POSTS
Vegas, and on to the Grand Canyon
BlogThe 29th and 30th we were in Las Vegas.
Things started out easily with a drive from SLO into the maze that is Los Angeles. On our route, we only ran a tangential line across the northernmost part of the city, basically driving from the northwest to the northeast. The time across LA was pretty hectic with the usual fun of driving with LA drivers (fast, certain, with short entrance ramps).
Upon arriving in the suburban paradise of Rancho Cucamonga, we stopped at the RC “Epicenter”, filled up the tank and grabbed a sandwich from Ralphs.
It tasted horrible.
We quickly headed to the Marble Slab and that filled in the balance of our lunchtime calories. After this, it was a short hop to I15 and the route eastward to Las Vegas.
The LA-bound traffic looked miserable. It was stacked back to back with the Memorial Day crowd. As mile after mile of crawling traffic crept by we were more and more thankful that we holed up for the holiday weekend in Willits.
We arrived on The Strip around 4 and checked into our hotel at Paris. It’s been a great room with a view of the Eiffel tower, Paris’ pool, and the Bellagio water show.
Monday night we arrived, took showers, cleaned up, and then headed off, in the evening, for the customary walk down the strip in pursuit of something to eat. We wandered through the Venetian, the Barbary Coast….ultimately we wound up at the new Wynn. We were chagrinned to find that the scope of eating was either at one extreme (Denny’s) or the exact opposite extreme (Filet Mignon at the Wynn). Frustrated, tired, and a bit dehydrated we sat down for a drink at the Wynn’s parasol bar..
I must say i was not impressed with the service. Wynn seems to be dedicated to a “classier” experience. Step One: Say hello to every customer, and get a drink in their mitt quickly. The girls were absolutely hopeless - save one. Who earned every dollar of a $10 tip on a $30 tab. Thanks to her I did not die dessicated and irritated.
Still having not eaten we headed back to Paris to visit Paris’ excellent St. Louis Cafe. It was just the sweet spot we’d been looking for (and under our own roof!). After a Cobb Salad and a French Dip we were ready to call it a night. Our next big goal was to sleep in.
At 10 we got up and i suggested we check out the spa features. Lauren signed up for an anti-oxidantt facial while I opted for a deep-tissue massage.
We disappeared into the gender segregated quarters, wore fine cotton robes, and then tended to our respective activities. Afterwards there were warm showers, juice bars, and cleanup for the both of us. We met back in the foyer revitalised and refreshed.
Now my co-workers had visited Discount Firearms when here for a bachelor party a year or so ago and I suggested we go to the firing range. We headed over and fired two boxes worth of ammo out of a Glock 9mm and a Sig 380. I love the Sig 380. Its trigger is so light, so nubile, and it fits so nicely in your hands.
Curious as to what to do for the evening, I had asked my masseuse what shows she recommended. I asked her about Bally’s “Jubilee” and she said that it was sort of the last of the old-style Vegas revues: topless girls with big feathers. I asked her about Le Reve at the Wynn and she was unimpressed - especially when she revealed some, well, over the top sexual displays involved in the presentation.
I don’t have a problem with sexuality presented for adults in an adult setting (viola, Vegas), but she mentioned some abuse themes that simply did not pique my interest. We opted for Jubilee and really enjoyed it. It’s full of feathers, lovely chorus ladies, cornball music, gymnasts, and contortionists.
It was funny, ribald, bawdy, and a bit tongue-in-cheek with ereferences to the battle between the sexes. In short, it was everything Vegas was in the rat pack days, but now presented in a “wink wink” context. It was fun.
So now my baby is preparing for bed and I was plotting out the next leg of the trip (before I got distracted by this), so I’m going to get back to it.