This travel blog has been decidedly quiet over the last year. After our trip to Florida with the Bolyards a year ago Rhonda and I have taken only two short trips. One was a couple of nights stay in the Pinehaven B&B in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The other was a return trip to Mackinac Island, one of our favorite places, staying at the Metivier. Not much happened on either of those trips as they were for pure relaxation. We were very low key in our activities since we had been both places before. Thus there wasn’t much to write about. I do think I will write about our next trip to Mackinac, though. Just to capture the experience.
I debated on whether or not to right an entry for this trip to Las Vegas. We have been to Vegas together before and we are even staying in the same hotel we stayed in last time we were here. After all, how much can you really say about eating, drinking, gambling, and watching shows. Even our activity of choice, people watching, rarely makes for good reading. I then remembered some of the things that happened the last time around. Those memories made me smile, and they constituted the stories we shared with family and friends. Thus I am flying in the face of the tourism motto and not leaving happens in Vegas in Vegas. Well, at least not some of it.
Flights to Las Vegas are not what they used to be. Time was when it was one of the cheapest places to fly to along with Orlando. With the price of gasoline what it is these days the only inexpensive flights were at a goofy times or connecting through Timbuktu. Thus we are flying Frontier Airlines out of Milwaukee, connecting through Denver. Our flight departs at 7:20pm, so we hit the road in the late afternoon. There is some construction getting to the airport, but we arrive well ahead of our flight. There is seemingly nobody in the airport. This is Milwaukee on a Saturday evening, however. We kill some time with a couple of drinks at the bar which are very expensive. The Milwaukee airport has the best sign I have seen in an airport. After you go through security there is an area where you put your self back together. Milwaukee has it labeled the "Recombobulation Area". This is pure genius.
Our plane is late coming into Milwaukee and we are watching the clock worrying about making the connection in Denver. There are a lot of folks connecting in Denver though, so they say they will try to hold some of the planes. Once we get on the plane and seated they have computer problems associated with the in seat TVs. Everyone with connecting flights is getting more and more worried. We finally get off the ground almost an hour late. There are some storms over the Rockies and the decent into Denver is very rocky. We get on the ground safe and the flight attendant asks everyone who is not connecting to stay seated. Fortunately our departure gate is directly across the hall from the gate we arrived in. We walk off one plane and directly onto another. That makes for the quickest connection I have ever had. The flight into Las Vegas is the second bumpiest I have ever flown, but once we get past the Rockies things mellow out.
The flight lands at about 11:30pm local time. We are staying at the Excalibur again this time. The rates are cheap, and the hotel is still within a reasonable walking distance of the heart of the strip. Our last experience with this establishment was good, so we should be OK. The cab ride is very quick since the Excalibur is on the same end of the strip as McCarren. It is so late that registration is practically empty. We get checked in and find our room. We are on the fifth floor in Tower 1. Once we unpack we hit the casino floor. It is Saturday night so the town is hopping. The casinos are full, the drinks are flowing, the drunks are out, and the modern equivalent of the Go-Go dancer can be seen in all of the casinos. Also, because it is Saturday night, all of the table limits are high. Thus we hit some slots. It is near five in the morning before we head to bed. We both sleep the sleep of the dead until late in the morning.
Day 2 – April 10th (Rhonda’s Birthday)
We get up after and good morning’s sleep and get showered. We are both thirsty and hungry. We decide to go down to the Sherwood Forest restaurant we saw the night before for breakfast, if they have it. They do and we grab a table. You can tell that it is the day shift. The restaurant and casino are being staffed by a much older generation. All of the hoochie coochie girls and young studs that were working last night must be home sleeping. We get some water and coffee so we can rehydrate and caffeine up. While waiting for our food we notice keno pads on all the tables and runners coming to collect the bets. I read through the how to guide, but since I don’t have any singles I pass on gambling during breakfast. Breakfast is good and plentiful. After a leisurely meal, we decide it is time for a walk. You actually do a surprising amount of walking in Las Vegas. Things are further apart than you think, and it is the cheapest way to get around.
The weather is warm and pleasant, although a little cool in the shade. We stroll up the street on the east side and watch all the characters. The strip is full and bustling. We browse a T-shirt kiosk along the sidewalk in the Hawaiian Market that catches our eye. It is full very funny t-shirts that give us a good laugh. We consider buying a couple for the boys, but they are not really socially acceptable and couldn’t be worn in school. Thus we move on. There are numerous people in costumes trying to make tips getting their picture taken with tourists. Amongst many others we see Michael Jackson, Master Sergeant from Halo, Spiderman, an overweight Batman with a pudgy Catwoman, and a set of Stormtroopers. Of course there is the omnipresent Elvis, We begin counting the Elvises and Michael Jacksons. By the end of the weekend the tally will be five Elvises and four Michael Jacksons, with Jack Sparrow scoring two. There are also a fair number of people playing moving statues of all varieties. As always in Las Vegas the sidewalks are crowded with people handing out flyers for night clubs and loose women. Many of the tourists make as good a show as the performers and hawkers. After seeing several families with young children, we wonder again why you would bring children to Las Vegas. The only reason I can come up with is a destination wedding.
