As I mentioned in my last post, we arrived in Las Vegas in the late afternoon on a Saturday, which turned out to be a great time since the airport was fairly empty. Since our last visit, there have been some major changes with car rentals. There is now a consolidated rental car facility, similar to the one in San Francisco. I've heard that this is the way the industry is heading in general, as other airports also have consolidated facilities, and others are planning for them. So instead of having to catch a shuttle for the specific rental car company (we used Enterprise again in Vegas), there is just one shuttle that takes you to one facility that holds all of the airport location car rental companies. Because there is just one shuttle, the wait is nonexistent!
Once again, En
terprise was good to us. The girl at the counter was just okay, not super-friendly, but not rude, just "there." However, the girl who met us in the parking lot was terrific. Turns out she's originally from Hawaii and started talking about the UH-UNLV game that was going to be played that night. She gave us a choice of about 3 cars, and we thought it'd be fun to take the PT Cruiser. We would've preferred a car with a covered trunk, but it wasn't that big a deal. And the car turned out to be a lot of fun to drive, although I wouldn't have liked it much if we were driving long distance since the seats weren't the most comfortable. But for Vegas driving, it suited us just fine.
terprise was good to us. The girl at the counter was just okay, not super-friendly, but not rude, just "there." However, the girl who met us in the parking lot was terrific. Turns out she's originally from Hawaii and started talking about the UH-UNLV game that was going to be played that night. She gave us a choice of about 3 cars, and we thought it'd be fun to take the PT Cruiser. We would've preferred a car with a covered trunk, but it wasn't that big a deal. And the car turned out to be a lot of fun to drive, although I wouldn't have liked it much if we were driving long distance since the seats weren't the most comfortable. But for Vegas driving, it suited us just fine.That night we ate at Applebee's, where we seem to eat at least once each visit. For those of you not familiar with Applebee's, it's a lot like Chili's. In fact, sometimes I wonder if they're affiliated because there are a lot of similarities. For example, Chili's has a triple dipper combo, and Applebee's has an ultimate trio, which is what I ordered. I selected mini bacon cheeseburgers, Tuscan cheese spread, and (I think) the mozzarella cheese sticks. It was pretty good, but I think it may have sitting out a while before it was delivered since some of it was lukewarm.
The next day was our shopping day, since we knew we were going to be pretty busy the rest of the week with the Super Run car show. Our shopping trip included the obligatory visit to Trader Joe's to pick up omiyage. We also went to the Miracle Mile Shops in the new Planet Hollywood Hotel, formerly the Aladdin. It was around lunch time, so we were in search of food. We decided on Lombardi's, which was a great find! The food was incredibly good, and very reasonably priced. They gave us focaccia, which was more like a flatbread that we later determined was actually a pizza crust simply prepared with some herbs and parmesan cheese. It was really huge! We each ordered a Caesar salad to start. For entrees, we had a pepperoni pizza and the rigatoni, and both were extremely generous portions. We ended up taking half of the food home! All that food and a couple of iced teas were only $35! The pizza and pasta were $9 and $9.50 and the salads were $4.75. We would definitely go there again.
On Monday, we had to pick some people (from Hawaii) up at the airport. They arrived on the Hawaiian Air flight that arrives in Vegas around 6 a.m., so it was breakfast time. We went to a buffet at the South Point Casino, which is WAY at the south end of the Strip. I don't even know if you'd still consider it the Strip anymore. The breakfast was pretty good. Taste-wise, I think some things were hit and miss, but selection-wise, it was great, and overall it was a good buffet. I was really impressed with all of the desserts they had to offer! I think it might have been one of the largest breakfast buffets I've ever seen.
The rest of
our week kept us pretty busy working on Super Run. Many of you know that we go there to "work," but don't really know what Super Run is, or what we do there. Super Run is a car show that is open to ALL vehicles. The majority of the cars are classic cars from the '50s and '60s, and there are some antiques from the '20s and '30s, although it also has its share of brand new cars like Ford Mustangs and Chevy Corvettes. People have even known to enter their boats! And this year there was a moped.
Super Run is the name of the show, and people pay $50-$65 to enter their cars into the show. they get a bunch of stuff like a shirt, hat, and pin, and proceeds go toward local charities and nonprofit organizations. The event is free to spectators. There is a kick off party which has been held at the District at Green Valley Ranch the past few years.
