2021---Las Vegas
Day One--Friday, August 13, 2021
Like our recent Niagara Falls trip, we had to get up way too early. I was up at 2:15, after going to bed about 10 PM. There had been so much to do in the last several weeks, that I still had a lot of prep work with the GPS to do. I just could not get to bed much earlier. We keep getting these early departures, because of the cost of tickets. To get something in “prime time” is often $100 to $200 more expensive, per ticket. And, at least for day one, we really did need to get an early start. The first thing on our itinerary was to drive to Pahrump and see Aunt Prim and Uncle Donnie.
Anyway, Margo was up before I was, and I found out she had been up several other times, because the dog, Nellie, had diarrhea. Perfect something to worry about why we are gone. We are lucky to have Veronica coming over and staying with Jackie and the dog. Jackie will try to do what is right, but she will forget, or will not understand, and is not good with dealing with situations on the fly.
Pam and Jayme arrived shortly before 3:15AM and ended up driving. I hate flights this early, but for something later it adds more than $100 to just this leg. So, we deal with the lack of sleep. This seems to be about standard any more.
We all have TSA Pre-Chek, but my hip does not care. It is routinely setting off the metal detectors now, so I have to through the full body or AIT scanners. They aren’t bad, and when I have done them they send me to the front of the line, but it is kind of a hassle to be singled out. The TSA agents have been professional.
One unusual thing to me though, is each time I have gone through them, since my recent surgery, the scanner has directed the agents to someplace other than my hip. They pat down my shoulder and send me on my way. I want to ask, but they are always insanely busy of late. The airports this summer have been packed even at the ungodly hours we have been flying.
The thing that has been bothering me about flying is that mask mandates are back. I believe in the science, which is why I am vaccinated. But these paper masks don’t work. If you are sick, maybe they trap some sneeze water getting out. But, by their own admission asymptomatic with the disease are rare. So, if you are sick, stay home. The masks do almost nothing to stop you from getting sick, which is what the majority of the people think they are doing. Nope. Water molecules hit that mask, dry, and the virus gets sucked right in. Viruses are much, much, much tinier that the weave of the mask.
So, what I am trying to say, is the mask mandates are much more political, than effective. They show the public that the politicians are doing something. This won’t be a popular opinion, but the high contagioncy and less lethality of this new Delta variant is a good thing. Infections are up. Way up. Deaths are up, but not nearly at the rate infections are. That means the people not getting vaccinations are going to get a less deadly version of the disease and get their immunity that way. So, hopefully this last wave burns out well before the holidays.
I slept some on my flight, but there was a wait go get our rental car. I expected to be in and out of there in like 10-15 minutes. Nope, we landed at 6:30ish, and did not get on the road to Aunt Prim and Uncle Donnie’s until about 7:45. We were going to be about an hour behind schedule. Not a biggie we did not have a lot planned anyway. Just a nice visit with them.
The hour drive from the rental car facility on Gillespie to Pahrump went quickly. We saw a ton of Joshua trees, desertscapes, and the Spring Mountains. Pam wondered out loud during the early part of this trip where South Point might be. She had mentioned prior that South Point was fairly new and was frequented by the cowboys of the National Finals Rodeo held each December in Las Vegas. I did not know, but was mildly curious myself.
Anyway, Margo was up before I was, and I found out she had been up several other times, because the dog, Nellie, had diarrhea. Perfect something to worry about why we are gone. We are lucky to have Veronica coming over and staying with Jackie and the dog. Jackie will try to do what is right, but she will forget, or will not understand, and is not good with dealing with situations on the fly.
Pam and Jayme arrived shortly before 3:15AM and ended up driving. I hate flights this early, but for something later it adds more than $100 to just this leg. So, we deal with the lack of sleep. This seems to be about standard any more.
We all have TSA Pre-Chek, but my hip does not care. It is routinely setting off the metal detectors now, so I have to through the full body or AIT scanners. They aren’t bad, and when I have done them they send me to the front of the line, but it is kind of a hassle to be singled out. The TSA agents have been professional.
One unusual thing to me though, is each time I have gone through them, since my recent surgery, the scanner has directed the agents to someplace other than my hip. They pat down my shoulder and send me on my way. I want to ask, but they are always insanely busy of late. The airports this summer have been packed even at the ungodly hours we have been flying.
The thing that has been bothering me about flying is that mask mandates are back. I believe in the science, which is why I am vaccinated. But these paper masks don’t work. If you are sick, maybe they trap some sneeze water getting out. But, by their own admission asymptomatic with the disease are rare. So, if you are sick, stay home. The masks do almost nothing to stop you from getting sick, which is what the majority of the people think they are doing. Nope. Water molecules hit that mask, dry, and the virus gets sucked right in. Viruses are much, much, much tinier that the weave of the mask.
So, what I am trying to say, is the mask mandates are much more political, than effective. They show the public that the politicians are doing something. This won’t be a popular opinion, but the high contagioncy and less lethality of this new Delta variant is a good thing. Infections are up. Way up. Deaths are up, but not nearly at the rate infections are. That means the people not getting vaccinations are going to get a less deadly version of the disease and get their immunity that way. So, hopefully this last wave burns out well before the holidays.
I slept some on my flight, but there was a wait go get our rental car. I expected to be in and out of there in like 10-15 minutes. Nope, we landed at 6:30ish, and did not get on the road to Aunt Prim and Uncle Donnie’s until about 7:45. We were going to be about an hour behind schedule. Not a biggie we did not have a lot planned anyway. Just a nice visit with them.
The hour drive from the rental car facility on Gillespie to Pahrump went quickly. We saw a ton of Joshua trees, desertscapes, and the Spring Mountains. Pam wondered out loud during the early part of this trip where South Point might be. She had mentioned prior that South Point was fairly new and was frequented by the cowboys of the National Finals Rodeo held each December in Las Vegas. I did not know, but was mildly curious myself.