By the time we make it to Paris we are warm and we decide it’s time for a drink. There is a bar with outside seating along the sidewalk. We buy a foot and a half tall Eiffel Tower filled with a frozen strawberry margarita and take a seat at a table to watch the people parade. We decide the Eiffel Tower will make a fine penny container when we get it back home. After sitting for a good spell and drinking more than half the margarita we decide to move along. We had to drink at least that much to make it light enough to carry. We make our way over to Caesar’s Palace to try our luck. Caesar’s has always been one of our favorite resorts. We stayed there several years ago with an Epicor convention. The first game we play is “Reel Them In” This is only notable because of who we played with. The game consists of four side-by-side slot machines with a large screen spanning the space above them. At certain times a group bonus round is held where each person competes against the other in one of three fishing contests. There is a newlywed couple sitting with us. We have a great time with them because everyone is into the game and rooting for their character during the fishing rounds. After quite a while they go their own way. The game isn’t as much fun without them there, so we move along as well.
After a little while we decide to start walking back towards the hotel to get ready for dinner. We are running late so it is a fast paced hike back. By the time we get to New York, New York it is five minutes before the time we remember our dinner reservations being for. We decide to forego the change of clothes we had planned and Rhonda heads straight into the restaurant to let them know we are here. Meanwhile I made a stop at the room to drop off a few items, including the Eiffel Tower, and get a band aid for Rhonda’s foot. Her sandal has rubbed a spot raw during the fast pace walk back. Upon getting to the room I looked at the reservation print-out and notice they are actually for 6:00 and not 6:30 as we had thought. I hoof it back across the street to New York, New York and find Rhonda waiting out front of Gallagher’s. Though we are thirty-five minutes late they still have a table for us. Gallagher’s is a wonderful steak house that we thoroughly enjoyed last time we were in Las Vegas. It does not disappoint this time either. We have a cabernet sauvignon and a porterhouse. The steak is fabulous and the wine a marvelous complement. All in all it is a great birthday dinner for Rhonda.
Knowing we have to get two miles back up the strip to Treasure Island for the show we are seeing we ask Norman, our waiter, the fastest way to catch a cab from the restaurant. He tells us the legal method, then tips us off to the illegal, but quicker method. Apparently cabs cannot pick up people in certain areas otherwise they get a $300 fine. He says he has never seen a cab get fined where he tells us to hail one, so they do it all the time. He also tells us which route to tell the cabbie to take so as to get to TI the fastest. After wrapping up dinner we try Norman’s advice. The walk is very short and a cab is readily available as soon as we get out the door. The drive is short, and we get to Treasure Island in plenty of time to pick-up our show tickets.
We are seeing Mystere tonight. It is the oldest Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas. We take our seats a little early to make sure we see some of the pre-show entertainment. There is a fellow in a baggy black suit who works the crowd while people are getting seated. He steals buckets and bags of popcorn from patrons and gives it to strangers. He catches people as they come in the theater and leads them to their seats through very circuitous routes. Benoit Jutras composed the music for Mystere. I have a few of the Cirque du Soleil soundtracks of his which I enjoy immensely. Thus I know I will like at least that aspect of the show. We are not disappointed. The show is quite the spectacle. There are things going on all over the stage at all times. The costumes match the somewhat surreal characteristic of the music and the stage. The acts are at times enchanting, beautiful, and amazing. Rhonda, with her new found appreciation of yoga, is astonished at the abilities of some of the performers to hold the positions that they do. It is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
After the shows wraps up we go to get something to drink. I am parched because I haven’t been drinking my water, but I will take anything at the moment. We want to get Evan one of the skull mugs that Treasure Island serves their frozen drinks in, so that is the drink of choice. The booth that sells the drinks is closing, but we manage to get one under the wire. We get our drink filled skull and stroll back down the strip. We are headed to the fountains at The Bellagio. We saw some of them earlier in the day from across the street while sitting outside of Paris. We catch the last two shows of the night. While standing after the last show we strike up a conversation with two young ladies from England. We have a pleasant talk about the vastness that is America, the best things to see in Ireland, and the contents of an Irish breakfast. By the time we get close to our hotel the skull is empty. Rhonda wants a new Coyote Ugly bubble glass so she gets a drink there and finds her new favorite frozen drink. It is the Peaches and Cream. Being night on the weekend the table limits are all still high, so we play some slots into the wee hours of the morning. During this night I finally make my goal of getting to Bree in the Lord of the Rings slot game. This slot game, based on the movie, allows you to create a login and password. By doing so your progress and trophies earned are all kept on a centralized server. Thus you can continue the same game regardless of which casino you are in. I also enjoy playing it because the music it plays is from the Howard Shore soundtrack and I tend to make money on it. Maybe the game just senses my geekiness and love of the Lord of the Rings and takes mercy on me.