We grabbed a late lunch at Tacone Grill, which turned out to be quite good! The menu consisted primarily of wraps
, sandwiches, and quesadillas. I had a United Steak of America sandwich, that normally comes with homemade chips, but I upgraded to fries. They also have a "flavor bar," consisting of almost any kind of sauce, dip, or dressing that you could possibly want. There were so many, I think I took about 3 or 4 different ones!
Because we ate a late lunch, and also because we were pretty busy, we ended up eating a late dinner, after moving cars and trailers to Water Street in anticipation of the weekend of events comprising Super Run.
Did I mention that I got to drive a Ford Falcon convertible this weekend? Scary, but fun! Scary, because the car does not have seatbelts. Scary, b
ecause I had to drive to Water Street in the rain, with the top down, and windshield wipers that weren't much better than if I had stuck my hand over the windshield and wiped it with a paper towel. Scary, because on the drive to Water Street, my friend was a passenger, and now not only was my life at risk, but hers was too. Fun because, well, while I wouldn't want to own a convertible as an every day driving car, a convertible is still fun! And the sound that car makes...vrrrooommmmm!
Anyway, sorry, I was reliving my moments driving the Falcon! As I was saying, we ended up eating a late dinner. I suggested Firefly on Paradise Road, which I first heard about on Rachael Ray's $40 A Day. The atmosphere was a little more like a bar than it was a restaurant, but I still thought this was a good find, and it seems to be quite popular. Their menu consists primarily of tapas, or pupus to the local peeps. Tapas are supposed to be smaller portions of individual foods that allow people to share and try different types of food. However, we found the portions here to be quite large, and for 3 people, we ordered too much food. My friend and I each ordered a mojito, and we ordered 5 items: firefly fries, baked brie, duck rolls, calamari, and chicken salad. The next time, I think I would skip the salad, as it wasn't what I expected. The rest of it was really good, and made a great late night meal. All of the food, 2 mojitos, and an iced tea only came out to a little over $50!
The main event is held on Water Street in Downtown Henderson (which is normally a very sleepy little town, nothing like Downtown Las Vegas!) over a period of 3 days. Every year the show gets bigger and better, with more cars, more prizes, and great entertainment. This year, Jan & Dean performed one night, and Chubby Checker performed another. The City of Henderson is a primary sponsor of the event, and helps to coordinate some of the cash prizes and the entertainers.
And what do we do? Well, just about anything and everything. One of the primary duties is assisting the vendors. There are a variety of businesses that pay for booth space at Super Run, ranging from car parts and clothing to food and candles. The majority of these vendors show up on Water Street between 6 and 10 a.m. on Friday morning, and we have to help show these people w
here their booths are and try to get them to keep within the boundaries of their 10 x 10 foot space. Because all of these people seemed to arrive at once, I found myself trying to be "Miss Aloha" by thanking them for their patience, explaining why the set up can sometimes take a while, and just plain "talking story" with them about their business, or whatever they felt like talking about. While this was not my "job" at Super Run, it sure helped to calm would-be-impatient (understandably) vendors.
My real job is to help with the registration tent. As a Super Run veteran, I take on somewhat of a supervisory role at the registration tent, training new recruits, and making things up as I go along. People who register in advance have packets prepared for them in advance that include a card that goes on their dash board which serves as the car's ticket in to the event. By registering, a car owner can participate in a variety of events such as burn out and slow drag contests. Those who work in the registration tent are also salespeople, selling shirts, hats, pins, and drawing tickets, good for a variety of prizes throughout the weekend.
One of my favorite parts of Super Run is the food. The food vendors are pretty awesome, both their food and the people themselves. We had one vendor consisting of a former local family that started a business up there, and they seemed to do quite well with their teriyaki chicken bowls! Another Hawaii transplant sells Kobe burgers and hot dogs. There was even a booth with Filipino food. Then there are the "normal" foods like BBQ. I say "normal," but by no means am I discounting the ono-ness of their food. One poor guy, who may have underestimated his audience, worked his booth almost entirely by himself the first day! I managed to snag the very last hot link he had, and he had to close earlier than other food vendors because he ran out of food (and we think he just plain ran out of steam!). The next day he was more prepared, and brought a helper. This year we had a new vendor called, Korn Man, who, ironically, is actually a lady! The business is based in Washington State, but I never got a chance to ask if they actually drove from Washington. Some participants and vendors do drive some pretty far distances to get to Super Run. In any case, the corn was excellent! A huge corn on the cob, husk pulled down but still attached, drenched in butter!
