Second Leg Joe, Pete and Old Faithful....

​Blog by Joe Forzani for “Travel Cheap With Pete
We drove Pete’s Dodge Van, “Old Faithful”[we named it after Yellowstone old geyser that has been going forever]. The most exciting part was actually driving through the desert. Driving keeps you alert and awake. Reno to Las Vegas was 7 hours.  We would argue and scrap as to who would drive, then never give up the captains seat once we got it. To get the seat one time, Pete even tried to bribe me with Melatonin pills, hoping I would surrender....Didn’t work, but he tried....lol. Driving through the desert was boring and tormenting, straight, very flat roads for miles on end, nothing to see but dried sage bushes and a couple ancient gas stations....Conversation topics between Pete and I included married life, divorce life, kids, food, the universe and philosophies of life....When Pete got into his philosophies, I fell asleep....We had a better understanding of each other for sure...

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​We arrived in Las Vegas early evening. Pete had the idea to look for a hotel in Old Vegas[Freemont Street].Upon entering the busy area, traffic came to a halt  because of the thousands of costume parader’s strolling the narrow streets. Half Vegas was there, owning, walking/crossing the streets at will...Bedlam for anyone there, we were in the middle of a Brazilian Carnival... Still looking for a hotel after a couple frustrating hours,, we tried to stay calm and think our way through. And we did!...We drove to an out of the way hotel and pulled up Hotels.com for anything in Vegas...Up came a 4 star next to Hard Rock at a great rate....Wow, from dejection to elation in 20 minutes...After tidying up it was off to Hard Rock for some supper and more parade watching!...Halloween in Vegas is like nothing on earth. People who would normally be boring dressers wore extremely creative, colorful costumes with themes ranging from the wild sexy bodies to Little Red Riding Hood....Endless supplies of costumes stumbled by us, often in groups showing off their “I wanna be glitter”. We couldn’t get enough, never laughed so hard...Want to have real fun, Halloween in Vegas!

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Next day, Pete suggested to eat where the locals eat, a couple blocks off the strip.  Ellis Island is the best deal in town. We had half a bbq chicken, rack ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, cole slaw and corn bread, all for 12 bucks. And, 2 buck drinks with Monday night Football. We needed a wheel barrel to get us out of there. Definitely a guy thing.... lol .
A few miles outside Las Vegas heading south, lies a large Hotel/Outlet Mall called Primm, state line of Nevada and California.  The Outlet mall carries all the best higher end stores and the brand name labels can be addicting .I do recommend this outlet on your travels...Pete got all excited when we dropped into Whiskey Pete’s, he said they named it after him...lol. Once inside we found Bonnie and Clyde’s death car. Very interesting display of the bullet ridden car and documented history of the tragedy. The video and newspaper clippings depict a detailed version of the event  and included Clyde’s death shirt. Bonny and Clyde were Bank Robbers and committed  murders, yet movies created a powerful love story between the two...Drama, you make the call....Wow, to imagine the two of them were  actually in that car....​

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Leaving the bright lights and glitter of Las Vegas, Pete handled the driving, heading us to Laughlin Nevada. Located on the beautiful Colorado River, Laughlin is a cozy, small city with Las Vegas hotels. Getting from one hotel to the other requires taking a tiny ferry. Laughlin is half the price of Vegas but with the same charming attitude. We stayed at Harrah’s for $32{tax in}, found a 25 category buffet and broke even on the slots....Good energy, good memories...Staff very friendly everywhere in Laughlin...I stayed in Laughlin 10 yrs ago on a spring Harley Davidson Motor cycle Rally called Riverrun. There are 75,000 motorcycles which occupy the city every year, with the spectacle well controlled and organized.
From the very beginning of our trip to Phoenix, the most expensive gas was in California at $3.99[US gallon].The cheapest was Phoenix at $2.05[US gallon].California heavily taxes everything, must have Hugh debt as a State....Spent last couple days in Phoenix shopping at Nordstrom Stores [Rack and Last Chance]. Last Chance store takes all Nordstrom returns, defectives, poor sellers and odds and ends and has deep markdowns to sell...Great deals there if you luck out with size!I bought 2 Nordstrom shirts and nice pair leather shoes for $30 bucks.... We relaxed by the pool, ate some tasty Saloon meals and sipped on a few good beers....Pete spent much of last days getting his van and trip ready for the 5 month Central America trip....Buying car insurance, security systems for van, maps, lighting systems all ready to go...Can’t wait to hear about Pete’s travels, the adventure to Central America will be totally amazing ! .

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