Month: January 2010

  • Little Christmas Trip 2009

    Little Christmas Trip 2009

     December 25 – LAKE HAVASU AND LAS VEGAS

    My parents and I were of the understanding that the bus was going to pick us up at Thailand Plaza at 7:30 AM.  At 6:30 AM, President Tours tour leader Pichian Rojsiriwat called saying that the bus is already waiting.  We were stunned.  We really rushed to get there as soon as possible.

    Obviously we were the last people to board.  I did not look at anyone’s face simply from embarrassment.  My father wasn’t thrilled either.

    Our bus stopped briefly in Barstow.  Then it forged on to Lake Havasu City, Arizona.  We got there at 12:30 PM.  We stopped at China Buffet for lunch.  It’s a typical Ameri-Chinese buffet.  From the restaurant we could see London Bridge, the reason we are here in Lake Havasu.

     


    Statue the plaque above was referring to

    Soon afterwards we went to admire London Bridge.  This was the original London Bridge that spanned the Thames River in London.  It was sold to Lake Havasu City.  Each stone was transported and put together here spanning Lake Havasu.

      


    My father and London Bridge 


    Yours truly with London Bridge in the background

    Like our last two trips, my father manned the camcorder and I the digital camera.  While were taking pictures and finding different angles, my mother found comfort in the ladies room.  There are lots of ducks here.  Since this is Christmas Day, most of the shops were closed.  The weather was a nice day in the lower 60’s.

     

    Ducks


    Dad and London Bridge 


    London Bridge

    My father and I also walked across London Bridge.  It was very blustery.  We then walked back to rendezvous with my mom.  I handed her the camera because it’s my turn to use the lavatory.

       

    On the way to walk on London Bridge


    Dad filming away


    Views of Lake Havasu from London Bridge



    London Bridge is an actively used road.  Cars cross it all the time.

    While walking under a tree, some pigeon got me with its dropping.  That’s just great especially since I was wearing a maize-colored shirt.


    Mom and Dad

    Before we departed from London Bridge, we did notice many bird nests nestled into the ridge along the underside of the bridge.  These are also fairly common on the underside of freeways.

     

    See the litle bird's nests along the bridge?

    At 2:45 PM, we left Lake Havasu.  We arrived in Las Vegas in the late afternoon and unloaded our stuff at our residence for the next couple nights…Casino Royale.  It is an old, small, four-story hotel/casino located on The Strip between Harrah's and The Venetian.


    Casino Royale, our abode for the next couple nights

     

    We crossed the street to The Mirage.  First, I purchased two tickets for Terry Fator.  My father and I thought he was great when he won America’s Got Talent a couple years back.  We all then went to Cravings, the buffet at The Mirage.  However, the line was insanely long.  My mom then suggested The Buffet at Wynn.  We went there but they weren’t letting anyone in since it was so packed.  My mom suggested that I show the girl working there my Wynn Red Card.  I didn’t think it would have mattered so I deferred to my mom’s chagrin.  In retrospect, I should have done so since the worst that could happen would be them telling me it wouldn’t have mattered. 

    We walked back to Casino Royale.  Inside there was an Outback Steakhouse so that was where we had dinner.  We were glad that the wait was short.  My mom was exhausted from all the walking.  It felt so good to get the first morsels from the Bloomin’ Onion down our bellies.

     

    Mom and Dad at Outback Steakhouse inside Casino Royale

    Later my mom played some penny slots.  I tried my hand at Three Card Poker as my dad watched.  My high cards were consistently being beaten by pairs or better kickers.  I couldn’t hit a straight or flush to save my life and wound up losing $115. 

    My dad returned to my mom who was still spinning away.  I went to a roulette table and put my remaining $5 dollar chip on an intersection between 5, 6, 8, and 9.  I hit it; thus, won $40.  I should have taken the money and left but instead sat down, kept playing, and blew it all.  In retrospect, it would have felt better to have recouped some of my losses.

    My folks have since returned to the room.  I decided to try my hand at craps.  As it turned out, I broke even.


    Inside Casino Royale elevator.  Look at how old this is.  I haven't seen this in ages.

    December 26 – GRAND CANYON AND TERRY FATOR

    I woke up around 2 AM because it was so hot in our hotel room.  It was hard to sleep plus I was sweating.  As it turned out, the heater was on in the building.  In this place, if the heater is on, the air conditioner not only is inoperable but if one turns it on; it will make the place hotter.  We had no choice but to open the windows to cool the room down.  It worked though we could clearly hear the sounds of glass bottles being dumped constantly into a dumpster.

