Gremlin's Tall Stories

The alarm rang at 8am… and I wasn’t friends with it. Still, one does what one must in order to fulfil dreams. Anjum had just entered the bathroom and I waited (half asleep in bed) to see if it was quick or not. It wasn’t, so on with some clothes and down for breakfast, where I should find Ken and get more details on the Shelby visit.

Ken wasn’t around at breakfast, but spoke to some others. 9.30am downstairs for the Shelby Museum. Breakfast was complimentary and continental as well as cooked. Hash browns, bacon, sausage (oh yeah, egg however you like it, but who cares), cereals, pastries and juices. Delicious, and I wolfed down several platefuls (didn’t bother having dinner last night).

Back upstairs, grabbed my sunnies and my hat and was downstairs on time (no really, actual on-time time ). There were too many for a van, so some offered to go by bike. I jumped in the van, using the mobile and Google Maps to check where we needed to go.

We had to be there by 10.15am for the 10.30am tour which we managed. We had a look around the small museum, filled with some of the noted cars in Shelby history and the souvenir shop. It was overpriced, but had that feeling of… you can only buy here. I was after a nice shirt (it did cost $80) featuring all the logos stitched on (it would last longer than a print) but perhaps a sign… not available in my size. Several AC Cobras were in the museum, including Carroll Shelby’s first, who someone had offered him US$23m for, and he turned him down. See the picture link for all the pictures.

The tour started shortly after (free…. I know… free stuff in Vegas!) and they showed us the historic area, where they still assemble rollers of the AC Cobra, using either hand-rolled aluminium bodies, costing US$130,000, or fibreglass for US$65,000. Fibreglass is more popular due to the price. They are called rollers because they don’t come with transmission or engine, due to the emissions laws they would have to comply with now. The dealers can help you decide what engine you want, and fit it for you, so you buy a complete vehicle. Only Shelby’s senior most engineers work on those cars.

Moving down to the main production area, they are assembling the new Mustang-based Shelby’s which are mostly post title, i.e. owners have shipped them there for modification. This part of Shelby’s work is much like Walkinshaw Performance in NZ, where you give them your car, pay the fee (anything from US$5,000 to US$34,500+) and it’s upgraded with go-fast bits.

Top of the line is the GT500 Super Snake package, featuring all the suspension, drivetrain, engine and decals. With the aid of a supercharger power is over 600HP, and if you really want to go to the outer edge, 800HP is possible.

Such items are well out of my budget, but viewing my dream car, the AC Cobra, was awesome. Carroll Shelby offers his signature for a fee, the fee going to his Shelby Charity. He’s also turned the tables, asking everyone who visits to leave their signature on a bunch of their walls. We added our names… on a door that said “Don’t leave signatures here”.

Some of the guys were very interested in some of the mods, some might be customers… they’ve bought vehicles after all. For the rest of us mortals, they wanted to visit the Harley shop. I commented I was very tempted to put in BMW Las Vegas instead, and Mike replied. “He’s a good guy…. but he would only do that once”. Yep, the thought of me grinning in the back of the van as we arrived, only to have a bunch of Harley loving guys pile into me, put the thought of out my head, and I guided them to the Harley dealership.

The rags were far too expensive, so I bought a cool drink, since I was thirsty. The others bought a series of items, from metal souvenir plates to clocks that revved on the hour. There are suckers born every minute, and grown men turn into babies as soon as they walk in the door.

To be fair, the dealership looked like a supermarket from the outside, it was absolutely massive. I found some far more interesting gems inside, namely a few Bimota, 1 of 2 in the USA, and another, 1 of 40 made. Two Harley racers from 1919 and 1922 were also on display. Took pictures of all of them.

From there, I rounded up the cattle, herded them back into the van and we returned to the Hotel. Some fancied McDonalds for lunch, I couldn’t think of anything worse, so tried the menu downstairs. It seemed over-priced, $10 for a sandwich, especially when you consider I had a buffet for $7.50, but when it arrived… so much for a small lunch. It was a 4 huge quarters, with salad, turkey and avocado. Heaped around it was French fries. I did finish it, talking to Gary and Barbara about what they had been up to during the day.

