Traventure Day 9 - 10: Flagstaff to Las Vegas to Cleveland

As discussed the previous night at dinner, we decided to skip the sights we had originally planned on seeing and head straight to Vegas for some time sitting pool side.  We packed up the car for the final time and headed to Williams, Arizona for breakfast.  It was my quick decision to stop at Anna's Canyon Cafe.  I am not exactly certain of the history of Anna's, but it is somewhat related to a brothel and their gift shop reflected it selling suggestive t-shirts and wooden nickels for a good time.  Little did I know that breakfast would turn into a short walk about Williams on a Sunday morning with a very unique attraction, the Poozeum.  The owner told us it began as a traveling exhibit of fossilized dinosaur poop that eventually found it's home in Williams.  The free museum was definitely entertaining and a bit educational too.  There are two Guinness Book Record holders in the building. The largest coprolite by a carnivorous animal belongs to George Frandsen (USA) and measures 67.5 cm long and up to 15.7 cm wide), as certified in 2020. Also the largest collection of coprolites belongs to George Frandsen (USA) and consists of 1,277 coprolites, as certified in 2015.  It was a one of a kind stop.  They also claim to have fossilized farts.  My peers were skeptical of the encased farts.  Williams was a fun stop and I hope to return someday to take a bigger stroll down the street..

After looking at poo it was back in the van.  We drove until we NEEDED to stop.  We pulled off and drove down a desolate road to Chloride, Arizona.  The shop owner (it was the only shop in town) was very proud of her little town and shared it's history and told us how to view the petroglyphs.  I love petroglyphs but we were on target for Vegas, we didn't even stop at Hemmingway Park in Nevada by Lake Meade, another of my favorite spots.

Our next stop was Vegas.  We stopped at the little white Chapel where our friends were married 18 years earlier.  This was their first time back since their wedding.  We were greeted with Elvis's shaking and very squeaky hips.  We took a few photos and then it was off to the Plaza Hotel in Old Las Vegas.  We dropped our bags and headed to the pool for some cloudy skies and mediocre, but heavily leaded drinks.  The pool had a lot to be desired as many of the chairs were ripped and the music from the surrounding hotels was so loud you couldn't relax.  Because of the cloudy skies, we chose to just sit pool side and talk.  I couldn't say much of the hotel, but I was surprised it was only $34 a night through hotels.com. After Bruce turned in the keys of the rental car at the desk and scheduled us an Uber for 3:30 a.m. to take us to the airport, he and I walked Freemont Street.  Wow! Sensory overload.  I did manage to walk the majority of the area before hitting the wall of flashing lights, loud music and lots of body parts on display.  I lasted longer than I thought.  Bruce laughed when I sped right by the Chippendale dancers who were asking for a photo.  Nope - Not me!  On our way through the casino we each threw in $10 into a Buffalo slot machine and lost it quickly.  Again, not our thing, but we can say we did it.  We returned to our room to get all fancied up for our special dinner celebrating our trip and our friends' anniversary.  We ate at Oscar's Steak House. Both Betty and I had hit the wall of our trip.  She and I were tired of eating and drinking. Bruce and I agreed to share a meal.  Looking at the prices and the amount of food, I am happy we had agreed to share.  The food was superb!! They even brought our friends a cake for their anniversary. We were all exhausted and headed to bed since we only had five hours until our Uber came to take us to the airport.

Not much else to say, the rest of the trip went as return trips go.  We got to the airport and found out our flight was delayed 2 hours because the was no pilot for the plane. Well that is kinda important. Betty and Bruce fell asleep in the chairs in the terminal.  I started catching up on emails and business stuff.    When we finally did get on the plane, we all slept until we reached Cleveland where it was cold and rainy and Traventure 2024 was over.

Reflection:  This trip was a blast, but the majority of the fun came from traveling with our friends.  It was outside my comfort zone to travel.  It is possible part of my pain early on was a combination or back strain from sewing and the anxiety of a new adventure.  We had so many laughs and built so many lasting memories.  I am excited for our next Traventure which I believe will be at a poolside resort!