Easter Boredom

Day 6 in Las Vegas
Starbucks, somewhere west of town

Can someone tell me why Starbucks must keep it so cold? I know it'll be handy when it's 113 outside, but today was very nice. I walked around The Trails Park in Summerlin and enjoyed watching some fathers teach their kids the finer points of baseball. But now I'm freezing to death in a Starbucks walk-in meat locker and wishing I had stayed and had coffee at the park.

Back to baseball. I noticed the Rangers are up to their old tricks. They start off winning the first three games at home then lose the first two on the road. The Rangers have to be the worst road team in the majors.

And speaking of majors...where was Tiger at the Masters this weekend? Golf is boring to watch unless Tiger is in the final pairing. I suppose his knee is still bothering him. He's no good coming from behind in major tournaments, so I knew he was done when he double bogied the first hole, third round.

And speaking of round...the Jr. Whopper is the best hamburger in town that cost only a dollar. Wendy's would probably be a close second.

And speaking of Wendy's...I almost lost my car in the wind storm the other night. Or at least I thought it might be blown to bits while I was walking around the Red Rock Casino. Some of the highest winds I've ever seen...er...heard (winds can't be seen I guess) made it hard to walk through the parking lot.

And speaking of parking lot...what's up with all the signs in the shopping centers that say "2 Hours Only...or You'll Be Subject to the Big Tow Truck." I saw a McDonald's employee park and walk into work. Unless he works less than two hours, something tells me they don't enforce the parking regulations. So if you don't enforce the rule, why have the rule? Just to make people nervous? Another silly example of code violations posted on real property to make people behave a certain way only to see people doing what they want to do anyway.

And speaking of silly...I plugged in my iPod for a recharge and I thought the entire thing was going to blow up. A spark or something caused the screen to flash, then go blank. I was really ticked until I shut it off and prayed over it. Then I let it cool off...which wasn't hard since I was in Starbucks. Finally I hit the reset button and all was well. Take away my iPod and I'm toast...even in Starbucks.

Scenic Hwy. 166, Solvang, and the Ocean

Day 298 on the road.
Starbucks, H Street, Lompoc, California

I'm sitting in a crowded Starbucks in Lompoc, California trying to recover from a couple of days of traveling through central California. I made the drive to Bakersfield on Wednesday after surviving a sandstorm and 60-mile an hour winds in the Mojave Desert east of Barstow.

The winds calmed a bit after I left Barstow. I drove past Edwards Air Force Base on Hwy. 58 and made it to Mojave in mid-afternoon. Once I made it past Mojave I moved into central California. I stopped for a while in a small community called Tehachapi for a chocolate shake and some fries and then arrived in Bakersfield around 5 p.m.






(Photo left: wind turbines near Tehachapi.)


















(Photo right: just east of Bakersfield, along Hwy. 58.)



I spent the night in Bakersfield (sounds like the title of a mystery novel). I was not that impressed by Bakersfield and don't see any need to go back there. It's a nice place to drive through when you're on your way somewhere else more interesting.



















On Thursday morning I drove south on Hwy. 99 to Mettler, then took the scenic route on Hwy. 166 toward Maricopa. Hwy. 166 between Mettler and Maricopa is one of those scenic routes you must see to believe. The route takes you past beautiful vineyards and farms as you make your way through a valley between the Sierra Madre Mountains to the south and the Caliente Mountain range to the north.





Some photos I took on Hwy. 166, between Maricopa and Santa Maria below:

My destination was Santa Maria, located near the Pacific Coast. Once in Santa Maria I found a Starbucks and had time to reflect on the beautiful drive I had witnessed, including a wonderful scene near the Twichell Reservoir just east of Santa Maria. As an artist or photographer could spend days on Hwy. 166 in this area, with majestic landscapes too numerous to mention as you drive the 50 miles or so west from Maricopa. I found myself stopping many times to take pictures.

(Photo above: near the Twichell Reservoir, just east and north of Santa Maria.)

From Santa Maria I drove south on Hwy. 101 to Solvang. I stayed at the Kronborg Inn in downtown Solvang. After checking in at the motel I walked around the Dutch community that has become a major tourist destination. I'm told that 2 million visitors a year come to Solvang for the wine-tasting, Dutch architecture, and beauty of the surrounding vineyards. Lake Cachuma is 11 miles away and is a major attraction offering RV sites and camping for year-round recreation. The Pacific Ocean is about a 30-minute drive from Solvang, and Santa Barbara is 30 miles south. Therefore, Solvang is at the heart of the central California coastline.

