Today was the last full day that Dad and I had on our trip. We started out by having breakfast at a nearby Panera. Dad had oatmeal, and I had a breakfast sandwich. Usually Panera is pretty good, however we were both disappointed by the lack of service, and by how dirty the place was.
After breakfast we drove to Exotics Racing on the south end of Las Vegas so that I could do some laps in a Lamborghini Gallardo. We arrived about 30 minutes early, but we passed the time with chatting, and a few phone calls. After check-in, I was required to take a classroom session on how the course was laid out, how to drive the car, and what the general instructions were. Following the classroom session we were split out into groups of 4 and taken out for two laps in a Porsche Cayenne SUV to become familiar with the course. The first lap was conducted at a fairly moderate pace, and the second lap was completed to the full potential of the vehicle. I had never experience g-forces like that before. After completing the two introductory laps I took my seven laps in a black Lamborghini Gallardo. It’s not the fastest car that they offer to drive, however the engine note is my favourite of all the vehicles they offer, because it’s a V10, as opposed to a V8 or V12. V10’s offer very distinct engine notes. The car can accelerate from 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds with its 550hp 5.2l V10! I had such a blast and would do it again in a heartbeat!
It was time to grab some lunch, so we drove to a nearby Albertson’s grocery store to pickup some food, and then drove out to Red Rock Canyon, about 30 minutes west of Las Vegas. Unfortunately the park is so busy now that you have to book a time slot, so we didn’t have a chance to go in. When Dad and I were there a few years ago we could just drive in, and there was few people there. We found an overlook nearby and had our lunch, before driving back to our hotel.
After arriving back at the hotel I opted to go out and explore the city, while Dad had a nap. After he woke up he explored around with me for a bit. We walked our way through Bellagio, ARIA, Park MGM, New York-New York, Excalibur, and Tropicana. When we arrived at the Tropicana my dad put $5 into a slot machine and increased it to $9.10 before cashing out.
It was time to get some dinner. We originally tried to eat at “America”, an americana restaurant, however the service was so poor that we left. We walked across the street to Olive Garden, where the service was much better. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit before it was time to drive to the Neon Museum, where we had a 9:30pm tour.
The Neon Museum has certainly changed a lot since I visited it back in September 2017. The Neon Museum, opened on October 27th 2012, features signs from old casinos and other businesses from the Las Vegas area. The main feature is the fully restored lobby shell from the defunct La Concha Motel as it’s main visitor center, as well as the newly restored Hard Rock Guitar that was restored and unveiled in August 2021.
Ian Griffin Photography 