Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: US Trip

  • 2022 US Trip – Raising Cane’s Chicken in Las Vegas

    2022 US Trip – Raising Cane’s Chicken in Las Vegas

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    KFC in the United States are mounting the best fight that they can against the growing number of rivals that they’re facing, not least Popeye’s, Jollibee, Chick-fil-A and also Raising Cane’s Chicken. In the UK, I rather suspect the KFC chain is doomed to a slow death, that’s perhaps evident from looking at the Google Review scores from their new restaurant in Beccles where they’ve plummeted to a rating of 2.1. It’s nearly impossible to get a score that low, I assume there’s some factor where they’re deliberately running down the venue. Others in Norfolk aren’t rated much higher, it’s all apparent that the public have lost respect for the chain and I can’t recall the last time I went to a KFC in the UK as their standards are so consistently low. It’s fair to say that I don’t set the bar that high with fast food either. Anyway, I mention this as these growing chains are so much better that they’ll likely be able to take a big chunk out of the KFC market in the UK if they arrive over here. Well, Chick-fil-A won’t be back due to other ethical reasons, but I hope to see Raising Cane’s Chicken making the jump at some stage. As for Raising Cane’s, they’ve gone from 360 restaurants to 2018 to over 650 today and their expansion seems fast.

    I fear that I’m going too far down the food debate argument, so here’s a video for anyone interested in this theory that KFC is on a decline in the US that it won’t be able to turn around.

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    Modern and on-trend, the staff members were friendly, personable and merrily explaining the menu to every customer. Although this isn’t their first venue in Las Vegas (indeed I’ve visited one before), it’s I think their first flagship location here and it only opened a few weeks before I visited.

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    There was plenty of space upstairs and it was spotlessly clean and all looked smart and organised. There’s a sense of class to this operation and the dining area has more of a restaurant feel than a fast food ambience.

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    With the view of New York New York casino out of the window, it was possible to people watch those walking down the Strip. As for the food, well, it was suitably decadent. Tender and moist chicken with a crunchy but not hard coating, Texas toast (effectively just double sized toast which is grilled with a garlic top) that was enjoyable to eat, coleslaw and their house dip, alongside some crinkle cut chips. As for ratings since I started off on that road, it’s sitting currently on 4.7 on Google, as high as a venue is likely to get.

  • 2022 US Trip – Day 26 (The National WWII Museum in New Orleans – Wreckage of Augustus Hamilton’s Aircraft)

    2022 US Trip – Day 26 (The National WWII Museum in New Orleans – Wreckage of Augustus Hamilton’s Aircraft)

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    This heap of metal are parts of the wreckage of the P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft that was being flown by 1st Lieutenant Augustus Hamilton on 14 July 1944. It was intended to be his final mission before returning to the United States to see his wife and new born-son, but it was a flight that he didn’t survive after being shot down by German enemy aircraft. It wasn’t known exactly what happened to his aircraft until 1993 when the crash site was found in France and these items recovered.

    Augustus died at the age of just 22, never meeting his son also named Augustus (1944-1985). What I find especially poignant is that his sister Margaret Hamilton McPhail lived until 2013. She lived for just shy of 70 years without her brother, but at least she got to find out exactly had happened to him during her lifetime. There are some more photos at the Association of Forced Landings web-site. Augustus was born on 4 January 1922 and would have celebrated his 100th birthday just a few days ago. He’s buried at Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial which is located by Omaha Beach.

  • 2022 US Trip – Day 26 (The National WWII Museum in New Orleans – Thorpe Abbotts Airfield Sign)

    2022 US Trip – Day 26 (The National WWII Museum in New Orleans – Thorpe Abbotts Airfield Sign)

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    I’m not claiming that New Orleans is in some remote part of the world, but there’s always something exciting and homely seeing a reminder of Norfolk. I know nothing more about this sign, not least as the National WWII Museum seem to make limited effort to explain anything as recent posts may have noted, but I felt the need to reference the Norfolk links. Thorpe Abbotts Airfield, given the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) reference number of 139, was built for the RAF in 1942, transferred to the USAAF in 1943 and ultimately remained in use until 1956. I hadn’t realised this, but although most of the airfield has been returned to other uses, the control tower is now home to the 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum.

    Back to this sign, I like to think that some brave pilot brought back this sign when the US air force went back to the United States in late 1945 and handed the airfield back to the RAF. A little bit of Norfolk in New Orleans and I rather like that and I must go to that museum at some point.