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We pulled into the driveway of our aunt and uncle and was greeted at the door by Aunt Prim. She is always so happy to have visitors from Colorado. She has said many times she wished she still lived in Colorado. We were happy to be there, too.
When we had linked up earlier in the week, Aunt Prim said she would be cooking breakfast for us, as we were getting into town so early. True to her word we had crepes, a breakfast casserole, and mimosas waiting for us. Uncle Donnie has a peach and several other fruit trees in his backyard. So, to fill our crepes we had fresh, diced peaches and a filling he had whipped up. Those were quite literally the best filled crepes I have ever had.
Mom used to make crepes when we were little. She called them, what I though was Blinnit. I have found blintz and blini as possible actual names, but the ones I am used to are definitely a thin crepe. These other two were not. We would sprinkle table sugar on them, roll them up, and eat them. They were a rare treat and we would eat them as fast as mom would make them. Aunt Prim kept the mimosas coming. Luckily she did not make them terribly strong. In our tired condition it would not have taken much to get any of us tipsy.
When we had linked up earlier in the week, Aunt Prim said she would be cooking breakfast for us, as we were getting into town so early. True to her word we had crepes, a breakfast casserole, and mimosas waiting for us. Uncle Donnie has a peach and several other fruit trees in his backyard. So, to fill our crepes we had fresh, diced peaches and a filling he had whipped up. Those were quite literally the best filled crepes I have ever had.
Mom used to make crepes when we were little. She called them, what I though was Blinnit. I have found blintz and blini as possible actual names, but the ones I am used to are definitely a thin crepe. These other two were not. We would sprinkle table sugar on them, roll them up, and eat them. They were a rare treat and we would eat them as fast as mom would make them. Aunt Prim kept the mimosas coming. Luckily she did not make them terribly strong. In our tired condition it would not have taken much to get any of us tipsy.
We talked about all the normal subjects, catching everyone up on the latest news. Aunt Prim asked what we wanted to do after we finished eating. I volunteered that Jayme wanted to visit a whorehouse. I may have phrased it exactly like that. Pahrump has two; The Chicken Ranch and Sherri’s. They are close to each other, with the Chicken Ranch being slightly closer. So that is where we went, arriving in about 15 minutes. We ended up being disappointed, because there was someone filming something there, so they were not doing tours. So we went to Sherri’s.
I had been to the Chicken Ranch on a prior visit to Aunt Prim and Uncle Donnie’s, so I basically knew what to expect. We were shown to the bar, where a couple of girls were relaxing over a beverage. I asked the closest lady if she had time to give us a tour. She readily agreed and led us to the beginning of a hallway. We were not allowed to take pictures.
She was just starting her spiel, when someone from security came up as told her she had to search our bags, meaning the ladies purses. She argued that they did not do that on the tours. He insisted and they went at it, in a most unprofessional manner. The consensus was that the two of them did not get along to begin with. She walked off and she yelled at him that she was done and someone else could do the tour. No fisticuffs, but we had witnessed a fight at a whorehouse. Just the way to start your day.
Someone from Sherri’s found another lady, whose name I can’t recall, but she had a much nicer disposition, apologized, and took us on a tour that could not have lasted much more than five minutes. There were not really many highlights. Looking out the windows in the back we were told there were VIP bungalows. VIP or what went on there was not defined. But, I have an active imagination. There was a stripper pole in one room, and an video set up, where presumably you could star in your own porno movie.
Anyway, no pictures inside, and both Pam and I tipped the lady $20, which was about double what the tour was worth, given its brevity. We went back into the rapidly increasing desert heat, and decided we should head to the new winery and taste some of their wares.
The winery, Artesian Cellars, was not around the last time my aunt and uncle took us to drink wine. We went to two, one of which was Pahrump Valley Winery. The other escapes me. Wine tasting was $5 per person, and we would get four wines and a wine slushie. Five us elected to go with the sweet wines. Aunt Prim went with the whites. We universally hated the first two wines, neither of which I cared to remember. They were not sweet. The last two, which were, one of which was a rose and the other a gewurztraminer, were good. Aunt Prim sampled ours, and one even overlapped. But, done of them were good enough to entice us to buy a bottle.
The tasting had taken a long time, because our hostess was by herself and doing the best she could. So, by the time we were done, and with the alcohol helping to bring on an appetite, we decided to do lunch. Pam and Jayme paid for the wine tasting, while I was in the bathroom. They are always quick to pick up a bill. We would be fighting over them the whole trip.
Mexican was suggested and a place called El Jefe’s was deemed to be good by our home town hosts. So we piled back into our two cars and made our way there. The food was actually quite good. I had the chicken mole. Uncle Donnie; three tacos, Aunt Prim, one taco. Margo had a ½ order of nachos. I think Pam had soft tacos, and I can’t recall what Jayme had. We all left full and getting tired.
We left the restaurant at 3:15 and said our good-byes. Aunt Prim made us promise to come visit her when Scotty’s Castle finally reopens. We are to stay with her and we will drive out to the California desert to see the castle. It is supposed to be worth the drive. I know almost nothing about it, but I imagine I will find out when the time comes.
I had been to the Chicken Ranch on a prior visit to Aunt Prim and Uncle Donnie’s, so I basically knew what to expect. We were shown to the bar, where a couple of girls were relaxing over a beverage. I asked the closest lady if she had time to give us a tour. She readily agreed and led us to the beginning of a hallway. We were not allowed to take pictures.
