Las Vegas 2022 Day 5? Returning Home (Aug 21)

 It was perhaps my most restful night; I managed to get a solid 5 hours of sleep. When I awoke, a few of us were standing by the pool. As everyone got up, we decided to take some pictures in shirts that one of us designed for the occasion. 

We cleaned up the best we could, and left a whole bunch of drinks in the fridge due to our inability to finish it all. The groom had an earlier flight back to his home than we did, so we bid him farewell as his Uber came to pick him up just after 9 AM. We stayed inside the AirBnb till it was check out time. 

Before heading to the airport, we decided to grab some pho at a restaurant nearby. The pho was generally good, but awfully pricy at around $25 CAD after tips and taxes. Once finished, we waited outside for our last Uber ride. It was the last time I got to enjoy the desert heat; definitely more pleasant than 2013 though maybe because I was used to the relatively hot weather we had in Calgary over the past couple of months.

The ride to the airport was uneventful. We checked in and got through security in under 15 minutes. There was still 2.5 hours or so before boarding so a few of us decided to walk laps around the terminal we were at till it was time to go. I have sinned greatly when it came to food and hoped that walking for nearly 90 minutes will be a sliver of repent. 

The ride was quite turbulent to Edmonton (saved nearly $150 I believe for the layover), but I did end up getting some shut eye while listening to a podcast. Getting through customs was relatively easy, though I didn't really get the purpose of the ArriveCAN app we had to use, since they just visually checked our phones instead of scanning the QR code that was produced. Nevertheless, the 1.5 hour layover went by quickly and we boarded a small plane to Calgary. It really felt like we spent more time boarding and taxing than we did flying. Once we got back to Calgary, we said our goodbyes before splitting off on our own paths back home.

And so marks the end of an extended vacation away from Canada since 2019. I've learned how much money one could save staying off the strip and eating off the strip. I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon, but thank you LV for the hospitality! I never thought I would be so scared of food (Bellagio Buffet) nor discovered why cars can easily cost as much as a small home. Overall, a nice way to end summer break before school starts again!

Where will be my next adventure be I wonder...

 Surprisingly quite good! I may need to start drinking coffee more often...

Las Vegas Day 4 (Aug 20) - Nauseating Flight over the Grand Canyon

 I reminisced about the days in university where I could go to AYCE and feel almost nothing after going through a whole bunch of plates/rounds. Sadly, or fortunately, that is no longer the case in my 30's. I woke up in the middle of the night with a horrendous stomachache. To spare you from details, I was in the bathroom for a good 30 minutes.

Not getting much sleep again made me more weary than the past two nights, but our trip in Vegas is almost at a close. We sat around the table and talked for a bit before starting to play some poker with the poker set found in the living room. It's been a while since I gambled, and I did end up finishing second last. After a nail biting finish, we got ready to head out to Shang's Artesian Noodle. 

There was nearly an hour wait for Shang's so we ended up getting some bubble tea and relaxing at the nearby bubble tea shop. Once it was our turn, we headed next door back into Shang's. Not wanting to risk my stomach after the effects of the early morning trip to the bathroom, I opted out of the flagship spicy pulled noodle dish and went for the mild version instead. I was impressed by the broth, for it was light, but hearty at the same time. After  lunch, we headed back to the strip for our last event of this trip: a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon.

We were at the assigned pick up spot ahead of schedule. Our scheduled time came and pass and we were getting worried. I made a call to the helicopter tour company to be informed that the shuttle bus was running about 10 minutes late. Ten minutes came and went, which did put us on edge. Maybe we got the wrong spot, like the guys did yesterday for Dream racing... or maybe we didn't actually reserve a shuttle despite the customer service representative said the shuttle was on its way. After 20 minutes, I made another call stating that the bus wasn't there yet, and was informed that it was three minutes away. Lo and behold, it actually came in about 3 minutes. Turned out there was heavy traffic from the other hotels and some no shows!

We headed to Boulder City, which was about... 40 minutes away from the strip. The airport, where the tour was to start, was extremely tiny and reminded me of the one in St. John. We signed in and had our weight checked so they knew how to distribute the passengers on the two helicopters they had at that time. It wasn't long before we got called for our helicopter tour.

