The day started with a 2-hour scenic drive out of Anaheim into the desert via a basin with mountains on both sides. My favourite view was one with a cargo train on its way with the mountains and blue skies in the background. I also spotted a few cows along the way.
The next two hours at Barstow Tanger Outlet Centre in the itinerary must be designed for travellers like Jerrain. And she did not disappoint. In the short time, she walked, scanned, browsed, rummaged, tried on, and walked away with several bags filled with jeans, dresses, accessories, a handbag, and more! Daniel did pretty well too, with a leather file for work, bag for his dad, keychains for his team, and a couple of t-shirts for himself. Me? I did my part with three pairs of socks!
After a quick lunch at In-N-Out, it was back to the coach for another two-hour drive.
Dave brought us to the Las Vegas Premium Outlet Mall, a much bigger one which was not on the itinerary. Because of a massive jam on the way there, we only had an hour plus to shop. This time, there was a Kate Spade boutique and I managed to find quite a number of items that I absolutely could not resist!
The optional Las Vegas Night Tour took us to both the 6.8km-long strip as well as the old Vegas. Las Vegas is home to 19 of the 25 world's biggest hotel and we visited two of them tonight.
The Bellagio has a musical fountain which played every 15-minutes, and it looked fabulous with the Paris-themed hotel in the background. The Bellagio lobby was lavishly decorated, with its ceiling centre decorated with glass-blown flowers. Further in, we saw a garden with a glasshouse which kept real birds.
Caesars Palace was built in the 60s but it does not lose out to the newer hotels on the strip. It continually draws tourists with its huge mall.We only had a quick 25-minute look around, and checked out the Cheesecake Factory, aqaurium, and sky ceiling.
The third and last stop of our night tour transported us right back to Fremont Street where Las Vegas was born. I loved the old school lights and glamour! It revamped itself by building a covered walkway, which screens an 8-minute show on the ceiling. Along the walkway, there were staged performances, street artists, and more.
Cost: $30 Illuminating Las Vegas night tour, $204 Helicopter Tour at Grand Canyon, $26 'Dreaminf Bay Cruise' in San Francisco, $100 Nana fund, $5.67 Aeropostale socks, $532 Coach bags and presents, $6 sweet and sour pork rice for dinner
Nana Fund: $15 In-N-Out Burger for lunch
Highlight: After hearing people rave about In-N-Out which sold its burger for a limited time in Singapore, we had to try it when we saw it at the Tanger Outlet! We had a cheeseburger each and some fries, all pretty decent for $15!