Carlsbad was supposed to be our last trip of the year, but circumstances changed. Our travel companion, Sylvia, had her mother pass away at the end of October. The memorial service for her was scheduled for Sunday, December 19, in her parents home town of Las Vegas. Garrett’s birthday was also the same week end, so he came along with a friend so we could also celebrate his birthday.
Day 1
Day 1 equals travel day. We got an early start, picked up Garrett’s friend Shane, and were off. Our first stop was at Eddie World, the candy store/food store/gas station off the 15 freeway in Yermo. It’s the one with the colorful shake you can see from the freeway.
The boys enjoyed the stop and we forged on.
The next stop was for lunch in Baker, California. When one stops in Baker for food, The Mad Greek has to be the place. The food is average at best, but it is still a must stop. Here are pictures of the place, a cat eating there, and the Country Store across the street.
The Country Store has sold 8 jackpot winners in the lottery. And they have “over 400 world soda pop,” whatever that means.
We finally made it to our hotel and checked in. We had some Hilton points left over, so we stayed at my favorite hotel, the Trump.
I could make some political comments, but I will not.
Garrett’s friend had brought a present for Garrett and here he is wearing it. Ya gotta love it!
We went out and had a birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant in the Palazzo Hotel. After dinner we walked back to our hotel and got some sleep. Here are a few pictures of the strip at night.
Day 2
From our room, we could see the new Resort World Hotel across from our hotel. The next morning, we decided to walk to it and check it out. Here is Cindy with a statue of Iron Mike Tyson, and a giant art ball.
Interesting fact: I met Mike Tyson when he spoke at a jail rehabilitation program I used to be in charge of. He was one of the nicest people I have met and I have nothing but good things to say about him. Anyway………………….
We walked by the food court and they have one of my favorite foods. Here it is.
You read that right, a roast duck burrito. When that place opens, I will be getting my roast duck burrito.
We headed back to our hotel, picked the boys up, and were off to Top Golf. Top Golf is a driving range on steroids. You can play games, have drinks, and food, and generally have a good time. This was our view from our driving spot.
Some general pictures.
And Garrett teaching Cindy how to hit the ball.
And Garrett hitting away.
And a picture of me as well. I was able to hit three balls over 100 mph. Not bad for an old guy.
Our next stop was at the new location for the Pinball Hall of Fame. It is now located in a much bigger building and is at the very beginning of the strip. The Pinball Hall of Fame is a giant arcade with all kinds of video games and pinball machines. An absolute stop when in Vegas,
The boys spent the night hanging out on the strip and Cindy and I went to our favorite Vegas restaurant, Lawry’s. The place was really crowded, but luckily we had reservations. After waiting past our reservation time, and seeing a few people who came in after us get seated, I went back to the desk to find out what happened. The lobby manager checked and said we were next. I think they made a mistake and skipped us, but we were next to be seated, so no big deal. Within a few minutes, the seating girl called our name, but oddly, left to seat another couple before we could make it to the desk. We followed the girl and couple into the seating area, with the manager following us. As I watched the girl seat the other couple, the manager asked me if we were being seated. I pointed to the other couple and said we must be next. He quickly walked up to the girl, whispered in her ear, and returned to stand next to me. I was close enough to the girl and other couple to hear what happened next.
The girl asked the couple for their name, and the woman refused to answer, instead saying the table was their table and everything was fine. After a few rounds of this, the manager stepped in, asked the same question, and received the same answer. The manager had enough and had to get verbally forceful with the couple to get them to vacate what was actually our table. Yes, the couple had attempted to steal our table by pretending to be us. WOW. That was a new one for us. Here we are finally seated at our table.
We had a delicious meal and decided to walk the 2 miles back to our hotel. On the way home, we noticed the full moon.
That must explain the table stealers. We walked back to our room without any incidents and got some shut eye.
Day 3
We started the day with breakfast at the Donut Bar, near downtown. We went there because they have really good donuts and they are famous for being on an episode of “Tanked.” They Here is the fish tank from their episode.
Their normal hours are 7 am to 1 pm, however, they close when they run out of donuts, which is almost always before 1 pm. We got there around quarter to noon and they were almost sold out. Here is the inside and our donut order.
We ate our donuts outside and they were delicious. As we finished, they had already closed, but allowed us in because a member of our party was in need of a restroom. It turned out they were celebrating the birthday of one of the two brothers that own the place and they invited us to join them. We did not want to break in on their private party, but they continually offered us cake and were very nice. They were all class acts. We will definitely return and recommend anyone near the downtown area in the morning to go there as well. They are fantastic people with great donuts.
We walked around the downtown area then left the boys there to have their fun. Cindy and I went to Sylvia’s mother’s memorial. It was a very nice service.
Afterward, we went and walked around the Caesar’s Palace area. I had a whiskey with a clear, round ice cube that was rather unique.
I was fascinated by the ice cube until the bill came and I discovered I had been charge a dollar for the ice cube. Are you kidding me?
Day 4
The final day of our trip and our travel day home. We hit the road and had to stop at the other must stop in Baker, California. Alien Beef Jerky. It is a jerky store that also sells some candy and drinks that is alien themed.
Everyone picked out their favorite jerky and we enjoyed the newest addition; an alien Trump and an alien Biden. They each said sayings that each person has made famous. It was rather clever.
As you faced the machines, Biden was on the left and Trump on the right. I wondered if they did that on purpose or if it was a happy accident. Either way, it was fun to watch.
The rest of the drive was my favorite type of drive, event free. We made it home safely and started to plan for all of next year’s trips. The first was the month of January in our new house in Missouri, followed up by a week long trip to the Big Island of Hawaii with the Webers in February. We also will be attending our first NASCAR event, and first in Los Angeles in quite awhile, The Clash at the Coliseum.
Until then, stay safe and healthy.