After running around most of the day seeing points of interest around here it was time to pick up the rental car at the local airport (Stewart – Newburgh) that we’d be taking to Newark. I reserved this car back in March and reserved a premium car for a rate of $48.99. This rate was actually cheaper than the full and mid sized cars by about $15. My guess is people are renting the smaller cars because of high gas prices and the rental car companies have bigger cars sitting around. I’m in their preferred program and actually have an upgraded version of this card and my rentals are supposed to be ready for me when I walk through the door. It wasn’t and this is the second or third time in the last few rentals this happened. I questioned the guy at the counter about it and all I got was a song and a dance. I told him I’d be speaking to his manager next time I saw her (I know her after renting there after all these years, as well as one of her employees being a the wife of a friend of mine). I was given a Chrysler 300 with 21,000 miles on it and it was in good condition. It’s one of my favorite cars to rent and Dee really liked this car too. Our hopes were we might be able to score one tomorrow night in Las Vegas.

Now we fast forward to Saturday afternoon to start the actual journey to Las Vegas!

We left my house and headed for the airport at about 4:15pm. Our flight isn’t until 7:20pm but I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to the airport.

Traffic was ok considering it was a Saturday with exception of the standard places that are always bogged down. We gassed up the car at my usual station near the Meadowlands (Giants Stadium & The Izod Center) before we made our way into Newark.

Returning the car was quick and easy and we were on our way to the monorail and terminal C for our flight on Continental in just a few minutes. This terminal is typically a zoo and very busy because Newark is a hub for Continental. As we entered the terminal the security line was chaos and I feared things were going to be like this downstairs at the check in area. Oddly there was no one down there and we were both checked in very quickly. Check in took use each about 3 minutes and we were on our way to security which is always a challenge here in terminal C. The line was long and then I had a brainstorm. They have 3 security checkpoints here in this terminal so we took a shot and walked over to a different one. We were both amazed that there was no one here. We breezed through security in less than 3 minutes! The best part of this was there weren’t the typical assholes that always seem to hold up the line. You know who they are, and if you’re one of them, you know who you are. These are the people that don’t listen to TSA employees, think they are exempt from the rules and do nothing but bitch and complain.

We had some time before the flight and after checking the gate and departure times we hit the food court for a snack before the flight since we hadn’t eaten at all today. We went with the Chinese place called Wok & Roll and got a 2 item combo with Chicken & Broccoli, General Tso’s Chicken and Lo Mien. This was tasty and a good deal at only $7 including tax.

When we got back to the gate they were already boarding. We weren’t sure what rows so we hung back. It was the same crap as usual. People lining up next to the actual line long before their rows are called blocking those people who should be able to board. Then the ignorant airline employees call the next group of people and these jerks step right into the line and end up boarding before those that should already be on the plane. Then there’s the usual jerk offs with their carry on luggage that’s why too big just blocking everything up in the aisles so no one can get by. Then as I am walking past the line I hear this following conversation.

Lady: Hey Jane, what row are you guys in? (With question in her voice as she KNEW Jane shouldn’t have been in line yet)
Jane: (In a sly whisper) It doesn’t matter, we’re gonna board now.

Now anyone that has ever read my reports knows that people boarding before their rows are called really pisses me off and does nothing but slow down the boarding process.

I booked my flight back in March through Harrah’s Passport Travel because I redeemed 50,000 reward credits for a free flight. This was a savings to me of $383. This same flight goes for nearly $500 now. Although Dee and I booked separate reservations, we set it up so that our seats are together.

We finally got to our seats, 24 A & B. This is flight 468 scheduled to leave at 7:20pm and arrive in Vegas at 9:59pm with a flying time of 5 hours and 39 minutes. This seems long to me for this time of year. We left the gate on time but there was a long queue to take off so we sat on the runway for about 30 minutes. An announcement was made that our flight time would be 4 hours and 45 minutes.

Continental still serves food on their flights and we were expecting to be served a meal. However, we heard the flight attendant telling another passenger that they don’t have meals on flights scheduled after 7pm. I was NOT happy about this and Dee & I were glad we grabbed a small meal in the terminal. All we got was 2 mini bags of pretzels and a soda.

