2,870 Miles

I have returned from Las Vegas and my 9-day cross-country trip, and believe me when I say that it was great. We drove 2,870 miles between New York and Nevada, and that includes Day 4, when we went from Oklahoma City, OK, to Henderson, NV. That's right - we went 1,180 miles in 18.5 hours. That's like half the country, folks. We reached hardcore road warrior status. Please allow me to share some of my memories.

Top 5 Best Experiences of My Cross-Country Trip:
1. The Hoover Dam - If you have never seen it, I recommend going. It really is immense and spectacular, even if the water-level is at record lows, and the bridge that they are building over the water to divert traffic from the dam is impressive in itself.
2. The M Hotel/Casino - A fantastic new hotel/casino in Las Vegas located way off the main strip, which keeps it from becoming a tourist trap like New York-New York or Paris. Great ambiance, great dealers, good food, great comps, and a self-serve kiosk with complimentary soda and water so you don't have to wait for a waitress if you don't want alcohol. Yes, you read that correctly. Four guys in their twenties played so much blackjack and poker that we got food comps. We hit the M three nights in a row.
3. The Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar - Located in Nashville, we got to listen to some real Nashville country music in an easy-going bar. We weren't there for long, but it was a nice little Nashville experience.
4. Attending a Las Vegas wedding - Yes, I attended a wedding while in Las Vegas. No, it was not my own, nor one of my traveling partners', and none of the participants were intoxicated at the ceremony. This was a planned wedding of a friend of mine from college at the MGM Grand. It was short, sweet, funny, and the reception was at the buffet. Boom. It is now a story for life.
5. Standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ - No joke. We stopped. We posed. We took pictures. Talk about a conversation starter!

Top 5 Worst Experiences of My Cross-Country Trip:
1. Hooters Hotel/Casino - We stopped in because they advertised $3 blackjack, and since we were hungry we thought we would grab some food. Pretty shabby, and the food was not worth the price. Two of us ordered sandwiches, and they didn't even come with fries. This is America - what kind of scam is that?
2. Nevada Route 95 - Due to security restrictions, we could not take the rental truck over the Hoover Dam. Therefore, instead of taking Arizona Route 93, we had to take Nevada Route 95, which is a 55-mile straight road through the desert. Which we drove in the dark, at the tail end of our 18.5 hour day. It was brutal, and we were mentally fried. We could see other cars up in the distance coming towards us, but they were literally miles away.
3. Slots of Fun - Slots of fun is an old, dirty casino located across from the Riviera on Las Vegas Blvd. It is worn down and smelly, though you can play cheap blackjack and buy cheap beer. We were there for about 15 minutes.
4. The Music City Hostel - We stayed at this hostel in Nashville because my traveling partner has had good experiences with hostels in the past, and he likes to meet new and interesting people. It wasn't really my style, and even my friend was a bit disappointed in it. We slept, we woke up, we booked it.
5. Trying to get gas in Arizona - The area just past the Arizona state line when entering from New Mexico is heavily controlled by Native American nations, and this includes the gas stations. We must have stopped 4 times before we found a gas station that was open, accepted credit cards, and was less than $3.50/gallon. It was frustrating. I can only imagine getting gas in an Arizona city must be easier, but I cannot say for sure.

The Trip

Today, a friend of mine and I are leaving on a cross-country trip from Poughkeepsie to Las Vegas. Going places that I have never gone and seeing the country are two of my favorite things to do, and I am excited for our 9-day trip. Our itinerary is as follows:

Sunday, June 14 - Poughkeepsie, NY, to Fairfax, VA
Monday, June 15 - Fairfax, VA, to Nashville, TN
Tuesday, June 16 - Nashville, TN, to Oklahoma City, OK
Wednesday, June 17 - Oklahoma City, OK, to Albuquerque, NM
Thursday, June 18 - Albuquerque, NM, to Las Vegas, NV
Tuesday, June 23 - Las Vegas, NV, to Poughkeepsie, NY

We are spending 4 days in Las Vegas with two friends who are meeting us there, then catching a red-eye back east on Tuesday. And while I am excited to return to the city where I had the best onion rings ever (Harley Davidson Cafe on the strip), I am very much looking forward to seeing new parts of the country, and adding 6 states to my total: Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

More when I return.

Better Than A Doctor's Note

This is why President Obama won. All policy and political differences aside, there is no Republican currently in the field who can connect to people the way he does.

Pay To Play: Part II

The radio conglomerates are ramping up their attempts to mislead the radio-listening public about the push in Congress to extend royalty payments to include performers as well as songwriters. I got extremely angry the other day when I heard multiple "no performance tax" ads on multiple radio stations within a span of about 5 minutes. It seems as though both Cumulus and Clear Channel are in on the anti-royalty campaign, and it is almost laughable that they are trying to paint themselves as "David," while record companies are "Goliath." The truth, however, is that the radio conglomerates relate more to the "Goliath," especially when you consider that they have a huge megaphone at their disposal, free of charge.

But I remain optimistic, because the simple fact that the radio conglomerates are forced to use their airtime to air misleading commercials tells me one simple thing: they are losing.

Please view my May 4 post, "Pay To Play," for a more in-depth argument on the subject.

Akon

Last week, music superstar Akon appeared with City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Jeff Tkazyik in an effort to persuade a group of 50 young adults that resorting to gun violence is never the answer -- a message that is increasingly important given the unsettling rise of gun violence within the city. I think this is a very good idea, but I would like to see more than 50 people exposed to the discussion.

Akon is supposed to be returning to the area for more service in a few months, and I think it would be very beneficial if more people allowed to participate. Could the talk be opened up to the public and held at the Bardavon? I think its definitely an idea worth considering.