    We got a very early wake up call.  At 5:25 AM, all of us walked from Casino Royale to Harrah’s.  In the back of Harrah’s we boarded a shuttle bus.  We stopped at a checkpoint.  Once authorities cleared us, we crossed over Hoover Dam.  Once you cross Hoover Dam from Nevada, you’re now in Arizona.  The shuttle then stopped for just 15 minutes so we can take pictures.  My father and I did but my mom deferred.  It was due to the very cold morning air.

     


    Hoover Dam
     

     

    Later the bus took us to a bus depot in the middle of the desert.  Along the way we saw a many Joshua trees.  We also passed through several Joshua tree forests.  Some were quite tall.


    Joshua trees
     

     

    We then boarded another bus which dropped us off at Hualapai terminal.  This place is where buses, planes, and helicopters take people to admire the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We took the bus route.


    Sightseeing helicopter

    At 12:30 PM we arrived at a stop in the West Rim called Eagle Point.  It is called this because there is a formation in the canyon that looks like an eagle with its wings spread out.  The main attraction here is the Skywalk.  This is the renowned half-circle walkway that extends out over the canyon cliff.  What makes this Skywalk potential hair-raising is that the walkway floor is made of glass.  Due to that, you can see the canyon floor 4,000 feet below.


    Eagle Point

    Before getting to the walkway, security had us hand over all devices with photographic capabilities.  We left the camera and video camera with my mom.  I handed over my cell phone and iPod.  Then, we walked through a metal detector.  Sadly, it meant that I won’t have any pictures to show you.  Next, we had to slip shoe covers over our shoes.  I believe it’s to prevent scratching of the walkway.  Finally, it’s time.  Admittedly I do have a slight fear of heights.  It’s not bad enough to keep me from flying or going on roller coasters.  However, it’s enough to sometimes give me a bit of hesitation.  My shoe covers are on and now it’s time to get out there.  I walked out onto an opaque portion of the walkway.  I then took a couple of steps forward, took a deep breath, and then slowly stared down.  It is so trippy.  I could see my feet standing on seemingly nothing and then the canyon floor below.  I laughed in wonder and amazement and told myself, “Wow!  This is awesome!”  I kept walking and staring down as my feet “floated” over the canyon floor.  A guy with a camera asked if I wanted a picture.  I asked him how much it was.  When he said $30, I declined.  I then gazed at Eagle Point.  It’s a majestic view.  My father on the Skywalk let out a nervous laugh.  Like most people, they retreated to the edges which are opaque.  Some people from our tour group were telling others “Don’t look down!”  I’m walking in the clear center and called out to them to join me.  I told one of them to come out to the clear part because I’m much heavier than them and it’s supporting me.  They wouldn’t dare.  The boldest person was this little girl.  She was jumping around on the clear section and then lay down on it nearly spread eagle.  She was having a great time.



    The Skywalk

    We then had lunch at the Skywalk Café.  I ate an uninspired beef stew with rice.  This was ideal to the other Asian visitors because it fit the bill for them.  I just didn’t think it tasted very good.  They loved it because it had rice, cooked Asian style, and hot.  It was a chilly day in the upper 30’s.


    My dad and I continued to photograph the canyon and Eagle Point.  We could see the Colorado River from a distance.  The striking thing is that there are no barrier or safety restraints of any kind at the edge of the cliff we were on.  It means we are to venture at our own risk.  If we got too close to the edge and fell, too bad.  This is because these lands are not governed by the United States.  They belong to the Hualapai Nation.  It’s on their reservation.


    The view at and around Eagle Point

    The tour bus picked us up at 1:45 PM.  On the bus, the driver gave us a background and history of the place.  Our next and final stop is at Guano Point.  He asked the people in the bus if we knew what guano was.  I correctly answered “Bat Poop”.  The driver then continued to illustrate that where we were going was called Guano Point because there was an operation that harvested guano to sell.  He mentioned that there were three main uses for guano and had us guess.  Most people guessed the most obvious one first - fertilizer.  The driver then asked what else.  I answered “gunpowder” which is correct.  Then he asked for the third application.  I didn’t know and neither did anyone else.  The driver said that guano used to be an ingredient in cosmetics but not anymore.


    Finally we were there.  My mom stayed at the eating area outside of Guano Café.  My father walked out towards Guano Point.  We got on top of a rock and had a great view of the canyon here and the river below. 


    Guano Point

    We then walked out further and saw the abandoned guano mining tower.  The view is terrific here.  It’s not as colorful or renowned as the South Rim but just seeing this entire area one knows immediately that they’re at the Grand Canyon.  We could see helicopters flying about.  What a great way it must be to view the canyon.

    Guano Point

    Back at Guano Café I could see many crows hanging about.  I believe they eat whatever scraps remained from the guests’ food.