Other communities around Solvang include Los Olivos, Buellton, and Santa Ynez. Over 30 world-class vineyards surround these communities and the views of the beautiful mountains and green rolling hillsides in the area are among the most breathtaking scenes in California.

Yesterday, Friday, I drove south to visit Lake Cachuma. I continued south on Hwy. 101 through the Los Padres National Forest until reaching the northern edge of Santa Barbara. At that point, I turned north on Hwy. 1, the famous freeway that follows the Pacific Ocean coastline. I first glimpsed the Pacific Ocean a few minutes later as I made my way northward toward Goleta and the Santa Ynez Mountains. I visited El Capitan Beach and Refugio Beach, both state-run public beaches accessible from Hwy. 1. These public beaches offer camping and swimming for very little cost. The guards allowed me to drive through without paying. If I parked and stayed a while it would have cost me $8 for a day pass. Camping is $25 a night, assuming you can find a spot available.

I decided to continue my tour of the coast northward, hoping to find a cheap motel in Lompoc. I arrived in Lompoc around 3 p.m. yesterday, found a motel, and checked in for the night. My tour of the day was really just a loop, beginning in Solvang. I went southwest to Santa Barbara, the turned north toward Lompoc. Lompoc is only 30 miles or so from Solvang. One can take a day trip and view an enormous portion of the central California coastline without ever being more than 30 miles from Solvang.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do today. I may drive to Santa Barbara for the night, or I might continue north toward San Luis Obispo.

More photos from my tour of Solvang and Hwy. 1 on the Pacific Ocean coastline below:

Downtown Solvang

Vineyards Near Solvang

Pacific Ocean, North of Santa Barbara

MyRoadArt

Day 292 on the road.
Starbucks, Aquarius Casino, Laughlin

After 292 days on the road, it's become apparent that Las Vegas is not the end of my journey. I left Texas almost a year ago with no plans. All I had was a tank of gas and the desire to travel. The idea was to make my way to Las Vegas. I was in no hurry to get there, nor did I have any particular reason to target Sin City as my destination. All I knew is I wanted to head West.

Now that I'm here in Laughlin, 90 miles from Las Vegas, I'm ready to keep moving. I've made weekend trips to Las Vegas and will spend a day or two there next week before I move on. I've been here since March 1. Two months of Laughlin is enough for any sane human.

I've had to rethink my plans for this blog. I'm no longer "1100 Miles from Vegas," which was the original title of this travel journal. Las Vegas is not the final destination of my road trip. At least, not yet. I'm staying on the road and will continue to head West looking for whatever the future holds. And I will continue to write and document my trip here. But a change is in order.

I've changed the title of this blog to "MyRoadArt" to reflect the way I feel about my journey. Traveling on a tight budget with no agenda, and now no destination in mind, is more of an art than a science. I want to paint a picture of what it's like to live on the road.

MyRoadArt.com will be the new home of this blog, though technically it will still be hosted at http://2vegas.blogspot.com/. So, to find me just point your browser to http://www.myroadart.com/.

Tomorrow morning I drive to Las Vegas for a couple of days. I'll then put Vegas and Laughlin in my rearview mirror and head for the Pacific Ocean.

California West Coast Adventure

Day 291 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Co., Laughlin

It's hot outside and so today's main goal is stay inside. The Firehouse Coffee Company is quiet today with just a few folks eating a light lunch. I'm enjoying the time trying to catch up on some planning, writing, reading, and resting.

I've put in more than 160 hours of poker this month in eight different poker rooms, including three trips to Las Vegas. I've had one tooth pulled, met four Canadians, changed the oil in my car, observed drunken college students on a late night river taxi ride, become intimate with the Las Vegas rail system, flopped a straight flush at the Red Rock, heard a country band play before a mob on Fremont street, discovered that blending cranberry juice and pineapple juice is a good idea, and laughed often with guys like Bruce, Lee, and Tim.

It's been an interesting month in the desert. But I'm ready to hit the road again.

I will drive to Las Vegas on Monday and stay there until Wednesday. On Wednesday I head west to Bakersfield, California. On Thursday I'll be in Solvang, a Dutch community founded in 1911. I've had many people talk about Solvang, so I'm going to check it out. Once in Solvang, I'm not sure of my plans. The Chumash Casino Resort is near Solvang, and so I'll be checking out the poker room there. I might decide to just hit the infamous coastal Highway 101 and drive north along the California coast until I run out of money for gas.

