Looking for a place to buy overpriced mediocre cheeseburgers and Margaritas Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville is the place to be. Here's a pic of myself and my beau having margaritas on the top deck. Word of advice, don't squeeze the plastic cups to hard, when the cup returns to it's original shape the clicking of the plastic shakes the salt off the rim. Obviously we didn't pay enough, or weren't old enough to be trusted with glass. Hey, I don't want to sound like I'm picking on Jimmy's place, all of Vegas is basically overpriced.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Wasting Away in Margaritaville
Looking for a place to buy overpriced mediocre cheeseburgers and Margaritas Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville is the place to be. Here's a pic of myself and my beau having margaritas on the top deck. Word of advice, don't squeeze the plastic cups to hard, when the cup returns to it's original shape the clicking of the plastic shakes the salt off the rim. Obviously we didn't pay enough, or weren't old enough to be trusted with glass. Hey, I don't want to sound like I'm picking on Jimmy's place, all of Vegas is basically overpriced.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Old Vegas
We had a 24 hr pass for the 'Duce', so we could ride the bus system all day. In the evening we jumped on the Duce and headed to Fremont Street, which is the original flashy Vegas Strip decades ago. Fremont Street is at the end of the run for the bus. We make our way down the new Strip until we run out of hotels and lights. Now we keep traveling, essentially in the dark, since the city did not spend much on street lighting in the older sections. This is where it dawns on you that this might of been a big mistake. There is no glitz down this road anymore, and the bus just keeps on trucking. Now you haven't seen any place where you would feel comfortable getting off the bus, but it just keeps on rambling down the road. Then finally the bus driver says the next stop is the 'Fremont Experience' and it's time for everyone to get out. Also the driver mumbles about the bus doesn't come back this way and you have to walk two blocks in some direction looking for a cowboy and then turn left to catch the bus back to your hotel. This just didn't sound or look very good. This must be the 'stays in Vegas' part. You are separated from everything you own, you leave, but all your stuff stays in Vegas.
The bus pulls to a stop ready to feed the hapless tourists to the darkened streets of old. But wait, to the left the whole street is lit up and full of people drinking beer. Now this just seems out of place, but it looked good to me. For a three or four block stretch the road is shut down to vehicles and is restored to the glitzy glory of the past with one big exception. The sky over the street in this 3 or 4 block stretch is covered with a roof with the underside comprising of a large computer controlled light show. Of course, most of the time there is advertising lighting up the ceiling, but on the half hour they put on a light show on the 4 block 'ceiling'. The long version of American Pie played while we were down there and it was impressive. It was like a huge long scoreboard with rockets and characters flying lengthwise down the whole stretch of road.
The old neon signs are still lit up on many of the buildings and casinos. There are a few signs I recognized from old movies and tv shows. I was impressed, I really didn't know what I was going down there for, and I almost thought of skipping it, but I'm glad I didn't. It did seem out of place, it kinda felt like a trip to the Twilight Zone, where you don't think your dreaming, yet things don't seem to make sense. Either that, or it's the largest alien human trap in the world (sorry, ever since that New Mexico camping site I'm overly paranoid). Of course the three drunk boisterous men on the bus back to the hotel snapped us back to reality. This town is something you have to see to believe, this just ain't right.
The bus pulls to a stop ready to feed the hapless tourists to the darkened streets of old. But wait, to the left the whole street is lit up and full of people drinking beer. Now this just seems out of place, but it looked good to me. For a three or four block stretch the road is shut down to vehicles and is restored to the glitzy glory of the past with one big exception. The sky over the street in this 3 or 4 block stretch is covered with a roof with the underside comprising of a large computer controlled light show. Of course, most of the time there is advertising lighting up the ceiling, but on the half hour they put on a light show on the 4 block 'ceiling'. The long version of American Pie played while we were down there and it was impressive. It was like a huge long scoreboard with rockets and characters flying lengthwise down the whole stretch of road.
