California Calling-Day6- WOW-What an 18th!

Bella1 · 15 Oct 12, 03:54 PM

After a great night’s sleep with enough beds for a change we woke up to greet Meg on her 18th Birthday. She had already had her main birthday present and due to luggage restrictions we had only taken a small present and her cards with us. She was however delighted with her limited edition Mark Cavendish World Champion socks, not the normal sort of present but for a girl obsessed with the worlds sexiest cyclist we couldn’t have chosen better!

Breakfast was included in the room rate so we filled up with bacon and eggs, toast, pastries and fruit. However I made some tea and I think it was the most vile brew I have ever tasted, I was so glad that I had some faithful PGTips tucked in my case so I could make a nice cup when we got back to the room. Once again we took bananas, milk and fruit juice from the buffet and tucked them in our cooler for later in the day.

By the time we left the hotel it was already getting very hot and we were thankful that we had bought several cases of water in the dodgy Wal-mart that we had found in LA. We thought we drank a lot in Florida but it was nothing compared to what we got through in California.

We were heading to Calico Ghost Town which was only a very short drive from Barstow. It was easy to find. We had to pay at a kiosk as we entered, the woman looked in the car and said 2 adults, 2 children and charged us accordingly and gave us a map. When we read the map it said that children were 15 and under, my 18 year old was most put out but I was glad of the extra couple of dollars I saved!

Calico was a mining town that was at its peak in the late 1800s. The site was bought by the man who owns Knotts Berry Farm and it was handed over to the state after he had rebuilt some of the building. About 4 of the structures are original. It is set on the side of a hill and walking up it in the intense heat was exhausting. It certainly made me appreciate what hard men the miners were. Calico didn’t even have its own water supply at one time.

There is a little railroad that takes you on a tour and you can also go down one of the mines. This all costs extra on top of the $22 we paid to go in.

Although I liked the look of Calico I was disappointed that all of the buildings basically housed cafes or shops, I would have liked to have seen them more as museums to show what life would have actually been like at the time. However it was a fun place to stop and we enjoyed an ice-cream before we left to carry on our drive across the desert to Las Vegas.

The 150 miles to LV were really rather boring. Having driven through stunning scenery the previous day when ever turn gave us a magnificent vista we soon tired of desert followed by more desert.

We had made the decision to drive in to Vegas on a Sunday and the traffic coming out was stationary for miles as all the weekenders headed back to LA. It was easy to recognise Vegas when it appeared on the horizon but driving in soon got really slow. We were booked at the Platinum Suites hotel which we knew was off the Strip somewhere behind Ballys so it was actually really easy to find although the Strip traffic was so slow that we saw it an awful long time before we actually reached it.

I absolutely hate Valet parking and I had booked the Platinum as it offered self-parking but since I had booked it they had changed it to Valet only, there was no charge for this service but I still prefer self-park. We were a bit early when we pulled up and when the valet heard we were going to check-in he told us to go away for an hour and a half as our room wouldn’t be ready. He was really rude and I said I wanted to see if we could check-in so I left Graham having a battle of wills with the valet whilst I went inside with Meg. We only had to wait a few minutes and we were served by a lovely young man who went and got Megan some freebies when he heard it was her birthday. Our room was actually ready and the valet looked particularly aggrieved when we went outside and unloaded the luggage, I was amazed when our car was returned to us with no scratches!

We had booked a Princess Suite which had a bedroom with two queens, a lounge with sofa bed and a large kitchen as well as a balcony. I had found it hard to find a hotel in Vegas that would give us the extra space and a balcony so I was pleased with the size of the apartment. I had noticed that the corridors had really grubby carpets and I can’t say the standard of cleanliness in the apartment was great, it was ok but things were very dusty and I don’t think anyone had swept the balcony or wiped down the furniture in quite a while. There was only one bathroom which was huge and was accessed through the lounge and through the bedroom, it really would have been better to have been split in to two bathrooms really.
I felt the whole apartment was lacking furniture and a homely feel but I did like being able to spread out. I also liked the balcony, the view wasn't amazing but I loved watching the planes come in to the airport.

Since we were now on day 6 and this apartment had a washer/dryer I immediately put a load of washing on as I had made sure we all travelled light so we were running a bit short on undies!

Since it was Meg’s birthday she had the choice of where we were going to eat and she wanted Chinese. Graham often eats at a PFChangs when in Princeton so he had a quick look on his iPad and realised that there was one on the corner of E.Flamingo Street behind our hotel. Having spent so long in the car and battling the valets we decided that we would be fine to walk to the restaurant. This wasn’t a particularly smart idea, although it was still daylight there were lots of homeless about and although they didn’t harass us we still felt a bit uncomfortable and the walk was much further than we had anticipated, coupled with the excessive heat we were really thankful to arrive at our destination.

We were seated quickly and chose a selection of dishes to share including Crispy Honey Chicken which was our absolute favourite. All of the food was delicious though and our server was very attentive.

We only had four mains with rice and fountain soft drinks and the bill was $68 before tip which seemed reasonable. Meg felt very lucky to be celebrating her 18th in Vegas even if it had to be a dry celebration!
We walked back very quickly and I felt much happier once we were back on the Strip. Unfortunately the high temperature and the hot concrete had set off my very unattractive Golfers Vasculitis on my legs so I wasn’t terribly happy about that.

