Day 5: Las Vegas

Today started off really well only because I did not get lost. Met Cathy this morning at the new LA terminal and thankfully didn't get lost. Then we drove to Alamo car rentals to get the car out. Apparently we could pick any SUV although while we were walking, someone took the nicest Jeep :( so several minutes later we decided on a Hyundai. It's a great rubber. Off we went to Boston's (initially I thought this place was a butchery) but this place sells roast chicken and ribs. Quite delicious and they have all you can drink mountain blast powerade so really I was in heaven. After lunch, we went and picked Annalise up from the airport again. Apparently she got through customs alright so she was sitting at Starbucks waiting for her. After we had everyone on board, we took the northern freeway. Somehow we managed to get lost in the rough neighbourhood of compromise. I was getting the wrong looks as I was a high class pimp escorting two beautiful ladies :P Driving proved to be not that scary though. Made a few boo boos but managed to quickly pick it up. Although it has been mainly driving through straight highways, I think the real test will be on the busy streets of LA and San Fran. Got to Vegas. Freeway out of LA took quite a while plus road is really bad for good 40 minutes and then it's smooth sailing. We managed to stop at this place 50 miles outside of Vegas. It had insane amount of factory outlets with a roller coaster next door and a casino. It was like a taster of what to follow. The picture (bottom right) shows us approaching Las Vegas with all the glittery lights. The picture on bottom right shows us in the middle of the strip and the m&m shop just looked too good to resist. Aria hotel has the best LCD screen I have seen in my life. It stands about 6 stories tall and it is so crisp, it zaps all the attention. This place is insane! Next we checked in at the Trump. 5-star hotel =ticked. From front valet service to check in, everything was professional and very friendly. The hotel itself smells divine and I have already found out the scent they use in the shop downstairs. $25USD for scented bamboo sticks. Amazing for home. We got given the penthouse on the 62nd floor with the strip views. You can see from the top picture, we have 180 degree view of the Sin City. The picture does not do it justice and has to be seen in person. Just had some bubbles to kick off Vegas stay in style and now we are headed out for a nice meal before the ladies pass out for the day. More tomorrow...