PH Feb 15-18th

This format was received well for last trip and opted to utilize it again for this trip.
Instead of listing it chronologically I will break it down into topics.
This format will allow you to read any (or all) the topics of interest.
Hopefully there will be some interesting and useful information here for everyone.


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~ Flight Report and limo ride
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Flying Southwest to Vegas as we have done in the past but have gotten smarter by obtaining a SW credit card.
By doing so we are getting two free tickets for a future trip and pretty close with miles for a 2nd future trip. This will save us $1K+ per trip.

Happened to be one of the first few people to board and jumped in the 2nd row.
Started storing our stuff and thought something was different about this plane.
Wait, I seem to have room. Why aren't my knees smashing into the back of the first row???
And whats that smell??? You know that "new car smell"? Well this was a "new plane smell".
This is a pretty darn new plane. I read that most new planes were supposed to be getting a reduction in leg room to fit in one extra row but someone must have added instead of subtracted for this plane.
Luckily not a full plane and the two of us got to spread out and use the middle chair as our storage and a place to make our sandwiches.

This was one of our more enjoyable flights.

Here are a couple of images taken from the plane.

This first is a general picture.



I thought the volcano was interesting. Never expected to see this.



Awesome flight. Luggage still takes a while. Limo driver was there, but not with a limo this time.
Instead it was an Escalade. Not as cool as a limo but still a hell of a lot better than a cab.


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~ Check-in at Planet Hollywood and Comps
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Arrived at PH and had two options for our Vista room.
Option 1 - view of the Paris tower and Bellagio fountains but this room won't be available for the next few hours.
Option 2 - a non-view room that is ready immediately.

We actually opted for option 2 as we really like to shower and get a change of clothes after a 5 hour flight.
The person behind the counter stated that we had a $125 food and beverage comp.
Our host was supposed to get a $125 Casino cash and not food and beverage comp.
Since we usually get our food comped we really would prefer the cash for gambling as opposed to use it on stuff we already are getting comped.
We ask if she could look into the Casino cash but she said all she can review are the hotel related items.
Long story short we actually got both the $125 Food and Beverage credit AND the $125 Casino play.
We exceeded the $125 easily and even picked up a few PH hats.
In the end everything was covered. This included about $250 of what we charged to the room. The limo, the room, all the food and hats. Cheers to our host.




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~ First meal - BurGR
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While unpacking, I called BurgR but they don't take reservations. It was going to be about a 80 minute wait. The great thing about this place is you give them your phone number and they will text you when ready.

After getting on the list we were able to shower, go to Walgreens for our soda, Amp and water to stock the frig.
On a previous trip we ate here and opted for the parmesan fries which weren't very good. This time we went for the sweet potato fries.
I have tried sweet potato fries at other locations and didn't like them but never tried them here.
At the BurgR place they were impressive. I am sure the powdered sugar sprinkled on top did help. It was nice that you get a canister of powdered sugar in case you want to sprinkle on more.

We opted to get two different burgers, cut them in half and share a half. Both were supposed to be medium but came back more well. It really didn't matter because their "well" was so much more tender and juicy than any other place does a medium. This is our second visit to BurgR and both times they have been outstanding burgers and worth the price.

I had the Hells Kitchen Burger. If I recall correctly my wife had the Chanterelle Burger.


Here is an image of the Hells Kitchen Burger:



Here is the Britannia Burger.



Here are the fries:



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~ Trip to Sugar Factory @ MGM from myVegas
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After a visit to MC we head to MGM to get a free pound of candy (thanks to MyVegas). A little story first.
Last visit was did the free pound of candy, but as you know you have to buy a pound to get the free pound. After 40 minutes of figuring out what to get and getting charged $16, my wife says "what a waste and its not much of a deal". Fast forward to a few weeks prior to the trip and my wife signs up for the free candy again. When asked why, she mentioned some really good treats they had and she wants to load up on just a few specifics and this time she now knows she wants.