She was just starting her spiel, when someone from security came up as told her she had to search our bags, meaning the ladies purses. She argued that they did not do that on the tours. He insisted and they went at it, in a most unprofessional manner. The consensus was that the two of them did not get along to begin with. She walked off and she yelled at him that she was done and someone else could do the tour. No fisticuffs, but we had witnessed a fight at a whorehouse. Just the way to start your day.
Someone from Sherri’s found another lady, whose name I can’t recall, but she had a much nicer disposition, apologized, and took us on a tour that could not have lasted much more than five minutes. There were not really many highlights. Looking out the windows in the back we were told there were VIP bungalows. VIP or what went on there was not defined. But, I have an active imagination. There was a stripper pole in one room, and an video set up, where presumably you could star in your own porno movie.
Anyway, no pictures inside, and both Pam and I tipped the lady $20, which was about double what the tour was worth, given its brevity. We went back into the rapidly increasing desert heat, and decided we should head to the new winery and taste some of their wares.
The winery, Artesian Cellars, was not around the last time my aunt and uncle took us to drink wine. We went to two, one of which was Pahrump Valley Winery. The other escapes me. Wine tasting was $5 per person, and we would get four wines and a wine slushie. Five us elected to go with the sweet wines. Aunt Prim went with the whites. We universally hated the first two wines, neither of which I cared to remember. They were not sweet. The last two, which were, one of which was a rose and the other a gewurztraminer, were good. Aunt Prim sampled ours, and one even overlapped. But, done of them were good enough to entice us to buy a bottle.
The tasting had taken a long time, because our hostess was by herself and doing the best she could. So, by the time we were done, and with the alcohol helping to bring on an appetite, we decided to do lunch. Pam and Jayme paid for the wine tasting, while I was in the bathroom. They are always quick to pick up a bill. We would be fighting over them the whole trip.
Mexican was suggested and a place called El Jefe’s was deemed to be good by our home town hosts. So we piled back into our two cars and made our way there. The food was actually quite good. I had the chicken mole. Uncle Donnie; three tacos, Aunt Prim, one taco. Margo had a ½ order of nachos. I think Pam had soft tacos, and I can’t recall what Jayme had. We all left full and getting tired.
We left the restaurant at 3:15 and said our good-byes. Aunt Prim made us promise to come visit her when Scotty’s Castle finally reopens. We are to stay with her and we will drive out to the California desert to see the castle. It is supposed to be worth the drive. I know almost nothing about it, but I imagine I will find out when the time comes.
We arrived at the Four Queens about 4:30ish and up to our rooms at 5 PM. I was tired and taking a nap. Margo can rarely sleep when a slot machine is calling her, but she tried for an hour, then went down around 6 PM. Jayme had not napped at all and was feeding $100s into the machines. But, he was winning, so maybe it was more like a $100 and some tickets. Pam napped some, but was downstairs before I was. I got up at 6:30 and made my way down. I lost $12 of video poker before we left for The Mirage, about 7:30.
Our nightly entertainment was to be Ron White, made famous by his stint with Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Larry the Cable Guy; The Blue Collar comics. Ron drinks and must be a real prince to live with as he is just divorced wife number 4. But, it does make for good material in his act. But, when he gets drunk on stage he can get raunchy and unfunny. When he is sober or maybe just mildly lubricated, he is hilarious.
But first, we needed to eat. The Mirage had plenty of places to eat, but Jayme is a picky eater and the whole city was buried under an avalanche of people who were 8 months past having cabin fever and were now determined to make up for lost time. This meant crowds on top of crowds, with a large percentage being both drunk and loud. We ended up at a place called The Still.
I was distracted by this time, because on our way over, with Margo driving I checked the vacation book, and found that we had left our Mob Museum tickets at home. That was our entertainment for tomorrow AM. I was able to dig through my email account and find the original email, which had our confirmation number, and get screen shots of the bar codes. I called and asked them to call me in the AM, if this was going to be good enough. I was reasonably confident it would be, so I stopped stressing, and went back to enjoying my time here.
Our nightly entertainment was to be Ron White, made famous by his stint with Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Larry the Cable Guy; The Blue Collar comics. Ron drinks and must be a real prince to live with as he is just divorced wife number 4. But, it does make for good material in his act. But, when he gets drunk on stage he can get raunchy and unfunny. When he is sober or maybe just mildly lubricated, he is hilarious.
But first, we needed to eat. The Mirage had plenty of places to eat, but Jayme is a picky eater and the whole city was buried under an avalanche of people who were 8 months past having cabin fever and were now determined to make up for lost time. This meant crowds on top of crowds, with a large percentage being both drunk and loud. We ended up at a place called The Still.
I was distracted by this time, because on our way over, with Margo driving I checked the vacation book, and found that we had left our Mob Museum tickets at home. That was our entertainment for tomorrow AM. I was able to dig through my email account and find the original email, which had our confirmation number, and get screen shots of the bar codes. I called and asked them to call me in the AM, if this was going to be good enough. I was reasonably confident it would be, so I stopped stressing, and went back to enjoying my time here.
The whole trip we were constantly choosing between having to wear a mask while inside any building or being outside where it was rarely below 100 degrees. Our only true respite was when we sat down for a meal. No one would bother us about wearing a mask while we were at a table. So, meals were particularly nice for us. The meal here was expensive. The three of them had cheeseburger sliders and fries. Jayme’s was sans cheese. I had a Philly cheesesteak and fries. This came to $130 including tip. I think Pam grabbed this one, before I had a shot. I was going to have to be quicker tomorrow.
Ron’s show starts at 10 PM. We were in The Mirage Theater at 9:20, enjoying the A/C, and pretending to wear our masks. The opening act was another comedian. I tried to catch his name, but I don’t hear as well as I used to. He teaches high school English and I think he said he has a masters in English. He started out a little slow, but had everyone in a jovial mood after his 20 or 30 minutes were up.
