Tuesday - Huelva

Contents:
Introduction
Day 1: Flight to Spain and first evening in Seville
Day 2: Sunday in Seville
Day 3: Monday at the Alcazar
Day 4: Huelva

Our friends Ken and Martha, and their kids Alex, Abi, Andre, and Athena, are living in Huelva for the year.  Huelva is an hour west of Seville on the Atlantic coast, about 30 minutes drive from the border with Portugal.

Monday - Alcazar

Contents:
Introduction
Day 1: Flight to Spain and first evening in Seville
Day 2: Sunday in Seville
Day 3: Monday at the Alcazar

Day 4: Huelva

The Flight to Spain and the First Night in Sevilla

Traveling to Spain

Since we would be spending a lot of time in airports, I splurged on a pair of Admirals Club passes

bought on Ebay for $35.  Each is good for 1 person plus kids, for as many airports as you will be visiting that day.  American Airlines sells them at the door for $50 per pass.  In retrospect, I don't think I would pay more than $5 for the privilege of sitting in an Admirals Club unless I were by myself and had work to do.  We almost missed one flight, and the time when we were stuck hours at the airport, we had to be at the gate because we didn't know when our flight was leaving.

Low-Rolling in Vegas for Not Quite Free - Part 3

Sunday

An original photo, for a change:  our breakfast.

Breakfast at Harrie's

We forewent free breakfast and instead headed 3 minutes up Swenson to our other favorite restaurant in Las Vegas, Harrie's Bagelmania, located in a shopping strip on Twain Ave. that has seen better days.  Once inside, this place feels like old Miami Beach.  Correction, this is Broward County all the way.  You will be welcomed and the person sitting behind you (and it is always one particular person in a party of two or more) is talking so loudly you can hear his entire conversation whether you choose to or not. That, and their website doesn't even have its own domain name, looks like the owner did it herself in 1997 when someone said she needed to get herself a website, and features the disclaimer, "If you have any comments, suggestions or ideas please visit the restaurant."  I did, but I'm fairly certain it had no impact.

Low Rolling for Not Quite Free in Las Vegas: Summary of Accounts

Friday 

Tips for shuttle drivers @ SAN and LAS $4
Expenses (excluding CVS purchases) for 2 people:

Burger and Yogurt in San Diego Airport : $23

Rental car (total for 3 days): $67

1am breakfast for 1 (incl. tip): $10

Plus 12,837 southwest points + $10 for flights

Plus 24,000 Hyatt points for room

Total cash spent: $114 (of which $6 was tip)

Low-Rolling in Vegas for Not Quite Free: Part 2

Saturday

Woke up and exploited the Hyatt House Las Vegas's standard complimentary breakfast buffet:  fresh fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, cereals, scrambled eggs, sausages, breads/bagels.  The bagels were pretty hard but everything else was fine.

The Hyatt House had an interesting mix of clientele.  Being a small airport hotel with breakfast and airport shuttle service, it didn't have the anything-and-everything of a Strip resort.  Guests largely consisted of Southwest employees overnighting between flights, but there was also a sizeable contingent of people in their early 20s who looked like they had just come from the gym and seem to spend a lot of time there generally.  A bunch of dudes were preening around at the breakfast buffet in nothing but shorts, muscles, and attitude.  (Actually their attitude was fine, other than their violation of the implied dress code.)  It seemed peculiar, until I realized we were across the street from the Hard Rock hotel.  They were most likely  going to spend their weekend at the Rehab pool party, but were too cheap or too late to get a room at the Hard Rock itself.

Low-Rolling Winning in Vegas for Not Quite Free: Part 1

Our first trip without the kidz in 2 years - Memorial Day Weekend in Vegas.

A lot has happened since my last blog post: most significantly, relocating to San Diego.  And, of slightly lesser significance, I obtained 2 Chase Southwest credit cards in order to get a Companion Pass, which allows one other designated person to travel with me anytime I travel on Southwest, even on a rapid reward ticket. The Sister in Law and her husband racked up a bunch of credits with us for bringing their family out for their early summer vacation and staying here, and offering to keep our kids with her while we do some mostly-childlike stuff for grownups.

Friday

The Flight

With the companion pass we were able to get a round-trip flight from San Diego to Las Vegas for 12,837 points (equivalent to $183.38 using the 70:1 exchange rate), plus $5 TSA charge, and a second companion ticket for only the $5 TSA charge.  At that price it isn't really worth driving, especially on a heavy-traffic holiday weekend.