  • 2022 US Trip – Las Vegas and the In-N-Out Burger on the LINQ

    2022 US Trip – Las Vegas and the In-N-Out Burger on the LINQ

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    For anyone interested, which I suspect is very likely nobody, I’ve temporarily ditched the day number of the trip in the post title as I can’t remember what happened on what day in Las Vegas. What I did do early on in my week long stay was to meander down the Strip in the evening and have a little look at what was happening on the LINQ, which is a row of shops and restaurants which usually has something to tempt me.

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    I was surprised and pleased, as well as being delighted although that’s not rare with food, to see another of my favourite chains has now reached Las Vegas. The delightful mostly Californian chain make excellent burgers, with welcoming customer service to match. This was a busy location, but it seemed ordered and it’s very well reviewed with an average of 4.5 on Google, which is astoundingly good for any fast food restaurant with high footfall.

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    Very reasonable prices.

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    And this didn’t disappoint, meaty burgers and suitably salty fries which were crispy on the exterior and fluffy on the interior. The restaurant was at near capacity, but I asked if I could sit at a table where there was just one person and fortunately she was happy with that idea. I didn’t much fancy trying to prop my snack outside somewhere as Las Vegas isn’t exactly packed with seating options. Well, there are lots of seats in casinos, but they’re not keen for people to bring burgers. I’m not sure that I’ve ever had any problems with food at this chain, this was no exception and the dining environment felt inviting and comfortable.

    I’m missing Las Vegas again. And indeed the United States. I also accept that there’s more to the country than the food, but it is a strong selling point to me.

  • 2022 US Trip – Day 25 (Chicago – American Airlines Flagship Lounge)

    2022 US Trip – Day 25 (Chicago – American Airlines Flagship Lounge)

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    This was my second visit to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge, as I had visited on day 13 of my trip, and I was very excited to be back. I was one of the first to enter the lounge for the day and was given my special card to use to be allowed onto this luxury floor. I must warn my two loyal readers that there is quite a lot of mention of food in this post.

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    First it was time for a quick shower in one of their decadent bathrooms. I had to be smart for a decent lounge like this.

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    Then I got some pick and mix to go along with my welcome drink of a mimosa. What a time to be alive….

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    This was just what I needed after a week of excess in Las Vegas. I say excess, it was hardly the Hangover movie, but there we go.

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    This is pretty much the perfect breakfast for me.

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    I can still remember this plate of food, pure luxury. I didn’t sit far from the food. I was quite amused that a staff member went on for some time that the omelettes were coming soon as the chef was coming out to make them. She told everyone where they’d need to queue and explained it was best to get in first before the wait. I’m not really an omelette person so I focused on devouring capers and chorizo, but I thought that I’d watch the rush and the countdown for opening. Let’s just say that the rush wasn’t quite what the staff member expected. The chef came out, there was no-one there and they went back into the kitchen.

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    Note that the Americans can cook bacon, all crispy and the fat burnt off, which is the correct way of serving it as far as I’m concerned. My breakfast was all about the cold selection, but there was no shortage of choice here for those who wanted it.

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    I had seven hours in this lounge, so a lot of it was spent with my laptop whilst occasionally gazing out onto the tarmac.

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    And it wasn’t always raining.

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    The boardroom area.

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    One of the many quieter seating areas and I think this was the easiest lounge I’ve been to in terms of finding a plug to charge my devices at.

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    The cinema room.

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    I fell a bit asleep in the cinema room and a staff member came over when I was slightly awake, I initially thought to complain at me. Sleeping in lounges is a bit controversial, as is evident from the latest discussion about the matter on the BA forum of Flyertalk. However, she wasn’t complaining at all, she wanted to let me know that they had these sleeping areas if I would prefer that. I did.

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    After my little nap I thought I’d better check the beer selection in the lounge and there were around five craft beer options. This was certainly one of the better efforts that I’ve seen in any airport lounge and although I don’t really drink wine, there looked like an extensive range of those as well.

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    And then the cakes, as it was starting to get to lunchtime.

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    For anyone interested, they were delicious.

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    It’s important to stay hydrated.

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    And before I knew it, I was ready for lunch and the menus were switched to excite me.

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    The chicken and prawn dishes were very moreish.

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    Note the vegetables nearly covering my plate.

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    A post meal snack and beer.

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    I sat here pondering that I could happily live in this lounge for a couple of days, or, at a push, around ten months.

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    Not long before my flight, so I thought I’d better have a final snack.

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    I changed my mind and thought I’d better have another final snack. I don’t get to go to Flagship lounges very often.