We decided to have a look around Caesars Palace. The place was so huge we struggled to find out how you actually got in. It was our first Vegas hotel and we were fascinated by the whole place. We spent a couple of hours wondering around the casino, the forum and watching the Fall of Atlantis show. We couldn’t believe that we were still in the same building and by the time we actually made it outside again it was dark.

We walked to the Bellagio and watched the Fountains before we decided to head back to our room. I loved watching the fountains and I had the same fuzzy feeling that I have at Epcot where I love standing in the dark whilst still being very warm and watching the entertainment.

Our hotel was set back from the Strip but if we walked all the way through Ballys then we were only a few minutes walk from the door so it wasn’t too bad.

We got back to the room and all chilled out for a while before we went to bed. We then realised that we had no bed linen for the sofa bed. It was getting late and since Meg doesn’t like covers we took some off her bed and managed to make something on the sofa bed for Ally. We then tried to turn off the lights but we couldn’t turn the kitchen light off, we couldn’t find a rocker-switch to turn it off so spent 10 minutes turning every switch we could find on and off. Eventually we had to phone for assistance who said they would be there in 10 minutes. Forty minutes later we phoned again and were told the maintenance guy was on his way. I was quite cross by this point so I tried hitting a block near the kitchen and the lights turned off, it was actually a faulty rocker switch which was jammed and obviously had some dodgy wiring but at least it worked! We never did see the maintenance guy.

**mick** · 15 Oct 12, 04:58 PM

A good 18th for your daughter shame the apartment was a bit dusty

Bella1 · 15 Oct 12, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by mick

A good 18th for your daughter shame the apartment was a bit dusty

Not sure there are many 18 year olds that get such a diverse birthday and had such a good time even though it was "dry"!

daytonababe · 16 Oct 12, 05:25 PM

Glad she had a nice birthday, the chinese looked lovely.

We walk alot on the main strip, but i'm not overly keen on walking behind it, some area's behind the strip are pretty rundown imo.

Bella1 · 16 Oct 12, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by daytonababe

Glad she had a nice birthday, the chinese looked lovely.

We walk alot on the main strip, but i'm not overly keen on walking behind it, some area's behind the strip are pretty rundown imo.

Would definitely recommend PFChangs but take the car! Don't fancy walking off the Strip again, quite grotty!

KarenG · 18 Oct 12, 10:06 PM

We found the non Strip bits a little grotty, too.

We also got very lost in Caesars!

What a way to spend your 18th

Glee Fan · 20 Oct 12, 01:50 PM

Great 18th Birthday!

As daytonababe, we always stick to the main strip for wandering about.

Love the fountain shot.