The flight was late, as seems to be Southwest custom.  Nancy bought a hamburger at the airport and I bought the world's most expensive yogurt cup for $6.  The last Friday Night flight from San Diego to Las Vegas was the usual party bus: a bachelor party right behind us, a bachelorette party a few rows behind them, everyone getting in the zone.  Used my Southwest coupons for the kickoff special: Bailey's and coffee, to get the buzz going while needing desperately to not fall asleep.

Ground Transportation

Arrived at McCarran airport on time, around 11pm, and hobbled to the rental car terminal as fast as possible, given my foot still slightly sore from a recent flareup of gout, the Disease of Kings, in fact, as it was once known, or the disease of Fat Old People as it might be known today.

Getting to the rental car terminal, we observed this at the Thrifty/Dollar counter:

(This actually wasn't my picture, it is posted on yelp.  But it looked the same.)

Each person waiting will spend about 10 minutes at the desk giving a reservation number, being upsold for a higher level car, a tank of gas they won't use, and all kinds of bizarre insurance products they don't understand, and giving a credit card number.  For 30 groups being handled by 4 clerks, that's about a 60 minute wait, maybe more.

Elon's Hyperloop

As a diversion from my regular (rare) blogging, here are some thoughts after reading through Elon Musk's Hyperloop Proposal:


First of all, as an aficionado of low-cost travel and as someone who has frequently dealt with I-5 traffic, I can authoritatively state that a new type of high-speed transportation that eliminates or reduces driving at low cost is fantastic and an idea whose time has come.

The $68 billion California High-Speed Rail Authority has completely ignored the proposal, which is a shame.  Embracing, or at least exploring, a new lower-cost technology would greatly improve the reputation of an agency currently viewed as a huge boondoggle.  I well know the pain of investing a lot of time in something, only to be one-upped by some know-it-all, but the CHSRA needs to swallow its pride and give the Hyperloop some real consideration.  No ego is worth 68 billion dollars.

My family makes the trip from Sacramento to LA at least twice a year, and we would go a lot more often if the trip took less time to drive (low cost), or if it was less expensive to fly (low travel time).  The Hyperloop seems to address that space.  The HSRA doesn't appear to care about it much.

Given that, here are some thoughts. I assume that the basic technology that enables the hyperloop to propel across the San Joaquin Valley are sound and leave the questioning of that to other more qualified skeptics.

Problems

These are the biggest challenges that come to mind. 

• The proposal pretty much punts on what a non-physicist such as myself envisions as the greatest technical challenge of the project, which is to push upward through the steep Grapevine section of I-5 southbound between the Grapevine travel center and the summit near Castaic.  The proposal does note that the southbound speed is reduced to 300 mph, about half the travel speed of the remaining journey, but I suspect that this segment of approximately 40 miles in length will require a much greater amount of energy and much slower travel than suggested in the proposal.
• Another tough problem is the last 5 miles between Oakland and San Francisco, which requires construction or retrofitting of the Bay Bridge.  Perhaps the old Bay Bridge section between Oakland and Treasure Island, which is to be retired shortly, could be retrofitted for use by the Hyperloop.  However, the segment from Treasure Island (which already has problems with power supply) to San Francisco would have to overlay the existing Bay Bridge, which was built without consideration of the Hyperloop.  Alternatively, the Hyperloop would need its own dedicated bridge or submarine tunnel.
• Others have commented that the lack of restrooms would likely cause passengers not to use the Hyperloop.
• What about safety?

Solutions

After reflection, I don't think any of these challenges are deal breakers.  Here are some suggested workarounds:

