Stuck in the Meadow (Las Vegas!)

I left Pahrump early enough to make sure that I reach McCarran International on time, especially because I had selected an economy car, which by the way was useless for such a trip, and then I thought there would be issues with returning the car or getting to the gate but really there was no issue at all. I reached Las Vegas without any problem. bought gas, followed the GPS and reached the return center. The Enterprise guy was nice enough to ignore a, probably, few liters that I was low. I then got on the designated shuttle and went to Terminal 3. That was where the disaster started!

The airliner kept postponing the damn flight from 12:30 to 14:30! I was so tired as a lack of sleep near Death Valley(!) and had pain in my right ankle and foot, due to lack of hydration and eating cheap, processed food and barely could move. They eventually canceled the damn flight around 15:00 hours, I guess, it was and sent us all back to the ticketing center! Over there I was issued a ticket back to Calgary (which was great for me because my return ticket was not a direct one!) for the next day at 08:20 hours and we all also were given vouchers for dinner, snack and tomorrow's breakfast as well as the overnight stay at The South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas!
For me it was not very pleasant because I was suffering form that excruciating pain but at least gave me the chance to have some rest as well as seeing part of Las Vegas vacation, the thing people die for here in North America! South Point Hotel and Casino, as the name suggests, is located in southern part of The City of Las Vegas meaning it is away from the glory(!) of Las Vegas Boulevard but I think that is a good place for resting, which was my main purpose and would be my main purpose when I travel to Las Vegas again. The place is huge. It's probably even bigger than The Parliament! I was given a huge clean and nice room with a double bed, air conditioning (which I turned it off the second I found where the control panel was!), coffee table, computer table and flawless bathroom. Unfortunately I was not in the mode to enjoy the room. I was exhusted and in pain. I didn't even shower because I had showered in Pahrump. So I just grabbed the vouchers and headed down the main floor. I was on the 4th which is good in a way as that expedites your travel but for the next time, if I'm staying at this hotel, I would book a room at the north side and as high floor as possible.

This part of the casino did not seem to be very busy. I wonder if it was due to the time of the day or the day of the week

It was interesting to me to see a legal casino for the first time. There are of course casinos in where I live but since I'm not a gambler, I've never been interested to go in. In fact we went in once only and that was when The Chef directed me as he goes to these places often. I guess I only used the restroom at the time!

Here this is to show that Nevada is not just for adult entertainment. It offers great photography and hiking opportunities and I will go there again to enjoy the both. This is near Red Rock Canyon just minutes drive from Las Vegas

The place is magnificent and reminded me of the movie Casino! It has several eating areas (different types of restaurants) and several sections for gambling of different kind. I'm not familiar with the terms and how different games are played but I can say that there were sections for professional sport, horse racing, Poker and that's it! I didn't know anything else about all the other sections! I wandered around and took a few photos but before starting, I checked with a security guard. He told me that I was free to take photos as longs as they were not from the cashier and a few other places which I don't recall now! The cashier definitely reminded me of that scene in Casino which is called Cheater's Justice! There're these guys who work together to cheat on a game and Ace (De Niro) finds out. He orders security guys to poke the guy with something like a cattle probe! When the guy is shocked and on the floor, the security guys take him to the back and threaten him with a Circular Saw! They break his fingers instead and then bring his partner in. De Niro offers him the money he has won by cheating (they caught him at the cashier when he was trying to cash his chips) with having the same happens to his fingers or walking away! He takes walking! De Niro let him go with this condition that he has to tell his buddies not to come back here anymore! Then orders the security guys to throw the other guy to the back alley and tell the cops that he has been hit by a car! He was hit by a car and the only parts of his body which was injured were his right hand's fingers!

My Turkey Sandwich and its Coleslaw side salad

After taking a tour of the area I decided to eat something as I was starving. I had breakfast almost 12 hours prior to that and then a few Guavas which I had purchased from Wal-Mart in Pahrump for lunch. I went to this place called Coronado Café. After being seated, I took a look at the long menu and ordered a Turkey Sandwich on Whole Grain. The order was brought quickly, meaning they do not put too much effort into that. I believe in the US, generally, quality of food is sacrificed for its quantity. The sandwich was not bad. It was tasty, somehow, but it was clear that its ingredients were old! The side Lettuce and Olives were way old and the side Coleslaw was even worse! I rarely eat out and when I do I try to adopt myself to what is available but after two teaspoons of the side salad I was disgusted by the taste and put it aside. I finished the sandwich though and I have to say that it was quite filling. Since I still had credit on my vouchers I decided to order something else although I was not very hungry(!) but I thought since I have to wake up early for the flight, perhaps I can accumulate calories and skip the breakfast. So I asked the waitress, who was by the way an Asian woman (possibly Filipino, like most of the staff) to bring the menu to me again. I'd like to add here that the majority of the labour hotel staff were from Hispanic and Southeast Asian background. Caucasians were amongst the managers, security guards and other staff of the same level, generally.

I ordered a BLT Sandwich one the same type of bread for the second round and added a slice of Blueberry Pie with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream at the side for desert. Bad Idea! The sandwich was cold and the Bacon was hard! It felt like it had just been thawed to the room temperature and didn't even bothered to be warmed! The dam pie was the worst of all three meals! There was a purple, gooey stuff in between the pastry which barely tasted like Blueberry! The Ice Cream was OK. I guess the total bill was nearly US $25 which is equivalent to almost CAN $32 but of course was covered by my two $15 vouchers! 

I then took another walk to help digest all the food I had eaten. That was where an incredible aroma of Coffee attracted me to a corner! It was Seattle's Best! This brand of Coffee is served in some places in Canada but I don't recall ever smelling such great Coffee anywhere but in one store in the old country which I believe owned by Armenians. Unfortunately it was to late for me to drink Coffee. I decided to go toward the elevator as I had to wake up at 05:00 to catch the hotels shuttle. This is another benefit of travelling to the meadows! Many hotels have shuttles which takes you to and from hotel and I imagine to the parts of the city as well.

Seattle's Best Coffee Bar in the hotel. I wish I had gotten a cup in the morning!

But why did I call the city, the meadows?! Las Vegas in fact is a Spanish terms which means meadows. We know that the Spaniards were amongst the first who arrived in what today is know as the US. A Mexican merchant on his way to Los Angles from New Mexico arrived at the meadows and stayed for water. He used the term to identify the area and the name remains the same today for the city which has more than 500,000 habitants! The bed was comfortable and there was not much noise in the corridor but some in the back. I was too tired to go to check it but it was mainly because I went to bed too early, around 21:00. There was not a peep later during the night but I didn't have a good sleep because of my pain which is a separate issue and don't want to bring it to this trip's story. I'm hoping another opportunity presents itself and I get to go to Las Vegas! I know it very much sounds not like me but I have great hiking in mind and I will combine that with great photography and dining in the city. I guess I'm going to stay there for a week or even 10 freaking days!
(Photo, top: The Old Spanish Trail map. It's obvious to someone like me who has been to Arizona why they had to go around to the north, to Utah and come back down to Nevada to get themselves to Los Angles. That's because of the geological status of northern Arizona and southern Utah which is occupied by the Grand Canyon and Colorado River)