Our West Coast Adventure - May 2017 - Day 4: Goodbye Anaheim, Calico Ghost Town, Hello Vegas!

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Index can be found here

Sunday 14th May 2017

Steps: 16,491
Miles: 6.83

The alarm went off bright and early at 7:30am but it’s fair to say I was feeling anything but bright… I felt completely broken! Those three days of Disney madness as physically exhausted me! Thank goodness we would be spending a lot of time sitting down in the car today! After a bit of snoozing I finally got out of bed at 8:10am and got myself showered and dressed and finished off the packing ready to check-out.

By 9:30am we were pretty much ready to go so our plan was to take all the cases down to the car first and then head to reception to check-out. We now had 6 cases to contend with as I had removed my medium case from the large case that it had travelled over in… my tactic for all the hotel moves was to use this case for all my dirty washing that I accumulated along the way!

After a couple of trips up and down in the lift and out to the car the cases were all loaded up so at 10am we said our goodbyes to the room (does anyone else do this when leaving a hotel/villa?) and made our way to reception. It was a nice and easy check-out with only $56 worth of parking fees to settle ($14 per night). Our method from this point onwards was to charge any hotel/parking fees to the credit card they had on file to avoid having to use our precious spends to settle up (we would then just pay it off the CC when we got home).

Before we left Anaheim and made our way to Vegas we wanted to get some breakfast and we had seen an IHOP directly opposite the entrance to Disneyland so that was our destination. Although it took much longer than we had anticipated as that morning had seen the Tinkerbell half marathon taking place so as a result a lot of the road were closed and there was crazy amounts of traffic! Paul being the ever confident driver that he is though wasn’t fazed and managed to get us there via various back roads…he never fails to amaze me with his driving and navigation skills!

Despite being very busy with lots of runners getting their post-run breakfast we were seated straight away, although were given a table right at the very back despite walking past a number of vacant booths (I must admit we love a booth so was a little disappointed!). Paul went for the breakfast sampler and a coke whilst I had my standard french toast with bacon and an orange juice. All delicious as always, I do love an IHOP breakfast!

By 11:15am we had settled the bill and were ready to hit the road, goodbye Anaheim… Las Vegas we are coming to get you! To break up the drive we had already planned to make a stop at Calico, a ghost town and former mining town in San Bernardino County. We popped the postcode into the sat nav and were given an ETA of 1:09pm. Joining the I-15 we started making our way there, Paul doing a super job of driving and me being the oh-so-necessary co-pilot that dishes out the sweets and changes the radio station every time it loses signal (we all have a purpose!)

The views as we were driving were just spectacular; we reached 4190ft elevation up in the mountains which caused some serious ear popping! Sadly my photos from the car leave a little to be desired so you will have to take my word for it!

At 12:29pm we passed a sign telling us Vegas was 174 miles away, whilst that still felt like a huge distance I couldn’t help but be crazy excited…. We were getting closer!

The journey went surprisingly quickly and before we knew it we were approaching the 3 mile marker for Calico, we of course had to stop for the photo opportunity!

At 1:20pm we were pulling up to the entrance. We had done a bit of research into Calico ahead of our trip but it’s fair to say we weren’t quite prepared for the amazing sights that were to come!

On pulling up to the little hut at the entrance we discovered it was the Bluegrass in the Spring Festival and as a result entry was $15 each (I think if you came on a normal day it would be less than this). We handed over the cash and the woman asked if we had any mothers in the car… it had completely passed us by up until this point that today was Mother’s Day in the US! I jokingly said not quite but I was a mother-to-be so does that count? She laughed and said it definitely did count and handed me over a ‘Mother’ necklace. Such a lovely gesture and I’m not ashamed to say I got a little teary! Another special little memento that will be going in the memory box!

Heading on in we parked up the car and I changed out of my flip-flops and into my trainers, I was pretty sure given all the hills and sandy terrain I would be needing them! Walking to the end of the car park we found ourselves faced with a steep staircase that would lead us up to the start of the town itself.

