Greetings, and welcome to Part 1 of our Las Vegas/Henderson trip report, covering the period from June 5 to June 16, 2000.
More than ever, this will not be a typical tourist-oriented report; folks who follow my writings know that our recent visits have been increasingly focused on the retirement home we've had under construction at Sun City Anthem, the new Del Webb age-restricted community in Henderson. On this trip we will close escrow and assume ownership of the home, so this is much of what you will read about.
Those who don't get personal pleasure or useful knowledge from reports like this should remember that they are persons of free will, who can easily pick and choose that which they wish to read and that which they'd rather ignore. So I urge you to exercise your judgment when appropriate. For my part, I will continue my practice of treating our comments on many of our activities as mini-reviews that may help some to form opinions about the subject being covered. In addition, since I expect to be online daily, your comments and constructive suggestions are welcome, as well as any questions you may think I can help you with.
Also, I hope to illustrate parts of the report with photos you can conveniently view online. I've set up a PhotoPoint album which I'll add to periodically. If there are new photos to share, you'll find a link to the album at the end of the daily reports.
Our planning for this trip began about a month ago, when we received the firm closing date from Del Webb. At that point we called Walker Furniture in Las Vegas to schedule delivery of the furniture we had ordered during our April visit. Then, about two weeks ago, we called Sprint to schedule telephone installation and Cox Cable to arrange cable installation.
America West is the only airline we've used for our Las Vegas trips for the
past few years. This airline and Delta are the only ones flying scheduled non-stops
between Boston and Vegas, and we accrue free flights on America West by piling
up miles through heavy use of our
BankAmerica-issued America West VISA card.
This time, however, price became a factor. Without any free-flight entitlement for this trip, the best round-trip America West price available for our travel dates was about $478. So we searched on the Internet and came up with a price of $258 each for flights on Sun Country Airlines. A well-known charter airline based in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Sun Country is just completing its first year of scheduled service to selected cities, and will soon start taking delivery of a half-dozen new aircraft to continue growing this part of its business.
Flying Sun Country for the first time was a mostly positive experience. Almost all their long-haul flights go through Minneapolis/St. Paul, and that is the route we traveled. Sun Country IS rather stringent about the items passengers are allowed to bring aboard; we were taken aback when, for the first time ever, our two Briggs and Riley rolling carry-ons, which always fit easily into a plane's overhead storage bins, had to be checked through because they didn't quite fit into the container used to test for size at the check-in counter.
Sun Country does not assign specific seats to its passengers until they arrive for check-in, which is one reason the airline encourages arrival at the check-in counter about two hours before flight time.
Our flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul and from there to Las Vegas were on Boeing 727-200s which flew about two-thirds full. The 45-minute wait between flights at Minneapolis/St. Paul provided a good opportunity to stretch at what seemed to be the exact mid-point of the journey, each leg taking about 2.75 hours.
A box lunch was served to passengers on each leg of the trip. The first box lunch was a small beef-and-cheese sandwich on a roll, with potato chips and a biscuit, and the second was pretty much the same, with a turkey sandwich instead of beef.
The entire trip was fairly smooth, abetted by an efficient and very friendly on-board staff, from pilots to flight attendants. In fact, it seems the Sun Country people have a collective sense of humor that might be referred to as "Southwest Airlines Light."
Examples:
We bumped slightly on landing in Las Vegas, whereupon the pilot said over the speaker, "That was blindfolded."
As we taxied to the gate: "Make sure to gather up all your belongings, as anything left behind will be divided among the crew."
And finally, "Good luck in Las Vegas; you'll all need it."
Are you one of those folks who can't fly on a plane without experiencing ear problems that are often severe enough to linger long after the flight is over? This is a situation that affects Rosalyn, but she seems to have found a solution that may interest others who have been there and felt the pain. It is a product called Cirrus EarPlanes, purchased at a pharmacy for $4.99 a pair. They are soft silicone plugs that are inserted into the ears an hour before landing, after which some type of built-in filter takes over to regulate the air pressure and relieve ear discomfort from clogging and popping. Whatever the science behind it, they worked! You can obtain information on EarPlanes by calling 1-800-EAR-6151 in the U.S. or 01304 620199 in the U.K.
Before long, we had collected our baggage at McCarran and signed for our Avis car rental. Minutes later, we were leaving the Avis lot in our Chevy Malibu and headed for our hotel check-in.
