Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Vegas--Transportation

Sorry for those who get this twice but I thought I had proofread and after I published I saw the errors.

The Vegas trip MyHubby and I went on  earlier on this month made me realize how different someone's view of distance is so different from mine . As we planned the trip, I did take into account that walking would be involved to get from Point A to Point B. Our hotel was on The Strip so we figured once we got to the hotel we would be okay.as long as I had my inhalers, go at my pace with a mini-rest.in-between.

I studied the map beforehand and everything just seemed to be close to each other. However, when we arrived, it was a total different story. The casinos/hotels took one or two blocks, or so it seemed and the 'blocks' were a helluva lot longer than I am used to.

The very same morning we arrived we stopped at the Concierge desk at 9 am. Because of the airline delay we didn't get to our hotel until 3 am but managed to get a couple of hours of sleep.  We had to go to the County Courthouse for the marriage license and the costume place which looked like it was right outside The Strip area. I was so wrong.

It was a brutal windy cold day as well. Some of the locals we met along our journey mentioned it was unseasonably cold. I thought NO crappola!

A friend of mine had advised to use a cab wherever we wanted to go. However, when we finally arrived at the airport, the observant man MyHubby is, noticed the prices posted on the cabs. There were seemingly hundreds of cabs and limos offering a ride. Thankfully, we had a free shuttle to the hotel.

We went to the Concierge who advised us to use the Transit Bus at $7 a day vs a cab fare of $39 one way. The Concierge told us that the bus stop would drop us off about 2 blocks from where we needed to go get our marriage license.  Also, she informed us we had  to get off the first bus and transfer to a second bus to get there. Her two blocks seemed like a 2 mile hike uphill for me. I knew at that moment this was going to be a LONG day.

When we walked back to the bus stop after getting our marriage license,we waited miserably in the cold for about 20 minutes until it arrived. I was assuming MyHubby knew where we were going. So I just followed. As we were on the bus, I was looking at the map looking for our next stop. After a few stops and noticing we were on the outskirts of town we asked the bus driver if we were on the right bus. He informed us that we had taken the wrong route. However, he was almost finished the route we were on the. He would be driving the route we needed so to just stay on. It was the easiest way. So we did. I guess you can say we took a 2-hour tour of the surrounding area. Loved the mountains far away!

At the stop he told us us we needed to transfer to another bus to take us near where we needed to go for the costume shop. Well he didn't say it was at a different bus stop. We waited.  My feet were hurting, I was cold and  worried the costume shop was going to close before we got there.

MyHubby needed to keep reminding me it got dark earlier in Vegas..It was only 4 pm and it looked like it was 6 pm at home so I was thinking it was later than it actually was.

We kept looking at the bus route map discussing where we thought we were and and what bus we needed. We knew it should arrive within 15 minutes. However, we waited and waited. We saw buses come and go. We finally  noticed another bus stop on another street crossing where we were. Well as MyHubby  saw the bus  at the other stop it dawned on him that we had to be at THAT bus stop. Those buses have a route and if they are on time, they drop off, pick up and go. We had to walk a block crossing a crazily busy street. As we rushed,  THAT bus left us behind unknowing that we were half running to get there. Luckily when we got there another bus came shortly thereafter. WHEW! We got on and made it to the Costume Shop finally 4 hours after we got on the first bus when we had started the journey.

At the Costume shop, God presented us with an Angel who knew the bus system and told us exactly which bus to take to get back nearest to the hotel. We finally got back to the hotel around 7 pm.

For some reason earlier when I stepped down from the bus to walk to the Courthouse, my pin in my hip started hurting like hell right through my knee. I theorize that when I was standing on the bus for a while with it moving  I must have shifted my body to keep my balance which in turned caused my pin to lock. As I walked it got better. My feet were swollen and I got cramps so bad that night. I was exhausted.

But I do think it was so cool how the city bus was prepared for the wheelchairs/scooters. They ride up the ramp and there is this contraption on the floor that they roll in and the DRIVER happily locks the wheels.

I told MyHubby next time we did this sorta thing we needed to ask about how a disabled person can get around easier and cost efficient. Or be resigned to pay the 40 bucks cab fare if there seems to be more walking involved.
 
 I had noticed many people on scooters throughout our stay but never thought anything of it. But of course, on the last day of our trip I really took notice of a man. I  remembered seeing him a few times walking but this time he was on a scooter. The scooter had an ad on its basket, RENT ME. That would have been so in handy during my stay.

I told MyHubby that night as we were getting ready to sleep, we spent the first day waiting and walking for the most!

Stay tuned for my next post!
























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2 comments:

  1. If I ever get to Vegas this post will certainly have helped me. I too can't walk far anymore and need to sit frequently. I have to gear myself up just to go to Walmart for groceries because it's such a big store. The things we take for granted can be devastating to others. Thanks for this info. Hugs.

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  2. This is what my blog is about. If it can help one person than it is all worthwhile! I am the same way with Wallyworld. Its the store I hate the most and the one I go to the most. LOL.

    Your very welcome AND Thank you for being a friend and stopping as you do!

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