Travel is Fun, Right?

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right? I sort of felt that way yesterday. It was time to say goodbye to Vegas and look back on the seminar I went there to attend. I had learned a lot and attempted to put into action one or two things that I had learned, though I did so with very little in the way of proficiency.

As I did this Monday night, my Tuesday morning came quickly and, as with all my travels, with a bit of trepidation. I had plenty of time to make a cup of coffee, wash the dishes, and watch a little tv in an attempt to relax a bit. I then went to check out about an hour before the shuttle would come to pick me up and take me to LAS, the first airport on my 3 airport day.

I checked in as I normally do, and nothing seemed to suggest the hassles that would come later on. The first flight was uneventful, and I landed in Seattle (SEA) eager for the 4.5 hours to pass, so I could board the next plane. It took a while, but seemed fairly smooth. I even bought some food!

Landing at Chicago's O'Hare airport, however, was not so smooth. The landing itself was a little rough, but it was the lack of luggage that foreshadowed things to come. As I was waiting patiently for my luggage to show itself, I watched the same piece of luggage go around three times before going to ask about my luggage's absence. As I approached the counter, the lady asked me "are you Mr. Rice?" Of course I answered in the affirmative. "Your luggage was routed to Anchorage," she continued.

I filled out the form describing my luggage and stating where I would be. After all of this, it was midnight. I dragged myself out to the shuttle to the Hertz shuttle. We slowly made our way to what turned out to be an almost empty lot. I was told to go to the Gold section and choose any car there that I wanted; the spaces stared back at me laughing! I went into the office, they said they were cleaning a car and were having it brought up for me. It only took about a half an hour or so! Then I was off to my hotel for the night, or so I thought!

I arrived at the hotel about 1:30am. They apologized and sent me to the Best Western down the street. They provided me with a coupon for a free buffet breakfast back at the original hotel as a way of making it up to me! The room I got was a suite, so at least that was good... I then drove the 3ish hours to my next hotel. Hopefully things improve!

Las Vegas Again

It seems that Las Vegas is just the place to start back at my blog again. There has been a lot of things to write for so long, but I have neglected it nonetheless!

My time in Vegas has been educational and intense! I am hoping that I have retained the copious amounts of what I have learned. This week has cost me a ton of money, but I think it will all work out for me in the future.

I had two days where I could do what I wanted to do: My first day here and today. On my first day I went out to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. The tour power plant portion was interesting, and I would highly recommend it. I was supposed to have a couple of extra hours to walk the top of the dam, but I decided to add on the Lake Mead portion because all of the others on the tour had purchased it as part of their package.

The Lake Mead water is extremely blue! It was a relaxing paddle boat ride. I could have purchased meal, but I am cheap and don't do such things. Prior to boarding the boat, they take pictures of those who are participating. I refused to have my picture taken, but they didn't listen to me and actually fought with me about it. I am not so sure I like the policy of forcing people to have their picture taken.

Today was a fun day! I didn't relly do anything this morning other than laundry. This evening, however, I went to the Mirage and spent my time there. I picked up my tickets, went to Starbucks for a tea, and then stopped at Pantry for a burger. The burger was a little on the expensive side, but it was well done and came with potato wedges, so I was happy enough to finish it off with a Banana Fosters Sundae!

I finished off the night by catching a show: Terry Fator. Terry Fator is vantrilequist, impresionist, and singer. I didn't realize eactly what I was getting into, but I really, really enjoyed it. He did a great Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Donald Trump, among others. I am so glad that my friends suggested him.

Woman Driver!

Normally this would be a sexist statement of frustration, but this time is different ... this is Saudi Arabia! As many people know, women driving in Saudi is not a common occurrence; some think that it is actually against the law. While this belief isn't quite correct, the culture is such that it generally maintains the same result.

It was just after 6:00 am on the first foggy morning in at least a year. We could hardly see 3 meters in front of us, but my boss was not deterred from driving a little faster than I would have felt comfortable doing on my own. We quickly came upon a car that was driving super slow, obviously driven by someone who either was just learning or couldn't see very well. As we passed them, I glanced over to see who was in the car (yes, I am nosy). The contents gave me a bit of a shock.

Woman driver! Behind the wheel was a teenage girl in a white hijab carefully steering the car with, presumably, her father in the seat next to her and two others in the back seat. I don't know if they were taking advantage of the weather which would allow them to not be seen, or if this is something this particular family was used to doing for whatever reason, but I found the dissonance to be quite in line with many of my other experiences here.