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    I thought that this looked exciting, but it seems to just be a cargo aircraft.

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    With that, it was time to leave. It’s fair to say that I’d had a quite marvellous time. I was here on my silver status from BA that I got back in January 2019, with the flight I was about to take costing $9 and some Avios. I’m not sure that BA have made much on me to be honest. With regards to this lounge, it’s one of the finest going and American Airlines should be very proud of it.

  • 2022 US Trip – Day 25 (Las Vegas Harry Reid to Chicago O’Hare with Spirit Airlines)

    2022 US Trip – Day 25 (Las Vegas Harry Reid to Chicago O’Hare with Spirit Airlines)

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    I’m really not sure there can be many other cities in the world where the departure gate is packed with these machines crammed in between the seating areas. I was just pleased though that my flight was going as scheduled as it would have caused problems with my itinerary if it had been cancelled or delayed, but all was going to plan. The boarding process was a bit muddled and something of a free for all, which I didn’t quite understand why as there was assigned seating and there’s no problem with getting space for bags in the overhead lockers due to how Spirit charge. I just hung back and waited for the rush to dissipate.

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    I didn’t pay to pick a seat, but I was randomly allocated a window seat and that suited me fine to have a last look at Las Vegas. I put my backpack in the seat in front of me and there were no issues with having sufficient space or the size of my bag being queried.

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    These aren’t very clear photos as the window was quite scuffed, but 100 years there was just about nothing here other than a desert floor and likely thousands of snakes prowling around. Today, it looks like this. After watching Las Vegas go by I then fell asleep for most of the flight as there’s not much else to look at in the dark.

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    This was the best photo that I could get of the aircraft at O’Hare airport after departing. It was another smooth flight, everything was on time, the crew were friendly and they were selling plenty of food and drink to passengers from what I could gather during the brief times that I was awake. For the price paid, I was suitably impressed with my first two flights with Spirit and I’d use them again if I’m back in the United States. I was also surprised and delighted that the arrivals gate was just a two minute walk to the American Airline Flagship lounge. As this was a red eye flight I was pleased not to have to navigate anything complex and it feel strange not having to go through the security process again at O’Hare due to how American airports work.

  • 2022 US Trip – Day 25 (Shake Shack at Harry Reid Airport in Las Vegas)

    2022 US Trip – Day 25 (Shake Shack at Harry Reid Airport in Las Vegas)

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    I’m going to have to stop writing about Las Vegas otherwise I’ll never close off this US trip, so returning now to day 25 and arriving back at Harry Reid airport in the city. I do very much like Las Vegas and although I probably won’t go again for a few years it was a relaxing and interesting week in the way that the city always is. Everything to excess, but designed to entertain and delight, which it managed to do.

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    Shake Shack was one of the few food venues open past security and the long line was testament to that. I had arrived early at the airport, although there’s no surprise in that, and thought I might as well join the throng since there was little else to do.

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    Nearly ten minutes later….

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    The menu board and although it wasn’t cheap, it also wasn’t unreasonably expensive for an airport. The service was polite and the team members seemed to be doing their best in dealing with what seemed to be a never ending queue. I was pleased not to be there at breakfast time as I understand from some grumpy reviews I’ve been reading on-line that the entirety of their breakfast menu are the three items on the left-hand side board.

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    That was the limit of my purchases, a hot dog with extra relish and a root beer. It was suitably delicious for what it was and I was hardly expecting Michelin star rated food in any event. When ordering, they do the annoying thing of taking a name and then calling that out when the food is ready. I’d say that 20% of orders went wrong in that regard, the server couldn’t spell the name and then the name was called out incorrectly a few minutes later. I have no idea why they persist in that unless they enjoy the entertainment of trying to get the correct order to the correct person. Numbers really are a more fool-proof system. My name was corrupted somewhere in their system to either “Lian” or “Liam”, I couldn’t make out which, but that was better than one customer who they couldn’t pronounce at all and just shouted out the letters in their name.

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    I didn’t have lounge access, and indeed nor will I for some time since my BA silver status runs out today (31 December 2022), but this sufficed instead as there were plenty of power points and free wi-fi. For a fast food’s dining area, this was clean and modern and also a handy location to sit for a couple of hours. There were views over the runway and it all felt suitably relaxed, which was fortunate as it was late at night and I was pleased for the peace. Money well spent I think.

