Continued……

Rental car (2008 Chevy Cobalt w/sunroof) procured we found our way to US 95/93, and headed south. The hour and a half drive consists of the same scenery repeated many times over. I swear I saw the saw stand of Joshua Trees about a dozen times. It was like Ground Hog Day. But, as I had not seen desertscape in quite awhile, I was able to pick out features to day dream about. The dirt roads that only God and locals would take. The power lines that would all lead back to the Hoover Dam if you tracked them. There was the occasional bird and the street signs. I kept wondering how big the town of Searchlight would be when we finally got there. (Not very. A couple of small casinos/bars, and a couple of dozen mobile homes.) The only other town was the originally, but unimaginatively named, CalNevAri. I wonder if it is pronounced phonetically, or if something like Kaleneeveri. It wasn’t big enough to stop and ask. Then there was Christmas Tree Pass. I looked in vain to see a Christmas Tree to show me the origin of its name. But, it was just a dirt road leading off into the desert. My immediate thought was to the old Jeep  commercial where a guy, who had just left their NFL Playoff tickets sitting at home on the table, asks his buddy where they are going, as they venture onto a like road. The answer was “Somewhere where they won’t find the body”. We stuck to the paved highway. We turned off onto SH 163, and shortly before Laughlin we found the other end of Christmas Tree Pass. I looked as foreboding coming out of the mountains as it did going in. I’m sure with proper planning and equipment it would safe to venture on, but I’ll leave that to the geologists, anthropologists, and other ologists would end up in the middle of nowhere. I was here to see glitz and glamour. I would be disappointed.

We decided to pull into the Aquarius Casino Resort Hotel, as Margo’s co-workers had stayed there and gave it the big thumbs up. As we were parking we saw a group of elderly people heading towards the elevator. I though little of it, as back home in Colorado, our tiny casinos are filled with the elderly happily smoking and gambling away their children’s inheritance. But, it should have been a clue. After parking, we decided that the first thing we needed to do was to eat. It was about noon PDT, but our stomachs were still on Mountain Daylight Time, so we were hungry. We settled on the first place we came to, having no culinary recommendation from the folks back home. As we walked towards and then in, we noticed a pattern. Margo and I appeared to be the youngest in the area. We’re both 44, so this is an odd occurrence. Not for Laughlin. This town is definitely geared much slower than Las Vegas. Good bye, Glitz and Glamour. Hello, Blue Hair and Geritol. I really have nothing against the elderly. I hope to be one someday. But, I was geared up for high octane excitement. Laughlin looked like it needed a nudge to wake it up.

But, we were here because we had never been here before. So we ate. The food was so-so and the service was below average. I imagine when your pool of employees comes from a town as small as Bullhead City, AZ (across the river); you don’t have much to choose from. From there we decided to wander the shops along the river walk.  It was a sunny, but very windy day. Wind makes the best days tough. But we wandered up and down. We stopped in all the shops and kept looking for someone selling passage on a boat so we could get on the river. The only one we found left about the time we got there. I would imagine they are busier when the weather warms up a bit.

The Colorado River itself was nice. It seemed low to me, based on the visible rocks. But it was crystal clear. One area had some monster carp swimming, doubtlessly looking for a potato chip hand out. They were between two and three feet long, so previous tourists were likely very accommodating.

So after a few pictures we had decided we had seen all that we needed to see. This was just a look and see quickie trip, so the expectation were low. We had killed about 2 ½ hours in Laughlin. The drive back would take an hour and a half. That would but us back in Vegas around 4 PM. Check in at the Luxor was for 3 PM, so we got in our car and headed upstate.

