LAS VEGAS 2019
They always say, whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and for the most part that's probably a pretty good idea given the nature of this town... Gambling, Booze, Boobs. As much fun as all those things are, I thought I would share SOME of the adventures we had on our most recent visit. It all started with the idea of going to see the Canucks play the Golden Knights...
A week before we are heading to Vegas to escape our cold weather, this happens.
February 28
It seemed like we just got home from Japan and we were re-packing our bags for a quick trip to Sin City.
We had never flown Swoop airlines before, they are the Low-Cost/Low-Features line of WestJet, and it was nothing fancy, but it's a short flight and they delivered on what they promised... nothing, no snacks, no drinks, no entertainment. Probably the hardest part of the flight was the noise. After flying to and from Japan, and riding the Trains there, we were getting used to quiet time while commuting. This plane was completely different, everyone was talking loud, hanging over the backs of chairs and talking loud, hooting and hollering when the plane took off and when the plane landed. What a difference. Lucky for us, the weather was different too..
What I thought I had booked was an airport Limo to our hotel, turns out it was a Limo bus, crammed full of other people. The funniest was the Alberta guy that couldn't understand how we didn't know there was a NASCAR race going on that weekend, he seriously couldn't comprehend that we weren't aware.
We were staying at Treasure Island, which is fairly central on the strip. The room was nice, but the hallways reminded me of the hallways from 'The Shining', but when we opened the curtains... it was the true horror of a view. We seriously contemplated requesting a room change, but the room was nice, and we wouldn't be in it much.
Of course no trip to Las Vegas is complete without a buffet dinner, and it just so happens our hotel has one. So much food... so full.
We really needed to walk off that huge dinner, so just took a walk along the strip.
If you have seen any of the Ocean's Eleven type movies, you know that you have to stand in front of the Bellagio for a while. The dancing waters to the sounds of Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas, or Frank Sinatra's Luck be a Lady are mesmerizing.
Sometimes it is like you are in a different part of the world, and sometimes you just wonder where in the hell am I...
Donny & Marie, are they still alive?
March 1
After a late night of spending quarters and pennies, and enjoying the free drinks, we didn't get up early. But when we did, we decided to wander down the other part of the strip, towards the Stratosphere.
We probably could have rented a vehicle to spend more time parked in traffic on the strip.
Circus Circus hasn't changed at all since I was a kid coming here with my mom. I'm pretty sure those are still the same carpets. In fact, this whole end of the strip is really a dive, the Stratosphere is old and tired, the stores around are either liquor or cheap souvenirs.
Flashbacks occurred when I saw this sign... the first time I was ever in a car accident. I saw him coming in his van from blocks away while I was stopped waiting for a guy to turn left, I braced for it as his van smashed into the back of my Cougar. His name 'James Golightly'. My back has never been the same.
Although this end of the strip did have a couple of the Vegas Chapels if we wanted to renew our vows or meet Elvis. We didn't... so we took the shuttle and headed back to the cool part of town.
Las Vegas has really embraced their new hockey team, The Golden Knights, the Statue of Liberty even wears a giant team jersey.
We may have spent an unexpected amount of time in the Hershey's store, I mean, who wouldn't?
That is two 1/2 pound Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!!!
Vegas is very different once the sun sets, and the neon starts to glow.
Bags of Farts, Unique Garden Gnomes, and rope climbing wine retrieval... you just never know what you'll find here.
The Luxor was draped in a giant Cyber Sports banner, but the inside was still cool. Figuring we had better get back for a show we had booked, we grabbed a taxi and had him take us on a detour to the Fabulous Las Vegas sign before going back to Treasure Island.
Big winnings so far!
I really need to work on my Nighttime Selfie skills.
We were going to see The Beatles LOVE by Cirque Du Soleil, but you can't enter The Mirage without watching their Volcano erupt.
I'll say this, Cirque always puts on a great show, and add all the great Beatles music into the mix... just wow!
March 2
Once again, we didn't get up early. I hadn't been to Vegas in years, and it was amazing how much the strip has changed, Old casinos like the Monte Carlo and Imperial Palace are gone, new Casinos like Linq and Park MGM have replaced them.
If you want to see the real historic element of Vegas though, you have to head down to Fremont street, where the old Las Vegas has been flourishing. Well, I say flourishing, but it's really where the seedy Casinos have remained, and the freaks like to hang out.
The main street of Fremont is covered by a giant metal canopy, that is also a projection TV and protects the tourists that are doing Zip Line runs from one end to the other. This area comes to life after dark, so we would head back later.
From Fremont street we walked over to the Neon Museum, if we thought the Stratosphere end of the strip was sketchy, we hadn't seen anything yet.
"This is how every episode of CSI starts, walking down this road"
Norine Warfield 2019
The Neon Museum was created to protect and display the amazing signs of Las Vegas dating back to the 30's. A walk through the Neon Boneyard gives you a real sense of nostalgia, not just from Las Vegas visits of the past, but many signs were featured in Hollywood. Even Elvis Presley's star is preserved here.