Now fast forward to present time. This time we spend 20 minute in the store. I was a bit smarter because this time I went to Fat Tuesday before the candy store so there is no rush as I have my drink. Finally she gets what she wants and I get a few things like the dark chocolate covered expresso beans. We go to check out and they ring her up for $16. As we walk out you will never guess what she says to me. Can you guess???? Wait for it..... wait for it.... "what a waste and its not much of a deal"

Back to the trip report....

Leaving MGM and decide to stop by the Lion Share slot machine. Stopped by and asked the drink lady were the machine is located as they keep moving the damn thing. She pointed in the direction and said "There is a wait." My wife and I looked at each other like "wait?" , "what does she mean wait?" Then we walk by and see a line 15 deep. Oooooh a wait. I knew once the machine made the news it would be near impossible to play. Needless to say the machine didn't get any of my money this trip.


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~ Pre-gambling drinking
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Back to the room to drop off the $16 free candy. By now my first drink is gone and we head downstairs to Fat Tuesday in the PH mall for number 2. Its the longest line I have seen at this place. Back at MGM it was also the longest I have seen. Usually our trips start on Sunday and this is the first in a long time we are in Vegas on a Saturday night and am sure it played a huge part in it.

Next stop is the cage to get money. Now we can officially start gambling. Beginning to gamble while starting a 2nd Fat Tuesday drink seems like the recipe for potential disaster. I like the 190 Octain in those big cups. For those who haven't tried it I highly recommend it but be careful because it is made with 190 proof Grain and sneaks up on you. For those who drink it know what I mean. You feel find like it has no affect then its like getting sucker punched by Tyson similar to that guy in The Hangover movie.


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~ Craps
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It wasn't long before we left PH and hit up Paris to play some Craps.
The tables at PH are always packed. If I recall correctly Saturday they had 4 tables opened and all packed.

Before heading to Paris for Craps, I was tempted to get a 3rd drink but I knew better. A 3rd 190 Octane and there is a chance I won't wake the next morning. (I know what you are thinking. I must be a responsible drinker. Read on before you commit to that conclusion.) First stop at Paris is the Craps table. I tend to search for an empty Craps table as I like shooting the dice.

At Paris and Ballys there is a chance for an empty table and usually lower minimums. Most tables were $10, but as mentioned before it was mostly due to it being Saturday night as I am used to seeing $5 tables Sun-Wed at Paris and Ballys.

I get my chips and at that moment the cocktail waittress comes around and I order up a rum and coke. Here is my logic. A few small drinks won't add up to a big drink of 190 proof, right????? This is true if I only got the one. By the way, the waittress at Paris and especially PH were every where and they were fast.

Back to my Craps summary.

They had about 4 open tables and I would jump from each table to the next if empty. If the head count was the same I would try to slow play until the dice came back around. Unable to get anything going that night. In fact it was a rare occurrence to hear any cheering what so ever from any of the Craps tables as they were all cold.

I played the most crap sessions on this trip. If the table was cold I would not stay long. I have no problems taking my chips and leaving to come back and play another time. I only had one winning session at Paris the entire trip.

One day we were hitting the machines at Ballys in a location where I can monitor the Craps table. A few people leave and an empty table becomes available. Told my wife to play both her machine and my machine while I go play some Craps. Get my chips and she is right behind me.
Since its a $5 table she figures she will buy in for $100. She may play one session per trip only if its a $5 table. Well she picked a good time to decide to play. The Ballys tables were great this trip. This first session I probably hit only 2 points this entire session but the 6, 8 and hardways were working very well. Also, the 7 was mostly seen on my come out rolls. She cashed out doubling her money and I was up close to $400 for this session.

I played 4 different sessions at Ballys. This was the first session. The second I was up about $200, then broke even on the third and lost a bit on my final
session.

One session I was finally hitting some points. In fact I was working on my 4th point and had a Fire Bet down for myself and the crew. Damn if that 7 didn't show. The table was full so I left at that time.

Overall Ballys was a great experience for Craps not because I won (although it helps) but the dealers were great.
The stick person kept recommending that I keep my hard ways working on the come out roll. He said to do it only when I was rolling as the hard ways were a bit more frequent for me. Since I was making bets for the crew they had a dog in this fight.
Also I was able to toss money on the table without saying anything and they knew what to do with it.
Each time I played, there was at least one or two people in the crew who welcomed me back.
Even the pitboss and I joked a bit.