By this time next week, I'll be on the Pacific Ocean thinking about what to do next.

Vincent, the Fiesta, and a Horseshoe Trip

Day 280 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Company, Laughlin
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I'm back in Laughlin for the week, after spending the weekend in Boulder City, Henderson, and Las Vegas. Mid-May weather in the area has become very hot. Today's temperature in Laughlin is expected to be 112 degrees. But a cold front is moving in mid-week and will drop the heat back to a more humane 82 degrees.
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This past Saturday morning I drove to Boulder City hoping that Vincent had an available room. I had reservations at the Fiesta Casino Hotel in Henderson for Sunday night. So when I left Laughlin I was hoping to get lucky and find a room in Boulder City for Saturday night.

Vincent owns a 16-room hotel in downtown Boulder City called the Western Inn. Each room has a small kitchen and the beds are comfortable enough. It's also a really quiet and easy-going place. When I first met Vincent a few weeks ago, he said, "I keep it quiet around here. Since I'm the owner, I can say who stays here and who doesn't." Guests also get free Internet access. For me it's a no-brainer to stay at the Western Inn unless I find a special at a casino and receive a nice room rate.

When I arrived in Boulder City I stopped for gas and then drove to the Western Inn. The office was closed and Vincent was nowhere in sight. So I left my business card on his office door with the note, "Vincent, if you have a room available give me a call. I'll be down the street at Starbucks." I had been at Starbucks for about 20 minutes when Vincent gave me a call. "Hey, Mitch, I've got a room for you. If I have to, I'll kick someone out."

So I checked into the Western Inn about 1 p.m. on Saturday and began thinking about where to play some poker for the evening. I decided to drive to downtown Las Vegas and play in the historic poker room at Binion's Gambling Hall and Casino, formerly Binion's Horseshoe Casino.


The Horseshoe is the place that first hosted the World Series of Poker in 1970 and was the birthplace of modern day poker, at least in Las Vegas. Harrah's Entertainment bought The Horseshoe, including rights to the WSOP. Harrah's subsequently sold the downtown casino hotel to MTR Gaming in 2004 but retained ownership of the "Horseshoe" name and all rights to the World Series of Poker. Thus, the WSOP main event and the series events are now played at Harrah's properties around the world.

(Photo right: I took this picture of the "signature board", containing the signatures of famous poker players and WSOP champions, etc. The "Poker Hall of Fame" is in another exhibit nearby, but I wasn't sure about taking photos in the poker room.)

But the old gambling hall still stands and is now known as Binion's Gambling Hall. It is coming under new ownership once again. This time, the new owners are promising upgrades and an expansion plan.

When I first walked in to the poker room at Binion's I immediately was struck by the history of the place. For one thing, the poker room was the sight of the final table for the World Series in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker won the Championship and became the catalyst for the so-called "poker boom" that has seen the game explode in popularity around the world. It was a very cool place to play poker.
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(Photo above, from left to right: Johnny Moss, Chill Wills, Amarillo Slim, Jack Binion, Puggy Pearson, at the 1974 World Series of Poker at The Horseshoe.)

I played at Binion's until 9:30 p.m., about 7 hours or so. I then walked out into the "Fremont Street Experience" to check out the country and western bands who were playing concerts. The Academy of Country Music Awards was scheduled for it's live broadcast from Caesar's Palace Las Vegas on Sunday night, but on Saturday night on Fremont Street many of the bands were scheduled to play. The crowd was enormous. The Freemont Street Experience is weird and crowded enough on a regular night with tourists and hookers. But when you add the bands, concerts, and celebrities on this particular night, what you get is a mass of humanity that is unbelievable. (See photos of the mayhem below.) I didn't stay long.
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On Sunday I moved from the Western Inn in Boulder City over to the Fiesta Casino Hotel in Henderson, about a ten-minute drive west on Hwy. 93 toward Las Vegas. I spent the afternoon playing poker at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson.

My room at the Fiesta was okay, but noisy. The bed was compfy and the plasma flat-screen TV was a nice upgrade. However, my room had a door leading the room next door and it was not sound-proofed at all. I could hear every movement from the family staying in the room beside me. Plus the AC fan was cutting on and off (no way to keep the fan on at all times...a real dumb design flaw) all night. So I doubt I'll be back to the Fiesta. The hotel and casino itself are topnotch. I watched "Iron Man" at the cinema (great movie) and ate at their buffet (not bad). But I didn't get much sleep.