  • 2022 US Trip – Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas

    2022 US Trip – Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas

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    I’m conscious that there are likely hundreds of thousands of videos of the Bellagio Fountains, but that hasn’t stopped me adding one more to the pile. I’ve seen this display many times, but I always find it exciting to watch again if I’m walking by and it’s about to start. Incidentally, I also haven’t added an audio backtrack to this video above, I was standing near to one of the speakers. They are really quite something to watch and the free display is consistently one of the best rated attractions in Las Vegas.

    And some photos….. There’s a Wikipedia article about the fountains which shows just how complex this operation is.

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  • 2022 US Trip – Day 26 (The National WWII Museum in New Orleans – French Teenagers and the Handmade American Flag)

    2022 US Trip – Day 26 (The National WWII Museum in New Orleans – French Teenagers and the Handmade American Flag)

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    Unfortunately, this is another exhibit at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans which has lost something of its provenance to visitors as there’s nothing more about it on the museum’s web-site. Indeed, the only other mention I can find of it anywhere is on the blog of another visitor who simply makes reference to it. The description at the museum is:

    “A group of French teenagers made this 48-star American flag to express their gratitude to their American liberators”.

    This is really quite lovely, it would have been a difficult and time-consuming flag to make and I’m sure that it meant a lot to those American soldiers who were there at the liberation of whatever French village, town or city in which the teenagers lived. The museum must have at some stage accepted this item and been told its back story to some degree, but it’s not something that they’re passing on. I find this all quite strange, I’m sure that there must be an internal database of their collections and perhaps one day they might make that available on-line to everyone.

    It would have added something really quite positive to the story of this flag if there was some hint of where in France it might have come from, some greater recognition for those involved in its creation. But it’s still a beautiful gift and I’m sure it was very much appreciated, something which is evident by the fact that it has survived.

  • 2022 US Trip – Travelodge by Wyndham Las Vegas

    2022 US Trip – Travelodge by Wyndham Las Vegas

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    This relatively small hotel for Las Vegas, albeit large anywhere else, is rather dwarfed by Circus Circus in which it stands in front of. It has the benefit of not having a resort fee and being a cheap location in which to stay. On check-in I was disappointed to hear from the staff member that they needed a $100 deposit in cash, which is the first time I’ve ever encountered that. To be fair, if you looking at the booking e-mail and then clicked on the “go to terms and conditions” it is buried in the middle of that, but it wasn’t made obvious so I was pre-annoyed at the whole arrangement.

    However, the staff member was lovely and seemed very apologetic, admitting many other guests had similar issues. It wasn’t an issue insomuch I could walk to Circus Circus and withdraw money from their ATM, but although I don’t pay a charge to my card provider for that (thanks Chase) there was a service fee of a few dollars from the casino. It also meant that the next morning I was stuck with $100 dollars in cash, although I was able to rid myself of that in New Orleans. It was all a bit pointless, they put the $100 in a sealed envelope and then after radioing a housekeeper who checks the room they give it back on check-out. There’s also something odd about standing in reception thinking just how good their staff member is and how annoying the deposit situation is.

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    Just for reference, this is Circus Circus where I spent a few nights during the week, it’s a bit higher than the Travelodge which is just three floors high. I don’t have a picture with them both in unfortunately…

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    The room was basic albeit functional and there were a few bits that were falling off, but it was clean. I was happy though since I had entered the room with a Dr Pepper Cream Soda, although I’ve mentioned those several times already…. Most notably the wi-fi didn’t work and I was trying to limit my data usage so I was annoyed again, but the room rate was very cheap and so I didn’t feel the need to complain. Well, I’ve complained on here and to myself, but it was too much hassle to query it then when I could go just go to Circus Circus and use their wi-fi. I was pleased though that the air conditioning made the room freezing cold as that’s how I like it and Las Vegas is too hot in October. I’ve often thought Americans seem to accept a lot with these cheaper hotels, but they won’t accept failing air conditioning and I quite like that approach.

    There was also a price list on the door of nearly everything in the room, a passive aggressive way of telling customers to not steal anything. They had thought of just about everything in the room, including the television. I wonder just how many of those have been taken from rooms over the years to justify their entry onto this price list.

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    My lovely view and I could have hung things on those wires if I had wanted as they were so close. I wonder whether this hotel will be here in a few years as it’s taking up a relatively large footprint and perhaps a developer feels that they could do more with the site.The set-up was motel style and so there was a walkway in front of the rooms and I enjoyed listening to the very odd chat of the people sitting outside on the floor below, they were spending a lot of time talking about their favourite breed of dog. That’s actually my abiding memory of this hotel, the dog chat and the annoying deposit.