sufficient

fear and loathing

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Pretty sure there's not a thing that happened during our time in Vegas that I'm not comfortable sharing here. Sorry if that disappoints.

We left Flagstaff on Wednesday morning and headed to Las Vegas. We drove over the Hoover Dam but did not get out for the tour or to take any pictures. Driving west across the dam gave a great view in the rearview mirror of Lake Mead. Nevada made new state #3.
We pulled into Vegas just after lunchtime and headed to our hotel, Treasure Island. We changed into more citified clothes and headed out to the Strip. We spent the afternoon exploring casinos. Highlights: the amazing flowers at the Bellagio, the fountain show at the Bellagio, getting TOTALLY lost in MGM, and the 4 story M&M store. Lowlight: the roller coaster at New York New York, on our top 5 list of things to do there, was closed for repair.That night, we partook of Treasure Island's buffet and went to see Cirque de Soleil's Mystere. I believe it was their first show (definitely the first one in Vegas). We walked in and quickly began to hear a super-irritating baby crying. After awhile, with my irritation level growing, Laura realized that the object sitting on the stage was a baby carriage and that the noise was part of the show. That changed my perspective and one the show started, it was fabulous! Lots of circus-y parts, which are my favorite.

The next morning, we got up and waited for 15 minutes in line at Starbucks for breakfast. Starbucks in Vegas do not accept gift cards and have higher mark ups than Starbucks in airports. Vegas: capitalism at its best (worst?). We headed toward the other end of the strip and Circus Circus, where there was another roller coaster we wanted to ride. There is a major difference in the quality of hotels down at that end of the strip. Nowhere near the poshness of the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, etc. The indoor amusement park at Circus Circus was a disappointment too. We did ride the roller coaster as we'd planned too, but it was not nearly as exciting as I'd hoped. I found a pirate too, so that was a plus.On the way out, we stopped at the half-price ticket booth to figure out our evening's entertainment. We walked away with half-price tickets to the late showing of the Blue Man Group at the Venetian. Where we also got lost among the canals there trying to find our way to the theater. Ooops. As we wandered, we were able to take in an opera performance in one of the "squares."
I was feeling pretty crappy, so I spent the remainder of the afternoon lying in bed watching TV while Laura alternated between napping and the pool. After another Las Vegas buffet for dinner, we headed back to the Venetian. We were in Vegas, so we had to gamble a little bit, at least. Last time I'd played a slot machine was on a cruise when I was 18, when you could still put coins into the slots. But apparently, they've been brought into the 21st century and now even the penny slots only take bills. And, you don't have to pull the lever, you can just push the button. BORING. Yet, there were tons of people sitting there for hours on end. I just don't get it. Quote of the day from Laura, as we tried to figure out where to put the coins: "Gambling: one of the things two over-educated white girls just don't know how to do." In a text exchange with my dad, he informed me that my mother was unimpressed with my decision, as all of the money from gambling in Vegas goes straight into the pockets of the drug traffickers, according to her. Alas, $6 into their pockets.After my $6 was gone, we headed to the Blue Man Group. Before the show, an usher pulled the guy sitting beside me out of his seat for participation in the show later. It was an interesting show, but I don't need to see it again.

Overall thoughts on Las Vegas, stolen from the mouth of Laura: desperate and shameless. I enjoyed our 36 hours there, but I don't need to go back.

Labels: roadtrip '10, travel

posted by CP @ 2:52 PM 1 thoughts