Today’s movie choice was definitely, maybe. I opted not to watch this as it seemed like a real waste. After this movie they showed another one called College Road trip with Martin Lawrence. We started watching this but about 1/3 of the way through Dee turned my sound from the movie channel to music because it sucked so bad. Little did she know I had already fallen asleep, TWICE!

I was able to catch some sleep on this flight to pass the time. One thing I hate about making this trip is the long flights. One thing that was different is for the first time in over 10 years I actually had someone to travel with so it was nice to have someone to talk with to pass the time of the flight as well.

The flight was pretty smooth other than a few small areas of turbulence when the captain turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. Of course, as always, there are always the people that choose to stay seated until he turns it on and then they get up. I’m thinking the flight attendants should change their standard announcement from “Ladies and gentleman, the captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. If you’re moving about the cabin please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelt.” to “Ladies and gentleman, the captain has turn on the fasten seatbelts sign. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts unless of course you feel you’re above the rules. In which case please continue to move about the cabin and if you’re seated please feel free to get up now that it is unsafe.

The flight seemed like it was taking forever but then before I knew it we were getting ready to land. On our approach out in the Henderson area I pointed out the window to a sign and Dee recognized it as Fiesta Henderson. I was impressed that after only seeing that sign one time in the past she knew what it was from the sky!

We arrived 8 minutes early and taxied to terminal D.

The first stop after deplaning, is the can and then on to baggage claim. The wait for the luggage was reasonable. Of course our first few bags came out quick and then there’s always the one that takes forever!

The next stop was the rental car bus to head over to the rental car facility. I wasn’t thrilled with the wait time for the shuttle bus. These busses are supposed to arrive every 3 – 5 minutes. We waited at least 10 minutes if not more. Then three of them show up at the same time.

This trip I booked through Avis. I got an outstanding rate from Avis for $199 on a full size on a 2 week rental with the discount code from the Entertainment Book. If that weren’t good enough there was a $30 off e-coupon on the Avis website on a weekly rental dropping the rate to $169. A recent check shows this same rental now in the $380 area so I think we got a great deal. Once again when I arrived my car wasn’t ready and the big scoreboard had my name on it and to stop at the preferred counter. The guy said my credit card was bad in their system but it wasn’t. I had updated it long ago. He fixed it quickly and offered me a Buick Lucerne, Ford Grand Marquis or a Chrysler 300. I jumped on the 300 and we were on our way. This car was an upgraded version of the one we had back in Newburgh with a leather interior and it only had 7000 miles on it.

After looking over the car we headed downtown to Main Street Station where we’ll be spending the next 2 nights. Originally we were going to be here for 4 nights but a last minute mail offer from another property is making it worthwhile to make an extra move. I booked this reservation on the June mail offer through a host. The offer is good for 4 nights, $100 free play, 3X points and a food coupon book. Since my play is high enough my host actually exchanges the food coupon book for their silver card. The silver card is good for all meals at the non-gourmet restaurants at the downtown Boyd properties.

Check in was very fast here as it usually is. I was impressed with the clerk here. He asked my last name and was able to spell it and find my reservation without me spelling it for him 4 times. In just a few minutes we were on our way up to room 1514. This is a room with 2 queen beds with a view of the freeway. I had originally reserved a king on the other side of the building that was non-smoking but checking in at close to midnight doesn’t get you the best rooms. It has a few sitting chairs, a work desk, wall unit, nightstand and a small table. They’ve also added a fridge to the rooms since my last stay here. The bathrooms here are small and lacking with the sink outside the bathroom. For our needs for the next few days the room is fine.

It was now midnight and we were both exhausted but starving so we hit the Market Street Café at the California. I had my favorite hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes. Dee had the same but with fries instead. The food was good and the service was decent. On the way back through Main Street Station I stopped of at the Boar Bar to see bartender Bob. It was good to see him after not being here for over 6 months.

After our very late dinner I had no plans to play tonight so we unpacked the items we’d need for the next few days and called it a night.

Total win/loss for the day $0
Total comps for the day $517