Las Vegas - Possible Near Miss? - How One Person Can Screw Up Travel Plans For Thousands

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

A belated anniversary and birthday trip to Las Vegas.  Years and years since we haven't been here and it was in our RV both times.  I planned it a couple of weeks ago.  We left Tuesday morning for the airport, it has been raining for the last three days.  Not good rain just drizzle and light showers but it's water and we need it. 

We reserved parking at the airport.  Taxis from home are ridiculously expensive and few Ubers circulate in Santiago.  Ubers are banned at the airport anyway and if they are stopped they tow the Uber and a fine of 50,000 pesos.  Talk about corruption and union control of taxi concessions.  Here is the gate, we arrived early.  Vivaaerbus, a discount airline, asks you to be there 3 hours early.  I had to check out of immigration first before getting my boarding pass.

Our crew preparing for the flight.  Very friendly flight attendants.  Viva Aerobus charges for everything from seats, first on first off, water, bags, carry-on, etc. so we didn't get seats until we were at the airport check-in.  Not complaining, we got two seats together and then an empty seat in between.

The flight was uneventful until we arrived in Las Vegas.  On approach and over the runway, we slowed down for landing, and then all of a sudden . . .  the aircraft shot straight up into the air.  I've never been in that situation before although through my years of flying, I have seen and experienced many things including a near miss, a broken wing, a dead engine, and more.  After a fly around, the pilot said it was unstable air.   After we landed,  a guy across the aisle was talking about it and it dawned on me that we didn't hear the landing gear on the first pass.  I'll check the NTSB website later this week.

Breakfast before take-off and a lot of memories from my working days doing the same thing almost on a weekly basis.

Here was the glitch in our arrival.  This is a partial shot of Biden's security detail.  As we walked out of the terminal to catch our Uber, the airport shut down for two hours.  Our Uber called and said he was stuck in another terminal with no in or out.  At the Las Vegas airport, they have a waiting area for Uber and Lyft.  Easily over 100 people waiting for their rides.  When it did open up it was chaos.

Our Airbnb for the week.  We go home on Saturday.  We found a supermarket nearby, a liquor store, and a bus line.  At the liquor store, we heard Hawaiian music and the guy behind the counter asked if we had been to Hawaii.  We told him we hade been several times over the years for work and pleasure and that my brother lived in Maui.  He told us he lost his aunt and uncle in the big fire last year.  They perished in their car trying to escape.  Nothing has been done and the locals are still suffering.  Sad.  Anyway, this is a great location and part of the MGM.  Very happy here.

Wednesday morning and we're ready to head out for the day.  The botanical garden and Caesar's Palace and tonight the water show at the Belaggio, the volcano at the Mirage followed by the pirates at Treasure Island.  Free things to do.  We also have a good friend here for a convention and we will meet this week for lunch. 

Now for a little reality.  I went to our post box in Monterrey last week to check our mail from the U.S.  This is what happens when you don't pay the bad guys every month.  In the states of Guerrero and Michoacan, tortillerias are forced to pay 10,000 per month, and the mom-and-pop taco stands are paying 5000 pesos a month.  The situation has become critical and it's not expected to get better any time soon.  They are so blatant now that on Monday of this week, they pulled into a major city in Veracruz, guns blazing, and threw the body parts of many people throughout the main plaza.  

Last but not least (the sandwich effect) , this may be our new tow vehicle.  It's not new by any means.  We will have it inspected on Monday and go from there.   It's time to retire the old one although it's been good to us.  475,000 km!