15 Oct 12, 03:54 PM	#1
	15 Oct 12, 03:54 PM Bella1 Imagineer
Bella1 Imagineer Join Date: Sep 10 Bella1's Reviews Hotel Reviews: 2 Restaurant Reviews: 2 theDIBB Guidebook Guidebook Photos: 7	California Calling-Day6- WOW-What an 18th! After a great night’s sleep with enough beds for a change we woke up to greet Meg on her 18th Birthday. She had already had her main birthday present and due to luggage restrictions we had only taken a small present and her cards with us. She was however delighted with her limited edition Mark Cavendish World Champion socks, not the normal sort of present but for a girl obsessed with the worlds sexiest cyclist we couldn’t have chosen better! Breakfast was included in the room rate so we filled up with bacon and eggs, toast, pastries and fruit. However I made some tea and I think it was the most vile brew I have ever tasted, I was so glad that I had some faithful PGTips tucked in my case so I could make a nice cup when we got back to the room. Once again we took bananas, milk and fruit juice from the buffet and tucked them in our cooler for later in the day. By the time we left the hotel it was already getting very hot and we were thankful that we had bought several cases of water in the dodgy Wal-mart that we had found in LA. We thought we drank a lot in Florida but it was nothing compared to what we got through in California. We were heading to Calico Ghost Town which was only a very short drive from Barstow. It was easy to find. We had to pay at a kiosk as we entered, the woman looked in the car and said 2 adults, 2 children and charged us accordingly and gave us a map. When we read the map it said that children were 15 and under, my 18 year old was most put out but I was glad of the extra couple of dollars I saved! Calico was a mining town that was at its peak in the late 1800s. The site was bought by the man who owns Knotts Berry Farm and it was handed over to the state after he had rebuilt some of the building. About 4 of the structures are original. It is set on the side of a hill and walking up it in the intense heat was exhausting. It certainly made me appreciate what hard men the miners were. Calico didn’t even have its own water supply at one time. There is a little railroad that takes you on a tour and you can also go down one of the mines. This all costs extra on top of the $22 we paid to go in. Although I liked the look of Calico I was disappointed that all of the buildings basically housed cafes or shops, I would have liked to have seen them more as museums to show what life would have actually been like at the time. However it was a fun place to stop and we enjoyed an ice-cream before we left to carry on our drive across the desert to Las Vegas. The 150 miles to LV were really rather boring. Having driven through stunning scenery the previous day when ever turn gave us a magnificent vista we soon tired of desert followed by more desert. We had made the decision to drive in to Vegas on a Sunday and the traffic coming out was stationary for miles as all the weekenders headed back to LA. It was easy to recognise Vegas when it appeared on the horizon but driving in soon got really slow. We were booked at the Platinum Suites hotel which we knew was off the Strip somewhere behind Ballys so it was actually really easy to find although the Strip traffic was so slow that we saw it an awful long time before we actually reached it. I absolutely hate Valet parking and I had booked the Platinum as it offered self-parking but since I had booked it they had changed it to Valet only, there was no charge for this service but I still prefer self-park. We were a bit early when we pulled up and when the valet heard we were going to check-in he told us to go away for an hour and a half as our room wouldn’t be ready. He was really rude and I said I wanted to see if we could check-in so I left Graham having a battle of wills with the valet whilst I went inside with Meg. We only had to wait a few minutes and we were served by a lovely young man who went and got Megan some freebies when he heard it was her birthday. Our room was actually ready and the valet looked particularly aggrieved when we went outside and unloaded the luggage, I was amazed when our car was returned to us with no scratches! We had booked a Princess Suite which had a bedroom with two queens, a lounge with sofa bed and a large kitchen as well as a balcony. I had found it hard to find a hotel in Vegas that would give us the extra space and a balcony so I was pleased with the size of the apartment. I had noticed that the corridors had really grubby carpets and I can’t say the standard of cleanliness in the apartment was great, it was ok but things were very dusty and I don’t think anyone had swept the balcony or wiped down the furniture in quite a while. There was only one bathroom which was huge and was accessed through the lounge and through the bedroom, it really would have been better to have been split in to two bathrooms really. I felt the whole apartment was lacking furniture and a homely feel but I did like being able to spread out. I also liked the balcony, the view wasn't amazing but I loved watching the planes come in to the airport. Since we were now on day 6 and this apartment had a washer/dryer I immediately put a load of washing on as I had made sure we all travelled light so we were running a bit short on undies! Since it was Meg’s birthday she had the choice of where we were going to eat and she wanted Chinese. Graham often eats at a PFChangs when in Princeton so he had a quick look on his iPad and realised that there was one on the corner of E.Flamingo Street behind our hotel. Having spent so long in the car and battling the valets we decided that we would be fine to walk to the restaurant. This wasn’t a particularly smart idea, although it was still daylight there were lots of homeless about and although they didn’t harass us we still felt a bit uncomfortable and the walk was much further than we had anticipated, coupled with the excessive heat we were really thankful to arrive at our destination. We were seated quickly and chose a selection of dishes to share including Crispy Honey Chicken which was our absolute favourite. All of the food was delicious though and our server was very attentive. We only had four mains with rice and fountain soft drinks and the bill was $68 before tip which seemed reasonable. Meg felt very lucky to be celebrating her 18th in Vegas even if it had to be a dry celebration! We walked back very quickly and I felt much happier once we were back on the Strip. Unfortunately the high temperature and the hot concrete had set off my very unattractive Golfers Vasculitis on my legs so I wasn’t terribly happy about that. We decided to have a look around Caesars Palace. The place was so huge we struggled to find out how you actually got in. It was our first Vegas hotel and we were fascinated by the whole place. We spent a couple of hours wondering around the casino, the forum and watching the Fall of Atlantis show. We couldn’t believe that we were still in the same building and by the time we actually made it outside again it was dark. We walked to the Bellagio and watched the Fountains before we decided to head back to our room. I loved watching the fountains and I had the same fuzzy feeling that I have at Epcot where I love standing in the dark whilst still being very warm and watching the entertainment. Our hotel was set back from the Strip but if we walked all the way through Ballys then we were only a few minutes walk from the door so it wasn’t too bad. We got back to the room and all chilled out for a while before we went to bed. We then realised that we had no bed linen for the sofa bed. It was getting late and since Meg doesn’t like covers we took some off her bed and managed to make something on the sofa bed for Ally. We then tried to turn off the lights but we couldn’t turn the kitchen light off, we couldn’t find a rocker-switch to turn it off so spent 10 minutes turning every switch we could find on and off. Eventually we had to phone for assistance who said they would be there in 10 minutes. Forty minutes later we phoned again and were told the maintenance guy was on his way. I was quite cross by this point so I tried hitting a block near the kitchen and the lights turned off, it was actually a faulty rocker switch which was jammed and obviously had some dodgy wiring but at least it worked! We never did see the maintenance guy. __________________ Stay 5 Days, Run 5Ks, Lets RunDisney Feb 2014 Oh No, There's One of Us Missing! Oct 2012 California Calling! July 2012 Our Little Darkside Challenge- April 2017

15 Oct 12, 04:58 PM	#2
	15 Oct 12, 04:58 PM mick VIP Dibber ✓Premium Member
mick VIP Dibber Join Date: Apr 04 Location: Rugby mick's Reviews Hotel Reviews: 1	A good 18th for your daughter shame the apartment was a bit dusty __________________