Day 01
12 August 99
Los Angeles - Las Vegas
We have had our first little piece of adventure. I saw roadside signs for the "world famous" Mad Greek restaurant in Baker, and convinced my mom to go. The first sign made it sound very appealing ("fresh strawberry shakes"!) but the second sign advertised a trucker discount as well as biscuts and gravy for 99¢. This latter sign succeeded in convincing my mother that the place was a "trucker joint" (in her words). She was prepared for a real dive, but I was excited. It turned out to be "an oasis amongst gas stations and diners" (as she later commented) and we stuffed ourselves on Greek food, which I guessed to be our last Greek meal this trip. My mother then spilled some soda on herself and had to change outfits in the bathroom before we proceeded to Las Vegas.
We are staying at New York, New York (my mother says, in honor of my move) and I like the place. The outside architecture is spectacular, and the miniature New York construction inside is very well done. Someone must have had a real blast designing all of the window dressings. There is a rollercoaster outside that thunders by at all times, and occasionally I hear the screams of the merry riders. We are in the Chrysler building. I wandered around a bit and tried my hand at slots, which I enjoyed because only old ladies seem to play them. I got to be an old lady for the evening... and nobody carded me. I got some veggie fajitas to go and ate up in the room while talking with my mom. She's so cute, and she says she enjoys watching me eat. She even combed my hair for me, which she hasn't done in years...
Tomorrow we are off to Salt Lake City, where my mother's father and two of her three brothers live. Apparently they just had a freak tornado strike downtown. I can't imagine what that would be like, having grown up exclusively in Earthquake country. I have often wondered what it would be like to move to Boston and to not have to worry about the shaking of the ground any more. Of course, everywhere has its little natural disasters to contend with.
11 August 99 | Day 02
return to US trip '99
return to Rachel's Daily Diary