And what I look forward to every Super Run is who I refer to as "Indian Taco Lady." The lady is really nice, and her Indian tacos are the best! It's hard to describe if you're not familiar with Indian fry bread, but imagine a malasada that is stretched out and flattened a little. The fry bread has cinnamon and sugar on it, kind of like a malassada, but the Indian taco is the bread topped with stuff that you would put on a taco -- lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cheese, and chili. Awww, it's SO good! I wish I had one right now!
On Monday, we had to pick some people (from Hawaii) up at the airport. They arrived on the Hawaiian Air flight that arrives in Vegas around 6 a.m., so it was breakfast time. We went to a buffet at the South Point Casino, which is WAY at the south end of the Strip. I don't even know if you'd still consider it the Strip anymore. The breakfast was pretty good. Taste-wise, I think some things were hit and miss, but selection-wise, it was great, and overall it was a good buffet. I was really impressed with all of the desserts they had to offer! I think it might have been one of the largest breakfast buffets I've ever seen.
The rest of
our week kept us pretty busy working on Super Run. Many of you know that we go there to "work," but don't really know what Super Run is, or what we do there. Super Run is a car show that is open to ALL vehicles. The majority of the cars are classic cars from the '50s and '60s, and there are some antiques from the '20s and '30s, although it also has its share of brand new cars like Ford Mustangs and Chevy Corvettes. People have even known to enter their boats! And this year there was a moped.
Super Run is the name of the show, and people pay $50-$65 to enter their cars into the show. they get a bunch of stuff like a shirt, hat, and pin, and proceeds go toward local charities and nonprofit organizations. The event is free to spectators. There is a kick off party which has been held at the District at Green Valley Ranch the past few years.
We grabbed a late lunch at Tacone Grill, which turned out to be quite good! The menu consisted primarily of wraps
, sandwiches, and quesadillas. I had a United Steak of America sandwich, that normally comes with homemade chips, but I upgraded to fries. They also have a "flavor bar," consisting of almost any kind of sauce, dip, or dressing that you could possibly want. There were so many, I think I took about 3 or 4 different ones!Because we ate a late lunch, and also because we were pretty busy, we ended up eating a late dinner, after moving cars and trailers to Water Street in anticipation of the weekend of events comprising Super Run.
Did I mention that I got to drive a Ford Falcon convertible this weekend? Scary, but fun! Scary, because the car does not have seatbelts. Scary, b
ecause I had to drive to Water Street in the rain, with the top down, and windshield wipers that weren't much better than if I had stuck my hand over the windshield and wiped it with a paper towel. Scary, because on the drive to Water Street, my friend was a passenger, and now not only was my life at risk, but hers was too. Fun because, well, while I wouldn't want to own a convertible as an every day driving car, a convertible is still fun! And the sound that car makes...vrrrooommmmm!Anyway, sorry, I was reliving my moments driving the Falcon! As I was saying, we ended up eating a late dinner. I suggested Firefly on Paradise Road, which I first heard about on Rachael Ray's $40 A Day. The atmosphere was a little more like a bar than it was a restaurant, but I still thought this was a good find, and it seems to be quite popular. Their menu consists primarily of tapas, or pupus to the local peeps. Tapas are supposed to be smaller portions of individual foods that allow people to share and try different types of food. However, we found the portions here to be quite large, and for 3 people, we ordered too much food. My friend and I each ordered a mojito, and we ordered 5 items: firefly fries, baked brie, duck rolls, calamari, and chicken salad. The next time, I think I would skip the salad, as it wasn't what I expected. The rest of it was really good, and made a great late night meal. All of the food, 2 mojitos, and an iced tea only came out to a little over $50!
The main event is held on Water Street in Downtown Henderson (which is normally a very sleepy little town, nothing like Downtown Las Vegas!) over a period of 3 days. Every year the show gets bigger and better, with more cars, more prizes, and great entertainment. This year, Jan & Dean performed one night, and Chubby Checker performed another. The City of Henderson is a primary sponsor of the event, and helps to coordinate some of the cash prizes and the entertainers.