As any active twenty-something would, all I wanted afterwards was a nap. Yep… in Vegas… I wanted a nana nap. We had planned to walk the strip this evening, so a nap now would be a good idea. I set the alarm for an hour at 3pm, woke up, turned it off and woke up an hour and a half later. I did feel much better, and went downstairs for a swim in the indoor pool. All the activity was strenuous I tell ya, so I jumped in the whirlpool and let the jets give me a back massage. I feel I must oblige you and report it’s a very difficult life here in Las Vegas. As punishment, I jumped from the heated whirlpool straight into the pool… it felt damn good.

It was 6.30pm, and with complimentary drinks offered downstairs, it was tempting, as a bunch were already there, but I comprised and spent half an hour writing up the day’s activities for the blog. Another 15min of organising and uploading pictures, and I only just made the Manager’s special, free drinks from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. A couple of cokes and lots of laughter.

Murray and I headed back to our room to collect our wallets and things then grabbed the 8.30pm free hotel shuttle to the Strip. I had got a book from reception that included a map of the strip, and using that, Murray and I figured we would walk along the strip, crossing whenever we wanted, to see various sights. We had a shortlist of things to see and do, the rest was simply walking and seeing. We also had a fun game going to see how many girl’s cards we could collect from the people in the street shoving them in your face.

The others had said the people were everywhere, some were offended, but it’s Vegas after all. Better to turn it into a game. We found an ATM and withdrew some cash, then carried on. I even commented to Murray that we hadn’t been accosted by the card carriers yet.

As with Sturgis, there was a hell of a lot to see, so check the pictures, and here is a brief summary:
- Treasure Island had a pirate ship outside where there were several performances each evening (we missed one)
- Inside Treasure Island they had carved solid jade and a tusk, hundreds of years old
- Gondolas on a man-made lake in front of The Venetian
- Looked at the enormous Caesars Palace
- Viewed the water fountain display outside The Belagio

In short, Las Vegas is a crazy place. Many places are open 24/7, and if you’re inside you have no idea what’s actually happening outside.

After 2 hours of walking, and half the main chunk of the strip covered (and by covered I mean, mostly viewed from the street) our feet were getting tired and we wanted some dinner. I’d suggested a burger bar as we started the strip exploration, but Murray wasn’t ready for dinner yet. We found a sandwich place and thought we would keep looking… nothing ahead. The problem with the huge casino/hotels is that everything required a large amount of walking, and even then, you weren’t really sure where everything was (or what there even was).

I found the Celine Dion shop for my mummy after asking several people. Being a Kiwi, I took the direction, left at the Coliseum as being the Coliseum Way… no, you actually had to walk to the building looking a lot like the actual coliseum then left… yeah… everything was bigger. I bought some souvenirs for her, as she likes Celine a lot. I wanted to take in one of her shows, but they were all booked out.

After a lot of walking and watching (and there were gorgeous chicks everywhere… I’m not even sure where all the ugly ones were hiding) we were finally approaching the MGM Grand and the pyramid and Murray fancies an ice cream. McDonalds seems to be the best option, as the big buildings had made way for a series of tiny shops selling all kinds of knick knacks (including a shirt: What happens in Vegas stays in Facebook), so we head in there.

Outside, enjoying my sundae sitting on a flowerpot, Murray makes some enquires, and I find myself in a free limo to a “gentleman’s club” at the northern end of the strip. As you would expect, the free part doesn’t last long, namely to the front door of the club, where it’s a $10 cover charge. Not too bad, but the lap dance was several hundred, and never in my life have I paid US$100 for a bar tab that probably consisted of a wine for the dancer and 3 cokes.

Needless to say, it was an expensive bit of fun, but hey, it’s Vegas, gotta experience it all. While I hadn’t paid that much before, I also hadn’t had very scantily clad ladies continually walk over and sit down on your lap. Much to my chagrin I discovered an hour or two later I should have negotiated the price on the dance, or simply moved the girl on and waited for a better option… live and learn I guess.

Around 3am Murray is finally ready to go, so of course there’s no free limo ride away, but the doorman has a couple of cabs and we get one back to the hotel, only cost a little over $10 anyway. Walking back into the hotel at 3.30am, I smell my shirt… urgh, I reek of cheap perfume and smoke. Looking at Murray with a wry grin and mumble… well… THAT was Vegas!

Murray’s light fingers have appropriated one of the girls’ bras, so he hangs it on a picture in the bathroom, for Anjum when he wakes up in the morning.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LiDMvDjQR9TZgSRi7