Summer, heat, the beach, the ocean right there. What else does a normal person need to be happy? We were on cloud nine in Los Angeles, breathing its air, swimming in its waters. But as it happens, we aren't just normal people; we are desperate students, and our happiness would never be complete without thrilling adventures seasoned with the scent of a childhood dream. And who hasn't dreamed of heading to Las Vegas, staring at its enchanting lights, colossal hotels, and luxurious casinos through the glass of a TV screen? My friend Denis and I were no exception. Las Vegas beckoned us with its glorious reputation and proximity. The only thing left was to turn desire into action. After considering all options, we decided to travel to Las Vegas by car. We just needed to find that car and a driver to go with it. We had one candidate—our friend Rene, an unshakeable optimist who didn't work anywhere, lived in a trailer, and carefree enjoyed life. To our great joy, our bet paid off! The conversation with him was short: are we going? Of course we are!

Hooray, comrades! Now we could pack our bags and mentally prepare for this long-awaited event. Since our budget was quite limited, we decided to take only enough money for gas there and back, and maybe a little to lose in the slot machines. And then, the big day arrived. Early in the morning, we left our home and headed to Santa Monica Beach, where our journey started. Armed with a map, we hit the road. It was about three hundred miles, and according to our calculations, we should have been there by evening. The sun was shining bright, it was a wonderful day. While Denis and Rene watched the map and the road, I played with Rene's dog, Milo.

We safely drove a hundred miles, nothing foreshadowed trouble, when suddenly I heard a sharp pop. Rene pulled the car over to the shoulder and got out, and Denis and I exchanged glances—it had begun... It turned out that one of our four rear tires had blown out. Naturally, by Murphy's Law, we didn't have a spare. The unshakeable Rene got behind the wheel and said: "Relax, we'll just drive slowly to the nearest town and buy a new one." We exited the highway and headed toward some small town. We found a tire shop there; the owner looked skeptically at our tire, shook his head, and said they hadn't made those in a long time and we were unlikely to find one here. Our mood, which was already at zero, dropped even lower. Could our trip really end here?! But our Rene didn't even think about giving up. We drove to almost every tire shop in the area, and everywhere they told us the same thing... Only one was left. We waited with bated breath for the seller who had gone to look for a tire for us. And, oh miracle! He found it! Our happiness knew no bounds! Rene changed it, and we could go on. But there was one "but." We had to pay for the tire with the money that was meant for gas for the return trip. Rene comforted us by saying that we would leave Las Vegas as millionaires, and surprisingly, that calmed us down a bit. We set off again.

The clock showed 4 p.m., we were driving through the Nevada deserts and admiring its beauty. The sun was already hanging over the horizon, and a full and incredibly beautiful moon appeared opposite. Soon it started to get dark, and we ran out of gas. Rene pulled off the highway and stopped at a gas station. There were no more than a hundred miles left to Las Vegas. As I handed over the last of our money for gas, only one thought flashed through my head—we're in trouble. To top it all off, Rene gave us some very interesting news: his trailer's taillights hadn't worked in a hundred years, and we couldn't drive any further in the dark. And it was better not to get caught by the police, because, as it turns out, our poor driver had an expired license and about five tickets hanging over him. Yes, who did we get involved with... Well, what can you do, we had to spend the night here. Next to the gas station was a truck stop, and that's where we drove our long-suffering trailer. We were very hungry, and we had no money. At the nearby McDonald's, we met a Mexican boy named Ivan. He was just finishing his shift and kindly promised to give us his dinner. Well, at least some consolation.

My companions didn't seem to care about the situation at all; they sat peacefully on a bench looking at brochures. Oh, men... I had to shake them up—guys, what are we going to do, everything is bad! This time, their assurances that we would be millionaires tomorrow didn't work on me. And we started thinking about what to do next. There weren't many options, so we decided to try our luck by begging for money from drivers stopping at the gas station. Yes, I had never had to beg before; I never suspected that life would ever push me to this. But it turned out not to be so scary. The drivers were mostly friendly and responsive, some even very generous. My friends even got into the swing of it. Half an hour later, we had enough money not only to drive the remaining hundred miles but also to buy me some sweets and a case of beer for the guys. It seems life was back on track, I thought, eating fruit candies. Now we needed to occupy ourselves for the evening. Our gas station was in the middle of the desert, with only dry bushes and small mountains around. We decided to explore them (the mountains, not the bushes)). As we moved further and further away from the car, it became quieter and darker all around. The darkness was so thick that it seemed you could collect it in a jar and take it home. Finding a comfortable place to climb, we started scrambling up. The bushes pricked painfully, and I was scared, so I never made it to the top, which is a pity... According to Denis, there was a very nice view from there. Descending, we wandered back to our home on wheels. It was late, so we decided to spend the rest of the evening in philosophical conversations about the meaning of life, which for some reason ended with ghost stories.