After a 15 minute break to do about nothing, Ron White came on. He had long hair and a beard. He thought he looked like Moses and blamed it on COVID. He mentioned he was divorced, I think from Margo Reymundo, who he was raving about, two comedy specials ago, and complaining about the way she spent money in his most recent comedy special. Like I said, four wives. It can’t be all them.
But, he was hilarious He had me laughing the whole time and I thoroughly enjoyed his show. He had a lot of new material and the old material was some of his funniest stuff. Pam was in the mindset not to like him, because he had left a sour taste in her mouth when they saw him at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, CO, a few years back. He gave one of his drunk performances. But, she confessed to liking him at least better than that time. Jayme liked the parts he saw. His lack of a nap had him nodding off. Margo enjoyed it, but maybe not as much as I did.
That was it for the night. We were back to the room by 12:30 PM. I went to bed. I think Margo was right behind me. Pam and Jayme were pretty tired, so I am pretty sure they were out as well. We made arrangements to meet at 9 AM for breakfast. The music on the bandstand continued until about 2 AM. It didn’t keep my up, Margo and Jayme were also plenty tired enough, but it kept Pam up. Not a lot to be done at this point.
Ron’s show starts at 10 PM. We were in The Mirage Theater at 9:20, enjoying the A/C, and pretending to wear our masks. The opening act was another comedian. I tried to catch his name, but I don’t hear as well as I used to. He teaches high school English and I think he said he has a masters in English. He started out a little slow, but had everyone in a jovial mood after his 20 or 30 minutes were up.
After a 15 minute break to do about nothing, Ron White came on. He had long hair and a beard. He thought he looked like Moses and blamed it on COVID. He mentioned he was divorced, I think from Margo Reymundo, who he was raving about, two comedy specials ago, and complaining about the way she spent money in his most recent comedy special. Like I said, four wives. It can’t be all them.
But, he was hilarious He had me laughing the whole time and I thoroughly enjoyed his show. He had a lot of new material and the old material was some of his funniest stuff. Pam was in the mindset not to like him, because he had left a sour taste in her mouth when they saw him at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, CO, a few years back. He gave one of his drunk performances. But, she confessed to liking him at least better than that time. Jayme liked the parts he saw. His lack of a nap had him nodding off. Margo enjoyed it, but maybe not as much as I did.
That was it for the night. We were back to the room by 12:30 PM. I went to bed. I think Margo was right behind me. Pam and Jayme were pretty tired, so I am pretty sure they were out as well. We made arrangements to meet at 9 AM for breakfast. The music on the bandstand continued until about 2 AM. It didn’t keep my up, Margo and Jayme were also plenty tired enough, but it kept Pam up. Not a lot to be done at this point.
Day Two
Margo and I were up about 8 AM. For the amount of sleep I got, I felt pretty rested. We needed to be at the Mob Museum, which was walking distance from The Four Queens, by 11 AM. We had the choice of McDonald’s, next door at The D, or Magnolia’s, inside the Four Queens. Our options were limited by ignorance and an unwillingness to expand our horizons it this point. Our criteria of the moment required something close, and two options seemed like plan enough.
It was. We all agreed on Magnolia’s, which Margo and I had eaten at before. We both remember the food as good. Our only concern was how quick they could seat us. It was the weekend, and if our hotel was full of the older crowd, they are the early risers and can afford a sit down breakfast. If it were the younger crowd, they were still sleeping it off, or just waking up. Older Guys Rule, but apparently they were still in bed, because we were seated right away.
I don’t remember what anyone had, except I may have been eating something off the lunch menu or not. It might not be memorable at this point, but we all agreed that the food was both good and in large portions. I did grab this check and we were on our way out the door before 10 AM
It was a three or four block walk, but we had to stop for a minute. Jayme is not a fan of belts. But he is also not a fan of his pants falling down. His solution was a zip tie. He would pass these through two belt loops, suck it in, and cinch down the tie. He effected the same result. Only there was no zip tie packed and Margo, who usually has everything in her purse, was tieless as well.
But, a solution presented itself in the form of two Las Vegas bicycle cops, who were parked near a Hummer, just off Fremont Street. I will wager $1000 that these two cops had never been asked to buy a zip tie (which used to be used as handcuffs in years gone by), but my brother, not wanting to be mistaken for rap star, asked them. And, they both had a few, and gave him one. Plus them helped him cut it to length. Jayme’s pants would now stay up, and these pair of Las Vegas’ Finest had a story to tell in the locker room at end of shift.
It was. We all agreed on Magnolia’s, which Margo and I had eaten at before. We both remember the food as good. Our only concern was how quick they could seat us. It was the weekend, and if our hotel was full of the older crowd, they are the early risers and can afford a sit down breakfast. If it were the younger crowd, they were still sleeping it off, or just waking up. Older Guys Rule, but apparently they were still in bed, because we were seated right away.
I don’t remember what anyone had, except I may have been eating something off the lunch menu or not. It might not be memorable at this point, but we all agreed that the food was both good and in large portions. I did grab this check and we were on our way out the door before 10 AM
It was a three or four block walk, but we had to stop for a minute. Jayme is not a fan of belts. But he is also not a fan of his pants falling down. His solution was a zip tie. He would pass these through two belt loops, suck it in, and cinch down the tie. He effected the same result. Only there was no zip tie packed and Margo, who usually has everything in her purse, was tieless as well.
But, a solution presented itself in the form of two Las Vegas bicycle cops, who were parked near a Hummer, just off Fremont Street. I will wager $1000 that these two cops had never been asked to buy a zip tie (which used to be used as handcuffs in years gone by), but my brother, not wanting to be mistaken for rap star, asked them. And, they both had a few, and gave him one. Plus them helped him cut it to length. Jayme’s pants would now stay up, and these pair of Las Vegas’ Finest had a story to tell in the locker room at end of shift.
