Vegas vacation becomes survival epic

As they sip on British beer and cider that reminds them of home, Mark Jackson and James Sheldrick talk about being stranded in Vegas.

They were only supposed to be here one week to celebrate a birthday.

But the two friends became victims of an erupting volcano in Iceland that produced a drifting ash cloud so massive it grounded their flights indefinitely -- so far adding five days onto their trip.

"The money's gone," said Jackson, 28. "We spent already what we had brought to spend for the week we thought we were going to be here."

Their $1,500 apiece budget dried up long ago, so now both are relying on credit cards and family members to transfer money into their bank accounts. American ATMs will only allow them to take a certain amount of money out daily until they call their banks back home to give them permission to take out more the next day.

"Vegas is an expensive city to be stranded in with not a lot of money," said Sheldrick, 27.

Nik Forman, 39, of Southampton, England, said the delay allowed him time for sightseeing, but he said he's ready to go home.

"It's a bit of a limbo situation. You just don't know what's going to change or when," he said. "The volcano is still erupting. The cloud is really all over Europe. There's little pockets all over the place."

It's a frustrating experience felt by many around the globe as the airline industry stays grounded until the cloud dissipates.

British Honorary Consulate officials in Las Vegas are estimating that at least 1,000 British travelers are stranded in the valley. Honorary Consul Jerome Snyder said communicating with airlines and travel agencies has been the biggest hurdle for tourists.

"The other issue that we've had is a number of older Brits that have medications are concerned they're running low," Snyder said. "Some are saying their credit cards are almost maxed out."

And some travelers can't afford to wait.

Jackson and Sheldrick found out their return flight to London was canceled six hours before it was scheduled to take off Thursday because of the drifting volcanic ash. They flew on Virgin Airlines, which is offering to pay for their hotel room at Circus Circus.

Other than that, both are digging deep into their pockets just to survive.

Jackson called his boss to let her know about the situation, but he is using up all of his paid vacation time. Sheldrick is self-employed and is losing $1,500 per week.

And in an economic climate where every dollar counts, some of the other options -- such as grabbing a flight to Spain from Mexico City and driving back to England or heading to Canada to board a flight to Scotland and drive back -- are too costly.

"All we want is the cloud to clear, Virgin to send a plane over and then to say to us that we're on the next flight out of here," Jackson said. "Then our problems are solved. But for the moment, we're just stranded, not doing anything, waiting."

Contact Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.