I am old and lazy, so I don't write as often, or as frequently as I would like, about my trips to Las Vegas. but I will chronicle a lot of details from my trip during the next few days.
In 2011 I spent my first Halloween in Las Vegas. That was a solo trip. In 2021 I spent my 7th Halloween in Vegas. It's that much fun.
This year's trip wasn't necessarily going to happen. My life partner and her sisters were traveling together to Vegas for their cousin's wedding. I was not obligated to go. I did not book a trip with them. The two sisters are married, with two children. Their families were not going, and I wasn't expected to go, but perhaps it was presumed I would go since I go at least once a year, and often more than once in a year.
When I go, I like to go for several days, and given I went for eight nights this summer, I would have been fine with skipping this Halloween. The cousin's wedding was on Sunday, and that necessitated a weekend trip. I often go from Sunday to Friday or Saturday.
Long story short, when I got another three-night offer from the Plaza a couple of months ago, after the sisters booked their trip, I booked a three-night stay that overlapped the wedding weekend. Then I found a reasonable round-trip flight via Delta, using my points. Sounds like a cheap trip, eh?
Indeed it was. And we like to rent a car, and opted for the convenience of having one, which the three sisters split amongst them.
My job: To do the driving, and transport the sisters, as necessary.
I arrived on Friday, Oct. 29, early in the afternoon. The sisters did not book their flights on Delta, so I traveled separate. I arrived about five hours before they did.
I'll skip the detailed story about the rental car considerations and pursuits. I avoid renting from Budget, but that's who we used this time around. The sisters chose an intermediate SUV, and after 45-50 minutes of waiting in line to complete the paperwork, it was off to the parking ramp, where I had to wait about 15 minutes for my vehicle to show up. That's how short they are for rental vehicles these days. And of course I got a white vehicle. I never choose white. Alamo, and others, let you choose from a row of vehicles. Oh well, I'll live.
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| Everybody wants to rent a car from Budget...until they do it. |
For what it's worth, there weren't many people waiting at any other rental agency, but Budget had a long line waiting. Rates are higher than I've ever seen, and cars are in relative short supply, reportedly, but somehow Budget knows how to undercut the competition.
I ended up with some Nissan, and it was a nice ride.
From the airport it was check-in time at Plaza. I slept less than four hours on Thursday night, as I worked late into the night on a ton of stuff, and didn't have much time to sleep. I could have used a nap on Friday afternoon, but determined I wouldn't get much rest before having to go to the airport to pick up the sisters. Given I hadn't eaten breakfast, or a meal at the airport, I needed something to eat. I went downstairs to Pop Up Pizza.
It was fine, but nothing exceptional. Given it was 4 p.m. Vegas time, or 6 p.m. back in Minnesota, and I hadn't eaten a meal, I had no complaints. (A fig bar on the way to the airport and a Delta in-flight cookie do not count as a meal.)
I bummed around downtown for an hour, blowing $20 on low-roller stadium gambling at Circa before heading to the airport.
Airport pickup was a success, and we had time to spare. We had dinner reservations at the celebrated Herbs and Rye on Sahara Avenue, west of the strip. Our reservation was for 8 p.m., so we were hoping to get in an hour early.
We were within a mile of the place when one of the sisters got off the phone. She had multiple calls from a Vegas phone number, but no message. So she called to find out why. One call: Ignore it. Multiple calls: Something is not right.
It turns out the sister's wallet fell out of her giant purse, which tipped on the floor of the plane. And somebody from the airline found it, so she was welcome to come retrieve it. Therefore we turned around and started heading back to the airport.
As we were driving back toward the airport on Interstate 15, we suddenly heard a funny, puzzling sound. We had no idea what it was. I turned the radio off, and it stopped. We came to the determination that my life partner's cellphone was trying to sync up with the car stereo.
Except it wasn't. Moments later that loud, unsettling sound began again. Did we have a flat tire? It didn't seem like it. The car was still smooth. Troubled, I exited near the car rental center, and pulled into the Boot Barn parking lot. (I went to that store with a friend many years ago.) I checked the tires, and all were fine. There was nothing in the wheel wells to suggest what the problem was. There was no sign of anything dragging under the bumpers, either.
I got down on the ground and looked under the SUV. There's the problem. The front of the underbody panel was hanging loose. We hadn't hit anything, but the screws or whatever was holding it in place had come loose, lowering the front of the panel. The wind it was catching intermittently created that horrible sound. The panel wasn't dragging on the pavement, it was all airflow vibrating into the panel opening.
With three sisters and their luggage in tow, our first objective became exchanging the rental vehicle.
We were near the rental center, so that was easy enough to get to. I expected a delay getting a vehicle, and a lot of hassle. Were they going to try to stick me with a damage claim? I didn't hit anything. It was not due to my negligence.
So we pull in to the return center, I quickly explain what happened, and with no hesitation the nice woman at the return center tells me they'll get me a new vehicle. She looks under the vehicle, sees the damage, says that's not safe, and 30 seconds later we're hauling our luggage to the "Fastbreak" counter in the garage, where I had to fill out a short form detailing what happened to the vehicle. The counter employee offers us a choice of about three SUVs, and I simply asked for one that isn't white. He gave me a Chevy Blazer, which wasn't the best choice, it turned out.
