The first thing we did in Las Vegas was to pick up a car and drive the Strip. It seemed dismal, and I was worried that this would be a verrrry long week. Then we tried to check out the container park in the Arts District, which the travel guides promote as an up-and-coming hip area. I’m pretty sure we found it, and, unless I’m wrong about that, the Arts District must have a talented publicist – we couldn’t even find a place to have lunch! So we spent a couple of hours in the pool and the hot tub at the off-strip resort where we are staying, which helped. I can imagine worse things than a week of mindless relaxation. Then we found the off-strip restaurant I’d been eyeing on all the travel sites, and I revised upward my opinion and my expectations for the week. Really good Thai food, an incredible wine list, great service and affordable prices. I can imagine worse things than a week of dinners at Lotus of Siam.
Eight hours sleep on Saturday night was restorative, and on Sunday, after picking up my BIL and SIL at the airport, we went directly to the Mob Museum, located in the old post office/courthouse, and the site of at least one of the Kefauver hearings. By the time we left we were pretty mobbed-out and over-grislied, but it’s really a well-done project and comprehensively informative. Then we made a quick turnaround, dropped the car at the resort, and returned to the strip via shuttle. The Strip at night is a whole other experience! We had no time for a real dinner, so ate at Chipotle in a food court before we went to Harrah’s for a show which re-created a legendary impromptu jam session at Sun Records in 1956. I wasn’t listening to rockabilly as a six-year-old, but I did hear lots of it growing up in upstate NY, and the music of The Million Dollar Quartet brought back memories and had all of us on our feet more than once.
So we walked through two casinos – Harrah’s and Caesar’s Palace -without feeling the need to gamble, and walked the strip to gawk at the lights and the sights. My SIL says that the dancing fountains at the Bellagio were worth the trip, and I’m inclined to agree with her, but I still want to see a few more of these extravaganzas.
Not sure I’ll be a return visitor to Las Vegas, but I’m glad I came.