• So what if the capsule travels up the Grapevine at 100 or even 50 MPH.  I suspect the Hyperloop, if priced on the order of what Elon Musk suggests (average cost of $20 per person one way, plus cost of capital) will be plenty subscribed even if it takes two or three hours to travel from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.  This amount of time is still competitive with air travel, given the time required getting to and through airports. 
• The entire Bay Area design would probably be much more practical if it did not go all the way to San Francisco.  The way I see it, it doesn't have to.  Why not set the Northern terminal instead in Dublin or Livermore, where it can connect to BART while avoiding complicated and costly construction in the Bay Area and across the Bay itself.  There is plenty of space there for a large Hyperloop terminal with parking, rental cars, luggage services, etc. for those who want to drive or ride BART to the terminal.  Even if the Hyperloop were to terminate in San Francisco, most people would be transitioning to it on public transportation anyway, since parking in San Francisco is scarce.
• It would make sense for the Hyperloop to have more park-and-ride stations across the San Joaquin Valley, such as at Stockton, Mendota, Buttonwillow, and Santa Clarita, for travelers transiting to Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Palmdale/Lancaster/Las Vegas (until extensions are built), respectively
• The Hyperloop can operate without restrooms.  Cars don't have restrooms, and yet people drive them on interstates with long stretches between rest stops.  The Hyperloop would need to have more stops, and someone in a capsule would need to be able to signal to stop if needed.  Alternatively, the Hyperloop could offer "local" capsules which stop, allowing anxiety-prone passengers to get off, and "express" capsules which could bypass intermediate stations and would stop only in the event of emergency.  As a last resort, people can do what this person allegedly did.
• Luggage could travel in a separate capsule from humans, in cargo capsules (along with, say, FedEx packages, etc.)  Folks could drop off their luggage at the terminal before they board, and it could travel ahead of time while passengers are waiting to board their own capsules.
• If we can safely land a rover on Mars, we should be able to safely insulate cars from colliding with one another, by means of some combination of parachutes, spring-loaded bumpers, air bags, seat belts, etc.

Other Thoughts

Again, even a 3 hour trip from the Bay Area to LA would be a huge improvement.  It still beats the time it takes to deal with waiting for flights and luggage.  In fact, if folks could travel 400 miles in less than an hour, the entire landscape along the train route would be altered, with suburbs sprouting up across the San Joaquin Valley whose residents commute daily to Los Angeles and San Francisco.  It's not clear that this would be beneficial to California. 

Pricing would have to be dynamic to get the most efficient use of the system.  The Wednesday before Thanksgiving weekend would likely be expensive due to high demand; whereas traveling at 1:00 a.m. on a Tuesday should be priced at cost.  Even if prices are high during peak periods, it would draw significant traffic away from I-5, thereby alleviating congestion.

In Conclusion

There are a lot of technological, regulatory, and financial hurdles before the Hyperloop is any kind of a reality.  That said, I believe that most of the problems that the bloggerati have suggested aren't really technical, and are very much surmountable.  I for one am bullish and hope that something comes of it in my lifetime.

Get your 100,000 AA miles before it's too late

Update:  It's too late.  But there are plenty of other good deals to be had.

With the new AA - US Airways merger officially announced today, I'm handicapping the over/under of the termination of the legendary "two browser trick," which still gets you 100,000 miles on AA per person, to occur within about a month.  (50,000 miles for each of two cards)  But it could be anytime, maybe tomorrow, maybe it already happened.  To be honest, I'm surprised it didn't happen as soon as the loophole was exploited about three years ago.  In any case, it's worth trying even if you only get one of the 50k cards.

The new CEO will be very focused on cost cutting and this is surely one of the first loopholes to be closed.  So if you are considering taking the deal that has enabled me and countless other scavengers to rack up way more frequent flier miles than we ever thought possible, do it now.

I believe that the 2 cards applied for simultaneously will show up on your credit score as a single credit hit, about a 3-point decrease in the score, although I am not certain of this.  Conventional wisdom is that you need a credit score of at least 700 to qualify and my personal experience is that you can't have applied for a lot of other credit cards recently.

You and a spouse have separate credit scores and can each apply separately, and each get 100,000 points this way.  If you give

Daraius explains the procedure eloquently and answers many questions about it.  Be sure to follow the directions very carefully, or you might not get both cards.  Click Here for instructions on millionmilesecrets.com!

Here is what you could do with 100,000 miles on AA:

• Four 1-way tickets to/from Japan offpeak
• Five 1-way tickets to/from Europe offpeak
• Five 1-way tickets to/from South America offpeak

Or half as many if you fly first or business class, or slightly fewer trips if you fly in the summer.  

And if you are very resourceful and patient and live in certain places, you could bundle each of the above trips with another domestic one-way trip, for only the cost of the TSA fee ($2.50 per segment).  Or you could hire a professional to help you.

Of course, it is possible (albeit unlikely, given the number of sharps floating around) that AA somehow makes money off the 2-browser trick, in which case expect to see it there until kingdom come.

