Thursday 22nd May
Our last Thursday on holiday :(
Once more we didn't hurry ourselves out the door. All we really had planned today was a bit of shopping and a drive around the Red Rock Canyon area that we'd visited back in 2008.
So around midday we left the hotel. The place has 'free' valet service all the time, so whenever we need to load or unload the car there's always someone buzzing about nearby eager to assist. Not necessarily something you need when you're loaded with rubbish from Walmart!
That's where we stopped first - the Walmart off to the west of Las Vegas. There we just had a look around, Linda was keen on checking out their make-up whilst I had a look at their Blu-Rays. Once out, we stopped off at a Starbucks to get ourselves a frappe each. Then it was on to Red Rock, which lies a little further West than where we currently were.
We did the 10 mile route, stopping off at various spots. We actually saw a couple of animals too - a chipmunk, a small rabbit and even a snake crossing the road. It was black and white bands which I guess makes it a Californian Kingsnake - not poisonous. Not that Linda would go anywhere near it anyway. She wouldn't even point the camera at it through the car window glass!
The theory was that in Spring, there are a clutch of wild-flowers and cacti that all bloom around the same time. However, with the very bad drought in the South West USA recently, the show this year seemed lacklustre. Indeed, I had to search for some time to come up with a few cactus with anything on them besides spines.
Once out of the park we drove back to the Fashion Mall for what I hope is the last shopping visit. We're quite tight on space this year so we can't buy too much. Straight after, I had to visit the petrol garage again for hopefully a final $20 worth of petrol before the car goes back on Saturday. We're not planning any further big drives aside from the 15-odd minute trip back to the rental place on Saturday, so that should see us through to then.
This evening we went to one of the pub restaurants in the MGM - 1842. I had a very nice burger. Linda enjoyed her steak, even though it came with a fearsome knife to cut it with.
The meal was topped off with a small dessert - Linda opting for an "Adult Milkshake", mixed with Whiskey!
We both then lost about $40 on the slots. Stupid machines!!!