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I had taken a call from the Mob Museum while eating breakfast and they assured me that if I had my confirmation email, which I did, all was right in the universe and we would be cheerfully admitted to our prepaid activities.
The Mob Museum does a very good job of keeping itself new and relevant. Our last trip saw them introduce Interactive Experiences. Like it suggests you get to do things, rather than just see things. The experiences are Distillery Tour and Tasting, Crime Lab, and Firearms Training Simulation. When we were there last, the latter was called Use of Force Training. We had no idea what that was, but it sounded better that moonshine tasting, so we did that.
We found out that it was three training situations, for police officers, where you have to decide to shoot or don’t shoot. It was really interesting and kind of fun. When we told Jayme and Pam about this they were all in. So we were doing that this morning, plus the Crime Lab. They had also been here before and they did moonshine tasting only, and said it was terrible. I’ve had Georgia moonshine (legal), and the novelty wears off after the first shot. Their testimonial was enough for me
After taking a picture with the Hummer, we finished our walk to the museum and checked in. Our Crime Lab tickets were first, and we all got to do them together at 11 AM sharp. We were there not long after 10 and had about 45 minutes until Crime Lab. Both of our experiences were on the 1st floor, but the tour of the museum begins on the 3rd floor and you work your way down. So off we went to the 3rd floor.
I have liked the Mob Museum every time we have visited. And every time, I feel like I am missing about half of it, either because it is crowded or because I know it is not Margo’s thing, and I rush. This time there was the added pressure of only having 45 minutes. So, I cannot remember a thing about what I saw prior to our Crime Lab experience, but I did enjoy the exhibits.
The Mob Museum does a very good job of keeping itself new and relevant. Our last trip saw them introduce Interactive Experiences. Like it suggests you get to do things, rather than just see things. The experiences are Distillery Tour and Tasting, Crime Lab, and Firearms Training Simulation. When we were there last, the latter was called Use of Force Training. We had no idea what that was, but it sounded better that moonshine tasting, so we did that.
We found out that it was three training situations, for police officers, where you have to decide to shoot or don’t shoot. It was really interesting and kind of fun. When we told Jayme and Pam about this they were all in. So we were doing that this morning, plus the Crime Lab. They had also been here before and they did moonshine tasting only, and said it was terrible. I’ve had Georgia moonshine (legal), and the novelty wears off after the first shot. Their testimonial was enough for me
After taking a picture with the Hummer, we finished our walk to the museum and checked in. Our Crime Lab tickets were first, and we all got to do them together at 11 AM sharp. We were there not long after 10 and had about 45 minutes until Crime Lab. Both of our experiences were on the 1st floor, but the tour of the museum begins on the 3rd floor and you work your way down. So off we went to the 3rd floor.
I have liked the Mob Museum every time we have visited. And every time, I feel like I am missing about half of it, either because it is crowded or because I know it is not Margo’s thing, and I rush. This time there was the added pressure of only having 45 minutes. So, I cannot remember a thing about what I saw prior to our Crime Lab experience, but I did enjoy the exhibits.
The Crime Lab is nice, in that it really is interactive and it is much more real life than CSI or Criminal Minds. There are five stations; Autopsy, Trace Evidence, Fingerprint Analysis, Ballistic Evidence, and DNA. The Trace Evidence is a bit lame, and is really meant to take up some of a group’s time, so they are not working one of the other “fun” stations.
We went right to Autopsy, and selected the most difficult case. We observed and noted and discussed, and in the end got the right conclusion. It wasn’t gross, we looked at only the outside of the body. The “Body” was a six foot computer screen, laying on a table like it was the body. It looked like you had some guy on your table ready for carving. But, we looked at scratches, and strangulation marks, and other such stuff on the simulated body. Solved it and moved on to Fingerprints.
Here we learned about whorls, arches, and loops. We took an electronic scan of our own fingerprints and the computer gave us a printout of what gangster’s predominate type we matched. I think I got to be a member of New York’s Murder, Inc. The girls were both the same guys, a safe cracker, I think. Jayme’s was someone sorta cool. Moving on.
Next was ballistics. We got to compare a real bullet to several test fires to see if they matched. It is not like on TV where they match us exactly. But, again, we ended up getting it right.
By now we had about five minutes left. You start with 30 and then about 4 minutes is taken up by instructions from the lab managers and a video. 26 minutes for 5 stations. You really need at least 45. But, there are other groups waiting, so we had less than 5 minutes at the DNA station, and definitely felt rushed. There were two chairs and Pam and Jayme were in them, by our insistence. Margo and I had done them before. Still, it was too rushed to accomplish much. It was still fun, but I don’t know that I would do it again, unless I had more time.
We went right to Autopsy, and selected the most difficult case. We observed and noted and discussed, and in the end got the right conclusion. It wasn’t gross, we looked at only the outside of the body. The “Body” was a six foot computer screen, laying on a table like it was the body. It looked like you had some guy on your table ready for carving. But, we looked at scratches, and strangulation marks, and other such stuff on the simulated body. Solved it and moved on to Fingerprints.
Here we learned about whorls, arches, and loops. We took an electronic scan of our own fingerprints and the computer gave us a printout of what gangster’s predominate type we matched. I think I got to be a member of New York’s Murder, Inc. The girls were both the same guys, a safe cracker, I think. Jayme’s was someone sorta cool. Moving on.
Next was ballistics. We got to compare a real bullet to several test fires to see if they matched. It is not like on TV where they match us exactly. But, again, we ended up getting it right.