Here is how I like to see my rack:




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~ MC Breakfast via myVegas
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Early Sunday morning and the Octane wasn't an issue, but the rum and cokes were. A few weeks back there was a thread discussing drinks and how someone mentioned that while drinking no one really can taste if the cheap stuff or good stuff was used, BUT the next day you can really feel it.

Well, let me tell you that they used the cheap shit in those rum and cokes because I was not going to eat. We have plans for breakfast at MC with the $50 credit. They open at 6:00am which is what time we arrive.

I had one bite of toast, one spoon full of eggs and opted for a chocolate shake instead as the cold felt good and milk helped to coat my stomach. This put the burden on my wife to make sure we got our $50 worth of food. I finished off my milk shake and she ate her eggs, toast, hash browns and a side order of pancakes then proceeded to eat my eggs and hash browns. After asking the waitress for a sub total there was still room so my wife ordered dessert. All that in about a 110
pound frame. She gets the MVP award and I didn't complain that she unbuttoned her pants while walking down the strip back to our hotel.


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~ Le Burger @ Paris via Groupon
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We originally planned to use the Groupon for the meal Sunday but if you read the fine print it is not valid on Sundays so we opted for Monday.
I ordered the classic and it was great. We split the tower of onion rings which was also very good. Nice and crunchy.
My wife ordered the sliders and said no onions. I know what you are thinking.... she eats onion rings but not onions???
Well there is a difference between fried onions and raw onions.

We didn't pay for the sliders, but my meal was fantastic. Before leaving I ordered a chocolate shake to go.

They usually have really good shakes but can be hit or miss. This shake was definitely a hit.

Outstanding.


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~ The Plams Steakhouse @ Caesar's Mall
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We don't get to the steak places much as they open too late for our final meal of the day.
Doing some searching and found this steak place in the Caesars mall and the hours are the same as other store hours in the mall which is perfect.
Do plenty of searches and you will be hard pressed to find any bad reviews...but here is one now.
I got raped. As I was ordering the steak and asking questions like is the steak aged, marinaded, seasoned.... Nope, its just steak.
WTF, for $45 it better do a god damn magic trick or something.
My wife was not going to participate as she was already second guessing my decision to eat here after hearing the waitress.

We do steaks each week at home as she feels that the steaks we cook and pay $15 for are significantly better than what these places are doing for $45. As a result she orders the philly cheese steak (without onions).

Well, when my wife is right she is right. The steak was just ok. Her philly steak had no taste what so ever. She only ate half the sandwich. Remember this is the girl who ate two breakfasts at MC so it must not have been good. This was a waste of $85. Hell, we could have easily done 2-3 meals on $85. She may not let me try another Steak place in Vegas.

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~ Earl of Sandwhich @ PH
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This is like a safe haven. You want a decent sandwich at a decent price this is the place to go.
We ate here a couple of times like we always do.
I still think its funny I can't get an egg sandwich in the morning but I can get a meatball sub.


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~ Pizza
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There are two pizza places by PH.
The one is just around the corner by Walgreens which has been there almost a year named Bonanno's.



The new one is Pin-up pizza which is part of PH. You can actually enter the store via the Sportsbook.
I tried the one place and thought it was one of the better pizza i had in Vegas. Definitely beats the secret pizza place at Cosmo and the place at NYNY.
Was going to try the Pin-up pizza one night but was opted for the a freshly made pizza from the restaurant outside the PH mall (The Rockbar and Grill).
It is an oval pizza and actually pretty darn good.
We put the box on the wall outside PH and ate it while people watching.

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~ Street people
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Our last trip was Aug and they weren't too bad. Let me tell you that there appears to be an explosion of these people since then.

A sidewalk were people can walk 6 or more wide converge into single file because everyone has to stop for these people.

