UMTravels

It all started with an email from Rache – “look at this cheap fare I booked!”

My response was, “Can I tag along”….and then proceeded to, while not exactly, highjack the planning. Rache had never been to Vegas, and I had, and I was trying to be “helpful”.

When I checked on upgrade seats before the 72-hour mark for me – there were 13 out of 16 available. Figured mine was a shoe in (it was). There were still upgrade seats available at the 48 hour mark (which is when the Alaska MVP’s get upgraded) – my advice to Rache was – check-in right at the 24 hour mark and see if you can pay for an upgrade ($50 for that distance). He did, and got it. So, $98 round-trip for the ticket, $50 upgrade to First – not bad! FYI – we both got upgraded on the way back as well.

One of the advantages of travelling with Uncle Markie is lounge access (i.e. free drinks/free food/newspapers):

Don’t we look comfortable in Seats 1A and 1C?

Or maybe asleep – but when food came…

WAY too much sugar and carbs – not that it stopped me from eating it!

Rache – I forgive you for booking a 6:10am flight if only because it was easy to get upgraded because NOBODY wants to fly to Vegas that early in the morning. Well, sort of. The upside is that we have a FULL day in Vegas once we pick up the rental car.

First stop – Boulder Dam!

I’ve done the full tour (pre-911 called “The Hard Hat Tour“, but “the Vegas Virgin” Rache hasn’t, and I always happy to take the tour again. We had a couple of hours to kill before the next “long tour” so off to lunch it is:

That would be Rache’s Dam Dog – this massive foot-long beef hot dog (compare the size of the standard-sized fries), and my grilled Ham and Cheese on Rye:

Sated, it was off to the Dam Tour…want to take the stairs down…not:

The Nevada side of the generating plant – and the penstock that feeds it:

In the tunnels with the tour guide:

And the view at the end of the tunnel:

Luckily WE have an elevator, because I don’t want to walk THESE stairs up the inside of the dam:

The tour was an hour-long (not including the video shown in the theatre before), and it ends at the top of the dam with these views:

After Hoover Dam is was off to check into the WorldMark Las Vegas Tropicana into our 2-bedroom condo. Hopefully I’ll find some pictures of the condo for the Part Two post. Meanwhile, it’s cooking time after our run to Albertsons – this would be Chicken Version One:

And yes, I packed wine. A Bonny Doon white (a Bianco Nero d’Avola) for tonight:

It was sort of “odd” what they considered a coffee table, but being geeks, the dining table was filled with electronic equipment.

Until tomorrow….

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