By now we had about five minutes left. You start with 30 and then about 4 minutes is taken up by instructions from the lab managers and a video. 26 minutes for 5 stations. You really need at least 45. But, there are other groups waiting, so we had less than 5 minutes at the DNA station, and definitely felt rushed. There were two chairs and Pam and Jayme were in them, by our insistence. Margo and I had done them before. Still, it was too rushed to accomplish much. It was still fun, but I don’t know that I would do it again, unless I had more time.
The Firearms Training Simulation was at 12 and 12:15 AM. Each class has only two members, so we divided up, with Pam and Jayme going first. As we were getting our basic instruction, we could hear Pam and Jayme squeezing off rounds. The instruction this time was much better. I recall basically being throw out there with just basic instruction. By the time we went to our first scenario I was feeling much more comfortable than last time
And it helped that the first scenario was the same as our prior visit. Armed Robbery in progress at a convenience store. Both Margo and I had our guns out, announced ourselves, and as the bad guy with the gun turned towards us, we both shot him.
Scenario two was also the same. Three bad guys broke into a house with some of the people living in it, also in the house. Possible hostage situation. I did not remember this one as well as I did the first one. Truth be told even after going through it again, I am fuzzy on the details. At one point we had to make sure we did not shoot a good guy. Then we had to go outside after another bad guy. In the end we saved everyone and shot the bad guys.
Our instructor was giving us instructions the whole time, reminding us that we had a report of multiple bad guys after we had downed the first one. We would need it on the next and last scenario, which was a live encounter. This one had changed. Last time we were confronted with someone breaking into a car, with a pipe. This time we had someone facing away from us, and we asked them to turn around they had an AR in their hands, in which they were not pointing at us.
I instinctively dropped my right hand to my gun, but did not draw, and my left arm went out. I think I yelled something like Woah! Hold On! I knew I could no shoot at someone just holding a gun, you have a legal right to possess and even carry in Nevada. The instructor finally got through to me, after I a few of my sentences, that at least did not escalate the problem, but also did not get us to resolution, that I was to ask the person, who had told us they were a security guard, on duty, to move their hands away from weapon. Then it was over. He told us we very well. I did not get the exact things that happened with Pam and Jayme, but it sounds like they did fine, and didn’t shoot any good guys, either.
And it helped that the first scenario was the same as our prior visit. Armed Robbery in progress at a convenience store. Both Margo and I had our guns out, announced ourselves, and as the bad guy with the gun turned towards us, we both shot him.
Scenario two was also the same. Three bad guys broke into a house with some of the people living in it, also in the house. Possible hostage situation. I did not remember this one as well as I did the first one. Truth be told even after going through it again, I am fuzzy on the details. At one point we had to make sure we did not shoot a good guy. Then we had to go outside after another bad guy. In the end we saved everyone and shot the bad guys.
Our instructor was giving us instructions the whole time, reminding us that we had a report of multiple bad guys after we had downed the first one. We would need it on the next and last scenario, which was a live encounter. This one had changed. Last time we were confronted with someone breaking into a car, with a pipe. This time we had someone facing away from us, and we asked them to turn around they had an AR in their hands, in which they were not pointing at us.
I instinctively dropped my right hand to my gun, but did not draw, and my left arm went out. I think I yelled something like Woah! Hold On! I knew I could no shoot at someone just holding a gun, you have a legal right to possess and even carry in Nevada. The instructor finally got through to me, after I a few of my sentences, that at least did not escalate the problem, but also did not get us to resolution, that I was to ask the person, who had told us they were a security guard, on duty, to move their hands away from weapon. Then it was over. He told us we very well. I did not get the exact things that happened with Pam and Jayme, but it sounds like they did fine, and didn’t shoot any good guys, either.
Even though we were now done with the interactive stuff, there was still the museum. I enjoyed this museum each of the last two times I was there and I wanted to go through as much of it as I could. They have the wall from the St Valentine’s Day Massacre there, in addition to the museum being in the old Las Vegas Courthouse, where one of the Kefauver hearings was held back in 1950. These hearing, which were televised, something not known at the time, opened a lot of people eyes to organized crime, and the Las Vegas hearings were likely enough to prevent other states from legalizing gambling, at least until New Jersey did in 1976. I know that Deadwood followed suit in 1988 and here in Colorado we got it in 1991. I don’t know if there were others in between, not do I know about the Indian reservation’s history. Those are ones that I knew about.
Anyway, we toured the museum until around 2 PM. It was hot as hell when we walked outside and headed back to the strip. Jayme and I did not much trouble with it, but the girls were complaining constantly about the heat. They are both not used to being out in it, and it must affect them differently.
Anyway, we toured the museum until around 2 PM. It was hot as hell when we walked outside and headed back to the strip. Jayme and I did not much trouble with it, but the girls were complaining constantly about the heat. They are both not used to being out in it, and it must affect them differently.
We made a bee line to the Heart Attack Grille. I think the place is fun. Its slogan is “Beating Anorexia since 2005” and bragging about serving the burger with the highest caloric intake, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. You have to agree to wear a hospital gown and to be spanked when you enter. They are strict on the former, I think no so much on the latter. The spanking is supposed to occur if you don’t clean your plate. I ordered the small burger and fries. I think Pam order just fries, as did Margo. Jayme had a burger, and I don’t recall about the fries.
I had no trouble with mine. Jayme got most of the way there, and as usual the girls were complaining about being full about half way into their meal. It does not matter how little they order; they finish half and are full. It could be two lima beans and jello, and one lima bean and half the jello would be left, with the echoes of “I’m getting full” ringing in my ears.
The girls were not about to let anyone spank them, even in fun. I didn’t care. I’m tough, even with a damn cane. So, I poured Margo’s remaining fries in my basket. Jayme did the same, and we took the ladies spanking, proving the chivalry is not dead. Margo was concerned for my hip. I reminded her that my hip was not where the “nurse” would be aiming. We are in hospital gowns. The waitresses are in short skirted nurse’s outfits. The monitors around the room play 80s rock videos, with nurses now interjected into the MTV world. Like I said early, I think it is fun.