I've never sat in a helicopter before and I was eagerly excited in seeing the Grand Canyon myself. We were cramped inside a small and hot cabin as our tour guide was giving us a quick explanation about the tour. He mentioned how each seat had access to a vomit bag, which I thought I never had to use. Looking back, I regret not taking some Gravol or anti-nausea medication before boarding the helicopter.

The first ten minutes of the flight or so was extremely cool, for a lack of a better word. It was right after we got passed the Hoover Dam did I start to feel a bit queasy. Every time I tried turning my head to view the sights to my side, I had a wave of nausea flooding through me. I ended up just facing forward for the rest of the trip. Nearly halfway through, I was heaving air, trying not to let the nausea flood through me. My mouth was extremely dry, but I dare not drink anything during the flight. After another 80 minutes, we were almost back to our starting point, and I soon felt hope again after a ride of despair. Near touch down, the pilot did a quick 270 degree turn which was probably the closest I ever felt to vomiting due to motion sickness. 

After landing, I walked unsteadily back towards the terminal building. My arms felt numb for the last twenty minutes or so, and I was starting to feel the associated pins and needles as they were regaining normalcy. As we were waiting for our shuttle bus back, I ended up buying some souvenirs, while trying to walk around to clear my nausea. Once our shuttle arrived, I headed close to the front of the bus, hoping that it would help.

During the ride back to the strip, I fell asleep a few times, but woke up violently each time as my head snapped forward as I had a tendency to have my head lean back each time I was close to sleeping. After the third time this happened, my nausea had totally disappeared! I guess I learned a new unorthodox method to treating nausea: whiplash!

We got off at MGM Grand instead of the hotel we've been using for the entire trip since we wanted to explore the southern part of the strip. MGM was the hotel we stayed in during our trip in 2013, and I swear that it smelt exactly the same as it had 9 years ago. After walking around a while, we were looking for a place to eat. We made a quick stop at the M&M shop (four floors of M&Ms) and the Coca Cola store. I ended up finding my doppelganger inside the store, though it was hard to see the bottom part of his face since it was covered with a mask. 

We ended up going to a Mexican restaurant named Cabo Wabo. It was pricier than most Mexican places I've been to, but the Tortilla chips were amazing with the various dips we ordered. The nacho platter was also the best I've ever had in a restaurant! I can't say the same for my main dish, but maybe it was because I was full eating chips. After dinner, the groom and I ended up heading to a casino to gamble for a bit while the other five headed to White Castle for sliders. I put in $20, hoping that I would not have a repeat of what happened back during my first trip. I lost all $20 in about 2 minutes. I guess gambling isn't my thing. Once we finished gambling, we walked to White Castle to meet up with the others. 

After grabbing some water, we headed back to our Airbnb. We played one final round of poker (I did better, but did not get into the top 2) before crashing for the night.

Overall, it was a great experience with lasting memories as the first of our friend group from literally high school (some from junior high, or for me: elementary) is getting married. The AirBnb was a lot cheaper than a hotel, and it was nice to be away from the busy streets (definitely busier during the night compared to the morning/afternoon). 

Las Vegas 2022 - Day 3 (Aug 19) - Probably my one and only chance to drive a $200,000 car

 Perhaps it is age, but I'm starting to forget smaller details of my trip. We must have gotten home at like 3:30 AM. I remember brushing my teeth and falling asleep. It was another sleepless night for I woke up at around 8 AM. 

Either way, another full day in Las Vegas! We spent the morning swimming around the pool for a while. That did help refresh me due to the cool water in contrast with the warming desert morning. We got dressed and headed towards the strip to get picked up for our next destination.

The shuttle picking us up was on time, though we had to wait since there were six other guests that weren't accounted for at the moment. It turned out that they got confused and were waiting at another location of the hotel. Once they were picked up, it was a relatively short drive to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for our event of the day: driving exotic cars with Dream Racing. 

The groom picked out an Audi R8 while three of us went for the 991 911 GT3 (I believe it was a 991 Porsche 911). Two others opted to be in a drift car with a professional driver instead. I never really liked European cars, but if I had to pick one, I would drive and own a Porsche. Ferrari and Lamborghini never appealed to me, nor do any of the other hyper car manufacturers. They had different Porsches available; my intention on picking the GT3 was to drive a Porsche that wasn't overly pricy, nor regret if I went with a basic Porsche. I can't believe I'm calling Porsche basic...

