TR-VegasVacation ala ';The Griswolds'; (PART 3)

PART 3: (Long)

DAY 6: ';Bonnie and Clyde%26#39;s Death Car';, Old Las Vegas Hwy, and the Orleans.

Headed out of Laughlin after a quick swim in the Colorado River at a nice little county park on the Arizona side of the river. I could see the dam Dam from there but was not going to give them HomeLand Security folks ANY reason whatsover to talk with me again, this trip anyway so we stayed FAR away from any ';Road Closed'; signs.

Wanted to take the Christmas Tree Pass short-cut to Cal-Nev-Ari but wife was not down with that idea. Maybe it was the ';little'; incident about 10 years ago when this was attempted and less than 1/4 mile down that road, our rented Ford Explorer lost all forward gears, necessitating travelling in reverse the mile or so to the cafe at Cal-Nev-Ari when the road was two lanes with a skinny shoulder.

Therefore, we went the normal way toward US 93? then the north to Searchlight and then west ot I-15 to Primm where the infamous REAL ';Bonnie and Clyde Death Car'; is rather proudly displayed in the Primm Resort Casino. My son was fascinated with it, I had previously been fascinated with it and wife was not so fascinated with it. Took some photos of my son with his hands up standing in fron of Clyde and his shotgun and watched a re-inactment of the famous ambush where those gangstas Bonnie and Clyde (and their rig) got blasted to smithereens near the Texas/Louisiana border in 1930 somethin. Man how I miss those REAL old-timey gangsters runnin arpound the country robbin banks and killing police officers by the dozen.

Total gunshot holes in car = 167

Total gunshot wounds in Bonnie = 50+

Total gunshot wounds in Clyde = 50+

Needless to say, they were pretty dead by the time the gunsmoke cleared.

Since that was the ONLY reason I ever stop in Primm except the time I coasted the last five miles down the LONG hill on gas fumes, we proceeded to head toward Vegas. Little known fact that most folks don%26#39;t know (or don%26#39;t care) is that coming from Cali to Vegas if you get off I-15 at Jean and head east a block you will hit the current southernmost part of Las Vegas Blvd.

Yes, the OLD Las Vegas Highway into town. Its a neat little two lane highway travelled mainly by folks that have businesses along ait and the one or two ';old road geeks'; that like that sort of thing . I like it because there ain%26#39;t much difference between 65 on that road and 75 on I-15, EXCEPT there are NO other cars on MY road and eighteen wheelers all over the place on THEIR road.

Anyway, take this road sometime and there is NO WAY you will miss the FAMOUS ';Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas'; sign because you go right by it.

We then proceeded to drive a little of the Strip at right around ZERO mph and turned on Tropicana to the Orleans Resort and Hotel or whatever the full name is. I stayed at Orleans once and that was 10+ years and was very impressed, so much so that I honked it here all the time.

Needless tosay I was very pleased by the very quick and attentive Valet Parking guy (even with lots of cars in line) and the quick and easy check-in to our very nice and FREE room. Our room was located very near the elevators (as requested in the reservation) on the 11th Floor of the ';New'; Tower (or so I was told), with a FABULOUS view to the south of the roof of the Orleans Casino and a GIANT American flag over some business. Very Nice.

A/C was already on ';high'; when we arrived and room was a very pleasant 70 degrees compared to the outside temp of around 105. Checked out the two free ';Fun Books'; for mainly drink coupons and was happy to locate a total of four beers and two cocktails. That should last about 30 minutes or so at the pool for wife and self. Went to check out pool and was very pleased with the pool, surrounding grassy area, the atmosphere and folks there. Some old guys and some families with a number of kids (all well behaved).

One problem was that we got there at 6:30 and they were actually closing it at 7pm. HUH? Why? It is summer, it is 100+ degrees and it does not even get dark until 8:30. Well, since this was the one and only complaint about our stay at Orleans, I cut them some slack.

Dinner was at the Orleans Buffet. The one thing I remembered from the prior visit was the great boiled crawdads and that%26#39;s what I was lookin for. they did not disappoint. Got back to the table with them piled high on a plate and proceed to dismember them. Young son had never eaten them before but loves shrimp, so I told him they were ';really red shrimp with the heads still on';. He bought that explanation and dug in. His face lit up and he gave me a big thumbs up and said, ';These aren%26#39;t shrimp, they are much mo better';. OK, so he%26#39;s somehow related to Justin Wilson. Anyway, I told him what those things really were and he said ';Crawdads are my favorite food, thats all Im eating at the Buffet';. (This was also his first crack at a buffet that did not consist entirely of pizza.)

