Bakersfield to (Texas de) Brasil

It's Day 13 and we're headed for Vegas after a hot breakfast at the Clarion. There were some stunning bordello-type faux crystal chandeliers leading to the breakfast room, which was under construction at the time of our visit. We weren't sure if the chandeliers were the before or after.

At 5:54 am it was already 83 degrees - woohoo. We had reached 116 yesterday, and we wondered if today would top that. At home it was still rainy and in the 50s and we all appreciated the excellent weather that had been sent our way. Donald had the complimentary USA Today from the hotel, and announced that Billy Mays, pitchman, had died after bumping his head during a rough landing.

We passed what looked like thousands of windmills in the Tehapatche Mountains in CA, and thought with regret of the resistance to this source of power back home. The temperature dropped 20 degrees in less than an hour in the mountains. We spotted some mountain goats so far in the distance that they were just white specks. In California City, out in the desert, there was an airport with a small control tower but really big planes. It was close to Edwards Air Force Base. Hmmm... Also in the paper was an obituary for Gale Storm; that made two celebs. We hoped there would not be another. The papers and TV news were filled with Michael Jackson.

Along Route 15N toward Nevada, we were treated to signs with the Ten Commandments. Fortunately none of them is about overeating. That is covered by the Deadly Sins, but no one had thought to put up signs for those.

While driving through the desert with overcast skies above, our good weather luck faltered. We passed through three different storms; the second, and worst, had 48 drops of rain. There was a sign for a town in California called Zzyzx. What imagination some people have! Once the sun came out, the GM said it was 100 degrees. We then drove by the World's Largest Thermometer in Baker, which said it was 96 degrees. Which one do we believe? Then we saw some fantastic advice on a sign not far from Death Valley, "Avoid Overheating - Turn A/C off Next 16 Miles". Sure we will!

We reached Nevada at 9:50, and immediately exited for a casino, the Primm Valley Resort & Casino. It wasn't to gamble, it was to see Bonnie & Clyde's car, bullet holes and all. The car attracted quite a few tourists, and no photography was allowed. Yes, it was morbid, and we did not stay long. We had a buffet to visit, and were in time to catch the breakfast price. Changeover time at buffets is a very special time because there are foods from two different meals and you are charged the lower price. We dined and geared up for our upcoming Vegas visit.

Happy, full, and anticipating staying at the MGM Grand for only $50/night with a $35 meal credit thrown in, we arrived not long after leaving Primm. We had a detailed plan in place. Bonnie and I would leap out of the car at the front door, run in to register, and then hurry to the Concierge to buy tickets for the Cirque de Soleil Ka show for the next night. Clyde and Donald would take the GM to the nearest Terrible's for an oil change, as the check engine light had come on after 3,000 miles. It's important to treat a rental with the same respect as one's own, especially when driving exorbitant distances. Yes, we would be reimbursed. Once the oil change was done, the men would take all the luggage and meet us in the lobby. Sounds easy enough, unless the hotel is the size of two football fields, which I think MGM is. Maybe three football fields. With a gigantic parking garage, which is where Clyde & Donald were when the called us. After half an hour of, "Can you hear me now?" and "Where are you?" and "WHAT??? I can't hear you!", we finally hooked up in the garage. We all rolled our way to the fourth floor, with the help of the elevator, while Bonnie and I told the men that procrastination pays because we got the Cirque tickets for half-price.

Our rooms were fantastic, and we had B&W photos of Sophia Loren and Tyrone Power in ours. MGM didn't stint on star photos, and they had even put them in every bathroom stall of every restroom. After a brief stop in the rooms, we looked around the hotel a bit, locating the pool and restaurant of choice (the buffet, naturally), and saw a sign that nearly brought tears to my eyes - dine all day at the buffet for $29.99/pp. But that was for tomorrow.

Bonnie had made dinner reservations for us for that night months ago. We had both used multiple email accounts with multiple anniversaries and multiple birthdays to join the Texas de Brasil eclub to receive coupons. Since dinner is $50/pp, we needed all the help we could get. We didn't get the email until we were half-way across the country, and were fortunate enough to find a Choice Hotel that had a printer available to guests. The coupon said only one coupon per table could be used. At the restaurant, we explained that we both had coupons for our anniversaries, and could we sit together? No we could not. Could we sit near each other? That was allowed. We had already had one buffet meal that day, but we gamely accepted this new challenge. I enjoyed the side dishes as much, and maybe more than, the parade of beef and chicken that made it to our table. We had never seen anything like it.

We rolled our way out of Texas de Brasil and back to the MGM, where Bonnie and Clyde decided to try their luck. Donald and I felt like dead ducks, so we decided to turn in. After all, it was 8:45. Tomorrow would be another long day of eating, and I wanted to be rested and ready.