Outside PH must be the meeting point. You could meet:
Dr Evil
Cop from Arrested Development
The fat guy from The Hangover show.
Hello Kitty
Two show girls
Thor
Spartacus
Two female cops wearing basically nothing
An angel (who did look a bit like death)
Woody from Toy Story
The Hulk
Three differnt transformers
Some guy in gold spray paint dancing

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~ Dessert at Paris
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Not sure of the official name but am sure most of you have seen this dessert before but may not have tried it.
Let me tell you it was awesome and well worth the $6 price. Granted the water was $3 and not worth it but together the dessert was $9 and awesome. Tempted to get a second one but decided against it.



This image is so you can see what is on the inside. What is it? A plate fully of awesomeness.




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~ Paris Breakfast buffet
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We have done one Paris breakfast buffet each of the past few trips. In fact it is one of the only buffets we do.
My wife thought it wasn't as good but I think its because we have been there so often the newness is gone and to her its the same old breakfast instead of something new and exciting.
I thought the breakfast was just as good as it has been.

Here is a #6 and #7 from the crepes section made fresh to order.




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~ Video Poker
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My wife can play video poker for hours which she did again this trip.
Before, all she would play is JOB but this time she ventured into the Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus and she had even more fun.
No significant hits as she does the penny 100 play VP machines but she always leaves with a smile after playing.


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~ Slots Preview
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Nothing to brag about this trip. No major hits at all.
The Top Dollar machine hit mostly its standard 30 credits.
I don't recall encountering so many bonus rounds where we won less than the per spin bet.
In fact, we had a few bonus rounds that won 0. There should NEVER be a time when a person receives 0 for a bonus rounds.

I played the HL Top Dollar machine the first night. Usually I play it each night and hit a bonus or two, but this time it was only played the first night. Since it didn't even encounter a single bonus, I was not going near it again this trip.

This machine saw some time. I figured if I won, it would cover most of my first night losses.



We played soooo many slots. What you see here doesn't include the ones we played briefly.
These are just some of the videos. There are others uploaded that can be viewed if interested.


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~ Iron Man
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This was played early morning which is when we mostly walk the strip and try different games.
I really enjoyed the game and would have wanted to put in some significant time at night but it wasn't near where we usually hang at night.

Here is a video of some general play and a few bonus rounds.
It is just over 4 minutes. The first bonus rounds is around the 1:10 mark. Excuse the part where I forget to turn off the camera but if you continue watching it goes to another bonus. Sometimes the machine will tell you a bonus is coming up. I recommend giving this game a try.

[YOUTUBE]c1dc0PIZ5Lg[/YOUTUBE]


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~ Diamonds & Sevens
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This is an older game. If you watch (and listen) to all 3 videos in consecutive order you can sort of hear a bit of frustration.
It is a bit funny when I first reviewed the videos. You can almost hear the 190 octane kicking in.

[YOUTUBE]tBJxvCQLp6w[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]tgtzb5heMGg[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]MicL0HQPbZ8[/YOUTUBE]



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~ God Father
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This was a machine with a high turnover.
Although there were always people playing you could walk by a few minutes later and it would all be new people.
Don't recall seeing anyone spending a significant amount of time on this machine.
In fact we weren't there more than a few minutes.

The bonus round is around 20 seconds in. If you watch closely during the bonus round it ends up with the results every time.

[YOUTUBE]NR-rvD7PxFk[/YOUTUBE]

It was after this bonus round that we left.

[YOUTUBE]iWSbS-2gT-o[/YOUTUBE]


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~ From the Blazing 777s Series
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Not sure of the official name of these slots but they were just ok.
The bonuses appears a number of times but excluding my two ok results, they were anti-climatic as you will see in the video.

This first video shows my first bonus which was 0 credits.

[YOUTUBE]6Aws4f66H1E[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]CQ46QeYan_k[/YOUTUBE]

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~ Green Machine
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This is a unique machine and the most basic of slot machines.
No confusing symbols are trying to figure out if you won or not.
You can't get more basic than this machine.
Nothing significant to see but it is such a unique machine and mentioned in a few posts I thought it would be useful for those who wondered about it. You will notice a number of completely blank spins.