Other seafood choices there were good also. They had some sauteed trout, baked cod and decent cold shrimp. Other cajun/creole dishes like jambalaya and gumbo did not look so appetizing when its 100+ outside. Maybe in the winter. Overall the Buffet was good, but only worth the $12.95 because of the crawdads. Take those crustacians away, and I%26#39;ll be over at The Prime Rib Loft.

After dinner, checked the Sportsbook for any appealing wagering and found none, so proceeded to room. Good night.

DAY 7: The Ellis Island ';World Famous $4.95 Strip Sirloin Steak Special'; Has Apparently Left The Building.

Got up, checked out of Orleans (quick and easy) and headed to my USED TO BE favorite place in Vegas to grab a ';cheap and good'; hunk of grilled dead cow meat. Based on the two steaks we received, my opinion has been revised to ';cheap and average'; hunk of grilled dead cow meat.

Ordered two of the specials medium-rare with salads and baked taters. Salads were fine and larger than I remembered, but the steaks were disappointing from the moment they were placed in fron of us. Seems like every other steak I%26#39;ve had there was at least 1 1/2 inches thick, nicely charred outside and about 4x4 inches. These steaks appeared almost to have been ';butterflied'; as they were about 1/2'; inch thick and covered much more of the plate than my infamous photo. The steaks were barely charred at all and evenly cooked and slightly rare which is OK with me, but not up to the ';old'; EI standards. The waitress even looked slightly puzzled and mentioned something about ';why they fileted'; the steaks. Well, wahtever, they were still a good deal at five bucks and son loved their home-brewed root beer, so it was OK but not great.

Based on this experience, I will give EI ONE more chance next time and see if it was just a mix-up. It was only 9am when we ate, so maybe the guy mistakenly gave us the ';steak and eggs'; steaks, I don%26#39;t know.

After that , I proudly left our $14.00 Coleman cooler purchased a week earlier in Albuquerque outside the Super 8 next door. I figured any folks that HAD to stay at that rat hole would probably need a nice new cooler more than us.

That%26#39;s about it, headed to the airport and flew home.

Total Gambling on this trip: Invested $100 in VP for 1 hour +/-

Total Gain/Loss: +$6.50

Time Spent With the Family: Priceless...

';This is the end,

Beautiful friend,

This is the end,

My only friend,

The end...';

TR-VegasVacation ala ';The Griswolds'; (PART 3)

Steve - what an excellent road trip/TA report. I remember the switchbacks on Route 66 around Oatman and, like you, wondered how anything bigger than a VW could manage.

It was only a month ago that we were there, seeing Laughlin, Primm, staying at Orleans,etc... and this report brought back the great memories.

Thanks.

TR-VegasVacation ala ';The Griswolds'; (PART 3)

A whirlwind adventure; sounds like you had fun!

I like the Bonnie and CLyde story.

Thanks:O)

Thanks, Steve, for the very entertaining recounting of your trip. I am not happy to hear you find any fault in the EI special. I had so wanted to try it last Feb. and didn%26#39;t get a chance to, so moved it to my ';to do'; list for Oct.

Whenever my husband and I did something like this with our children, he always said we were making memories for them. I%26#39;m sure you made some wonderful, lasting memories for your son...especially his first taste of our Louisiana mudbugs.

So Steve did you hit a Steer?

Possibly.

The meat was a little on the ';burnt orange'; side.

Hope BEVO is safe and sound...

VERY entertaining! I only have time for this portion of the report for now, but will definitely return for the previous segments, since this one was so good. We%26#39;ll be there in July, and will update your Ellis Island steak upon return. I HOPE it was an error, and we%26#39;ll be receiving a steak that looks like the pic!

Steve I meant Golden Steer, did you go?

Great stuff! I finally caught up with all three parts of ';The Griswolds.'; Christmas Tree Pass sounds like a nice detour to include if I make it down that way on my next trip.

I hope it%26#39;s not ';the end'; of the fabled Ellis Island steak... first the Ho Dog, now this: too many Vegas institutions are falling by the wayside.

STEVE, interesting story.

I made that trip before you were born.

Figured you would stay a few days at Orleans.

Important thing is kids wont forget.

When do you return for Gambling?