We left Goleta, Santa Barbara for our trip to Les Vegas on the morning of 7th September at around 9.20 am. Initially, we had planned to leave as early as 6.30 am but due to unavoidable circumstances, we left two hours late. Needless to say, my anxiety to the trip was raising more and more to the hour and more so, after learning that that it will now take us six hours to drive there as opposed to the two hours that I was made to believe or what I assumed (presumed) before I left Nairobi, Kenya.
Before this trip, I had not noticed the famous freeways of America, what we call back home highways. The previous day when we went to pick the empty cartons from the Sheriff’s Department where Evie works, we had been informed by Paullina, Evie’s colleague that we should take115 instead 126 as the later has more traffic. I noticed that the freeway we had started our trip on was No. 101 and gathered from Evie and the map she handed me that I was supposed to be on the look out very keenly so that we do not miss the next exit No. 210. It then dawned on me all the stories we hear about the American Freeways, that if you miss the exit that you are supposed to turn to on either sides of the road, you are done. My anxiety level started rising once more.
Before leaving Kenya, I was never a keen road map reader as road maps are for tourist who visits our beautiful country, so I presumed. Now I had to master all my skills of reading the road map while looking for our exit. Thank God that the map we were using was also giving us distances from one exit to the other but these distances were in miles and as Evie put it, not always right. Back home in Kenya, am used to distances in kilometers and am not very good in quick conversion of things, a problem I have been having here in America as most of their measurements are opposite ours. When you hear them talking about the weather in Las Vegas being 100 plus, Kenya we would be saying it is about 40. This was really confusing me initially and I am yet to get used to it and many others things which will come under a separate blog page.
When we passed exit 126, I remembered Paullina’s advice and asked Evie whether that was the exit she was talking about and she told that was the one she has used before but that was a long time ago. After driving for about 30 miles from this exit and following the direction on the map, we started feeling that maybe we had missed the right turning and tension started building between us. I remember asking Evie whether she trust her instincts and she told me many a times she is right but these time, she was not sure. We therefore decided to stop at the next exit and ask for the direction and also stretch our legs.
The good thing about these American Freeways is that there are marked and numbered very clearly but one needs to be very keen so as not to miss an exit more so because the roads are very good and although one is driving at the required average spend limit which is about 65 on the freeway, you still feel that one is driving too fast and you again wonder whether their speedometer reading also requires further conversion.
We stop at a restaurant and are told that we are on the right direction and are not lost. You should have seen our faces of relieve as I did not want to imagine Evie driving back all that way. She now confirms that her instincts were right at this time as she was sure that we had not missed the turning we were supposed to enter exit 115. Evie also confirmed that the Google direction of 1.18 miles was wrong. We hit the road once more with more confidence minus the high tension.
We eventually turn to 115 and we kind of relax even more but not for very long as the traffic on the road is too much and I keep on asking Evie, “I though that when we hit 115, the traffic would thin off” and she said no. I asked her “where are all these cars going to”? and she says they are all going to Las Vegas and I asked to do what? She answers, to gamble and I do not believe her until I arrive in Las Vegas and see it for myself.
We stopped on our way somewhere to add on Gas which back at home we call fuel then headed to a restaurant to have our lunch. As we are getting out of the car, there is this lady who upon seeing the sign of Vision Adventure Safaris on Evie’s car, wants know to more about our safaris and Evie spends close to half an hour telling her all about it. A potential Client.
After lunch, we hit the road again and the heat is unbearable. We can not have the luxury of putting on the air condition as this will heat the car and can easily make the car engine cease, Evie educates me on this and tells me, if you put the air condition on throughout that long drive, the car will definitely straw so we have no choice but drive in that heat.
We make a coffee stop in a town called Jeans just before reaching Las Vegas. Back home, I can hear William telling our clients, “and this is just an appetizer”. In Jeans, I get my first experience of the gambling world. The slot machines greet you as you enter the hotel and the are the entire hotel lobby is full of this machines. My earlier imagination was that the machines are kept in othe rooms out of the eyesight of good hotel guests like me. Earlier on, I had imagined that gambling was for the bad guys and is done in dark rooms full of cigarette smoke but I was totally wrong. I learned that gambling in Las Vegas is the way of life and it is fun. That is why all the cars were driving to Las Vegas to have fun and I was yet to experience the true impact of this upon our arrival in Las Vegas.
We arrived in Las Vegas at around 5 pm. Our plan upon arrival was to visit the Las Vegas Convention Centre so that we have our bearing for the following day. We take the wrong turning and drive for about a mile before realizing that we are on the wrong direction. We turn back with little problem and drive to the south hall of the convention centre and are told that THETRADESHOW is taking place at the north hall and we are not amused as it is not indicated anywhere in our tons of paper work. We drive to the north hall and the sign of THETRADESHOW greet us and we say “yes, we are here at last”. We are allowed in and managed to locate our Kenya booth. We go out to start locating the Riveria hotel where we are booked to stay and find that it just a walking distance from the convention centre. Day one of our trip to Las Vegas