The old neon signs are still lit up on many of the buildings and casinos. There are a few signs I recognized from old movies and tv shows. I was impressed, I really didn't know what I was going down there for, and I almost thought of skipping it, but I'm glad I didn't. It did seem out of place, it kinda felt like a trip to the Twilight Zone, where you don't think your dreaming, yet things don't seem to make sense. Either that, or it's the largest alien human trap in the world (sorry, ever since that New Mexico camping site I'm overly paranoid). Of course the three drunk boisterous men on the bus back to the hotel snapped us back to reality. This town is something you have to see to believe, this just ain't right.
Hoover Dam Just Down the Road
One of my objectives for this trip was to see the Hoover Dam. So the first day on the Strip we found a place to sign up for a half day bus trip to the Dam. It took a little bit of time to find a trip that just went to the dam and back without stopping somewhere else. One trip offered a cheaper price if you included the tour of the Chocolate factory, which basically took a couple more hours and I'm sure involved shopping in some type of store.
We were picked up at the hotel across the street and bused to an old office building where someone happily took our money and offered us a special on helicopter rides over the Dam. They send buses to all corners of the city, then herd everyone in this office buiding, then send them on their respective tours. Grand Canyon in one bus, Hoover Dam and Chocolate factory another bus, and just Hoover Dam on yet another. It took less than an hour to get to the Dam and over the duration of this tour we must of heard every dam joke ever written. Dam bus joke, dam tour guide joke, dam this, dam that. It was dam fun. And let me tell you, it was dam big! Nice dam side trip when you need a break from getting carded on the sidewalks of Vegas.
We were picked up at the hotel across the street and bused to an old office building where someone happily took our money and offered us a special on helicopter rides over the Dam. They send buses to all corners of the city, then herd everyone in this office buiding, then send them on their respective tours. Grand Canyon in one bus, Hoover Dam and Chocolate factory another bus, and just Hoover Dam on yet another. It took less than an hour to get to the Dam and over the duration of this tour we must of heard every dam joke ever written. Dam bus joke, dam tour guide joke, dam this, dam that. It was dam fun. And let me tell you, it was dam big! Nice dam side trip when you need a break from getting carded on the sidewalks of Vegas.
Nude Appendages Pool Side
Now it's not uncommon for me to bear my cubitus, but it is fairly rare that I have a full complement of extremities exposed to the Sun. Notice what effect I had on the attendance at the pool. No one around even though it was in the mid nineties when this photo was taken. Must of been the glare off those bright white shanks.
You can rent one of those tents in the background for $325-$400 a day...hey it includes the padded lounge chairs in front of them. Can we say 'Rip Off'?
Monday, June 1, 2009
Vegas, Something to Behold
Of course I don't gamble, it is just a means for someone to extract your money from you without actually a threat of violence or holding you up. It's like taxes, only you get to play a game instead of just having it automatically removed from your check. But, many people had told me I should go to Las Vegas to see it, there was more than just gambling. Well, my son and daughter-in-law asked my wife and I if we wanted to go to Vegas. With the Recession on, the deals on trips were aplenty, so we hooked into a 5 day trip to Sin City.
Everyone was right, you have to go to Vegas at least once. Otherwise you could never believe something like this could exist. First off, the Strip of casinos and hotels is built on a colossus scale that is very deceiving at first glance. At night, looking down the street one can see quite a distance, and if you didn't know better, you would think you could walk down to the furthest end in a reasonable length of time. Well, you might be able too, but it's a lot further than it looks. More on that later.
We stayed at the MGMGrand hotel which is located near the airport on the Strip. The beginning of the first day we walked the hotel trying to find the best paths to the pool complex, coffee shop, and of course some place for reasonable priced beer. Not sure we ever found the best way to the pool complex, but we did find a shop that sold beer and wine right out the back of the hotel across the alley. That brought the price of hydrating in the desert down to a third of what they charged in the hotels.
The room was a fancy dancy looking room with a modern, sterile look to it. The shower and throne room where separate compartments enclosed with frosted glass. Didn't really care for pondering my kingdom surrounded by glass. But the mirror above the vanity had a television built in which was slick.