Day 3 – April 11th
We sleep in again on Monday. Nothing much happens in Las Vegas in the mornings anyway. After getting cleaned up and dressed we both have the same thought for breakfast, The Venetian. The Venetian is another of our favorites because of how beautiful it is inside the hotel. We cross the street to the MGM in order to pick up the tram. After a twenty minute walk through the MGM we finally get to the tram station. We get our passes and help a conventioneer retrieve the three day tram pass he bought and lost. The ride is quick and easy and we are soon strolling the canal shops in the Venetian. The fact that they built a large indoor canal populated with gondolas and lined with shops and restaurants is a testament to the profitability of the gambling industry in Las Vegas. We eventually wind up at the pizzeria that Rhonda fell in love with when we stayed at The Venetian for a SysPro convention back in 2005. We take our time eating and I put away a lot of water to try and get myself rehydrated.
We have tickets for a comedy show down in the old Las Vegas, Fremont Street. Last time we were in Las Vegas we took a cab down to and back from Fremont Street. Looking to save some money we opt to ride the bus this year. Unfortunately the bus stop outside of the Venetian doesn’t have a kiosk selling the 24 hour pass we want, so we have to walk northward to the next stop in front of the Wynn. We are able to get what we need there. A bus arrives just as we make our purchase and we line up to get on. The bus fills, though, and we have to wait for the next one. This is not really a hardship since the weather is sunny and we enjoy the warmth.
The large pedestrian mall that is Fremont Street is home to the same sorts of characters and hawkers that can be seen on the strip. Unlike the strip, where the hotels and casinos are huge and take up whole city blocks for themselves, here things are closer. The casinos and shops have no elbow room, so the street is tightly packed with neon and store fronts. Fremont has a more aged, gritty feel to it. There is definitely a sense of nostalgia and history is the air. We see a few of the same costumed characters we saw the previous day. While walking along we hear the whine of wheels on cable. Looking up we see people zip lining down Fremont. I then notice a sixty-five foot tower at the end of the street where the line begins. It runs on a downward slope for a couple of blocks before arriving at a landing platform in the middle of the street. We wile away the late afternoon and evening people watching and gambling. In the Golden Gate we are sitting at a blackjack table when the go-go dancers start their evening shift. There are platforms in the pit that the dancers get up on and start their gyrations. In jest we ask the rather old gal dealing cards when it is her turn up on the stage. She then says that she used to do that. We then get a little of her life story and learn she came to Las Vegas back in 1964 as a dancer. She even has an Elvis story to share. It is these sorts of encounters and tales that make Las Vegas so much fun.
The hour is getting late and it is time to head to the comedy show. We are seeing Kevin Burke do a standup routine called Fitz of Laughter. The show is called this because it is hosted at the Fitzgerald Hotel and Casino. The show starts late, 9:13pm, because he performs the Defending the Caveman show on the strip earlier in the evening. The showroom is small, and Rhonda picks up a bottle of wine and we have a seat. Kevin is a self-touted comic/psychic and is very entertaining. He gets the audience involved in all of the routines. How he pulls off some of his tricks can be guessed, but many remain a mystery. He skillfully weaves comedy into the bits and the result is a quite enjoyable.
After the show we decide to get a bite to eat. I haven’t had anything except a bag of chips and a shrimp cocktail at the Horseshoe since my sausage roll at the Venetian in the morning. We find a Subway Rhonda saw inside one of the casinos and share a sandwich. After our late dinner we start to look for the bus that will take us back to the south end of the strip. We do so without too much ado and actually get on the express. This makes for a fast trip back down to our hotel. We spend some time at the Luxor, which really doesn’t impress us, before turning in for the night.
Day 3 – April 11th
Tuesday morning finds us packing up our belongings and checking out. We get checked out an hour before the deadline. Yesterday we saw the long lines at the baggage storage and checkout when we walked by close to 11am, so we vowed to not get caught in those. Breakfast is once again at the Sherwood Forest restaurant in our hotel. After breakfast we have about four hours before we have to catch a cab for the airport. We spend most of that time over in New York New York. They have good drinks and the atmosphere is very enjoyable. This is probably part of the reason we have stayed at the Excalibur a second time. It is right across the street from New York New York. We spend a long time at a blackjack table being dealt by Cedo. He is a Serbian now living in Las Vegas. He helps Rhonda learn the game somewhat better. The company at the table comes and goes but is generally enjoyable. We finally close the book on Las Vegas and head to the airport. Once there we sit to eat dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen and start in on this blog. It has been an enjoyable few days. We lost some money, but we planned on that. The time together and the shared experiences are the cherished part of the trip and will be treasured long after any money we won would be spent.
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