We all got up around 6 a.m. and I got up about a half an hour after they did. I went into the bathroom and got ready then made some toast because I knew it was going to be a long day. Doug showered while I crazily packed up our stuff so we didn’t have to come back because it was like a 20 mile out-of-the-way drive, if we didn’t pack it up before court. I knew after court I just wanted to leave town as quick as I could. We had to be there at 8 a.m. to check in so we allowed ourselves an hour to get there, find a place to park and get all checked in. We got there and dropped Doug off so we could find a place to park the car. We parked in a designated area just for the San Diego court area. We walked in and had to put all of our stuff in an x-ray scanner, just like you would in an airport. We found the floor that we were supposed to be on and asked Doug what we had to do. He said that they’ll just call his name when they were ready for him. They told us they would begin at 9 a.m. They didn’t until 10:30 a.m. We waited and waited. I started getting hungry. Luckily I had a Milky Way and some M&M’s in my bag to get me by. Some lady came out of the court room and called out six people to meet with councilors and Doug was among them.
We waited as their names and other names were called. Doug’s folder was on the bottom, just as I called it, and other files were being stacked on top of it. I was sitting there, starving, tired and irritated. It was around 11:30 a.m. and they councilor finally called Doug’s name. We all went over to the booth to hear what they guy had to say about his case. He basically told us stuff we already knew. He went into the police report and the cop who reported it made Doug look really stupid. As he read it, Doug would correct what had really happened. Apparently, Doug’s BAC was higher than he thought was and he pulled out his Blockbuster card instead of his license. The only reason that happened was because the dog had chewed his other one and Nate and Genna bought him a new one, the pockets are different than his old one and his license wasn’t in the same pocket. So that made him look really dumb. He shouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with but whatever I guess. Hopefully he learned from it. After meeting with the councilor, we found out what he thought would happen with the judge, he would not get any jail time, but he would have to take some alcohol classes in Washington (MADD) and a $2000.00 fine. His license will be on probation in Washington and he CANNOT drive in California without taking the classes in California. After all of that was taken care of, we went into the court room and waited until his name was called. We were in there maybe five minutes before his name was called. I honestly don’t think the judge even looked at the case; he just went with what the councilor had written. He was on the stand for about two minutes.
We left the courtroom and went to our next line. The process room. We were in there for maybe 45 minutes before our name was called. They explained the ruling and they things we needed to do and the class due dates. They had messed up and didn’t put the completion dates on the classes before we were doing it in Washington. So we went upstairs for him to have a brief meeting about alcohol. Twenty minutes later, we went down stairs to the process room and got our new copy with the dates on them. We then had to go wait in another line to figure out a payment plan. Our name was called and we didn’t fill out the paperwork correctly so we wasted more time by having to wait again. But luckily after we finished them, she said we could see her without having to wait in line again. We figured Doug could afford $100.00 a month but he needed to find a job. After figuring out the money situation, I was ready to get the hell out of that awful place. We left and never looked back. It was 2:30 p.m. and I was so glad we got out of there before California rush hour. We got onto I-15 towards Las Vegas. We stopped just after Corona and got gas. We continued down the freeway for a bit and the traffic slowed down. We saw smoke and we assumed a car was on fire. We got closer and found out that they were doing a controlled burn right along the freeway. We got off on the next stop, near Lake Elsinore, California.
We stopped at a Von’s (equivalent to a Safeway) and got some food and drinks. Doug went to use the restroom, came back and asked mom for a quarter. “Why?” She asked. “It costs a quarter to use the bathroom, “he explained. “What, really?” How lame. We figured it was to conserve water. He grabbed the quarter and went to the bathroom. While he was gone, we found some easy things to eat while we drove to Las Vegas. We found some sandwiches and lunchables. We were now officially on our way to Vegas, non-stop. While driving I watched the signs melt the miles away as we drove east.
Dad called us wondering where we were now. He talked to mom for a while as towns turned into deserts. It was quite beautiful out the middle of nowhere. It was awesome seeing the sights I’ve only seen in pictures and on T.V. Closer and closer Nevada and Vegas got as we drove on. Finally, we got to the stateline, Welcome to Nevada, the Silver State.
Las Vegas was down the horizon, I couldn’t wait to see it in person. Around 8:30 p.m., there it was, in real life, the glimmering lights of Sin City, a city I lived through vicariously on CSI. I kept repeating, “I can’t believe I’m here, I can’t believe I’m here….” as we drove past the hotels and casinos on I-15.
On the way to Vegas, we had Erika book us a room at Circus Circus on the internet. We drove to our hotel; it was amazing we made it there because I had no idea how to navigate Las Vegas. We parked in the parking garage and got out of our air conditioned car and just about died. It was nearing 9:00 p.m. and it as still 100° outside. We went into the lobby and checked in. We walked up to our room, oh my god, it was a freaking hike! Plus we left our bags in the car, so we had to go get them and then hike back. It’s ok though, I couldn’t wait to go walk the strip and find some dinner.
We got our stuff, changed our shoes for walking. I didn’t realize that Circus Circus was far away from the rest of the hotels and casinos. It was near the Stratosphere. It seemed like we walked for miles until we neared Treasure Island and the pirate show. Bad idea, we got caught up in the crowd and had to wait until it was over to move onto the next place. No one would make a decision on dinner so I was just like let’s just eat at the Mirage. We found a California Pizza Kitchen and waited to be seated. I just wanted water because I was so thirsty. It was so effing hot outside. They seated us, gave us bread and our drinks. Mom ordered a Caesar salad and Doug and I ordered a pepperoni pizza. We inhaled our food. We hadn’t eaten since the sandwiches and the lunchable, which was around 3:30 p.m. and it was now 11:30 p.m. I couldn’t wait to get back out to Las Vegas Blvd. to see more. We paid, hurried because the place smelled like cigarettes and I had gotten cold sitting in the air conditioned casino.
We went back out into the hotness and looked for the Bellagio Fountains.
At that point, I wanted one of those drinks I saw people carrying around, the really long ones with the straws, I have no idea what they were called or where they were at, but I was on the look out. We went into the Paris Las Vegas hotel to look for an ATM. We got some money because mom told us before we got to Vegas that you have to at least gamble $20 bucks to see if you win and to have the experience of gambling in Vegas and to have fun with it. I gave Doug his $20 bucks. I really wasn’t into the gambling part of Vegas. In fact, I could care less. I was there for the experience of going. Mom didn’t use hers for gambling either. I did however pose at a slot machine.
As it reached 1:00 a.m., I really didn’t want a drink anymore. We started getting tired and so we walked back down Las Vegas Blvd. It was still around 95° and I was getting thirsty. We stopped at a Walgreens. I bought a CSI shirt, water and some other things for under 99 cents. We paid and continued on our way. We stopped a couple times for some photo ops. We finally got back to our hotel around 2:00 a.m. Mom passed out as soon as she hit the pillow. She is a go to bed at 9 p.m. person. I stayed up and posed our pictures up to that point on Facebook and took a shower. Doug took his $20 bucks went and played 21 down stairs. He came back a while later disgusted. I knew he lost. He couldn’t get nothing higher than a 19 and the dealer won every time. At that point, I was so tired. We’ve been up since 6 a.m. and it was now 3:30 a.m. I fell asleep instantly.
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