    Mom and someone on our tour


    Sounds scrumptuous

     

    Scavenging crows


    We then rode the bus back to Hualapai terminal.  There, my dad and I saw a roadrunner.  It was only three yards away from me.  As I was pulling out my camera, it ran away.  Such a fast little sucker.  Then another bus took us to the depot.  The Harrah’s shuttle then picked us up.  We were moving pretty well until we got close to Hoover Dam.  Then it was a slow crawl.  I figured it was the checkpoint and I was right.  I fought off boredom with my iPod.  I’m so grateful to have that thing.


    Mom and dad in bus

    We got past the checkpoint but the drive was still at a snail’s pace.  I was starting to worry if my father and I will make the Terry Fator show in time.  I thought about what to do - from having to eat something quick and go or trying to get my money back if we’re too late.  I had all these scenarios planned out whatever it happened to be.

    Suddenly, once as crossed over Hoover Dam, we were moving again.  All of us in the bus applauded.  We were happy to be mobile again after crawling for two hours.

    We got back to Harrah’s.  After a brisk walk back to our room at Casino Royale, we unloaded all the unnecessary items and went to the nearby McDonald’s.  At least there we can grab a quick meal.  Then we went to The Mirage.  My mom headed to the penny slots as my father and I went inside the Terry Fator Theater.

    If you don’t know, Terry Fator was the winner of the second America’s Got Talent.  He is a ventriloquist who does voice impersonations and is a terrific singer.  His act features his puppets “singing”.  The eerie thing is that his singing without moving his lips sounds better than a lot of people trying to sing normally.

    During the pre-show there is a pretty entertaining DJ who dances really well.  He did what he called the history of dance.

    Now the main event has begun.  It’s Terry Fator.  It was a great show.  Not only did he amaze us with his ventriloquism and singing but the show was also very funny.  It was also cool that he allowed us to take pictures and shoot videos.


    Terry Fator and Winslow the Impersonating Turtle

    My father and I had a great time.  It was well worth it to see this man do his thing.  I called my mom and rendezvoused with her.  It turned out she made over $80 from the slots.  We were happy for her.  She then treated us all to Cravings, the buffet at The Mirage.


    Back at Casino Royale, my mom and dad were tired so they retired to our room.  I wasn’t tired yet so I played craps.  I invested $25.  My father gave me another $25 so I had $50 to play craps.  I had a great time as we had some hot rollers.  Unfortunately I wasn’t one of them.  In the end, I wound up making $30 profit.  I gave half to my dad.

    December 27 – FREE BREAKFAST, PRIMM, AND HOME

    We woke up and made our way downstairs to find breakfast.  Once there, someone on our tour bus called us over for a free breakfast.  It turned out that somebody on our tour won a lot of dough from blackjack.

    At Casino Royale, normally folks don’t play with too much money.  He, on the other hand, played $200 per hand.  On the first night he won ~$4800.  Last night he won ~$1800.  Casino Royale rewarded him with $300 worth of complimentary meals at the Denny’s inside the casino so he's treating everyone.  We were all really happy for him and grateful for his generosity.  However, he didn’t look too good.  Due to his drowsy appearance and hard-to-understand speech, I think he played all night and didn’t sleep a wink.  At least he won and is generous.

    At 8:30 AM, we left Las Vegas.  At 9:30 AM, we arrived at Primm.  The bus dropped us off at the Fashion Outlet mall.  Most people walked around shopping.  Some ate at the food court.  Others just relaxed.  Lucky blackjack man slept on the bus.  My father and I decided to play some more craps.  The Fashion Outlet is connected to Primm Valley Resort.  The craps table was nearby.  It was a fun way to kill time.  In the end, we made a $17 profit.  That was satisfying.


    Mom and her friend Tassanee


    Dad with Terrible's off road race on display at Primm Valley Resort


    Check out the engine on this race boat

    At 11:30 AM, we left Primm and headed for Barstow.  There were many yucca plants along the route.

    At 1:40 PM, we had a brief lunch at McDonald’s in Barstow.  This would be our last stop before making our way to Los Angeles.  I fell in and out of sleep.  As it turned out, the bus made fabulous time by taking a route other than the I-15 and arrived in Los Angeles at around 4:30 PM.

    I had a good time on this trip.  Though this is my third time to Lake Havasu and seeing London Bridge, it’s the first time with my dad and to me that’s pretty special.  The Skywalk was so trippy that you have to see it for yourself.  Walking on a glass walkway with the canyon floor 4,000 feet down was potential hair-raising.  I put my faith in the architect and engineer.  West Rim is pretty attractive especially the breathtaking Eagle Point.  Terry Fator is a show everyone’s got to see especially if you can appreciate real talent.  Now I understand why people have such a fun time playing craps.  It’s a blast.  Just gamble responsibly as always.  Lastly, it was great to go somewhere with both my mom and dad.