The event started with a safety video followed by a professional driver taking four of us at a time inside a Maserati Levante (I believe it was this SUV). I have never seen a SUV been tracked before, and was overly surprised how well it handled on the track. Going off on a limb, if I were tracking a SUV, I'm sure I would have rolled over by the first hairpin. 

After the demo, we all got called up for our turn with the car we picked. When it was my turn, I was overly excited and nervous. For those that don't know, I drive a Subaru STI, but have never tracked nor really driven it hard. The 911's interior was definitely luxurious with all the leather and Alcantara/Synthetic suede. We all had a professional driver siting in the passenger seat to help guide us, and to make sure we don't trash their collection of cars. I'm sure I wasn't even pushing the GT3 to its limits for I kept gettting passed by other cars on the track. The groom did end up lapping me twice! The driving feel is definitely unreal though, even in my unexperienced hands. I finally understand what a non aspirated engine that can rev high, can do. It's quite the difference from my car where it has a bit of turbo lag, before kicking you back and capping off. I regret not taking pictures, nor buying the souvenir picture they had on sale of each of us with the car. I also regret not buying a copy of my POV and in-car cam of me driving. Sometimes money can't be saved and should be spent! The only thing I have is a certificate stating that I spent the day at Dream Racing. Maybe I'll hang that up somewhere in my house to remind me of our day on the track. I don't think I'll go back anytime soon due to the price, but it was definitely an experience worth spending. 

I paid for seven laps and thought that would be enough... boy it sure was not for it felt like I've only spent 10 minutes on the track. After we all had our turn, we got shuttled back to our drop off location. It was still early in the afternoon, so we spent the next few hours wandering the strip. Maybe it's the heat, but it definitely felt a lot emptier than what I remembered back in 2013. We started off at around the centre and made our way up North. We ended up getting hungry and decided to eat at a buffet. We wanted to try the buffet at Caesar's Palace, but the queue was long. We ended up going back to Bellagio's buffet. From what I remembered, it was pretty much the same, yet the price has nearly tripled from back then. For $109 CAD, (including tips) I stuffed myself to the brim with as much protein and seafood that I could eat. I even sampled eight different deserts they had at their humongous dessert section. I was actually quite surprised that I didn't end up throwing up in the Uber on the ride home. I'm sure the driver was a bit leery for I sat in the front passenger seat, but had to lean towards him since sitting straight was too painful for my stomach.

Upon getting back to the AirBnb, I had to lay down on the sectional for a good hour or so before I felt well enough to prepare to go to sleep. A productive third day, with one more day to go!

Las Vegas 2022 - Day 2 (August 18)

 Maybe it's just me, but I always find it difficult to sleep in a new bed on the very first night. Despite crashing at 2 AM, I woke up a few times throughout the night, while eventually getting up at around 7 AM. A few of us were awake, so we decided to take a walk through the neighbourhood. If memory serves me well, it was about 26 degrees Celsius outside in the morning, making the walk quite warm. The sun was also blaring down, but fortunately there was a bit of shade from time to time. I had difficulties differentiating that I was away from Calgary, despite the warm weather. One key object I kept seeing constantly that reminded me I wasn't home were the numerous palm trees planted in each houses' front yard.

We ended up heading to Walmart since we had to grab some milk. The Walmart in Vegas greatly resemble the ones in Calgary... including the price until I remembered that it was in American dollars. They had a larger selection of snacks, so we ended up grabbing some more chips (chips seem awfully expensive in the States compared to Canada). After purchasing items, we saw a nearby Krispy Kreme and headed there to buy a dozen donuts. I can't recall when Krispy Kreme closed down in Calgary, but their glazed donuts were second to none for me back then. The lady serving us gave us four additional donuts at no charge, which helped brighten up our day!

We took an Uber back to the AirBnb and rested for a while before heading back out to the strip to catch our bus to our first event of the trip. We caught a shuttle that took us about an hour away (1.5 hours due to a traffic jam halfway through the trip) to Adrenaline ATV's site out on Moapa Valley. There were a number of other individuals waiting there to ride as well. After getting our helmets and sitting through some safety videos, we got back onto our shuttle to the starting location of our three hour (or nearly three hour) tour. We opted for UTVs instead of ATVs which was a blessing in the hot dessert sun since we had a roof on top of our heads. The helmet and goggles made it hard on my face since it made my glasses dug into my nose. 