The next day, early in the morning, we set off. A couple of hours later, we arrived at the city of dreams. Of course, it didn't make much of an impression on us during the day; we knew that all the most interesting things happen here at night. Our great driver didn't lose his head and drove his trailer into the territory of some small hotel, thanks to which our day started with swimming in the pool along with a few other guests. Beautiful! But we didn't have much time to relax; great things awaited us! Closer to lunch, we got ready and went to storm Las Vegas. By the way, Las Vegas is a city of one street. All the chic hotels and casinos are located one after another, and you don't have to walk very far. Entering the first one, which was the MGM Grand, we were simply speechless. It was so huge and chic! The first thing we did was rush to the slot machines. After trying our luck a few times and realizing that it was a slightly useless endeavor, we decided to distract ourselves with something else for a while. Just at that moment, we noticed a crowd of people gathered near a glass enclosure. It turns out that at this time they release real lions there! And so, two huge cats ran into the enclosure to the applause of the enthusiastic public. To say it was delightful is an understatement. Everything was done so masterfully—their terrifying roar could be heard, a special tunnel for spectators was made in the enclosure, and at one point, a lion was right above us. It took my breath away!

After walking for more than an hour in the MGM, we finally moved on. The next hotels were no less entertaining. What haven't their owners come up with to attract more people? It's not even worth mentioning the chic design. In one of the hotels, we stumbled upon a huge stand full of various vegetables and fruits, as we later found out with the help of our stomachs, real ones! Most of all, I liked the Venetian hotel, a little Venice in the middle of Las Vegas. I was lucky enough to visit this magnificent city in Italy in my life, and I could see their incredible resemblance with my own eyes. We walked along the bridges over the canals, rode a real gondola, and listened to beautiful Italian music.

On the street, we managed to see the delightful singing fountains. They are turned on every half hour, and colorful jets rise to the sky to the deafening sounds of music... One of the hotels was styled as Treasure Island, where we saw a real pirate ship.

Walking around Las Vegas all day, we didn't even notice the fatigue. Our heads were so occupied with new impressions, trying not to miss anything. My soul was simply rejoicing; I wanted to dance and laugh! But, to my great regret, the day was coming to an end, or rather, it had long since ended. On the way back, we tried to take one more look at every piece of the city of dreams, to which I didn't know if I would ever return. We breathed its air, stepped on its land, looked at its sky... Reaching home, we were completely exhausted. Without extra talk, we went to bed and fell asleep.

In the morning, we woke up cheerful and happy. The time had come to say goodbye to our dream. But, without a doubt, now it could be written on the "achieved" list. There hadn't been a day so rich in impressions in my life before. Early in the morning, we left our cozy little hotel and headed straight to the nearest suburban gas station to "earn" money for gas again. This time, everything turned out even easier, because now we said that we had lost all our money in the casino. Having collected enough money, we filled up and set off. The road back seemed more pleasant to me, well, that's understandable. The day was just wonderful, not very hot, but sunny. Outside the window, the desert landscape flashed by, and small mountains were visible in the distance. Suddenly, a loud sound distracted me from the scenery, and we stopped on the shoulder again. I couldn't believe it—we had another flat tire, this time a front one. Does this really happen?! This time there was no town nearby, only some junkyard to the right of the road. There was nothing to do, so we decided to try our luck there. Somehow, without a front tire, we pulled off the road and went in search. It turned out that it wasn't exactly a junkyard. It could rather be called a graveyard of old things. Old trailers rested here, quite in working order, by the way, cars, spare parts, even portable toilets. We were most amazed when we noticed that someone was living in this graveyard! A very bearded man came out of one trailer and started hitting some piece of iron with a hammer. We decided to ask him for help. Getting closer, we saw a doghouse near his trailer with a bored dog in it, and scattered children's toys. A little further away was a small pen with two cute donkeys. Wow, I thought, I didn't know this kind of America yet!

The man turned out not to be very talkative, but he agreed to help us. Together with Rene, they went to look for a tire. And we, in the meantime, organized a tour of the local places for ourselves. We looked into all the cars and trailers, petted the donkeys, and met a couple more locals. We were shy to ask why they chose to live in an abandoned junkyard far from civilization, but I think it was their personal, conscious choice. After changing the tire, Rene thanked our new acquaintance, who even refused money. Saying goodbye, we moved on.

Fortunately, we drove the rest of the way without any adventures. By evening, we were already in LA, I saw my beloved ocean again and was once again convinced that life is beautiful. The most interesting adventure of my life had ended, and it even seemed to me that I had become a little more mature.