This time it's to the warm, beautiful West Coast (since it's cold in East Coast)
Day 1 Friday - Travel Day
- Drove to Buffalo and arrived quite early, relaxed in the lounge, and flew Delta to Detroit
- Had a plane switch at Detroit (2 hours delay) to LA and landed LA at 2am PST and hotel @ 3am
- Visited T-mobile store to buy a Prepaid voice+data (2G) for only $10
- Walked the Santa Monica pier and took Ella to the ocean - she loved it
- Lunch from Cafe Crepes
- Drove to Rowland Heights, and then Balboa Island for a Balboa bar & walk along the canal
- Took the short ferry to Newport Beach side and walked the Balboa Pier (different than Santa Monica beach but equally nice)
- Dinner @ BCD Tofu house (Korean)
- Breakfast @ Yi-Mei Deli in Rowland Heights
- Drove 2 hours to San Diego
- 1st stop @ USS Midway aircraft carrier museum - I spent 3 hours enjoying while Wendy doesn't
- 2nd stop @ Balboa Park - Ella loved it, because there were so many dogs
- Dinner @ Ten Ren's Tea Time, Rowland Heights
- Drove from LA to Fashion Outlet in Primm, NV - 1 hour shopping
- Onward to Las Vegas Strip, driving up and down, "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign
- Checked into hotel Treasure Island (waited 30 minutes to check-in)
- Went out to eat/visit The Venetian, the Volcano at Mirage, and sadly they cancelled Sirens @ TI show at 11:30pm due to high wind
- Took tram from TI to Mirage to see the small aquarium
- Walked to Caesars Palace to see the larger aquarium and Fall of Atlantis show (meh) inside The Forum Shops
- Lunch @ Cheesecake Factory
- Drove to Hoover Dam, walked on the new bridge walkway
- Back to Las Vegas Premium Outlet North
- Visited Bellagio to see the fountain show (3 times)
- Drove to Target to shop
- Returned rental car and flew red-eye back to BUF via CLE
- Flights: $300/person x 2
- Food: ~$200
- Shopping: $150 (LC) + $36 (Old Navy) + $45 (Crocs) + $50 (LS bag)
- Hote: $100 + $100
- Gas: $150
- Parking: $10
- Car Rental: $130
- Tickets: $36
- Others: T-mobile ($10)
- Slided $30 bill tip to car rental for an upgrade to SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe) instead of Ford Focus compact sedan. SUV wasn't bad and comfortable
- Star Alliance Silver gets me 1 free checked luggage on domestic flight - it was a lifesaver!!
- Used lounges at BUF (Priority Pass), DTW (AMEX Plat for Delta SkyClub), CLE (PP)
- No surprise, no decent/hot food in domestic lounges
- CLE United Club was the best as it had good breakfast selection (donut, yogurt, fruits, OJ)
- Travelled via BUF, DTW, LAX, LAS (new Terminal 3), CLE
- DTW was the best - it had family room everywhere (LAS/CLE don't)
- I hated trams/tunnels connecting terminals - that's DTW, LAS, CLE
- United offered initially $150, then $250, $400, lastly $500 for people to take later flights (via EWR or to YYZ even) from Cleveland to Buffalo.. I was so tempted, but in reality had to get back to work and others took the chances before me anyway
- The $20 trick worked at Treasure Island in Las Vegas. I had Ella beside me too to sugar coat things. Result was not bad, as he upgraded us from regular room (no view) to high floor room with strip view (technically it was only $10 difference at booking). But at least he gave us 2 free buffet vouchers (worth $20~$24 each)
- Tip for future: pay $10 for the strip view room, then slide $20 bill for a suite :-)
- Hotels this time (Crowne Plaza LAX, Treasure Island) were new renovated rooms but not much to write about.
- Ella was such a lovely baby that many people would turn back to see her after walking by. We are proud as parents that she responds equally lovely to others, and she loved dogs too much~
- We are all too old to fly red-eye nowadays - lack of sleep and a baby didn't help either
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