We're Off!

Well, we finally hit the road.   Thursday morning finally rolled around and by the time we checked and double checked all the doors, light timers and water valves, it was 7:35 a.m. by the time we left the house.  Just in time for SD traffic.  Hey, we're retired and on vacation.  What's the rush?

So on we went to Vegas with the obligatory stop at the Barstow Train Station.  For those of you who don't know, as you're driving from San Diego to Vegas on interstate 15,   the halfway point is Barstow.  Just off the interstate, on Main Street, there's a McDonald's located in a couple of old train cars.  It used to be a fun place to stop.  But now it is such a tourist trap and it's even difficult finding the railroad cars once your inside.  Oh well, it's still a good potty stop.

Back on the road to Hoover Dam and the new bridge being built to to eliminate the need to drive over the actual dam.  WOW!  What an amazing feat of engineering.  I remember going to the dam 8 years ago and being amazed at how big it is.  Well, it's shadowed by the new suspension bridge.  If you're ever in the area, go see it.  It is amazing.  I cannot believe there are people brave (or crazy) enough to actually crawl around and work on that thing.  The pictures don't do it justice.

After Hoover, we returned to Vegas.  We stopped at the strip and walked through MGM to see the Lions, stopped in NYNY to have a few beer and Nachos.  The restaurant area looks like the old streets of New York City... except there's a roller coaster zooming through it.  Then on to The Venetian.  So from Hoover Damn to New York City to Venice in less than 2 hours.  

Time to bed down.  And in Vegas there are many options.  We chose to stay down on Fremont Street, at the Golden Nugget.  Fremont is the old downtown area of Las Vegas, and a few years ago they turned the main drag into a covered pedestrian street.  We checked into the hotel at 7:30 pm and wanted to experience The Tank or the pool built around a shark tank.  Oh, did you know there's a water slide right through the shark tank?  What a gas, sliding down a twisting tube, then seeing the sharks surround you and then splashing into the pool.  I don't wanna grow up!

On to Zion!