A Day Late and a Few Dollars Short (#BOTB Winner)

Trump Hotel in Las Vegas  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       As of my writing of this post, it's been a few hours since my having returned from a short vacation to Las Vegas with my wife.  We'd gone there to meet up with our daughter and her family--she was there for a conference for a few days and my wife wanted to be able to spend some time with them.  It was a nice little vacation trip and I only lost about fifty dollars or so playing the slots.  Not a bad sum to have lost, but I'd rather had come home with my pockets bulging with winnings.

       I had made reservations for four nights at Harrah's which is where we'd usually been staying for our past several visits.   Later my wife requested that I add Saturday night to our stay.  The rate was increased for that night and the hotel said we'd have to change rooms, so for about the same price I found that we could move to the Trump Hotel for the one night so that's what we decided to do.  We'd never stayed in a Trump property so we thought why not check it out with all the current Trump hoopla and all.

       In the end I'm glad we made that decision because the Trump is indeed a beautiful hotel.  The pricing was essentially the same as other properties that I had checked so it wasn't like we could have saved much without staying at some property with which we were unfamiliar or one that might have been a dump.   No dump the Trump.  Not in our normal budgetary range, but it was a fun stay even though we weren't in the room very long.

      Everything in Vegas is so much more expensive than it used to be years ago.  I didn't see any advertisements about the ninety-nine cent shrimp cocktails or $6.99 buffets.  Vegas is crowds of people--though it wasn't as crowded as I'd seen on previous visits--and casinos reeking of cigarette smoke--though not as bad as it used to be.  I think less people smoke these days.

      Everywhere we went there were opportunities to spend, spend, spend and plenty of people doing just that.   We tried to take care about our own spending, but money seems to fly out of your pockets--or get charged to your credit card--wherever you go.  Bye-bye hard-earned money.  Play now, pay later.

        We left early enough on Sunday to avoid the worst traffic heading back to Los Angeles.  Aside from a couple of slow downs, the trip went smoothly.  We got home before dark (thank goodness) and I collapsed on the bed for a one hour nap.  Then for dinner I opened a big can of hot and spicy Juanita's menudo and ate all three servings of the tripe and hominy stew in a spicy broth all by my lonesome.  My wife won't even try the stuff and leaves the room when I eat it.  What can I say other than I have acquired a taste for menudo and get a craving for it every now and then.

         And that brings me to the Battle of the Band winner between the two versions of the song "Preso".    And the preceding story explains in part why this winner announcement post is coming a day or two later than everyone else's.

The Winner:  "Preso"

       My most recent Battle of the Bands post featured the Spanish language song "Preso" as performed by Mexican artists Cristian Castro and Aleks Syntek.  I wasn't overly surprised about which version won the most votes, though I didn't expect the victory to be so overwhelming.

       First let me explain which version I voted for and why.  When I listen to music, no matter what language it's in, I tend not to listen to the lyrics as much as I take in the overall effect of the music along with the style of the vocals.  I'm more interested in how a song sounds than what it says.  Prior to putting this Battle together I never really thought about what the song was about so lyrics were of no influence on me.

        The romantic styling of Cristian Castro is something that I enjoy listening to and there's nothing bad I can say about this artist.   His style is soothing and comforting like a bowl of good chicken noodle soup.  When I'm in the mood for soothing and comforting and romantic then give me Castro's version.

         On the other hand, for me at least, Syntek has an original modern sound that I can dig--he's the menudo of my soup analogy (not to be confused with the band Menudo).  As I'd mentioned in my previous post, Syntek first caught my attention when I saw the video for his very cool song Historias De Danzón Y De Arrabal.   Later I realized that I had the José José tribute album which included Syntek's version of "Preso".   I like the edgy style of Syntek's recording right from the sampling of the violins at the opening to the catchy funk style that he uses in his version.
  
         My vote goes to the Aleks Syntek version of "Preso".     I can listen to this version more often than the Castro version though that's not to cast any aspersion on the romantic styling that Castro puts into his.  They are both good to my ears.

