Day 1
Monday June 13, 2016
Well today is the day we head back out to Las Vegas. Originally we weren't going to leave until tomorrow but I found some really low fares on Delta leaving from our local airport, Stewart. The only bad thing was it is a late afternoon flight. So to make up for the late departure, we're leaving a day early (like we need it on a month long trip).

We had the morning at home to finish up getting ready for the trip. We left here around 2:30pm. I took Dee up to the airport and then drove back down the hill to where I work to park my car and then walked back up to the terminal (about a mile). Flying out of Stewart so close to home is super convenient. I don't have to rent cars or stay in hotels and we're therein 10 minutes!

Normally fares from this airport are too high but for this trip I was able to get a one way flight out with Delta for just $152 per person. This is a super saver fare and you don't get your seats until you check in. We checked in at home yesterday and just had to check the suitcase to day and pay the lame baggage fee of $25. This went well and we were off to security. That's the other great thing about this airport. Security never takes more than a few minutes.

We got to the gate and waited for boarding to begin. This is a small puddle jumper type plane so boarding goes quickly. We are in seats 13E and 13F. This is flight 3750 scheduled to depart at 5:25pm and arrived in Detroit at 7:06pm. Before we left the captain came on the PA and said the flight would take 1:20. We left on time and the flight was pretty good for a small plane. Very little turbulence. Before long we were making our initial approach into Detroit. This is not only my first time to this airport but it's also my first time ever being in Michigan.

Once we landed we took what seemed like the longest taxi ever at an airport. Once Dee's headed directly to the next gate to catch our connection. Of course I had to hoof it from Terminal C to Terminal first by going ¼ mile to the tunnel that goes under the tarmac then of course our gate was all of the way at the end of the terminal which had to be 45 miles. OK, that isn't true but it was effing far.

Boarding here took a little longer since this is a full sized plane. When we got there boarding already started before we got there. This time we had seats 40F & 41F. We were front & back this time, the drawback of these super saver fares on Delta. This is flight 1917 scheduled to depart at 7:59pm and arrive in Las Vegas at 9:19pm. We are told before take off that the flight would take 4 hours and we'd be landing at 9:30 pm. Even though we've already flown part way this flight in just over 4 hours and will be a treat compared to the 5-5 ½ it usually is on the non – stops. The flight was bumpy at times and I passed most of the time by playing games on my tablet, watching free entertainment and napping. Dee did the same.

We landed on time and taxied for a while to the gate. We had to wait for Dee's wheelchair to come up before we got off the plane. Once we did the first stop was to baggage claim. Of course our carousel was at the far end of the room. The bag was out when we got there.

The next stop was the shuttle to the rental car facility. For some reason the rental car rates for this trip have been very high going all of the way back to winter. I check the rates daily, sometimes more than once and they have remained high for the last 5 months. Since everything was high and we could use the extra space, especially when the cousins arrive I booked a full sized SUV (Tahoe or similar) from Alamo for a base rate of $850/month. I also have a discount code and a coupon that took $110 off. The real killer is the taxes on the car though that add up to almost 50% extra. The biggest part of that is the absurd daily facility charge.

Since we were arriving late I was worried there wouldn't be a decent SUV left. I ended up getting a Chevy Tahoe with almost 16000 miles on it. It was in great condition. I gave it a once over and loaded our stuff into it and we were on our way. The only hang up here was the long lines and lazy/slow workers at the exit gates.

We left the car facility and the next stop was to the Tropicana. Out of the blue I got a mail offer from them based on what I think is my limited play at the M. They recently combined slot clubs at both properties and appear to have done some cross marketing. This offer is good for 3 nights, $120 free play, 2 tickets to Raiding the Rock Vault or the Laugh Factory and $80 per day in food credits.

When we arrived checking in was really quick because it was so late. We were given room 532 in the Paradise tower. This is a handicap accessible room with 2 queen beds, a nightstand, dresser, flat screen TV, work desk,arm chair w/ ottoman and a side table. The bathroom has a tub, toilet and vanity with safety bars all around. It has a view of the airport and partial pool view.

We threw our things into the room and then went to the food court to get a quick bite to eat because it's the only thing open. They were running a very limited menu because they were deep cleaning the kitchen. Considering this is the only place to eat after midnight, I found it to be unacceptable. We both had a turkey sandwich, chips and a drink . We also got some fruit and yogurt to go since we had $80 to burn by 3am. I figured we'd use this food for our breakfast in the morning and save the full $80 for dinner tomorrow night.

We got back to the room at 12:30am which was 3:30am to our bodies and just crashed after a really long day.

Total Coin In for the day $0
Total win/loss for the day $0
Total Comps for the day $157
Room $99
Food $58