A problem on traveling

Something went wrong while I was taking a trip a long time ago. Probably 10 years ago. I remember I was taking a trip to Las Vegas from San Francisco in 1999. I went down there with my family during the Labor day holiday. It was a long weekend, so I decided to go somewhere farther. It usually takes about 12 hours driving down to Las Vegas, which is in Nevada state. And, you know that the city of San Francisco, where I used to live, is in Northern California.

probably 大概
Labor Day 勞工節
farther 更遠一些

The first mistake I made was that I hadn't made a hotel reservation before I took off. It was about ten o'clock in the evening when we got in L.V. I realized that I had totally underestimated the situation because there was not even one hotel which could offer a vacant room at that moment. The whole city seemed to have been“intruded upon ” by the tourists from wherever on that weekend.

reservation 訂位
took off 離開
realize 了解
underestimate 低估
situation 情況
vacant 空出的
at that moment 當時
intrude upon 入侵
wherever 不論何處

In the beginning I thought I would find a hotel. But as time ticked away, I was getting anxious because I really couldn't get any. I drove around the city again, and again. Finally I found a small hotel with a compact vacant room. Guess what? They charged triple the regular price. If memory serves, it was $199 per night. I felt like I had been ripped off by a profiteer.

time ticks away 時間流逝
anxious 焦慮的
compact 小的
triple 三倍
if memory serves 如果沒記錯
rip off 剝削
profiteer 奸商

I think I have learned a lot from that experience. My advice for all travelers is, always reserve a room before you start on your trip.

experience 經驗
advice 忠告
reserve 預訂
start on 開始