Really had a hard time comprehending how big these hotels are. Each having a thousand or more rooms filling the Strip for over a mile. Over the course of several days, we walked up and down the Strip checking out each hotel/casino. Walking down the Strip is not a straight line proposition by any means. There are a couple blocks with a normal sidewalk along the road, but in many places the sidewalk disappears and you get routed through a large hotel/casino where you get lost only to come out an hour later one block further down. When you are walking on the sidewalk, there are people standing every 3 feet clicking business cards trying to get you to take one. The businesses are for the bawdy side of Vegas, not the 'family oriented' activities, unless you were thinking of practicing to start one. Of course the polite people can't refuse taking one, and once they have one they gasp and immediately throw it on the sidewalk. So the public sidewalks look like a huge peep show with business cards containing glossy colored pictures of naked women carpeting the pavement....that's how you know your in Vegas. Well, a few hours of that and we were looking for a better way to get around. The pubic bus system has special buses called 'The Duce' which go up and down the Strip and to Fremont Street, which is the old traditional Vegas main drag. Sin City was not very busy while we were there, so it was very easy to jump on and off the buses to move around on the Strip. So the base activities included the pool complex, walking the streets, and visiting the Irish Pub in NewYorkNewYork hotel a few times. Have to admit, it was fun.
Everyone was right, you have to go to Vegas at least once. Otherwise you could never believe something like this could exist. First off, the Strip of casinos and hotels is built on a colossus scale that is very deceiving at first glance. At night, looking down the street one can see quite a distance, and if you didn't know better, you would think you could walk down to the furthest end in a reasonable length of time. Well, you might be able too, but it's a lot further than it looks. More on that later.
We stayed at the MGMGrand hotel which is located near the airport on the Strip. The beginning of the first day we walked the hotel trying to find the best paths to the pool complex, coffee shop, and of course some place for reasonable priced beer. Not sure we ever found the best way to the pool complex, but we did find a shop that sold beer and wine right out the back of the hotel across the alley. That brought the price of hydrating in the desert down to a third of what they charged in the hotels.
The room was a fancy dancy looking room with a modern, sterile look to it. The shower and throne room where separate compartments enclosed with frosted glass. Didn't really care for pondering my kingdom surrounded by glass. But the mirror above the vanity had a television built in which was slick.
Really had a hard time comprehending how big these hotels are. Each having a thousand or more rooms filling the Strip for over a mile. Over the course of several days, we walked up and down the Strip checking out each hotel/casino. Walking down the Strip is not a straight line proposition by any means. There are a couple blocks with a normal sidewalk along the road, but in many places the sidewalk disappears and you get routed through a large hotel/casino where you get lost only to come out an hour later one block further down. When you are walking on the sidewalk, there are people standing every 3 feet clicking business cards trying to get you to take one. The businesses are for the bawdy side of Vegas, not the 'family oriented' activities, unless you were thinking of practicing to start one. Of course the polite people can't refuse taking one, and once they have one they gasp and immediately throw it on the sidewalk. So the public sidewalks look like a huge peep show with business cards containing glossy colored pictures of naked women carpeting the pavement....that's how you know your in Vegas. Well, a few hours of that and we were looking for a better way to get around. The pubic bus system has special buses called 'The Duce' which go up and down the Strip and to Fremont Street, which is the old traditional Vegas main drag. Sin City was not very busy while we were there, so it was very easy to jump on and off the buses to move around on the Strip. So the base activities included the pool complex, walking the streets, and visiting the Irish Pub in NewYorkNewYork hotel a few times. Have to admit, it was fun.
Elvis Lives, at least in Vegas
The ghost of Elvis definitely lives in Vegas. While visiting this city, you are bound to meet him on the streets and in the casinos as different incarnations of him walk the town. One of my biggest regrets of the trip was not stopping to take a picture of fat Elvis standing next to the McDonald's sign in front of this fine fast food franchise. When I saw him, I already had captions running through my head to post on the blog with the picture. I'll really work not to have an opportunity like that pass by again. Man, that would of been great! Oh well, I don't think ghosts show up on pictures anyway. I know it was true with film, but does anyone know if it also applies to digital pictures? Might be a good topic to apply for a government grant to study whether ghosts can be captured in digital photos. Since digital photos are easy to doctor up, I'd guess the answer is yes. And of course we should start seeing some excellent UFO digital pics. Ya, I'm digressing once again.
