Vegas: Part 1

A little more than a week ago Tammer and I traveled to Las Vegas to visit some friends and take in the sin! While their whole campaign revolves the idea that it all “stays in Vegas”, I think that’s stupid, and I’m going to spill my guts.

We flew into the city on Wednesday evening, that’s July 4^th. Believe it or not, as we were landing, we could see fireworks going off all over town. It was absolutely beautiful. From the airport we picked up the rental car and headed on over to Ralph and Rochelle’s place in Henderson. I went to bed immediately while Tammer stayed up and visited with our host for a bit.

Thursday morning we woke up at dawn (we were still on eastern time) and relaxed until the kids tried to sneak up on us. After a little bit of playing and some breakfast, Ralph and Rochelle took the kids to school and went to work themselves, and Tammer and I were left to fend for ourselves (always a good idea). We headed over to downtown, the older side of Sin City where you can find cheaper food, the casinos you think about from old movies and the Fremont Street Experience. About 3-4 blocks of Fremont Street are covered with a giant structure with lights (there’s a light show at night) and lined on either side with casinos and souvenir shops.

Our first stop was La Bayou casino where in the back we each purchased a yard of frozen cocktail (Tammer got a margarita and I got a strawberry thing with lots of rum). We hit the street with our refreshments, and it was at this point we became the trashiest people in the area. Keep in mind it was about 10am. We were pleased to discover that all the businesses left their doors open allowing the air conditioning to escape. The effect was such that the area was a pleasant 75-80 degrees; however, once you left the protection of the awning the 110 degree heat punched you in the face. During a quick pit stop at one of the casinos I put $10 in a penny slot machine and walked away with $27.15.

After we got good and liquored up we hit the Main Street Station Buffet (I had read online that it was the best buffet under $10. The food had helped us sober up, but we were still suffering from the effects sugar in the drinks, the heat, and the impending food coma, so we decided to go back to the house for a nap.

While we were recovering Erica and Kari arrived in town (yea!). We met them at their hotel for happy hour by the pool (where I consumed copious amounts of water) and then dinner at a lovely Chinese restaurant in their hotel. After dinner Tammer and I went back to Ralph and Rochelle’s to spend the evening with the family.

Friday morning on our way to see where Ralph and Rochelle work our tire blew on the freeway. Luckily we were able to pull over at a gas station and poor Tammer had to put on the spare in the heat (it was already well on its way to 115). Ralph and Rochelle work for Ralph’s cousin, famous artist Michael Godard. After a quick visit/tour of their office, during which we met the artist himself (ooooh-aaahhhh), we were off to the rental car place to exchange our car.

Friday afternoon we met Erica and Kari at their hotel pool where they had rented a cabana for the day. It was so nice spending the afternoon lounging around in the pool and the cabana, but it was still terribly hot. At about 4 I couldn’t take the heat and decided to go inside to try my hand at the penny slots again. I lost $40 immediately, so I got $100 at the ATM (conveniently located on the casino floor). I was able to play with this for more than an hour and lost only $6. For those of you keeping track I am now $30 down.

More later…I am tired of writing and I’m sure you need a break, too.