Like Mari Car, the first hour was a blast as we got to rip around the Valley of Fire provincial park. If I'm not mistaken, the Yamaha YXZ1000Rs we drove were equipped with sequential shifters, so shifting was relatively fast, though clunky at times. We stopped after 45 minutes or so for our first break before heading off to another location for lunch. It was after an hour, that I started to get a bit tired of the bumpiness. The heat didn't help either since I wore long pants and a sweater to keep as dust free as possible. It didn't end up mattering much since I was plastered with dust. 

After our tour, we went back onto our shuttle to head back to the hotel where we were picked up. We took an Uber back to our AirBnb (I felt so bad for the driver since we were all covered in dust) to shower and swim in the pool for a bit. As night was approaching, we walked to eat at a restaurant called Nora's. It was an Italian restaurant recommended by our Italian Uber driver we had coming back today. We ordered a bunch of different appetizers, ranging from calamari to what I think was called a crostini. I got a pasta dish that I cannot recall the name of, but it was quite filling.

We were out on the patio since they were full. Fortunately, we finished our dinner just before it started pouring in rain. I never thought I would see rain in Las Vegas. We took an Uber back and proceeded to relax a bit more before heading out for the night.

Our first full day in Vegas was fruitful. Two more full days to go!

Las Vegas 2022 - Day 1 (August 17)

 As for the context, a good friend is getting married in a month. Traditions suggest we host a grand party before he is legally married so a bunch of us sat down to figure out what he potentially wanted to do. After debilitating for a while, we decided to propose a Las Vegas trip to the groom, since he wasn't able to go with us back in 2013. 

After a few months of planning, including making a rough itinerary, booking events, tickets and an AirBNB, we were ready to head off on our trip. Six of us started from Calgary while the groom started all the way in Ottawa. It has been three years since I've been on an airplane. I realized that flight that I enjoyed travelling, but not the plane itself. It wasn't turbulent, but there was no onboard entertainment for the 2 hour and 45 minute plane ride to Sin City. 

Upon arrival at Harry Reid International Airport, we disembarked and headed towards the exit. It was hot, nor as hot as I recalled back in 2013. After finding the ride sharing location, we took an Uber to our AirBnb. It was located near the Chinatown, which was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the strip. After reuniting with the groom, who arrived a lot earlier than we did, we walked to the nearby Target to stock up for the week. We used to have Target back in Canada for... a few years before they pulled all their stores. I can't recall what the hype was all about back in the day, for Target reminded me of any other American department store. One difference I noticed however, were the variety of chips you could get in the States compared to Canada (ie: Flaming Cheetos). 

We had a pile of food, including lots of drinks. Fortunately, with seven guys, we were able to lug it back to the AirBnB in about 15 minutes. After relaxing and snacking for a bit, we headed out to grab some late night dinner. We ended up at a ramen restaurant called Shokku. As I entered, I noticed that they were playing One Piece on a TV (First season... since I just recently watched the particular episode that was airing) and had manga plastered on its wall. The decor was definitely cool for a restaurant. We were told to wait about 30 minutes since it was busy, so we left and walked around Chinatown till it was our turn to eat. I ordered a Tonkotsu Ramen, which was actually decently good.

Once dinner was done, I was feeling quite exhausted. Three of us decided to head back to the AirBnB while the other four walked towards the strip. Once I got to our rental, I collapsed on the couch and napped for a while before getting up to pick up a bedroom, to continue on sleeping. 

Day 2 Edmonton (August 11)

 Our room must have faced East, for I swear that bright light was streaming through the crack of our curtains. We got up and headed downstairs of our hotel for the complimentary breakfast. Selections were sparse, but decent in taste which made a great start to my morning. I made sure not to overly stuff myself since we were planning to spend a few more hours at West Ed.

After breakfast, we checked out and headed back to the mall. We started at the amusement park once again and I mustered the courage to ride Space Shot: apparently the world's tallest indoor tower ride. Going up was fine and dandy, but going down definitely made me a bit queasy. I tried one other ride, while my girlfriend, who is an amusement park aficionado went on a few more. After spending about an hour, we proceeded to head to the water park.