We quickly learned there was far less cargo room in the back of the Blazer than there was in the back of that Nissan we had. And I didn't like the feel of the vehicle as much. But we were out of there, with a different vehicle within 15 minutes, that was most important.
Onto the airport, where the sister runs into the baggage claim area to retrieve her wallet. Within minutes we're back on the road, and it's just before 8 p.m.
We're not going to make it to Herbs and Rye by our reservation time, however, so my life partner calls and asks if we can still be seated. Herbs and Rye is playing hard ball, acting like they can't wait more than 10 minutes to seat us. But a little negotiating and pleading catastrophe seems to win us five minutes or so of favor, so we proceed. At this point it's 10 p.m. back home, none of us have had dinner, and the sisters are more than ready to go to any other restaurant in Vegas, but we set out, once again, for Sahara Avenue.
We're again within that final mile of our destination. I'm in the left lane, as you need to make a U-turn to get to the restaurant. I'm prepared for that, but what I'm not prepared for is the moron to my immediate right, who I'm not watching. He decides to start moving over into the left lane, as he seems to have just figured out he needs to make a U-turn, as well. My girlfriend tells me to watch out, as if I can do anything at this point. I look to my right, and I can see the moron's rearview mirror within six inches of our vehicle. There's nothing I can do at this point. There's a median to my left, so I can't just move over if there's no traffic coming from the other direction.
Thankfully the moron wakes up in time to realize he's going to hit my black SUV, and moves back into his lane, probably terrified by the fact he nearly took us both out on Sahara Avenue. (I never saw if the driver was male or female, I just assume the moron was a male. I'm sexist.)
I didn't have time to freak out, as I only caught the last glimpse of the near-collision. But the moron was still trying to get over to the left, and had slowed down, of course, after nearly killing all of us, or so it appeared in my rearview mirror. This, of course, wreaks havoc for the cars behind us. I'm surprised the moron didn't cause a crash involving those drivers.
It appeared the moron did get behind me, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to get to Herbs and Rye, as well. But that didn't appear to be the case, as best I could tell. I was largely focused on my driving.
So we finally get into the restaurant, the stress on my heart at this point is about to kill me, and we sit down in this rather dark restaurant to eat. Good luck reading the menu!
Herbs and Rye is well known because it offers half-price steaks during its happy hours, which run like 5-8 p.m. and midnight to 3 p.m.
It's a dinner only restaurant, and not open on Sundays. It's quite the unique business model in Sin City.
I don't know for how long, but they have been running their happy hour pricing all night in recent weeks, and that included our Friday night visit. All the steaks are half price. And a few of the pasta dishes are, too. And a couple of appetizers, I believe. If you want a rail drink, that's half price, as well.
Two of us had half-price steaks. I had the New York strip for $24.50. Yep, it's a $49 steak, allegedly.
My life partner had the ribeye, which I think was menu-priced at $59.
My steak had too much fat in it, and it was hard to see where the fat was when you're cutting it in the dark. I had a sample of the ribeye, and it was better than mine. The steaks are naked. Like any steakhouse, if you want anything for the steak, that's an extra charge. I like mushrooms with my steak, but I don't need them. And if your steak is any good, it shouldn't need sauces or anything extra.
We split a few sides for the table, and they're not huge, yet cost about $10 each. But they were pretty good, and we had enough to go with our entrees, so I have no complaints.
We tried their fancy cocktails, as well. I had the "weekend at the Waldorf," a rum drink I thought I would love. I did not. It wasn't bad, but I didn't love it. It was $14 or so, and not really worth it.
The restaurant is nice, and it was well staffed. It's not a fancy steakhouse at Bellagio, but it's a nice enough place. Some folks were far more casual than I was.
I will try it again, and I will try a different steak. I don't do steakhouse dinners in Vegas often, and if I get a better steak than the strip steak I had, I could see myself going there once per trip in the years to come.
Sorry, no pictures of the food. It was dark in there, and I'm not a food blogger. I'll take food pics, but it's not a priority every time I eat a meal.
We were all tired after dinner. None of us had any interest in a wild night on Fremont Street, so I dropped the women off at Golden Nugget, where they were staying, along with the wedding party, and I parked at Plaza. We noticed there was a fire in a lot along Main Street, a block or two off of Fremont Street. The fire department was on the scene, and we couldn't see it clearly, but we're certain it was a Dumpster fire. Yes, a literal Dumpster fire. Seemed appropriate for how chaotic our night had turned out.
There would be no big Friday night for me. Seems lame, I know, but I worked my ass off on Thursday night, not going to bed until 4 a.m., I needed rest to make it through the weekend. I got a $3 bottle of Bud Light and retreated to my room shortly after 10 p.m.
I spent an hour watching TV and playing games on my cellphone, but I was asleep before midnight, and I have no regrets.
Up next: My unorthodox Saturday, the tweet that resonated with a lot of people and a visit to a quirky, longtime Vegas restaurant.
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| One obligatory photo of Fremont Street, as I first exited the Plaza on Friday afternoon, Oct. 29. |
