The original plans were to go back to Bob’s house in San Bernardino after Disneyland and then head out early Saturday morning toward our Utah destinations, stopping in Las Vegas for breakfast that morning. Then we had even talked about skipping Disney and just spending the whole day Friday in Vegas. What we ended up was an amalgam of both. After we had finished eating dinner at the Blue Bayou, Bob and I headed out from Disneyland directly toward Las Vegas on Friday, March 25, 2011.
I really had only one thing that I was hoping to accomplish here: to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Las Vegas Strip. The last time I had been here in 2009, the restaurant wasn’t open yet and I had only seen the Rock Shop. Bob and I had been on the road by 9pm, and we had a long, dark four-hour drive ahead of us. I did my utmost to try and stay awake and be a good conversationalist – but I nodded off frequently. As we neared Vegas, I called ahead and the recording (as well at the website) told us that the restaurant was open until 1am and the bar was open until 2am. But apparently, that wasn’t the case.
When we entered at about 15 minutes until 1am, the dining room had already been closed. The bar was in fact open though, so we could browse the memorabilia. Being hellbent on eating at the Hard Rock so that it ‘counts’, I pleaded with a waiter, who talked to the manager – and Bob and I ended up with a vanilla ice cream sundae, minus the sundae parts. We ate vanilla ice cream while watching music videos (including the sapling Justin Beiber) and also trying to determine if the hot girl with the old coot at the bar was a prostitute. This ended up being my fifth Hard Rock Cafe of the year, and my elevated my grand total to 35.
Outside my fifth Hard Rock Cafe of 2011 – my 35th overall
Vanilla Hard Rock ice cream, apparently the late night manager’s special
Paul Stanley owned and used this rare 1983 re-issue Gibson Moderne for many years
It’s not Big 7, but they’re one of my newer favorite bands and they just so happen to be Vegas locals. This signed guitar was used on their 2008 tour.
Great Blue Meanie animation cell from Yellow Submarine
Peter Criss drums on the wall and a giant Sam’s Town display from The Killers 2006 concert tour
Heading out – proud of our visit to my 35th Hard Rock
I had also heard that the Sahara Hotel and Casino – which has been open since 1952 and had been one of the classic casinos of the Las Vegas glory days – was shutting its doors on May 16. So when I thought that we were just blowing through Vegas for breakfast, I suggested that we eat here. Since Bob advised that the Sahara wasn’t known for their breakfast, he thought it might be even cooler if we stayed here. So that was the plan after the Hard Rock.
Unfortunately, we hadn’t thought about it being Spring Break and the rooms at the Sahara were outrageously priced at $184. Bob steadfastly refused when they denied us any sort of deal – even at 2am! We did take fifteen minutes or so to look around the place (where I had actually never even been) and snapped a couple of photos so that I could say, “At least once, I was there.”
Great concert photo of the Beatles from when they played here at the Sahara
2am and hanging out in the Sahara
So we searched for another place to lodge for the night. And we searched. And we searched. Everything was booked. We tried all of Bob’s standard cheap-o spots: The Palace Station, the Alexis Hotel, the Terribles, the Stratosphere, the Orleans, the Royal (where we had stayed with Jimmy in 2005). We stopped by Arizona Charlie’s and even a sleazy little fleabag spot that wanted $125 in cash.
In the end, we ended up at the disgusting Rummel Motel a little bit after 3am. I talked to the guy that worked there and we got the room for $70 cash. He laughed at me when I asked if there was wireless internet. The toilet didn’t work, the beds were about a foot off of the ground, the TV looked like it was about to fall onto Bob’s bed, and when I woke up after about four hours of sleep, I found a pair of earrings next to my head. In a word, the place was delightful.
Bob banished to the corner in our sleazebag motel. No one puts Bobby in a corner.
Outside the incredibly crummy Rummel Motel
On the way to eat that morning, I thought I had discovered the Las Vegas sign that I had half-heartedly been trying to find for a while. It looked just like it – only saying “Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas” – instead of just “Fabulous Las Vegas”. Since the Sahara wasn’t known for their breakfast, we opted for a little more traditional spot: The Original Pancake House. I had the Eggs Michael (poached eggs in mushroom sherry sauce) with Potato Pancakes.
Almost the Vegas sign that I wanted to find
Now THIS place was known for their breakfast!
Our last order of business in Las Vegas was to stop by our friend Jack Hanlon’s apartment for a visit. Jack was in several of the original silent Our Gang films and you can read more about him here. Jack had recently moved to a new location in a nice, gated community – which was very nice as he seemed to always have hobos drifting in and out of his place before. As always, Jack was an absolute delight. Bob picked up some McDonalds breakfast to bring to him and he was very grateful. He just kept telling Bob and me that he couldn’t get over how good we were looking.
With one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met – Jack Hanlon
Our visit was rather brief as we needed to get back on the road to resume our travels. We left Jack about 10am. We had about a 2 hours 40 minute drive ahead of us. As we headed northeast, we passed through Moapa where Laurel and Hardy had filmed their silent film Flying Elephants. No one has yet been able to match any film locations, so I just enjoyed seeing the red mountain scenery. We passed through the town of Mesquite and then through the northwest corner of Arizona.
At 11:30 am, we passed into Utah for my first time. We’d be spending several days in this ‘new’ state.
The road trip will continue with the first of my Utah adventures…
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