“It rained overnight and when I woke up,” mike said, “our motorcycles were frosted over and my helmet had a snowcap on it like a mountain.”
Once the temperatures went up the boys programmed Las Vegas
They boys rode for a long time on I-40 at a comfortable speed and “then we got off and diverged on to Route 66,” Mike said.
Route 66 was a “whole bunch of little kitschy tourist traps, diners and souvenir stores,” Mike said and added that the area was packed.
Eventually the road turned into a straight nothing. He said there would be patches of grass and then a run down shanty.
They boys came across the Frontier Café somewhere in Arizona
There was a special that day where you could take anything from the menu that had bread and replace it with fried bread.
“And anything that came with fries, you could replace with a cup of soup,” Mike said.
Paul got a plain Jane cheeseburger with a cup of soup and Mike got his new favorite meal: Chili size
“Chili size is an open-faced hamburger with chili on top,” Mike said and added that replace the bun with fried bread. “It was excellent.”
Then they were on their way again. They then stopped at a souvenir shop where they got Grand Canyon stickers.
The boys got on Route 93 North, the path to the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas
Once they got to the dam Mike said it was different from TV.
“On TV it looks like the road just goes right across and then ‘hey I am on the dam,’” mike said. “In reality you drive over a bridge and then you go down this long snaky road, go to a security check point and all this touristy stuff and then you go across the Hoover Dam.”’
The boys parked in the “free parking” area and got a good look.
“It is art deco to the extreme,” Mike said.
He said at one end there are these two 25-foot-tall statues of copper men with falcon arms.
“I am sure you’ve seen this thing before because it is super art deco,” Mike said, assuming that I am all up to date on Art Deco.
The boys then headed to Las Vegas
They found their hotel, the Tropicana, and pulled up to the front. Some guy told them they had to valet their bikes. Mike just looked at him and said that wasn’t going to happen.
They were directed to the south parking spot and they walked, the very long walk to their room.
Their room, Mike says, has a Caribbean/Columbia drug lord motif.
Another perk of the hotel: “The elevator goes down so fast it makes your tummy feel funny,” Mike said.
Funny Tropicana Hotel trivia that may only interest me.... There was a hotel being built in Vegas called the Fontainbleau (they have another hotel in Miami). The company ran out of money when the hotel was 90% completed and could not find financing so they got foreclosed on. The bank sold off all of the furniture in the hotel (and this is some really nice luxury stuff), the Tropicana bought it for pennies on the dollar and refurbished their entire hotel....
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad that the boys did not attempt an Evel Knievel while in Vegas.
ReplyDeleteThe chili size is one of the best creations I have eaten. But eaten regularly, it would kill you.
ReplyDelete