On making it to the top we were both pretty blown away by what we saw! It’s going to be so hard to describe everything as there really aren’t quite the words for this place… hands down the most surreal and interesting place I have ever seen with my own eyes! What really blew me away was that this town currently only has a population of 8 people!

We made our way through the town trying to take it all in; there was so much to see! I apologise now for the bombardment of photos… it really is the best way of explaining what this place is like! There was live music playing and the atmosphere was just fantastic, everyone seemed so happy and joyful!

Coming to the end of what can only be described as the main street we started to walk further up into the hills. Man it was getting hot!

We popped into one of the shops and couldn’t resist paying out $1 to make Singing Sam give us a tune… I bet the girl working in there hated us, he went on forever!

Whilst in there we were also sucked into taking the Maggie Mine tour which cost $3 each, in reality it was just a walk through some tunnels that lead to an exit at the other end but nice to know we were contributing to the upkeep of this quirky little town I guess!

Making it out from the narrow little tunnels and back into the blinding sun we continued to climb the mountain and it was definitely worth the effort as the views were just stunning! Paul was much more adventurous than me when it came to tackling some of the giant rocks… the heat and exhaustion were really starting to kick in at this point so I was more than happy to hang back and take the photos!

Continuing to make our way around the town we found ourselves over a bridge and in front of this somewhat eerie dwelling… it reminded me of something out of The Walking Dead and I was expecting a walker to appear from inside at any moment!

Whilst over there we witnessed what can only be described as the oddest competition I have ever seen… it basically involved greasing up a large metal poll that was stuck in the ground and people were invited to see how far they could climb up it, the person who got the highest wins! Fair to say Paul was not particularly keen to take part… no matter how competitive me may be there is a line!

After watching various men attempt it (no women were keen can you believe!) we made a move back down the mountain and into the main town square to have a nosey at all the little shops that they had… I was most amused that even somewhere as remote as this it is still possible to get a Starbucks!

It was approaching 3pm and as the pig racing was due to start we headed over to watch. Yes, this crazy little festival in this crazy little ghost town had pig racing! A most surreal experience, but everyone seemed to get very into it!

Once the pigs (and dogs) had made it past the finish line we headed for Lil’s Saloon as we were both gasping for a drink! We grabbed a large coke ($4) and plonked ourselves down on a table to have a quick foot rest.

Thirst quenched we headed out the back of the saloon and stumbled across a most interesting building… it was made out of bottles! Just when you thought this place couldn’t get more surreal right?

We knew it would soon be time to leave so we took a last wander, grabbing some more last photos as we went.

Whilst having a nosey in one of the shops we couldn’t resist the perfect opportunity for a #usanumberone opportunity (I hope you appreciate the effort here Helen, it’s not often I put a hat on this crazy hair!)

By 3:55pm we were waving goodbye to this crazy little place as it was time to carry on with the road trip and get ourselves to Vegas! On getting in to the car we put the zipcode for the Vdara (our first Vegas hotel) into the sat nav and were given an ETA of 6:07pm. Time to hit the road again!

It sure was a long old journey, at one point as we joined a new road the sat nav told us we would be continuing on there for 133 miles! Yikes! We also saw a train going past at one point… it was 102 carriages long! Sure beats the 4-12 carriages I get on the c2c line in Essex!
As we were getting closer to Vegas we spotted some bright lights in the distance, they were hard to miss really as despite being so far away were blindingly bright! On having a google since being home it seems it was the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System!

At around 5:45pm we got our first glimpse of Vegas in the distance, I could barely sit still with excitement at this point… we were so close to being there now!

As we had put the Vdara as our destination into the sat nav it directed us to enter in via the back way so we were basically entering the strip half way down. We had envisioned coming in at the very south end of the strip and driving the whole way up so as a result Paul decided to drive us back down so we could come in the right way… it seemed necessary to see the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign when getting there for the first time! (I don’t actually have any photos as I was videoing but there will be some later in the trip I promise!)