         Most of you were not in agreement with me on this as can be seen in the final outcome of the voting.

Final Vote Tally

Cristian Castro                26 votes

Aleks Syntek                   12 votes


       As a bonus I offer the video of Historias De Danzón Y De Arrabal which has become a favorite song and video for me.  This song gives a good idea of the type of pop music that I enjoy.    Hope you'll take a listen and let me know what you think.






         My next Battle of the Bands post will be on Tuesday December 1st.  At that time I will be presenting a song for our times and one related to the season in a sense.  One of my artist choices will be one that Stephen T McCarthy loves while the other he may not like so much.  I'm going to take my chances with this Battle.   You won't want to miss it!

An Unexpected Trip To Vegas

         A trip to Las Vegas had not been in my travel plans last week, in fact I thought I was done with traveling for the summer.  However, one of my daughters was visiting us for the week and was going to meet up with her future sister-in-law who was visiting Vegas with some of her friends.  Originally she was going to drive by herself, but my wife wanted us to drive her there and have a mini get-away at the same time.  That was okay by me.

Welcome Sign as you enter the Las Vegas Strip
(photo credit)

         If you've been to Vegas I don't have to tell you how cool it is.  Well, not cool in temperature--we sizzled in temps of 108 degrees Fahrenheit and with scorching wind that took our breaths away--but cool in sheer dazzling spectacle.  Let me put it this way:  It's like an adult Disneyland with booze, gambling, top-notch entertainment, and buffets big enough to feed all the starving people of the world.   Las Vegas is maybe not for everybody, but it is a place that will leave you goggle-eyed when you first encounter it.   It's sun, sin, and spectacle all in one big city, and you can have a pretty good time and stay within a reasonable budget if you avoid the sin.

         I've been there enough times now where it's not such a big deal anymore, but I still enjoy popping in now and then.  And even while I was still at home making my travel arrangements, I realized that this trip was going to be somewhat different than my previous visits.  First of all, I realized that there were some pretty big conventions in town and that fact, combined with the summer tourist season, meant hotels were going to be booked up and the value prices I am usually accustomed to getting were not going to be available.

          This was a correct assessment.  Harrah's, the hotel where we usually stay, only had rooms that were $200 per night or more--not for me.  Likewise, up and down the Las Vegas Boulevard Strip--the most happening part of town to be--hotels were totally booked or at prices I was not willing to pay.  Other nearby hotels of a dubious nature were available at cheaper rates, but my finicky nature doesn't like to take chances on places where I'm going to be taking my suitcases into and sleeping for the night.

         I finally decided to book our room at the Springhill Suites in Henderson, which is about 15 miles from the Strip.  This was no longer going to be as much of a Vegas experience as it was going to be a Henderson experience, and that was fine with me since it would be a new experience.  As I pondered some of the things we might do in Henderson, it occurred to me that this was the home of Zappos.com and I had read where they gave facility tours.  Now that was something I could get into more than the usual Vegas shenanigans.

         Upon investigation of the Zappos.com site I discovered that tours were available Monday through Thursday, but they had to be booked ahead of time and there were no openings available until July 7th.   I was disappointed. Still, I planned on going there anyway just in case there was a cancellation.  More about this later.

         On Thursday morning we got a later start than I had originally thought.  The trip to Vegas from our house is three and a half hours as long as everybody is speeding, which is usually the case.  I like to stay with the flow of a traffic cluster as I prefer not to get speeding tickets.  The trip went smoothly.  Once we had negotiated the Las Vegas traffic and gotten our daughter dropped off at the Imperial Palace, where she would be staying with her new friends, it was twelve-thirty--lunchtime.

South Point Hotel and Casino

         My wife and I were both famished, but decided to avoid a buffet.  On the interstate I had noticed a billboard advertising a Steak 'n Shake at the South Point Casino a few miles south of the Imperial Palace.  We don't have this restaurant chain anywhere near where we live, but we have always enjoyed eating at these restaurants on our travels back east.  Also, I figured the parking would be easier and the restaurant would be less crowded than those around the Strip.   I was right about the parking, but there was a line for the restaurant.  We waited anyway and didn't have to wait long.  As always, the burgers and fries were darn good and shakes were about as good as you can get.   I wasn't super impressed with South Point, having never been there before, but I would go back for the Steak 'n Shake if I got that craving.  And what the heck!--If the rates were right I might even consider staying there sometime.