On Monday morning I checked out at the Fiesta and drove to downtown Boulder City. I drank coffee and read the paper at the little country cafe in the downtown historic district and really liked the small-town environment. The small cafe was an old-style diner, complete with locals sitting on stools at the counter eating pancakes.

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I was back in Lauglin by 1 p.m. and playing poker at the River Palms, earning another free room comp.

Las Vegas Revisited

Day 273 on the road.

Firehouse Coffee Company, Laughlin

I'm back in Laughlin for another week. Last weekend's trip to Vegas was a successful. I played poker at the Bellagio, Mirage, and Red Rock casinos. I also utilized the monorail system on the Vegas strip to get around.

On Saturday I left Laughlin for the 90-minute drive to Vegas. I arrived at the Sahara Hotel and Casino on the northside of the Strip and checked. My room wasn't available until after 3 p.m., so I had about some time to kill. I decided to visit the Bellagio poker room for some afternoon gaming.

The Sahara has a Monorail Station at its location, so it was an easy walk to the rail. I paid $9 for a 24-hour unlimited ride ticket, and took the monorail to the Bally's Station. Bally's casino is located across the street from the Bellagio.

(Photo right: the Monorail at the Sahara.)

Once you depart from the train at Bally's you have long walk through the casino to a monorail walkway that provides an easy standing-ride to the street. From the front of Bally's, an escalator takes you to the bridge that crosses the street. After walking across the bridge, you enter the Bellagio and have an easy walk to Caesar's Palace.

(Photo left and below: the monorail walkway to the street from Bally's.)

I left the Sahara just after 12 o'clock noon, and it took about 30-40 minutes to arrive at the Bellagio using the rail system. The longest walk was making my way through the Bally's casino after exiting the monorail.

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(Photo left: looking south from the bridge crossing the street from Bally's to the Bellagio.)

(Photo above: The Bally's Monorail Station.)

Once inside the Bellagio, it's a nice stroll through their retail mall before entering the casino itself. The poker room was busy, not unusual for a Saturday afternoon. I waited about 30 minutes for a seat to open up for a $4-$8 Limit Holdem game.

I played poker at the Bellagio until 5:30 p.m., then cashed out and headed back to the Sahara via the monorail. I picked up my key at the Sahara and checked into my room for the evening. I stayed on the 23rd floor of the Alexandria Tower, giving me a nice view looking west over the city. The room itself was spacious, but outdated. The furniture was old, vintage 1970s, and well-worn. The carpet was clean, but stained and just about worn out. The bathroom fixtures worked, but were below average in condition.

The Sahara is an aged, musty, smelly, crowded, and nostalgic casino dating back to the vintage days of old Vegas when the Rat Pack performed and Hollywood stars walked the floor. Old photographs throughout the property reflect its history: there's Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performing in the nightclub, and a photo hanging behind the registration desk shows Cary Grant and Alan Ladd with their wives standing in one of the Sahara's courtyards. Elvis also performed here.

While the Sahara has a history and nostalgia that permeates the place, and I'm sure many ghosts and old Hollywood spirits live throughout the place, the hotel needs a facelift. The rooms are cheap enough on certain nights, especially condsidering its location on the Strip. But the condition of the place is below average.

After resting for a while, that night I took the monorail to the Mirage for dinner and some late night poker. I ate at the California Pizza Kitchen located inside the Mirage, next to the poker room. After playing cards for a couple of hours I was ready to return to the Sahara for some sleep. The view I had of the Vegas skyline at night was the best feature of my room at the Sahara. (See photos below.)

(Above: Day time view from my room at the Sahara.)

(Above: Night time view from my room at the Sahara.)

(Above: View from the bed.)

On Sunday morning I moved about a mile west, off the Strip, to the Palace Station. The Palace was the first casino that began the Station Casinos empire, being built back in the 1970s. The Palace is a nice hotel and casino, a definite improvement over the Sahara in condition and amenities. I stayed in the Courtyard, which is an area surrounding the pool. Although these rooms are among the oldest at the hotel, my room was remodeled and updated to an above average condition. The bathroom had ceramic tile and new fixtures. The TV and furniture were all new, and the king-sized bed was comfortable. The room was small, but that was no concern.

After checking in Sunday at noon, I left the Palace and drove west toward Summerlin and the Red Rock Casino. The Red Rock is another Station casino (like the Palace and Green Valley Ranch) and it's a great place. I'll be back to the Red Rock for sure. I played poker until 6 p.m., then ate a Mother's Day dinner at the Feast Buffet, located inside the casino. I "feasted" on BBQ, turkey and dressing, shrimp, mashed potatos, corn, macoroni and cheese, green beans, salad, soup, breads of all kinds, apple cobbler, ice cream, and pecan pie.