There were two other guys that got spanked before we got up. The first took it like a man. The second guys took one swat, and wussed out. I will admit that the sound the paddle made was very impressive, as was the wind up of the paddler. I reminded me of Adam Sandler’s golf swing in Happy Gilmore. But, when I got a good look at the paddle, it was more like a half a paddle with rubber strips on the end. I was pretty confident it sounded worse than it was.
Pretty confident. I went first and bent over the special spanking contraption they have. I heard the nurse say “Let me know when you are ready”. I of course assumed they meant me. Nope. It was for the girls who were readying the video feature on their phone. When I realized this, I turned around and said “What about me being ready?” She told me I was going to be just fine.
I got three loud whacks with the first being the loudest and most painful. But that pain was less than I feel getting out of a chair with my hip. It was nothing. The other two were lighter. Jayme’s were about the same. There was no squealing from us like a little girl. We took it like men and spared our women from the fate they had earned. I am sure we would be rewarded later.
I had no trouble with mine. Jayme got most of the way there, and as usual the girls were complaining about being full about half way into their meal. It does not matter how little they order; they finish half and are full. It could be two lima beans and jello, and one lima bean and half the jello would be left, with the echoes of “I’m getting full” ringing in my ears.
The girls were not about to let anyone spank them, even in fun. I didn’t care. I’m tough, even with a damn cane. So, I poured Margo’s remaining fries in my basket. Jayme did the same, and we took the ladies spanking, proving the chivalry is not dead. Margo was concerned for my hip. I reminded her that my hip was not where the “nurse” would be aiming. We are in hospital gowns. The waitresses are in short skirted nurse’s outfits. The monitors around the room play 80s rock videos, with nurses now interjected into the MTV world. Like I said early, I think it is fun.
There were two other guys that got spanked before we got up. The first took it like a man. The second guys took one swat, and wussed out. I will admit that the sound the paddle made was very impressive, as was the wind up of the paddler. I reminded me of Adam Sandler’s golf swing in Happy Gilmore. But, when I got a good look at the paddle, it was more like a half a paddle with rubber strips on the end. I was pretty confident it sounded worse than it was.
Pretty confident. I went first and bent over the special spanking contraption they have. I heard the nurse say “Let me know when you are ready”. I of course assumed they meant me. Nope. It was for the girls who were readying the video feature on their phone. When I realized this, I turned around and said “What about me being ready?” She told me I was going to be just fine.
I got three loud whacks with the first being the loudest and most painful. But that pain was less than I feel getting out of a chair with my hip. It was nothing. The other two were lighter. Jayme’s were about the same. There was no squealing from us like a little girl. We took it like men and spared our women from the fate they had earned. I am sure we would be rewarded later.
We walked back towards the Four Queens with the intent of changing for the concert tonight. It was around 3:30 by now. There was a band, Blue Strings Theory, playing at the pavilion. It was pretty loud, but it was also 80s Rock, so it was pretty good.
Margo had been complaining about the purse she brought. It was a big open one, with no pockets. She said she couldn’t find anything. So we made a pitstop to pick up her a purse at one of the Fremont Street vendors. It was black, fake/cheap leather, and had lots of zippered pockets. She was good for the rest of the trip.
Pam needed to get her boots on and a George Strait T-shirt. She was not going to see George in tennis shoes. I think it is in the constitution somewhere. Certainly it is in the Texas state charter. I was happy with what I wore, as was Margo. Not sure about Jayme, but I am sure he offering moral support with Pam’s wardrobe choice. We left for New York New York about 4 PM.
The concert did not start until 8 PM. So after parking, we went to gamble. My luck continued to hold, so I got sick of dispensing $20s like an ATM pretty quickly. So I wandered. I got some cookies at Hershey’s and then went outside to get rid of my mask. I found a spot right in front of Hershey’s, under the misters. The small spray of water was mostly blown away or evaporated. I was concerned I would be sitting in a seat with a small puddle in it. Nope. In this heat it was bone dry.
The others gambled until 6:30 PM. We had trouble linking up. Pam and Jayme headed towards T-Mobile. I thought they were going to meet us in front of Hershey’s. Margo and I ended up walking all the way around. But, it kind of didn’t matter. Pam and Jayme were in the merchandise line, and it was a monster. So we would have been waiting and standing, or waiting and walking. They ended up having nothing that Pam did not already have, or nothing in her size. She was pretty annoyed, especially after someone told her that they just had not brought much.
Margo had been complaining about the purse she brought. It was a big open one, with no pockets. She said she couldn’t find anything. So we made a pitstop to pick up her a purse at one of the Fremont Street vendors. It was black, fake/cheap leather, and had lots of zippered pockets. She was good for the rest of the trip.
Pam needed to get her boots on and a George Strait T-shirt. She was not going to see George in tennis shoes. I think it is in the constitution somewhere. Certainly it is in the Texas state charter. I was happy with what I wore, as was Margo. Not sure about Jayme, but I am sure he offering moral support with Pam’s wardrobe choice. We left for New York New York about 4 PM.
The concert did not start until 8 PM. So after parking, we went to gamble. My luck continued to hold, so I got sick of dispensing $20s like an ATM pretty quickly. So I wandered. I got some cookies at Hershey’s and then went outside to get rid of my mask. I found a spot right in front of Hershey’s, under the misters. The small spray of water was mostly blown away or evaporated. I was concerned I would be sitting in a seat with a small puddle in it. Nope. In this heat it was bone dry.
