Route 66 - The Last Day - November 7, 2019
Oh the luxury of not having to get up for a specific start time!
The itinerary said that today had been reserved for 'shopping and seeing the amazing sites of the city'.
I had no desire to go out into the traffic and mayhem of Las Vegas to spend money. That kind of activity is not what excites me at all!
In the place of tall buildings blocking out the sunshine, and pavements littered with waste of one kind or another, give me wide open spaces like those of the open plains we had driven past, or take me to the mountain tops like those we had driven past over preceding days. Let me walk amongst the natural debris that gives off delightful yet subtle scents to awaken the senses.
Instead of the noise of a cluttered city, let me hear the rhythm of the earth, the song of the birds, the whisper of the wind, or the babbling of a brook. These are the rare things these days. Cities are the unavoidable hubs of our existence and they are in abundance in the United States.
Shopping and spending money has never been a favourite pursuit of mine. I always get tired feet when I am out shopping! I work too hard for the money I have, to just frivolously spend it on things of little significance. I have bought souvenirs along the way of Route 66. I have thought about the people I love and I have got them something I think they might enjoy. I have had to send home a load of stuff because my bag was getting too heavy. I'd like to see if I can go for a full day in the United States without spending a single cent. I don't think it's possible. There is always someone putting out their hand wanting money. This is a very money hungry society.
So in rebellion, and because I could, I snuggled in the hotel room and rested and wrote. When I was hungry I phoned room service and had the most expensive sandwich I have ever eaten! It cost me the best part of $US30!!! It was however, delivered to my room, and it was quite delicious.
Jenny went out sight seeing, and returned in the late afternoon for a siesta.
Before I knew it was time for us to get ready and meet everyone for the last time to join them on a "limosine" drive. I dressed in one of the bling tops I had bought yesterday and was really happy with how nicely my "good" jacket now fitted me since I have lost a few kilos. What was even more delightful was that despite having eaten some rather large meals along the way, I didn't feel like I had put on any weight - but I suppose the proof will be when I get back to Australia and weigh myself.
At around 7pm everyone was gathered in the hotel lobby. Some were well on the way to being inebriated.
We all piled in to a stretched out Hummer. The bench seats were not the luxury we had imagined but nevertheless we all squashed up and got into the spirit of the occasion. Conversation was near on impossible because of the loudness of the speakers.
The first stop was the amazing fountains that I'd had a brief taste of the previous evening. I was happy to come back and watch the full routine from the vantage point we'd been led to. The water show was clever and spectacular, but most importantly to me, it was beautiful and graceful.
The next stop was the sign welcoming everyone to Las Vegas. There were professional photographers gathered at this site, and they were cleverly equipped to take the photos and then airdrop them onto what ever device you wanted to keep the image they had taken ... for a fee of course! I didn't begrudge them their creative way of making a living.
This was just a quick stop because there was nothing else to see or do at this place.
So, back into the ear splitting environment of the Hummer we went to our final destination before returning to the hotel.
We had arrived at the original "strip" of Las Vegas - Freemont Street!
We had to walk through a lobby filled empty-eyed people playing on slot machines. I commented to one of the guys that I couldn't understand why people would indulge in such an activity. He said he'd read research that said that they didn't do it for the thrill of the win, rather it was the disappointment of the loss that gave them the most satisfaction! That had me even more perturbed ... and then we opened the door at the end of the room and stepped out into sheer madness! I think this sign perfectly summed up what I saw.
We'd been given a time to meet back at the limo so that we could get back to the hotel. Jenny and I went for a walk one way, came back to the place we had entered Freemont Street, and then walked the other way. That gave us the opportunity to see a good cross section of everything going on.
There were young families there! Jenny and I both agreed that we didn't think it was the kind of place to bring children. The paprents seemed to be having a pretty good time though.
When we met back at the entrance point, we had most of the group with us. We'd been told that if we weren't there we'd have to make our own way back. There was no way I was going to miss that limo ride. I'd seen enough!
Back at the hotel, I found a quiet and comfortable place to sit. I didn't want to be a complete party pooper, but I also didn't want to over indulge in food or alcohol! I just couldn't see the point.
Across the coffee table from me was a young man who introduced himself to me. He was a doctor who specialised in obesity - my current favourite topic! He told me he had been attending a conference in Las Vegas, but that he was from Saudi Arabia where there was a huge problem with overweight people too! I was really surprised. He showed me a map of the world where obesity was a problem and of course Australia was highlighted, as was the US, and several places in Europe. We had a discussion about the program I was following. I told him that my use of Saxender had caused a change in my behaviour towards food which I felt was very positive. He said that Saxender was a very successful drug and that he also had had huge success with his patients.
