginormous building site was a marathon undertaking, but in spite of our strained circumstances Las Vegas was ok once we got used to it. We liked the interior of the Paris casino and went to see “The Producers” there with Tony Danza. The show was good and so was the buffet dinner before the show - the buffet meals at the casinos are excellent and are one of the highlights of Las Vegas. We had a few - even oatmeal for breakfast.
We originally planned to go to Mexico after Las Vegas, but for various reasons – including safety - we decided to bypass Mexico. That gave us an extra day to fill in, so we decided to stay an extra day in Vegas. We booked in to the Excalibur and finally our cash came through so we were able to ride the bus up and down the strip and see a bit more of the other casinos. Once she had some money in her purse Yasuko won back her $1 plus a bit more. Had breakfast at the Bellagio on the last day before we left (by car) for the Grand Canyon and we had to agree with Rosie that it was “not bad”.