There really is just too much to say about the history of these signs, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking.
There's that Treasure Island Skull sign that I miss so much, apparently it was only up from 1993-2003.
If you don't recognize some of the older signs, you should recognize these ones.
The Neon Boneyard was very cool, and we safely made it back through the seedy neighborhood to Fremont, but we did take a slight detour to find more of the old signs that the museum has erected around that part of the city.
The area just outside of Fremont Street is "Interesting" with all kinds of unique art elements, they even have a crate mall, which sounds much more interesting than it is.
Back on Fremont Street, things were starting to light up, even a live band was playing classic rock tunes all night. The Heart Attack Grill offering free food to anyone over 350 LBS, has a giant scale beside the front door.
While zipliners are zipping down the canopy, the people below are doing almost anything to earn a buck. An old guy is dressed in a diaper, there is a guy lying on the ground with a sign that says "move me any way you want", and this guy that would let you kick him in the nuts? Every imaginable Disney, Star Wars, Muppet or offbeat character is here offering pictures for a fee. Although the topless showgirls were tempting, I chose the band Kiss, at $1 each, it was the best deal on the strip.
We stuck around to watch the projected show on the canopy, a Sci-Fi spectacle with invading aliens, fought off by a group of American fighter jets. At the same time zipliners are passing overhead. It really was quite weird, but fit in with everything else going on here.
We left Fremont street with grins on our faces over the absurdity of it all, and headed to the very first themed hotel in Las Vegas, Caesars Palace. In the front area of the resort is a small circus tent, home to our show for the night... Absinthe, a show recommended to us.
How does one describe Absinthe? It's part Cirque, part burlesque, part XXX comedy, hosted by a sleazy snake-oil salesman, with his female sidekick who has no shame, they make fun of audience members, Cirque du Soleil and bring out an assortment of very interesting acts. Beyond that, I can't really say much more other than it takes place in a very haphazard circus tent that miraculously holds 600 people. You really have to experience it for yourself to understand.
Sides hurting from laughing so much, we headed out to Casinos looking for that elusive winning slot machine and free drinks.
March 3
Today would start off with everything Canucks, well... everything Golden Knights, because the Canucks forgot to show up. On our way to the game, a cop asks a crowd at the crosswalk if there were any Canucks fans here. We were the only 2 wearing Canucks jerseys, he then explained that we could be knighted and get a free Golden Knights jersey if we discarded ours... thanks officer, very funny.
They really do put on quite the show in Vegas, from Dancing girls, to drum corps, to a medieval battle, all before the players skate out of a giant helmet.
So Bright!! Unlike the Canucks, who were dismal in a 3-0 loss, they only got 19 shots, the Knights got 51. At least nobody was giving us a hard time as we walked away from the arena with our heads down. At ;east the Park MGM had a nice Chinese New Years display.
We had a nice dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, then found a discount ticket booth to see if there was another show we might want to see on our last night. There was a show, right across the street from our hotel at The Wynn, Cirque Du Soleil's 'Le Reve'.
Much like Cirque's O, it is based on, above and in the water. The story revolves around a woman who falls asleep and dreams through an amazing aquatic based adventure. The round theatre is amazing, and there isn't a bad seat anywhere.
From Crazy acrobatics, to synchronized swimmers and high divers, this show had everything, including smoke, fire, and water.
For a show we basically pulled out of a hat, it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, and the theatre was near empty.
One of my personal highlights of the Casinos was this crazy machine, with it's festive Mexican music, and continuous payouts, I could sit at this machine for hours on a single $20 bill, all while being served free drinks for a small tip every time the girls came by. As long as you tip, they come find you all night long.
March 4
Today we decided to split up, Norine went to the Fashion Mall across the street, and I took an Uber to Count's Kustoms, the famous restoration and customization garage from the TV series 'Counting Cars'.
If you have seen the series, you know what this spider web garage door and this custom Winnebago are.
For no charge, you are able to wander around the collection of Custom cars, trucks and bikes that Danny 'The Count' Koker has created and collected over the years of doing his TV series. None of the guys from the show are there, as they are all in Detroit at the SEMA show.
Of course a Count's Kustom's shop wouldn't be complete without a Horny Mike display and a gift shop.
It didn't take long to tour Count's Kustoms, so I wandered back to the hotel, checked out the Avenger's exhibit/store...
... and then spent some more quality time with my favourite slot machine, and had a few Screwdrivers while waiting for Norine.
If I keep winning, I keep playing.
Norine found me in the casino, and the time had come, we checked out of our hotel, called an Uber, and headed to the airport.
Oh, and before you ask... we cleaned up in Vegas! I always treat it like a video game or arcade, if you can make your money last as long as possible and have fun, then it was worth it. Our gambling money entertained us for hours, and we didn't lose our shirt... worth it!
We put in a lot of walking miles on the strip, saw some great shows, (1 lousy hockey game) and had fun. Unfortunately the pool at Treasure Island didn't open until just after we left, but walking around in just a T-shirt was a very nice break for what we came home to.