As we were talking a huge plate of delicious looking salad was placed before him by a waiter. He insisted I join him to eat it! Although I didn't feel it was the right thing to do (because he had paid for it for his own consumption), he explained that in his Middle Eastern culture he would be offended if I didn't eat with him. So I accepted. Then he showed me pictures of his family and his expensive car and told me about the way his father had supported him to pursue his current career. He was a really nice person, and I felt so comfortable talking with him.
That was a sublime conclusion to what had been a strange evening! When our interlude concluded, I thanked the young doctor for his kindness, collected Jenny, and we both went back to our room to prepare for our departure tomorrow.
The itinerary said that today had been reserved for 'shopping and seeing the amazing sites of the city'.
I had no desire to go out into the traffic and mayhem of Las Vegas to spend money. That kind of activity is not what excites me at all!
In the place of tall buildings blocking out the sunshine, and pavements littered with waste of one kind or another, give me wide open spaces like those of the open plains we had driven past, or take me to the mountain tops like those we had driven past over preceding days. Let me walk amongst the natural debris that gives off delightful yet subtle scents to awaken the senses.
Instead of the noise of a cluttered city, let me hear the rhythm of the earth, the song of the birds, the whisper of the wind, or the babbling of a brook. These are the rare things these days. Cities are the unavoidable hubs of our existence and they are in abundance in the United States.
Shopping and spending money has never been a favourite pursuit of mine. I always get tired feet when I am out shopping! I work too hard for the money I have, to just frivolously spend it on things of little significance. I have bought souvenirs along the way of Route 66. I have thought about the people I love and I have got them something I think they might enjoy. I have had to send home a load of stuff because my bag was getting too heavy. I'd like to see if I can go for a full day in the United States without spending a single cent. I don't think it's possible. There is always someone putting out their hand wanting money. This is a very money hungry society.
So in rebellion, and because I could, I snuggled in the hotel room and rested and wrote. When I was hungry I phoned room service and had the most expensive sandwich I have ever eaten! It cost me the best part of $US30!!! It was however, delivered to my room, and it was quite delicious.
Jenny went out sight seeing, and returned in the late afternoon for a siesta.
Before I knew it was time for us to get ready and meet everyone for the last time to join them on a "limosine" drive. I dressed in one of the bling tops I had bought yesterday and was really happy with how nicely my "good" jacket now fitted me since I have lost a few kilos. What was even more delightful was that despite having eaten some rather large meals along the way, I didn't feel like I had put on any weight - but I suppose the proof will be when I get back to Australia and weigh myself.
At around 7pm everyone was gathered in the hotel lobby. Some were well on the way to being inebriated.
We all piled in to a stretched out Hummer. The bench seats were not the luxury we had imagined but nevertheless we all squashed up and got into the spirit of the occasion. Conversation was near on impossible because of the loudness of the speakers.
After what seemed like a reasonable (not rushed) time for a visit we all climbed back into the limo.
We had arrived at the original "strip" of Las Vegas - Freemont Street!
In many ways it was a bit of a freak show. People with severe disabilities putting themselves on show and making money exploiting themselves in a noisy, brightly lit, den of iniquity.
When we met back at the entrance point, we had most of the group with us. We'd been told that if we weren't there we'd have to make our own way back. There was no way I was going to miss that limo ride. I'd seen enough!
Back at the hotel, I found a quiet and comfortable place to sit. I didn't want to be a complete party pooper, but I also didn't want to over indulge in food or alcohol! I just couldn't see the point.
Across the coffee table from me was a young man who introduced himself to me. He was a doctor who specialised in obesity - my current favourite topic! He told me he had been attending a conference in Las Vegas, but that he was from Saudi Arabia where there was a huge problem with overweight people too! I was really surprised. He showed me a map of the world where obesity was a problem and of course Australia was highlighted, as was the US, and several places in Europe. We had a discussion about the program I was following. I told him that my use of Saxender had caused a change in my behaviour towards food which I felt was very positive. He said that Saxender was a very successful drug and that he also had had huge success with his patients.
As we were talking a huge plate of delicious looking salad was placed before him by a waiter. He insisted I join him to eat it! Although I didn't feel it was the right thing to do (because he had paid for it for his own consumption), he explained that in his Middle Eastern culture he would be offended if I didn't eat with him. So I accepted. Then he showed me pictures of his family and his expensive car and told me about the way his father had supported him to pursue his current career. He was a really nice person, and I felt so comfortable talking with him.
That was a sublime conclusion to what had been a strange evening! When our interlude concluded, I thanked the young doctor for his kindness, collected Jenny, and we both went back to our room to prepare for our departure tomorrow.
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