After a peaceful night at the Palace, I checked out and drove to Boulder City for a quick visit before returning to Laughlin.

Day 267 on the road.
Firehouse Coffee Company, Laughlin

The drive to Laughlin from Boulder City last Sunday afternoon was uneventful. It's a quiet trip going south on Hwy. 95, with little to see but mountains and flatlands which follow a straight course as you make your way to the cutoff going east to Laughlin.

The drive to Laughlin is beautiful once you veer east from the cutoff at the intersection of Hwy. 95 and Hwy. 163. The highway cuts through a mountain range to enter the Colorado River valley and the towns of Bullhead City and Laughlin.

As you can tell from the photo above, I'm back to work on my blogs, and doing some writing. The posting of video clips and photos to this blog and elsewhere is time-consuming. I invest a couple of hours downloading the photos from my Cheap Nikon Camera, editing and resizing them so I can post them online. The video clips take time, too. I edit the clips, add the transitions and title slides, then select and edit the music and sound.

My plans for the rest of the week: poker at the River Palms to maintain my free room and board, a movie or two at the nearby cinema, and maybe a nice dinner at the Outback Steakhouse located inside the Golden Nugget Casino Resort just down the block from the River Palms.

This weekend I'll be back to Las Vegas. I've booked a room at the Sahara Las Vegas Hotel and Casino for Saturday night, and Sunday night I'll move over to the Palace Station Hotel and Casino . I'm "casino hopping" in order to review the various hotels on the Strip. I'll return to the River Palms on Monday. For the month of May I'll be staying Monday through Saturday in Laughlin, and Saturday and Sunday at various locales in Las Vegas.

I'm also going to drive around Boulder City this weekend. I may settle down there some day. I'd love to take advantage of the real estate values there. I can see nothing but good things for Boulder City in the next ten years, and property values are almost guaranteed to keep going up.

26th Annual River Run in Laughlin

The 26th Annual River Run in Laughlin was last weekend. Here's a video clip I made of the shopping area and vendor booths.

Finally, an Update on My Weekend in Vegas

Day 263 on the road.
Starbucks, Boulder City, Nevada

It's been a wild and wacky week since my return to Laughlin from Vegas last weekend. I find myself today, Saturday, in Boulder City, 20 miles east of Vegas.

I spent last weekend at The Orleans and on the Strip, with the goal of getting to know the place. It was my second trip to Sin City, the last time being over 10 years ago. This time around I took the time to look around.

In fact, I spent 26-hours straight on the Strip without any sleep (dumb idea, but it was fun). I checked out of The Orleans on Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. and didn't check back in until Saturday afternoon. Below is a snapshot of my 26-hour marathon on the Strip.

My 26-Hour Marathan Tour of the Strip

Friday, 10:30 a.m. - Checked out of The Orleans, drove around downtown Vegas, headed toward UNLV, stopped at Starbucks near the campus.

2 p.m. - I left Starbucks and drove toward the Strip.

2:30 p.m. - Arrived at the Bellagio parking lot. Visited the Poker Room, but did not play. Walked around the casino for a while.

3:25 p.m. - Drinking coffee at the Cypress Street Market, in Caesar’s Palace, after walking there from the Bellagio.

4:30 p.m. - Walked down the Strip from Caesar's, went across the street to the McDonald’s located across from the Mirage. I ate a Caesar salad and a grilled chicken wrap. I watched a homeless person who was asleep on the patio, and was wondering if that was going to be me in a few years.

5:15 p.m. - Walked to the Wynn Casino, toured the place, then stopped at The Café for some iced tea.

6 p.m. - To the shuttle bus from the Wynn to the monorail station located at the Convention Center, just a few minutes from the Strip. This is a good tip: the Wynn has a free shuttle that runs to the monorail and back, around the clock. You can actually park at the Convention Center, then catch the shuttle to the Wynn or any one of the six other stations located along the Strip.

6:10 p.m. - Arrived at the monorail station at Convention Center, and purchased a 24-hr unlimited ticket for $9. A one-way, one-time ride is $5.

6:45 p.m. - Arrived back at the Bellagio. After taking the monorail to the Bally’s station located across the street, it was a short walk back to the Bellagio.