And what do we do? Well, just about anything and everything. One of the primary duties is assisting the vendors. There are a variety of businesses that pay for booth space at Super Run, ranging from car parts and clothing to food and candles. The majority of these vendors show up on Water Street between 6 and 10 a.m. on Friday morning, and we have to help show these people w
here their booths are and try to get them to keep within the boundaries of their 10 x 10 foot space. Because all of these people seemed to arrive at once, I found myself trying to be "Miss Aloha" by thanking them for their patience, explaining why the set up can sometimes take a while, and just plain "talking story" with them about their business, or whatever they felt like talking about. While this was not my "job" at Super Run, it sure helped to calm would-be-impatient (understandably) vendors.
My real job is to help with the registration tent. As a Super Run veteran, I take on somewhat of a supervisory role at the registration tent, training new recruits, and making things up as I go along. People who register in advance have packets prepared for them in advance that include a card that goes on their dash board which serves as the car's ticket in to the event. By registering, a car owner can participate in a variety of events such as burn out and slow drag contests. Those who work in the registration tent are also salespeople, selling shirts, hats, pins, and drawing tickets, good for a variety of prizes throughout the weekend.
One of my favorite parts of Super Run is the food. The food vendors are pretty awesome, both their food and the people themselves. We had one vendor consisting of a former local family that started a business up there, and they seemed to do quite well with their teriyaki chicken bowls! Another Hawaii transplant sells Kobe burgers and hot dogs. There was even a booth with Filipino food. Then there are the "normal" foods like BBQ. I say "normal," but by no means am I discounting the ono-ness of their food. One poor guy, who may have underestimated his audience, worked his booth almost entirely by himself the first day! I managed to snag the very last hot link he had, and he had to close earlier than other food vendors because he ran out of food (and we think he just plain ran out of steam!). The next day he was more prepared, and brought a helper. This year we had a new vendor called, Korn Man, who, ironically, is actually a lady! The business is based in Washington State, but I never got a chance to ask if they actually drove from Washington. Some participants and vendors do drive some pretty far distances to get to Super Run. In any case, the corn was excellent! A huge corn on the cob, husk pulled down but still attached, drenched in butter!
And what I look forward to every Super Run is who I refer to as "Indian Taco Lady." The lady is really nice, and her Indian tacos are the best! It's hard to describe if you're not familiar with Indian fry bread, but imagine a malasada that is stretched out and flattened a little. The fry bread has cinnamon and sugar on it, kind of like a malassada, but the Indian taco is the bread topped with stuff that you would put on a taco -- lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cheese, and chili. Awww, it's SO good! I wish I had one right now!
So, by the end of day Sunday, we're pooped. But, we're also hungry and craving some not-so-fast food. While the food at Super Run is great, for the most part is pretty heavy and not-so-healthy. We are usually all craving some lettuce by the end of the weekend! We mustered enough energy to head to Silverton where there is a buffet called Seasons. They re did this buffet a couple years ago, and I really love the atmosphere now. It has a lodge-like feel to it, and the food is quite good, and extremely reasonably priced. Dinner is around $13-$14, and offers prime rib, crab legs, shrimp cocktail, and a gelato bar. There are various stations, such as salads, Italian, Asian, and American. There is also an area with seafood, and another area with BBQ. I would go there just for the gelato bar -- they even have ice cream cones! I asked for two scoops of different ice creams, and the one on the top ended up being a bit too soft, but it was still so good!
The day after Super Run ended was our last full day in Vegas, since I had to leave for a conference in Alaska that week. We tried to make the most of it, and we didn't leave until 2:45 a.m. Tuesday morning/Monday night. We had lunch at Olive Garden, which I LOVE! We had a slightly scatter-brained, but extremely friendly and nice waitress. We had a steak gorgonzola alfredo and a seafood alfredo. If you haven't been there before, all meals come with either soup or salad, and breadsticks. And although only I asked for the salad, she still brought a huge bowl out! We ended up sharing the salad. This meal, plus 2 iced teas and a side order of marinara sauce (to dip the bread), came out to about $40.
We also went shopping at Michaels, which I have always wanted to go to, but never had the time. It was AWESOME! If there was a Michaels here, I would be there all the time buying stuff I really don't need. For those of you not familiar with Michaels, it's a craft store. Picture Ben Franklin on Barry Bond's strength steroids! An entire aisle, both sides, full of scrapbook
paper! And these are long aisles, not short little ones.
One of my "Super Run friends," Joanie, who I only see one day a year because she is a loyal Super Run volunteer and loves cars, told me that there is a great view of the city coming down from I-215, so I decided I wanted to find it and take pictures. Boy, she was right! I wish I thought about going there at night! I tried to take some pictures, but they're not perfect.
