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.