Over the past 10 years, the only Las Vegas hotels we've stayed at are The Rio and The Golden Nugget. This time, however, our prime consideration is proximity to Sun City Anthem. So we decided to spend a few nights at Sunset Station, the Henderson locals favorite directly across from the huge Galleria at Sunset Mall.
We've been to Sunset Station many times for dining, movies and gambling, so we already knew it as a lively, active venue. Now we would find out how the place rates in the accommodations department.
The verdict: Not too bad. Two of our nights are costing $59 each, with a third night free via a Las Vegas Advisor coupon. Our room is spacious, simply but adequately appointed with king bed, low bureau with four drawers, a small side table at each side of the bed, and a pedestal table with two comfortable armchairs. The 20-inch TV offers local channels, CNN, ESPN, CNBC and a few other stations. The bathroom area is wanting a bit, with a small room housing the tub/shower and toilet, and an outer area with sink, a good-sized counter, electric hair dryer, and little else. There is a coffee maker, but no iron or ironing board, no in-room safe or other security devices. There is a small, unattended exercise room with seven pieces of professional equipment on the second floor of the hotel wing, available free for guests and open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Considering that Sunset Station is a sprawling layout, owner Station Casinos has done a decent job of isolating the hotel area and making it accessible to overnight guests. The registration area is immediately to the left inside the main entrance, and the corridor leading to the hotel tower begins at the end of the registration counter. If guests want to park close to the hotel tower, there is a special door leading into that area from the southeast parking lot; the door can be opened only by hotel guests using their key cards.
One Sunset Station "feature" I don't approve of is its telephone-access policy. There is a minimum 75-cent charge for all local AND "800" calls, and an additional 75-cent charge is incurred at 30-minute intervals during long local phone calls.
Using a two-for-one Las Vegas Advisor coupon, we adjourned for dinner at Sunset Station's buffet, called The Feast as it is at other Station Casinos properties. We had big appetites, so perhaps that is one reason we thought the food variety and quality were quite good, well worth the 10 bucks we spent. Excellent small steaks cooked on an open grill; lots of good barbecue items; decent hot-and-sour soup and Chinese ribs; good pasta marinara; delicious smoked brisket carved to order; flavorful homemade mashed potatoes; quite acceptable pizzas; etc., etc.
While we were sitting in our booth enjoying our meals, a young man in his 20s approached. "Aren't you David Berman?" he asked. I was amazed to be spotted by Greg Toth, who some of you might recall, especially if you go back a couple of years or more to the Vegas bulletin board on the original Prodigy service.
A native of Tennessee, Greg often expressed his desire to come to Southern Nevada and work in the resort-design or urban planning field. Well, he now has his master's degree and is employed by the City of Henderson Development Department as a planning analyst. He told us he's been deeply involved in the planning and approvals for Del Webb's Anthem development, and all we could do is marvel at what a small world it is.
After dinner, with the light moving rapidly toward the sudden sunsets the Valley sees as the bright orb dips below the surrounding mountains, we took a quick spin over to Sun City Anthem in order to see our new home. The doors were locked, of course, but it was still exciting to look in the windows and see the nearly complete state of readiness.
While we were walking around our property in the fading light, we were approached by one of our next-door neighbors, and in short order we had gotten acquainted with him and his spouse. Both are academicians moving from California, David a retired math and physics college professor and his wife Lea a retired college administrator. We've already learned some nice things about the couple on the other side of us, and it looks like our little six-house cul-de-sac is going to be populated by some very congenial neighbors.
Our final activity for the day was to pay our initial visit to Anthem Center, Sun City Anthem's spectacular new recreational facility. I have never seen anything like this in my life; it is nothing less than magnnificent, with indoor and outdoor pools, meeting and activity rooms, huge ballroom, indoor running track, etc., etc. I am refraining from offering additional details about the 75,000-square-foot property at this time, as I'll describe some of the amenities and offer you photos during the coming days.
Meanwhile, here are some good reasons why you may want to visit Anthem Center when you are in town: The general public is invited to tour the facility at almost all times; their first-class restaurant, Trumpets, is open to the public; the view of the Strip and beyond is a killer both day and evening.
That's it for Day 1. Click on the following link to see a few photos.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=657150&a=6635718
--Best wishes from David and Roz …in Las Vegas/Henderson