The thin Elvis was seen in one of the casinos or hotel lobbies, and there even was a medium sized Elvis I saw somewhere during the week. Vegas is a good place for his ghost, the town really isn't part of the real world anyway....... You know........Vegas isn't really that far from Roswell NM........ya.....that's it.....Stop John, 'they' will suspect I know!
The thin Elvis was seen in one of the casinos or hotel lobbies, and there even was a medium sized Elvis I saw somewhere during the week. Vegas is a good place for his ghost, the town really isn't part of the real world anyway....... You know........Vegas isn't really that far from Roswell NM........ya.....that's it.....Stop John, 'they' will suspect I know!
Las Vegas.....Ah, Vegas..What can I say
Since I haven't posted since I went to Vegas, I hope you didn't think I won big and didn't return. That would of been very difficult for me since I don't gamble, and I didn't gamble at all while I was there. And by the way, I didn't see anyone at the tables or slots smiling and jumping up and down with money flying out at them like seen on TV. And since the design of the whole city is to route you through all the casinos when your not ignoring the street peddlers handing out porno business cards, I spent a lot of time walking through casinos. So when they say 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' they mean don't tell anyone that everyone gambling is losing their sorry a$$, and it's their money that is staying in Vegas.
There, that should of taken the rose tint out of everyone's glasses and sent the gamblers away in a huff. I do have to convey one last observation on gambling though, this observation was made outside the casino restrooms while waiting for my spouse.....(I think that is where she went to do her gambling since she didn't care for me watching....gambling, watching her gambling). I was watching a young man working a slot machine next to the doorway. Now working a slot means shutting your mind down and pushing a button on the machine, then moving your hand to the right and pushing another button. You repeat that until your money and mind are completely gone, or the flashing lights on a different machine draw you away. So all the while I was there he pushed one button, then the other, back and forth with a zombie expression on his face, with this distant hope of walking away a millionaire. That pretty much is what all the people on the slots were doing, or so I thought. After being there quite awhile, (my wife must of been winning) and watching him the whole time, I noticed he wasn't always paying attention to the machine, he really was watching the women coming in and out of the restroom, although he did it without ever changing the cadence he had moving his hand from one button to the other. I thought that was a tad bit pathetic even for Vegas standards.
Nuff of that, I did enjoy the trip, and the next few posts will document some hopefully interesting observations and details. I didn't bring my camera, but I did get a few pictures in Vegas, I haven't really looked at them yet, but maybe I can share a couple.
There, that should of taken the rose tint out of everyone's glasses and sent the gamblers away in a huff. I do have to convey one last observation on gambling though, this observation was made outside the casino restrooms while waiting for my spouse.....(I think that is where she went to do her gambling since she didn't care for me watching....gambling, watching her gambling). I was watching a young man working a slot machine next to the doorway. Now working a slot means shutting your mind down and pushing a button on the machine, then moving your hand to the right and pushing another button. You repeat that until your money and mind are completely gone, or the flashing lights on a different machine draw you away. So all the while I was there he pushed one button, then the other, back and forth with a zombie expression on his face, with this distant hope of walking away a millionaire. That pretty much is what all the people on the slots were doing, or so I thought. After being there quite awhile, (my wife must of been winning) and watching him the whole time, I noticed he wasn't always paying attention to the machine, he really was watching the women coming in and out of the restroom, although he did it without ever changing the cadence he had moving his hand from one button to the other. I thought that was a tad bit pathetic even for Vegas standards.
Nuff of that, I did enjoy the trip, and the next few posts will document some hopefully interesting observations and details. I didn't bring my camera, but I did get a few pictures in Vegas, I haven't really looked at them yet, but maybe I can share a couple.
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