We said our goodbyes back in Rockledge, which was sad, and set out to the Philadelphia International Airport. Our flight was scheduled for 7 am, but of course it's imperative we get there 2 hours early, both because the security is absolutely ridiculous (shouldn't have worn my bomb-shaped shoes, I guess), but also because we wanted to get one last taste of Philly before we left for a while.
I wanted beer too, but the bar wasn't open at 6 am, apparently. Lightweights.
The first flight to Chicago (our layover destination) was nice because we had Economy Plus seats, which means we just had more leg room. This is nice because I am a freak with long limbs, and am usually cramped in any vehicle I step in. Not to Chicago.
They have a nice airport, complete with duty free hot dogs, and dinosaurs.
Our flight to Las Vegas was longer and more cramped without the extra leg room, but we survived. The plane didn't crash, either, so that was nice too.
Stepping foot in Vegas for the first time, you'll never guess what the first thing we saw was.
I guess it's true there are slots everywhere. Pam and I decided we needed to get all our gambling out of the way, so we sat down at the slots, and promptly lost a dollar each. THAT'S IT. NO MORE GAMBLING
She does look cute when she gambles though.
Here's the view from the airport. I guess that's the strip? I'm not sure. Big buildings, let's say.
We had a bunch of errands to run today, so we didn't go wild and crazy just yet. We did check into our room in a castle, though, which was neat. The Excalibur looks exactly what you'd expect the Vegas interpretation of a Medieval Castle to look like: Huge, glitzy, cheesy. But it was neat. Here's a view from our room's window.
Here's the bed that King Arthur, and now Pam and I, sleep in, apparently
Like I said, we had some errands to run that day to prepare for Pam's nursing job, and her job is kind of the reason we're here at all, so this stuff was kind of a priority. We took a cab to get her fingerprints done. Holy crap, cabs are expensive down here. So, to save money, before we went to our next destination, we ate Little Caesar's pizza (5 dollars for a large pie?!) on the side of the road, and then decided to take the bus, which moved slower that walking but was infinitely cheaper than those damn cabs.
The double-decker only took us half way, so we still had to take a cab to the Nevada Nursing Board's office, and it still cost a hefty fee, but at least we got her licence, which was a great relief to Pam. We were pretty far off the strip at this point, and our wallets were kind of light, so we decided to walk. Here's a picture of the strip from where we were.
That's actually a picture of the north end of the strip. The Excalibur is on the south end. Overall, it was about a five mile trip. So we started walking. We passed by a lot of... interesting... places. First was when we were trying to find our way to the strip, when we ended up on some seedy back roads, mostly populated by "Gentleman's Clubs." (The best name for one was The Spearmint Rhino. Our theory is that Spearmint and Rhino are the two strippers that founded the place, though we didn't have the cajones to ask the bouncer if that was the case).
We walked very quickly past these establishments of questionable repute (I think it would have been a bit scary if we were walking the same roads had the sun not been up), and finally crossed a long pedestrian walkway over the expressway to the Strip. This was my first experience in The Las Vegas.
The Strip was, suffice it to say, extravagant. Buildings were tall, streets were crowded, lights and sounds and alcohol were everywhere. On every corner was a casino, in every casino two bars and three restaurants. The hotels all had fancy exteriors. Some had fountain shows, some had more. Here's Pam in front of a REAL pirate ship.
Even the homeless men were out of this world. Whereas the homeless in Philly are just angry and/or lie to you about wanting money for "food," the homeless in Vegas dress up in Halloween costumes and ask for money. It's cute when you turn the corner to see Buzz and Woody asking for spare change, and a little less so when you come down the escalator to find Chuckie wielding a knife asking for a dollar or two. I was too freaked out to take a picture...
So, after finding the only place on the strip that sells dollar beers, and after finally completing the five mile journey that left our feet blistered and sore, we collapsed in our hotel room. Jet lagged, we hung out in the room for a while, and were generally just being lame, but that's okay! Because we're here for six months, and there's no need to rush out and do the tourist-y things rights away. It was our first night. We needed a break.
We did finally drag ourselves out of bed to get dinner at a place called "Nine Fine Irishmen." It was a neat atmosphere. An Irish band played while we ate our shepherd's pie. Beers were seven dollars, though, so we drank authentic Irish tap water. And then it was time for bed.
A great first day. We got some stuff done, checked out the lay of the land, and made it to our bed safe and sound.
Many more great days to come.
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