We Are in Las Vegas

The big day arrived and we cranked up our electronics to start our trip.  I whipped out my new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and clicked on my new Uber app.  I asked it to take us to the airport and it quickly told me that my driver was now on US1 in Pinecrest and could be at my house in 15 min.  We checked the local traffic and saw that he/we might have a problem explained in the picture below.

Traffic Accident on Our Airport Route

I saw our driver's car on the map and the picture of the driver.  It told us he would be driving a Toyota Sienna.  A few seconds later I received a call from our driver confirming that he was on his way.  Fifteen minutes later I saw his car on the Uber map making the turn on to our street.  We loaded up and were on our merry way to the airport.  Thankfully, the accident had been cleared when we got there as we saw the continuing investigation in a nearby parking lot.

For those of you who may have taken a cab in Miami, you know that your transportation will, 8 times out of 10, involve a vehicle that smells of cigarette smoke and was last cleaned when the driver last bathed.  Both the driver and the vehicle time their cleanup with solar eclipses.  Full, not partial.  Those other two times, the cab just doesn't show.

We flew out of Miami's newly updated terminal D and into the time warp which is the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport.  DFW looks like the terminal that Miami tore down.  A quick look around at DFW let us know we weren't in Miami anymore.

The continuing flight to Vegas was uneventful.   The Thrifty Rental was another matter.  Hertz owns Thrifty, Dollar and Firefly along with its parent name.  All of the counters were empty, save Thrifty, where 4 agents were trying to handle a long snaking line.  A 35 min. wait got me to a nice woman who booked me into our SUV.  She popped up a screen with 5 standard size SUV's to choose from.  I had researched the Jeep Cherokee that was given as the only example of my chosen car class.  She told me that that unit type hadn't been available for 5 or 6 months as they had all been recalled.  I chose another model on her recommendation.  She then directed me to the escalator I would take with all of my luggage to pick up my car.  She told me to see any of the agents in yellow vests.

We took the escalator down with our luggage.  As I approached the counter where a guy in a yellow vest resided, an employee (?) in torn jeans and dreadlocks asked for my rental ticket.  I guess his yellow vest was at the cleaners.  I got an acknowledgement from the yellow vested guy in the booth, so I followed Mr. Dreadlocks.  He looked at my rental agreement and told me to take my pick of any vehicle in the row in front of me.  The problem was that they were all compacts and sub-compacts.

When I informed him that my agreement was for a standard size SUV, he said, "We ain't got none".  "Well, maybe that one", as he pointed to a small Nissan SUV parked off in the distance.  It's either that one or you can go back inside and see the agent.  At this point, the hustle began.  Another guy, in a yellow vest approached with the line that he could take care of me if I took care of him.  I nodded agreement and he disappeared and returned with a large red Chevrolet Traverse SUV.  I slipped him a ten and we parted ways.  Welcome to Las Vegas.