Our last dinner was at Makino's on Decatur. I'm still not sure if this is affiliated with the Makino's here, but it's similar. The guy who owns Makino's in Las Vegas is the original owner of Todai. The selection at Makino's is totally amazing. They have every kind of sushi imaginable, and it's pretty good quality! Hard to imagine getting quality seafood in the middle of the dessert, but I would much rather eat at Makino's there than the one in Aloha Tower, or the Kyoto Osho in Ala Moana. And there's almost never a line to get food, even when it's crowded.
So, that night, we dropped off our car at Enterprise (which actually closes, I think at midnight) and headed for the airport at around 1 a.m. While we were entering the consolidated rental car facility from the parking garage, we saw two men who decided that it would be okay to push their Smarte Carte (those carts you rent at the airport for your luggage) onto the escalator. One guy was standing in front of the cart, the other behind. I smelled a disaster. Sure enough,
the first guy gets off okay, then the cart hits the side of the escalator, and the second guy has to try to jump over the cart, and falls over in the process. They eventually got the cart off and left in one piece, but it sure didn't seem worth it to me! (And if you're wondering, these were grown men, probably in their 40s or 50s. And being that it was after midnight, the elevators were empty and available!) Anyway, it was entertainment for me, embarrassment for them!
Our journey ends there. We arrived in Honolulu at around 6 a.m., and I had to get ready to leave for Anchorage, Alaska about 15 hours later! I'll work on posting that adventure later. I think I'm going to do a couple of food posts, which won't take that long.
The day after Super Run ended was our last full day in Vegas, since I had to leave for a conference in Alaska that week. We tried to make the most of it, and we didn't leave until 2:45 a.m. Tuesday morning/Monday night. We had lunch at Olive Garden, which I LOVE! We had a slightly scatter-brained, but extremely friendly and nice waitress. We had a steak gorgonzola alfredo and a seafood alfredo. If you haven't been there before, all meals come with either soup or salad, and breadsticks. And although only I asked for the salad, she still brought a huge bowl out! We ended up sharing the salad. This meal, plus 2 iced teas and a side order of marinara sauce (to dip the bread), came out to about $40.
We also went shopping at Michaels, which I have always wanted to go to, but never had the time. It was AWESOME! If there was a Michaels here, I would be there all the time buying stuff I really don't need. For those of you not familiar with Michaels, it's a craft store. Picture Ben Franklin on Barry Bond's strength steroids! An entire aisle, both sides, full of scrapbook
paper! And these are long aisles, not short little ones.One of my "Super Run friends," Joanie, who I only see one day a year because she is a loyal Super Run volunteer and loves cars, told me that there is a great view of the city coming down from I-215, so I decided I wanted to find it and take pictures. Boy, she was right! I wish I thought about going there at night! I tried to take some pictures, but they're not perfect.
Our last dinner was at Makino's on Decatur. I'm still not sure if this is affiliated with the Makino's here, but it's similar. The guy who owns Makino's in Las Vegas is the original owner of Todai. The selection at Makino's is totally amazing. They have every kind of sushi imaginable, and it's pretty good quality! Hard to imagine getting quality seafood in the middle of the dessert, but I would much rather eat at Makino's there than the one in Aloha Tower, or the Kyoto Osho in Ala Moana. And there's almost never a line to get food, even when it's crowded.
So, that night, we dropped off our car at Enterprise (which actually closes, I think at midnight) and headed for the airport at around 1 a.m. While we were entering the consolidated rental car facility from the parking garage, we saw two men who decided that it would be okay to push their Smarte Carte (those carts you rent at the airport for your luggage) onto the escalator. One guy was standing in front of the cart, the other behind. I smelled a disaster. Sure enough,
the first guy gets off okay, then the cart hits the side of the escalator, and the second guy has to try to jump over the cart, and falls over in the process. They eventually got the cart off and left in one piece, but it sure didn't seem worth it to me! (And if you're wondering, these were grown men, probably in their 40s or 50s. And being that it was after midnight, the elevators were empty and available!) Anyway, it was entertainment for me, embarrassment for them!
Our journey ends there. We arrived in Honolulu at around 6 a.m., and I had to get ready to leave for Anchorage, Alaska about 15 hours later! I'll work on posting that adventure later. I think I'm going to do a couple of food posts, which won't take that long.
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