Trip report, part 1

[mellicious]

Christmas Day, about 7pm - Hobby Airport, Houston

Rob has a cold. He is sneezing and sniffling but doesn't seem to be in distress, so at least it appears to be just a cold and not the flu. He has gone off to get Chinese food now so I reckon he's gonna live.

So far the passengers to Vegas don't look like an especially festive bunch. Maybe they will perk up when they get on the plane. (note: they never particularly did) I've been on flights to Vegas that were like a rolling party all the way. On the other hand, it might be best that people don't appear to be getting on the plane already soused. It's a long flight.

We got here really early and I am a bit worried about my car. We parked in the big garage, which better turn out to have decent security because most of our Christmas presents are in the trunk. The economy lot was full - I was not too surprised about that. We probably could've driven around and found a cheaper lot with space open but I was unmotivated.


December 26, 11pm (Pacific) – Treasure Island, Las Vegas

Wow, I am tired. But unlike the last time I spent a day walking around in Las Vegas, I still have skin on the bottom of my feet, so I guess I'm doing ok.

Let's see, the flight was a bit bumpy but otherwise ok. I had a book so I wasn't too bored. Rob mostly just sat and sniffled. When we landed he went flying off (so to speak) looking for a bathroom – that Chinese food he ate at the other airport apparently didn't agree with him. Between that and the cold he was really not in great shape by the time we got to the hotel.

I posted already about the shuttle, didn't I? About the guy at Bally's who didn't have enough money for the shuttle? I guess he did have a ticket home, he just didn't have enough to pay the shuttle fare to the airport. Honestly, even though I am not generally a gigantic do-gooder, if I had understood the situation in time, *I* would have pitched in a dollar for the poor guy. I was really just sort of astounded, though – you hear stories about people losing everything gambling but I think in my heart I didn't really think anybody could be that stupid. (Should've known better!) The shuttle bus driver told us about it after we left Bally's – we were the only passengers by that time – and he said, “I just didn't have the Christian charity in my heart to take him.” I suspect that being a shuttle bus driver in Vegas tends to make you a bit jaded, don't you?

So, TI looks about the same as the last time I was here – I mean, I wasn't ever upstairs but the casino has the same tiki-hut sort of theme going. But the rooms are very nice, actually. We are on the 22nd floor and you can still hear the traffic – but not enough to be a bother. The ice machine across the hall is a lot more distracting, really. There are a good many youngish people staying here – by which I mean twenty-somethings, not kids – so the noise level generally is a bit on the high side but it quieted down by the time we actually went to sleep, luckily. We have a view that looks past the Mirage and across toward the Rio and the mountains beyond, a flat-screen TV, a very comfortable bed and a marble-floored bathroom. And the whole wall on one side of the bedroom is mirrored. (That part I could really do without.)

Everybody's favorite show, the Sirens of TI, has been dark for over a month and they were supposed to start up again tonight – if they did there were bound to have been some awfully nipply sirens. It's cold. It's not too bad as long as the wind isn't blowing but every once in a while there's a big gust... brrr.