Note: this may not be a good idea for you if you are in the middle of applying for a mortgage (or if you plan to apply for one soon and your credit score is marginal) and/or if you have a difficult time paying off your credit card balance every month.

Good luck and enjoy the miles.

Seared and Smoking in Las Vegas: 2012 Trip Report Part 8 (Friday)

Part 1: The Plan
Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)


Packed up the car and left Tuscany.

We stopped for some perfectly edible bagels and coffee at the Del Mar Deli @ South Point, and then headed back to California on Interstate 15.

It should have been 8 hours home, but as usual it took us closer to 10 1/2 due to lunch, bathroom breaks, and fatigue.

That said, our luck wasn't all that bad on this Friday the Thirteenth.  All in all, a relaxing vacation that didn't break the bank, and that's all we can really ask for these days.

The End

Seared and Smoking in Las Vegas: 2012 Trip Report Part 7 (Thursday)

Part 1: The Plan
Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)


I opened my eyes, and realized I was in a room at the Flamingo hotel, neck deep in liquid.  The hairs on the back of my neck froze.

Seared and Smoking in Las Vegas: 2012 Trip Report Part 6 (Wednesday)

Part 1: The Plan
Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)

Wednesday morning, we had cereal for breakfast in the room.

The Mrs. had her massage appointment at "La Riva Spa," which is a small massage studio that sublets some massage rooms from the Tuscany in the fitness center building.  There is no other spa facility to speak of.  Meanwhile I hung out with the kids at the pool in the hotel.  I purchased an iced coffee poolside from the waitress for the surprisingly affordable price of $2.25.

Nancy said she enjoyed the massage, although apparently her therapist had some negative things to say about the guy running La Riva.  Hearing this second hand, it sounds like they haven't been paid for their work, and particularly for any of their groupon / Living Social deals, of which Nancy's massage was one, and she said they are threatening to walk out if they are not paid within the week.  Also, she said (and this was also posted by someone on Yelp) that the owner is extremely hard to work with.  In particular, if someone calls to change appointment times, the guy makes a federal case of it.  Again, this is hearsay, albeit from multiple sources.  The upshot is that La Riva Spa may not be long for the world.

Seared and Smoking in Las Vegas: 2012 Trip Report Part 5 (Tuesday)

Part 1: The Plan
Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)


Ok, back to the Vegas trip report.
Since the Tuscany has a refrigerator, we had shopped Monday evening for breakfast items, and just had cereal in the room.

You know it's going to be hot when you go outside at 7:30 a.m. and it's already 95 degrees.

We had called a few babysitters that we had found through Care.com, after shelling out the $35 fee for a month of subscription, but they didn't call us back.  We found one on Craigslist who sounded promising, and she invited us to meet her at her house.  After talking with her, we were going to hire her, but afterwards we both felt less than 100% comfortable, mainly because she was so far away, and also because she spent most of the time talking to us and spent very little time with the kids.  So we called to cancel.

Seared and Smoking in Las Vegas: 2012 Trip Report Part 4 (arrival and hotel review)

Part 1: The Plan
Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)


Las Vegas greeted us with 111-degree heat on Monday afternoon.  Thanks, Las Vegas.  Nice to see you too.  We pulled into the Tuscany and I went to check in.  

Check-In

The wait for check-in was about 5 minutes.  The Tuscany never seemed to have more than two people working the front desk as long as we were there.  Although, more than 3 would make it crowded.

According to the confirmation email I received, "Resort fee includes:  2 for 1 entree at your choice of 2 restaurants: Cantina or Marilyn's Cafe, $20 food credit with $40 purchase at Tuscany Gardens, Match play on table games, Valet Parking, use of Fitness Center, In-room safes, Local Phone calls, In-room coffee, Internet throughout the reception building and convention public area; extra fee for internet use in suite."  It is ambiguous with regard to the number of coupons you get if you stay multiple days or with multiple people.  It turned out that you get the promo coupon book once no matter how long your stay is.  So if you plan to use the coupons multiple times, make separate reservations for each day you stay.  I didn't, but the check-in clerk seemed sympathetic and gave me a second coupon sheet.  Incidentally, each coupon sheet includes two $5 match play coupons, one of which can be used per day.

After checking in, we shlepped our own bags to the room, relaxed for a bit, and went down to Marilyn's for dinner.  We took it easy the rest of the night, swimming in the pool while I had some laundry going in the laundry room.  I didn't realize the laundry room was locked at 10pm; I still had clothes going in the dryer.  I was able to get someone to open it for me.