The Café Aquarius, is located, not unexpectedly, in the Aquarius Casino Resort Hotel. The Aquarius is the largest hotel and casino in Laughlin. You would expect their food and service to be among the best in town. It might be, but if it is, I’m glad we didn’t eat anywhere else. The food was OK. I had a Rueben sandwich and Margo had a Ham and Cheese on rye. My problem was the service. I’m pretty easy to please, but certain things press my buttons. First, I hate unprofessionalism in any task. Our waitress and another got into a loud discussion about who should take a table that was just seated. Then when it came time for us it was Welcometotheaquariuscanitakeyourorder. It wasn’t busy. I think it was the end of her shift, but that should be immaterial. We did see another waitress, who was bending over backwards to accomidate this other elderly customer, with very specific tastes. So perhaps we just got the bad one. We theorized, that in Laughlin, good help really would be hard to find. Would we go back? I hate to say never, but that would come pretty close. There just was no reason to want to go back. OK food, less than stellar service, and zero atmosphere. Why bother? There have to be other places to eat.

Well I had plenty of fun tonight although I dropped a few bucks across the river. BUMMER. Oh well maybe tomorrow will be better?

Das nächste Etappenziel war Laughlin, wo wir die letzte Nacht verbracht haben. Mein Hans ausm Amerika-Forum sagte dazu: Mini-Las Vegas mit Superhotels zu Spottpreisen.
Jo, haben jeder elf Euro im 4 Sterne Hotel gezahlt, aber der Ort war etwas strange. Sehr, sehr hohe Rentnerdichte, also eigentlich NUR!
Und tote Hose ausser im Casino, was uns aber Gott sei Dank nicht mehr wirklich reizte.
Die Groupiers waren so gelangweilt, dass sie Kät und Dany beim neugierigen Blick auf den Würfeltisch gleich zu viert vollquatschten und versprachen, sie würden ihre Hemden ausziehen, wenn die Mädels zocken würden (auch das Personal war alt und unattraktiv!) Na danke!

Oli und ich haben uns verdrückt.

Haben den Abend dann an der Bar ausklingen lassen, ich mit Diet Coke, die anderen mit Gin Tonic und Lite Bierens. (Preise auch sehr annehmbar, GT hat 3,50$ gekostet).
Sind übrigens nichts mehr gewöhnt, also ich gehe bei mir einfach mal davon aus und die anderen konnten ein Lied davon singen)

Heute morgen haben wir noch ein Stündchen in der brütenden Hitze Nevadas am HOtelpool verbracht, müssen ja was für unsere Bräune tun!
Danach, also gegen 12 gings los auf den Highway um möglichst schnell das Ziel Palm Springs zu erreichen...aber es dauerte recht lange.

Zwischenstopp wie auch gestern schon in Supermarkt, wo Starbucks drin war. Was wirds mir fehlen!

Ahhhhhh... ich vergaß zu erwähnen, dass die Strecke von Flagstaff nach Laughlin über die Route 66 führte. Es gab Entertainment auf Straßenschildern, wo witzige Sprüche draufstanden.
Habs irgendwo notiert, werde welche nachträglich hinzufügen.
Dabei haben wir Resis Country CD gehört und das Cruisen genossen.

After spending a full day with my brother we went north and visited another friend and ex neighbor who purchased a home in Sun City, CA. then on to Barstow and east to Laughlin, Nevada to visit with my oldest son who lives in Kingman, AZ.  We’ve been this way several times before and always marvel at the landscape.  Open arid land with some tremendous rock outcroppings and very few trees of any kind. Some of the rock looks like lava but they do not appear to be around anything volcanic. We took some pictures, so if anyone knows what it is, let me know.   

The Aquarius Hotel and Casino is brand new in Laughlin. It used to be the Flamingo. They are in the process of renovating and upgrading. We have stayed at this hotel several times over the last three years and have found it to be a satisfactory stay while in the area. The buffet includes wine and beer at no additional charge. The other eateries vary from upscale to coffee shop. They even have fast food establishments like Burger King and an Ice Cream shop. The rooms are built so that at least a small portion of each room gives a view of the Colorado River. The casino naturally is the main reason for the establishment and you can find all of the new slot machines more than willing to take your money. IMPORTANT TIP: Nevada has a new law that makes certain Handicap parking places exclusive to vans with lifts. Don't get caught in one if you only have a Handicap placard. You will get a parking violation unless you have a visible lift.