I brought a lock, hoping to save money from renting a locker, but there was no opportunity to do so. $10 to rent a locker was a bit steep, even if there was unlimited use for the entire day. Oh, you bet I made good use of that locker; I must have opened and closed it 15 times during our stay that day while constantly going back to grab stuff and such. Since I'm quite near-sighted, it was a challenge navigating the park. Fortunately, my girlfriend had her contacts on and was able to lead us to the slide section after we spent some time to soak in the hot tub. The slides were reminiscent of the Thunder Run back at VSLC, albeit a lot cooler and a lot more to choose from. I don't recall the names of the three slides I tried, but they were all quite fun. As you guessed it... I did end up feeling slightly nauseous from one of the slides. It was one where they had no lights on the inside and I got disorientated as I was going through the various twists in the slide. 

The line ups went by quickly, so we managed to squeeze in some time in the giant wave pool. The pool was quite crowded, but we managed to find some space in the deep end. After being engulfed by the waves, it was time for lunch. Once again, we kept it simple and just headed to the food court. 

After lunch, we spent about another hour at the water park, or more like I sat on a chair while my girlfriend tried the other slides. For next time, I will be sure to bring Gravol.

Before heading back home to Calgary, we made a pit stop at Tsujiri for a refresher. It was luckily we did for we heard barking sounds coming outside. We poked our heads after dessert and noticed they had their Sea Lion exhibition. After watching it for a few minutes, it was time to make the trek back home to Calgary.

It was another straight drive back to Calgary. It was somewhat more interesting of a ride back compared to going to Edmonton for reasons unbeknown to me. Maybe it's because it was in the afternoon instead of the early morning, or maybe because I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. After making it back to Calgary, we stopped at a car wash to wash off all the grime on the front bumper from the drive (and from Canmore the week before). It certainly looked like I wiped out the entire population of Bugtopia based on how splattered the front bumper was from the carnage. 

All in all, a great two day trip away from Calgary. Perhaps I'll explore Edmonton one day though I can't seem to see how much different it would be from Calgary. 

  

Day 1 of Edmonton (August 10)

 Despite being the capital of Alberta, I've only been to Edmonton twice in my life (prior to this trip). The first time was when I was in elementary school. I needed a passport, and my dad opted to get a Japanese passport for me (dual Japanese and Canadian citizen at the time I believe... or maybe I just qualified for a Japanese passport at my age). I don't recall much on that trip besides a really steep incline. 

The second time was back in October 2019 when one of my colleagues booked his annual trip for the grade 9s to see the Legislative Assembly (LA). It was an uncomfortable ride... to say the least due to sitting at the back with a bunch of grade 9 students that liked to... bend the rules from time to time. I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant experience for them either, thus, going off topic, I sat at the front going back to Calgary. We just went to visit the LA  before heading back to Calgary. 

This year, my girlfriend and I made a last minute decision to go visit. She have never been herself, and it would have been a good opportunity to explore the capital... or more specifically, West Edmonton Mall. We got up early on the morning of the 10th and headed straight to Edmonton after fueling up her car nearby our home. The ride was uneventful and we kept ourselves company by looking at a number of different sights around us. I can't recall how long it took us, but it was probably the longest I've ever driven without taking a break. Surprisingly, it didn't feel as long as it took, which was approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. 

My first impressions of West Ed was how similar it felt to Chinook, albeit bigger since it housed a number of attractions that we don't have in Calgary. We found a bakery and ordered some breakfast. Afterwards, we walked around a while, as we waited for the amusement park to open. Once in, we spent nearly the entire day at the amusement park. Due to it being in the middle of the week, line ups were miniscule. It was a far cry of the 30-40 minute wait at the Stampede earlier in July. As I age, I realized I'm more prone to motion sickness than ever before. I was only able to go on two rides before needing a break. We ventured out of the amusement park to explore the mall and utilize our two day multi park pass (which isn't too bad of a deal if you plan to visit a lot of their attractions). We found a mirror maze and saw the aquarium that they had underneath the main level. We completed our trip with another visit to the amusement park. 

I don't recall off the top of my head how long we stayed, but it must have been close to 8 PM. Keeping it simple, we just headed to the nearby McDonald's to take out some food to our hotel for the night. It was also the first time I ever driven to a hotel to stay, for it's been mostly transit (Japan) or Uber (Las Vegas this year... which is for another post) to a hotel. Once we settled in our rooms, we had dinner and enjoyed a relatively quiet night. 

My initial impressions of Edmonton based on staying within a mall which probably represented less than 1% of Edmonton: it's just like Calgary.