By 6:20pm we were pulling up outside the Vdara and Paul quickly jumped out to investigate the parking situation for check-in. As we had so many cases with us we decided to opt for Valet parking so bell services could take everything and deliver it back to us when we were into our room. Not a cheap option at $25 per night plus tip but it seemed like the easiest solution on arrival!

With bags all unloaded and wheeled off we headed into reception to check-in which was lovely and smooth and soon we had keys in hand and were making our way up to floor 40 to find our room… yes this hotel was pretty damn high!

On finding our room (40.028) we were pretty damn excited to head on inside… it’s fair to say we were not disappointed with what we found on the other side of that door!

The Vdara is an all-suite hotel and we had upgraded to a fountain view… I was expecting it to be nice but I was completely blown away, it was absolutely stunning! Being one of the newer hotels on the strip it is ultra-modern, bright, clean and very trendy! Everything is so high-tech with electric curtains and blinds, a bedside tablet to order room service and check facilities, weather etc. Even the ‘do not disturb’ sign was integrated into the electronic room number sign outside, no need for a cardboard door-hanger here! Hands down it is the nicest hotel I have ever had the pleasure of staying in (which is saying something as the hotels still to come in this report are all pretty damn gorgeous too!)

At 7:20pm Paul rang down to bell services to get them to bring up our cases (once we had gotten over the excitement of the amazing room and had stopped taking photos and videos!) and they were up with us nice and quickly. As we were going to be here for 5 nights we decided to unpack most of our things, mainly because we wanted to keep the room tidy and avoid having over-spilling suitcases all over the floor (it was far too swanky here for such behaviour!)

On getting to my toiletries I found that my hair serum had had somewhat of an explosion in transportation and was everywhere! I was very thankful I have a waterproof wash bag so it was well contained but it did make me replicate Ross from friends and his ‘IT’S ALL OVER EVERYTHING!’ moment!

With that mess tidied up I had a shower and got myself ready to hit the strip! We were in Vegas baby!

I couldn’t help but be amazed by the views from our window, they were just spectacular!

By 9pm we were making our way out of the room with the aim of stopping in our hotel bar Vice Versa for a drink before heading out to find some food. On making it down to the reception area I stopped to take a few snaps, it was all so beautiful and being a non-gaming hotel it had such a lovely chilled-out vibe! (Very different from your standard casino hotel in Vegas!). It also had a great little Market Café where you could get everyday essentials and light bites (not the cheapest but very convenient!)

Making our way into Vice Versa Paul ordered a Heineken and I went for a Coke. On booking with eBookers we had been given $30 food and drink credit per day so we charged the drinks to our room so it would be taken off of that (a nice little perk it has to be said!)

By the time we had finished up our drinks it was now 9:55pm and food was definitely top priority! As it was getting late we didn’t want to waste time wandering around trying to decide on somewhere to eat (Paul and I are both awful at making these sort of decisions!) so to make life easy we had a destination in mind… Bubba Gump!

It was a short walk across the bridge that is situated by the Cosmopolitan so we were soon there and were seated straight away. This restaurant hadn’t been here on our last visit so it was all new to us and it certainly didn’t disappoint, I love the theming of Bubba Gump! We ordered our drinks, Paul of course had to go for a beer in the souvenir glass (we love a novelty glass!) and I went for the mango sparkler cooler (a nice change from my standard Coke or lemonade!)

On inspecting the menu we were very excited to see the inclusion of the sweet and spiced shrimp on the appetisers menu, we had this off the special 25th anniversary menu when in Orlando last year and it was delicious! For mains Paul had his traditional Shrimper’s Heaven and I went for the Bourbon Street Mahi Mahi.

The food was as always absolutely delicious! A great choice for our first meal in Vegas! By now it was 11:15pm and they were shutting up for the evening so we made a quick stop at the gift shop to pick up a new glass and then made our way out… not before stopping for the obligatory bench photo though of course!