The following are reviews of the Tuscany Suites Hotel and dinner at Marilyn's Cafe.

The Buffet: 2012 Trip Report Part 3

Part 1: The Plan
Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)


By buffet, I mean a veritable smorgasbord of cheap lodging options, some of which in fact come with a free actual buffet.  Arriving in Las Vegas on a Monday in mid-July and staying until Friday means hotels are practically begging you to fill their rooms that would otherwise be free of human occupancy, and free of income production.

Most folks in this situation would make a beeline for one of the big strip resorts, which can be had way cheaper than investors in the hotels built since 2000 had ever intended - but that is not how we roll.

The strip had rooms this week that were perfectly affordable, even for a tightwad such as myself.  However, we are traveling with kids, so our priorities are different.  A view of the fountains isn't nearly as important as easy access between the parking lot and the hotel room.  It's also nice to have a kitchen, or something approximating a kitchen, at least with a refrigerator and a table with chairs.  As I've said before, we want to be in a place where we and our kids are welcomed and appreciated.  We would like to be able to leave the premises without a long adventure in the parking lot or long wait at the valet station.  Finally, one other reason I don't seek out the higher-end Strip resorts is that I really feel like I can appreciate the trappings of luxury only when I've gotten them for free, or nearly so.  Otherwise, five stars doesn't do much for me that three stars can't.

An Open Letter to the Mayor and citizens of Baker, California

Part 1: The Plan
Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)


Dear Mayor and citizens:

Stopping in Baker for gas and coffee at the Arco AM-PM station, it was hot.  That, we were prepared for.  However, we were completely blindsided by the fact that the World's Tallest Thermometer has fallen into disrepair, and no longer displays the temperature.

The World's Tallest Thermometer has always been a milepost and beacon of hope to weary California travelers that says two things:

1. Congratulations.  You are only 88 miles from Las Vegas.
2. Congratulations.  You can take the heat, which today is ?? degrees.

However, the World's Tallest Thermometer is broken, and thus fails in its second function.  Please fix it.  I can't brag or blog how hot I was able to stand if I don't know how hot it was.

Sincerely,

A hot and sweaty traveler

P.S. the restrooms at the Arco station are in a condition similar to that of the World's Tallest Thermometer.

Continued

Seared and Smoking in Las Vegas: 2012 Trip Report Part 1

Part 1: The Plan
Part 2: Baker
Part 3: The Buffet
Part 4: Monday (arrival)
Part 5: Tuesday
Part 6: Wednesday
Part 7: Thursday
Part 8: Friday (departure)




Going through my Vegas notebook in anticpation of this trip, I found the following recipe:

2 bags of grass
75 pellets of mescaline
five sheets of high-powered blotter acid
a saltshaker half-full of cocaine
uppers
downers
screamers
laughers
1 quart tequila
1 quart rum
1 case Budweiser
1 pint raw ether
2 dozen amyls

Load up in red convertible, aka "The Great Shark"
Drive to Vegas

Time for a Shvitz

Need to kill half a day in Vegas by yourself but are down to your last $25?

That pretty much rules out gambling, with the possible exception of five cent video poker.  If you really want a taste of the high life, why not spend a few hours at a spa.

Granted, this may not be for everyone.  However, my trip to Vegas is never complete without a visit.  A spa in Las Vegas is an easy way to experience a level of luxury and decadence which anywhere else would require that you stay in a hotel that may cost five or ten times what you spent on yours.  By that measure, it may just be one of the best values that Vegas has to offer.  This might also be a good option for people who don't otherwise seem to care for Las Vegas, or those who just need some peace and quiet.

Tips on Planning a Group Trip to Vegas

Getting the gang back together in Vegas?  Good call.  But here are some suggestions to think about before you go through with it.

Who is going, and why?

Lots of people love visiting Vegas, but different people may like it for different reasons.  Here are some reasons people might want to go to vegas:

A Contrarian View on Resort Fees

In some hotel markets, particularly in hypercompetitive resort areas such as Las Vegas, hotels impose mandatory "resort fees" on customers.  I used to use terms like "diabolical" and other pejoratives to describe resort fees and the hotels that imposed them.  However, I recently have turned the corner on this issue and boldly go where no blogger has been before - to say that they can actually lower the price you will pay for your hotel.