7:40 p.m. - I walked to the Poker Room at the Bellagio to play some poker. The room was too busy and the wait too long, so I left. On the way out, I watched Sammy Farha play blackjack at the $300 minimum-bet table. I departed the Bellagio parking garage, having decided to drive to Green Valley Ranch in Henderson.

8:12 p.m. - Arrived at the GVR Casino Resort parking garage. I was familiar with the Green Valley Ranch Casino after watching the entire series of television shows featuring the staff of the place. American Casino, a reality television series for the Discovery Channel and Travel Channel based on the daily tasks of various casino employees, was filmed there in 2004. Several episodes of the hit show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have also been filmed on site.

8:45 p.m. to Saturday morning, 3:45 a.m. - I played poker at GVR poker room, mainly $4-$8 Limit Hold'em.

Saturday, 4:03 a.m. - Departed the GVR parking garage.

4:30 a.m. - Arrived at the Mirage parking garage, back on the Strip in Vegas. I hung out in the Mirage and visited the poker room, the retail shopping mall, etc. I almost fell asleep in the sports lounge, and was warned by security that "no sleeping is allowed in the casino." I told the security guard I was just "resting my eyes." He didn't smile.

5:15 a.m. - Departed the Mirage. I was getting very sleepy and tired. I could hardly hold my eyes open. Therefore, I made the decision to drive to a Starbucks for a pick-me-up.

5:30 a.m. - Arrived at the Starbucks on Flamingo, near The Orleans. I surfed the Internet, read the local papers, and tried my best to stay awake by drinking lots of coffee.

6:30 a.m. - Arrived at The Orleans for a breakfast buffet. I received a free breakfast for becoming a club member, so I feasted on eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, cereal, fruit, and orange juice.

7:45 a.m. - Arrived at the Starbucks on Tropicana, one block west of The Orleans. I had to kill some time before I could check back into my room.

12, Noon - Left Starbucks.

12:30 p.m. - Checked into my motel room.

1 p.m. - Finally went to bed and got some sleep.

I woke up at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. I visited the Strip for a couple of hours, mainly checking out Hooters and the MGM Grand. I stopped at a CoCo's restaurant and bought a cheeseburger, which I took back to my room. After eating dinner I went back to bed. On Sunday morning I checked out and then prepared to drive back to Laughlin.

Photos from the Strip:

(Above and below: photos taken at the Bellagio, in the garden area.)

(Above: the fountain at Caesar's Palace.)

(See the homeless man? I'm on the patio of McDonald's eating a salad and trying not to feel guilty.)

(Above: at the Venetian.)

A video clip of my walk along the Strip is below, and is posted on YouTube.

On my way back to Laughlin Sunday afternoon, I took the 15 mile detour to Boulder City to see Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. It was great fun to see the dam, though the traffic was horrible. It took a while to wind my way through the mountains to the location of the dam.

Once I recovered from the all-night tour, and a side trip to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, I drove back to Laughlin and checked back into my room at the River Palms. I spent last week at the Palms playing $2-$6 Spread Limit poker and hanging out with my new friends in the poker room (Tim, Steve, Adrian, Terri, Marilyn, and the gang). Yesterday, Friday, I decided to come back to Vegas for another road trip. This time I've decided to return to Boulder City, near Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, just 20 miles east of Vegas.

I met Vincent a couple of hours ago, the owner of the Western Inn, here in Boulder City. He's a retired military veteran who purchased the small 16-room motel near downtown about six years ago. The value of the property he's sitting on has more than doubled, and he told me when he reaches 60 years old in a few years, "I'm going to sell and live in an RV and travel the country."

My room is spacious, has a kitchenette and breakfast area, with appliances, and has the best rate in town. So, I told Vincent I've found my new weekend home whenever I come to Vegas. He also has an affordable weekly rate.

I drove to downtown Boulder City and immediately liked it . Boulder City was basically created to house the workers who built Hoover Dam. Now, it's a small and friendly community with a thriving antique and art district. Almost half (48%) of the population is retired, according to Vincent. No gambling is allowed within the city limits and the police run off all homeless people and drug addicts. I like this place very much. (Do I want to move here? Anything is possible.)

In Boulder City this weekend is the 23rd Annual Spring Jamboree, so I lucked out and found the park area in the center of town full of tourists checking out the events: antique show, car show, art show, music, food, and all kinds of fun stuff. I'll post some photos and video clips as soon as I can.

In the meantime, my plans for the rest of the weekend include visiting The District at Green Valley Ranch and playing some Omaha Hi Lo Split at The Orleans in Vegas. I'll be back in Laughlin on Monday.