       By the time we had finished our lunch and dawdled at the South Point Casino a bit, I realized it was going to be too late to catch the last Zappos tour for the day.  Since there were no tours on Friday, according to the website, I figured a visit to Zappos.com was not going to be on the agenda for this Vegas excursion.  So we went to our hotel.

        It felt like the middle of nowhere in the middle of the desert.  A panoramic view of the Las Vegas Strip stretched before us fifteen miles away.  There was a lot of residential housing and industrial complexes around us, but there wasn't much in the way of restaurants or stores in walking distance.  Not that this was such a bad thing--we did have a car if we needed to go anywhere.   And the desert view was pretty spectacular.

Springhill Suites in Henderson, Nevada

        Springhill Suites is a Marriott owned property.  We typically stay at Marriott Hotels when we can.  They are consistent in quality and value.  They are also smoke-free, which makes for a better smelling place.  And in addition to all of that, I get points for my stays and that usually awards me some free rooms every year.  Like most of the Marriotts I choose, this hotel also offered a complimentary breakfast.

         When I arrived at the front desk, I was greeted by a charming young lady by the name of Natasha.  As I was checking in, I mentioned about how I had wanted to tour Zappos and had missed that day's tours.  She told me to wait a moment and that the hotel's sales manager might be able to help me.  The sales manager was Annie Clark.  She came to the front desk and I told her of my interest in Zappos.  She said that she had connections there and might be able to help me and would get back to me.

          My wife and I unloaded our suitcases into a comfortably air-conditioned room.  With the 108 degree temperatures outside, that room was a welcome retreat.  As soon as we were settled into the room the phone rang.  It was Annie Clark.  She said we were on for a tour at 12 noon the following day and that we should get there by 11:45.   I was thrilled and I was grateful for Annie's superb handling of my request.  I must give my kudos to Annie, Natasha, and the entire Springhill staff for a delightful stay while we were there.  And now we had an activity planned for our Friday.

        That afternoon we slept some in that refreshingly cool room and then I blogged for a while.  I had recently acquired a wireless mouse for my notebook computer and it made my activities so much easier than that pad thing on the laptop.  Later we decided that we should probably have something to eat and went out to look for a restaurant.  Signs of dire economy were all around us as we came upon one closed restaurant after another.  There were some Mexican restaurants, but I'm overdosed on Mexican and just wasn't in the mood.     We decided to head in the opposite direction from where we started and it was a good thing.  A few blocks from the hotel we found something that sounded good--and it was.

Metro Pizza in Henderson, Nevada

      Metro Pizza looked inviting from the outside.  It also looked crowded.  We only had to wait a few minutes so it wasn't too bad.  Once we were seated the service was fast and efficient.  We wanted to eat light so I ordered a personal size pizza and my wife asked for the fried mozzarella.   I got a 24 ounce microbrew honey porter.  It really hit the spot on such a hot evening.   My pizza was incredible, although next time I will probably get a different topping than the ground beef.  The beef was crumbly and seasoned like taco meat--not what I would have preferred.  Otherwise, the crust, sauce, and cheese were about as good as it gets.  One of the best things on the table was the bread they served before the meal.  We asked for more it was so good.

       After dinner we took a bottle a wine back to the room and relaxed.  It was such a comfortable room and we wanted to take advantage of our stay.  After all, we didn't need to go out and gamble or hang around the strip.   Chilling out--and I mean chilling in the air conditioning--was good enough for that evening.  Besides tomorrow we had our tour for Zappos set up.  More about that on Friday.

       Have you been to Vegas?   If so, what do you think about it?   Do you have a favorite place to stay while there?   Is there any particular hotel chain you prefer to others?   Are you familiar with Zappos.com?