As we were right there we had a walk through Planet Hollywood casino and then through to the Miracle Mile shops, everything was of course closed what with it being so late but it was lovely to be back there and it was amazing how familiar it all felt despite having not been there since 2010!

By now I was feeling pretty pooped after such a long day of travelling so we decided to make our way back to the hotel. Our route took us through the Aria (which sits directly in front of the Vdara) and we hopped on the tram to give our tired legs a little rest from any more walking!

It was 12:20am by the time we made it back to the room… phew what a long day and a lot of miles we had clocked up! After pottering around for a bit I was into bed by 1pm whilst Paul stayed up a little longer watching the TV… fair to say I was asleep pretty damn quickly!

So that brings us to the end of day 4! An exciting road trip that saw us leave Anaheim and arrive in Vegas. Tomorrow we hit the strip to see the sights and also finally indulge in some chill out time around the pool!

Day 5 can be found here

[Redrach1903]

I say goodbye to hotel rooms and villas too

Oh Calico looks right up my street, just so interesting and a bit creepy! Love it!

Your hotel suite looks totally amazing! Living the dream or what?!

Glad Bubba Gumps was still as good in Vegas You looked so pretty too!

Great read lovely xxx

[Wismgari]

Wow Calico looks amazing! And your view...

Amazing day, I can't wait for more

[clochette]

Another great day. Really looking forward to this part of your report, as we are off to Vegas in October for the first time. I am very excited!

I hope you manage to get some chill time in the next couple of days - you have been doing far too much for a pregnant lady - you make me tired just reading about it!

[HelenJNT]

Six cases?! Holy moly!

Yes, we always say goodbye to a room, and it's usually sad - unless it's a cruddy work hotel room!

Those roads look nuts - so different to home here. And I think your co-pilot duties are JUST as important as driving.

Calico looks amazing. I was excited to read this day after seeing your Instagram photos. Were you just waiting for Big Thunder Mountain to zoom past?
Pig racing? and greasy poles? Just amazing!

Yay for the #usanumberone! A would LOVE that hat. Proper lolled when I scrolled down to see Paul doing it too.

The Vdara looks utterly amazing. Living the dream! * Wow. Those views. And yay for Bubba Gump. That starter - yesssss 🙌🏼

* just noticed Rach said exactly the same thing in her comment! Jinx!

[Unexpectedpenny]

Who doesn't say goodbye to hotel rooms?! It's a must!

Calico looks really interesting (and hot!), especially that building made from bottles

Your hotel room looks beautiful. Lovely view.

Good choice Paul, Shrimpers Heaven is my go to at Bubba Gump too!

Another great day, even without Disney

[EJSakaAnna]

I got excited seeing this was up, the perfect read while enjoying my Friday night wine & picnmix .

Great start with an IHOP brekkie & how cute is that mother necklace?! What a special keepsake. Calico looks like a cool place to stop.

Your suite at the Vdara looks gorgeous, that view is amazing! xx

[vics18]

We not only say goodbye to hotel rooms, we thank them! Haha.
Calico looked crazy, I've never heard of it before!
Wow that hotel room! And the view - major heart eyes.
Another cracker of a day x

[Redrach1903]

Originally Posted by HelenJNT

Six cases?! Holy moly!

Yes, we always say goodbye to a room, and it's usually sad - unless it's a cruddy work hotel room!

Those roads look nuts - so different to home here. And I think your co-pilot duties are JUST as important as driving.

Calico looks amazing. I was excited to read this day after seeing your Instagram photos. Were you just waiting for Big Thunder Mountain to zoom past?
Pig racing? and greasy poles? Just amazing!

Yay for the #usanumberone! A would LOVE that hat. Proper lolled when I scrolled down to see Paul doing it too.

The Vdara looks utterly amazing. Living the dream! * Wow. Those views. And yay for Bubba Gump. That starter - yesssss 🙌🏼

* just noticed Rach said exactly the same thing in her comment! Jinx!

See more...

*breaks into Frozen song* Jinx again! 😂 X

[i love jack]

That's a pretty busy day again! The suite looks amazing