[YOUTUBE]h_BuLXQE6ds[/YOUTUBE]


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~ From the Quick Hits Family
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I believe Quick Hits has a large family of slots and this is just one variety.
This is the first time playing this machine and we really enjoyed it.

[YOUTUBE]KEcXJLxsHO8[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]A8lVUhaHTEw[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]iYq1DD9lwY8[/YOUTUBE]

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~ Monopoly
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This is one of the newer Monopoly games. As with most of the Monopoly slots I give it a try to see the bonus and that is it.
These machines don't seem to pay much on the bonus and will eat the cash quickly but their graphics and creativeness is worth giving it a try.

[YOUTUBE]nUv1v0PnkdI[/YOUTUBE]

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~ Multi-Play Slot machine
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I thought this machine was pretty neat. It was like the multiple play video poker but with slots.
Sorry, no video, just this image.




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~ Top Dollar Slots Review (25 cent and $1)
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Here are my two best hits on Top Dollar and excluding my Craps win, these are my top wins from any given machine this trip.






Although the Top Dollar wasn't giving any major bonuses, this machine has some kind of hold on me and I can play it all day. These are just some of the bonuses as I didn't record them all.

[YOUTUBE]I_0S5dH7haw[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]SIam3scbAA4[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]5A33npojdYI[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]twVAiLYG_iE[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]aSks2Zah414[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]HwpJHECFmoY[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]OngMmLd3spw[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]q6UmGySjfzc[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]PW5pkVMgTiM[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]QGa7sHtg3S0[/YOUTUBE]


Hopefully you enjoyed this report.

 

Nice report and sounds like a great trip. Thanks for posting! Oh - love the pics!!!

 

Interesting report....love all the videos.
No one bothered you about filming?

 

Great report, hope to hit a couple of those Top Dollar ones myself, that and IGT Pinball are two of my favorites as well!

 

That dessert looks fantastic. Where in Paris did you get it?

 

Enjoyed your TR and photos/videos. I almost forgot I bought Le Burger Brasserie groupon for our March trip....thanks for the reminder.

 

I was anxiously awaiting your TR, and you didn't disappoint! I love your vids. Question...and you may not have noticed but did you happen to see a vegetarian burger on the menu at BurGR? We'd like to eat there but I'm a vegetarian. Those fries looked yummy!

 

Great trip report! Love the videos. We also really like Top Dollar and play the 6 machines(maybe down to 4 now) up the steps at Bally's HL room all day.

 

Sweet trip,

What's up with the volcano?
Where did up fly from?

Fk

 

Nope. Not one.
Between this trip and the last I have take a large number of videos and pictures.

 

Don't recall the name but lets see if I can describe it.
Face Gorden Ramsays restaurant and Paris's High Limit Slot area.
About 2 oclock is a path which takes you through the section of stores heading to Ballys. Once you enter this section the store is about 10 feet on your right.

If you get to the Paris Buffet you went too far.

 

Here is there menu.
They used to provide the menu, then took it down then apparently made it available again.

 

Flew in from Orlando.

Never expected to seem something like that much less with the evidence of a flow. Would be interested to know how long ago that occurred.

 

Nice report, and thanks for all the pics!

It sounds like you learned your lesson about always specifying a liquor! Though I think that the 190 proof grain alcohol - you know, the stuff you could run your car on - might have played a larger role than you're admitting!


Good stuff, though. Thanks.

 

Got it. Thanks!

 

This is the definition of a TR.

Very nice pics

 

Hey thanks! I'll have the earth burger please....yeah definitely eating here when we go. Might have to top it off with a 190 Octane!

 

I thought the volcano was interesting. Never expected to see this.

That is "S P Crater". It's located about 25 miles north of Flagstaff. Pretty cool.

'S P' stands for Shit Pot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_P_Crater

 

Great TR! Enjoyed your pics and videos.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Glad everyone is enjoying the videos. Would have liked to post a video of me wining the 10 million. Maybe next trip.

You will thank me later. Make sure you get their BIG cup.

Thanks for the education. When reading it was part of the San Francisco volcanic fields I was thinking "But we were flying from the East Coast."