Place: In-N-Out Burger
Lunch: Double-Double (regular onions, no tomato), fries (well done), Dr Pepper
There's an older woman...Korean, I'm guessing...sitting at the table next to me with a girl I'm assuming is her daughter. She leans over and says "Sweetheart, you no have no more hair on your head."
Me: "Yes. I got rid of it several years ago."
"You no need shampoo."
"No."
At the counter, Jerry from Dollar Rental Car is ordering. "I don't want no onions, see?" Smiling Counter Girl complies and finishes order. "Yeah, but I don't want no onions!" This guy is clearly a former mobster in the witness protection program.
Welcome to In-N-Out on Maryland St, the only In-N-Out I've been to where you can walk in after 11am on a Saturday and not have to wait in line and there's plenty of available seating. It's on the east edge of the UNLV campus, yet it's also basically in the ghetto. The Von's down the street is so locked down that you have to get an employee to unlock the general merchandise section and they have to babysit you while you shop. This is the In-N-Out the strip employees go to. They know better than to deal with the insanity that is the In-N-Out on Dean Martin Dr.
I dropped into Vegas to catch Conan O'Brien's live tour at the Palms tonight. Yes, I'm just that awesome. How do YOU stand to benefit from this awesomeness? If nothing else, I will have probably built enough fodder for at least three blog posts. YOU REAP THE BENEFITS.
My rental car this time around is a Nissan Altima hybrid...my first experience with one. (Hybrid, that is. AND Altima, I guess.) The good news is I have much less to whine about with this car over the stripped-down Mazda I drove over my birthday weekend because the Altima has the same Intelli-Key feature my Rogue does. So I don't get confused about having to use the keys. I know it sounds stupid and petty, but that was REALLY annoying.
The hybrid has been an interesting experience with some quirks of its own. Hybrid vehicles have both electric and gas motors that switch back and forth between gas mode and "EV mode" when appropriate to accomplish the goal of saving gas. It's a little weird when you get in and push the start button and no engine turns on. The instrument cluster lights up and a green "Ready" indicator is your clue that you can drive. The engine will continue to not fire up if you don't hit the gas. So if you put the transmission in reverse and let it propel under its own motion, there's still no engine. Put it in drive and let it coast, still no engine. I can pretty well start the car and get to the lower level of my motel's parking garage without the gas engine.
Once you punch the gas and accelerate to cruising speed, the engine fires up and you take off. Modes alternate depending on the situation...if you're stopped at an intersection, let off the gas while cruising or stopping, or only need slight propulsion, the gas engine shuts off and your dash indicates you're in "EV mode". The same display also has one of those live "miles per gallon" meters that shows what mileage you're getting. When accelerating with the gas engine, it's usually below 20. When cruising, it can be anywhere from the mid-30's to closer to 60 (where it defaults when in EV mode). Our competitive nature makes this meter a game...we suddenly want to be the best gas saver in the world. We pay FAR too much attention to it and drive slower as a result, much to the shagrin of nearby motorists, who get really annoyed with your 'old lady'-like slow driving quirks. At least until the novelty wears off, because by the end of the night last night, I was driving it pretty much the way I do my own.
There's two oddities to get used to while driving...There's a slight bumping feel when the car switches modes (particularly on takeoff), and there's new noises to get used to...particularly the brakes. Hybrids use regenerative brakes, meaning when you hit the brake, the friction creates electricity, which the car uses to help recharge the battery. These brakes have a high-pitched whine. Not terribly annoying...you get used to it...but it's there.
It's interesting, though. I like the idea of being 'off' when 'on' isn't necessary. But for my driving habits (spent mostly on long stretches of open highway at constant cruising speed), I'm not sure there's a practical cost benefit. And those batteries aren't exactly cheap to replace. But it's great for tooling around in the stop-and-go traffic of Vegas. The electric trip odometer indicates I've done about 50 miles on the battery. I haven't even used a quarter of a tank of gas.
Oh...the Altima is a really nice car, by the way.
I spent the morning at Aria at the new City Center, which pretty much blew my patience for the strip. I'm not a big fan of the strip or gambling or mass crowds of people or buildings that are mazes designed to trap you in so you'll gamble. I tend to get agitated and even a little confused, then I just wear down. Aria may well be the pinnacle of confusion. It's nuts. It's decor is beautiful, though. But I still prefer Wynn/Encore.
I'm staying east of the strip on Paradise at a non-casino hotel. The hotel's pool is on the roof (24th floor) and has a great view of the strip to the southwest. It's a great place to hang out in the evening. Plus, the location is a straight shot south to the airport.
After lunch, it's off to the Pinball Hall of Fame.
But I'll explain that in a future post.