The others gambled until 6:30 PM. We had trouble linking up. Pam and Jayme headed towards T-Mobile. I thought they were going to meet us in front of Hershey’s. Margo and I ended up walking all the way around. But, it kind of didn’t matter. Pam and Jayme were in the merchandise line, and it was a monster. So we would have been waiting and standing, or waiting and walking. They ended up having nothing that Pam did not already have, or nothing in her size. She was pretty annoyed, especially after someone told her that they just had not brought much.
We were in our seats by 7:10. Jayme hates concerts, because he likes to sit and enjoy the music. He’s sees no reason why people need to get up and block his view. So he refuses to go, unless he is in a row, with no one in front of him. This often means, unless you are spending a fortune, the handicap seating, way up high. That’s were we were. But, in T-Mobile Arena, you are still right there, and it isn’t like George is all over the stage. He moves from corner to corner, sings a few songs, and moves to the next. When you have 60 #1 chart topping songs, you don’t have to entertain. Your music takes care of that for you.
And it did. While I thought he played a few too many of his lesser songs, and missed a few I would have like to hear, like Write This Down, Ocean Front Property, & You Know Me Better Than That. I did enjoy hearing him tear up The Fireman and Unwound, which were not #1s. He also sang Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard’s Poncho and Lefty. I like the show and was very glad that Pam had gotten the tickets for us all.
His opening act had been Caitlyn Smith. She has only been around a few years and I did not recognize any of her songs. She sang for about 35 minutes, and actually forgot the opening lyrics to, I think, her most recognized song. She claimed “mom brain”, someone fed her the first line, and she took it from there. George finished up his encore at about 11:30 PM
And it did. While I thought he played a few too many of his lesser songs, and missed a few I would have like to hear, like Write This Down, Ocean Front Property, & You Know Me Better Than That. I did enjoy hearing him tear up The Fireman and Unwound, which were not #1s. He also sang Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard’s Poncho and Lefty. I like the show and was very glad that Pam had gotten the tickets for us all.
His opening act had been Caitlyn Smith. She has only been around a few years and I did not recognize any of her songs. She sang for about 35 minutes, and actually forgot the opening lyrics to, I think, her most recognized song. She claimed “mom brain”, someone fed her the first line, and she took it from there. George finished up his encore at about 11:30 PM
Afterwards we tried to find a place to eat at NYNY, but everywhere was packed. One of the many reasons, I am not planning to go back to Las Vegas any time soon. So, we decided to head back to the Four Queens and take our chances there.
The Subway upstairs, at our hotel was still open. But, the lobby was closed. It wasn’t much of a lobby. It shared space with a Dreyer’s Ice Cream shop and a place, both who were closed. But this one couple, voiced by a loud and very uncouth woman (LVUCW), started to put chairs on the floor, and was rebuked by the guy making sandwiches, who was also likely the manager. LVUCW didn’t like and words with the guy. She headed over the drink machine to fill her cup.
About this time Other Loud Woman (OLW) decides she is going to be the protector of the Subway manager, and yells over to (LVUCW), “Don’t worry I got you”, and puts the chair that used to be on the table, back to the table. The two of them spat back and forth for several sentence. The word “bitch” was free flowing.
Then LVUCW discovers her favorite flavor of soda pop is empty. Now she is screeching to the manager about no place to eat, and no soft drink, and no service. In the meantime, we just want to order a few sandwiches and go.
LVUCW ends up picking a different drink, but moving to a different table, a booth actually, and sits down to eat. There is more bickering between her and the manager, who is insisting that the lobby is closed and she needs to leave. We finally got our sandwiches and left. I hate Las Vegas.
It was 1 AM by now. We ate, I made a few notes, and about the 2 AM finale of our pavilion music, I went to bed. I was tired and spent.
The Subway upstairs, at our hotel was still open. But, the lobby was closed. It wasn’t much of a lobby. It shared space with a Dreyer’s Ice Cream shop and a place, both who were closed. But this one couple, voiced by a loud and very uncouth woman (LVUCW), started to put chairs on the floor, and was rebuked by the guy making sandwiches, who was also likely the manager. LVUCW didn’t like and words with the guy. She headed over the drink machine to fill her cup.
About this time Other Loud Woman (OLW) decides she is going to be the protector of the Subway manager, and yells over to (LVUCW), “Don’t worry I got you”, and puts the chair that used to be on the table, back to the table. The two of them spat back and forth for several sentence. The word “bitch” was free flowing.
Then LVUCW discovers her favorite flavor of soda pop is empty. Now she is screeching to the manager about no place to eat, and no soft drink, and no service. In the meantime, we just want to order a few sandwiches and go.
LVUCW ends up picking a different drink, but moving to a different table, a booth actually, and sits down to eat. There is more bickering between her and the manager, who is insisting that the lobby is closed and she needs to leave. We finally got our sandwiches and left. I hate Las Vegas.
It was 1 AM by now. We ate, I made a few notes, and about the 2 AM finale of our pavilion music, I went to bed. I was tired and spent.
Day Three-
We were up at 9 AM. I had another big day planned. My goal was to schedule lots of inside things to keep us out of the heat. I would to come to find out that this was to require tons of walking and traveling. I should have known better. I should have learned this lesson a while back. But, fear of the Las Vegas sun, warped my vision.
Anyway, Magnolia’s had treated us right yesterday, so we went back again. The food was just as good, and portions were large. When you can keep Jayme happy, you must be doing it right. He has a simple and unsophisticated palette, but he knows what he likes. Everyone else found things they liked and cooked to their liking. Even the service had been good. A plus, Magnolia’s
We were heading over the LINQ Promenade to do some shopping, but mostly to ride the High Roller, the giant Ferris wheel, which opened in 2014. Margo and I had yet to ride it in all of the trips we made here. We made over to the LINQ Hotel and parked in their garage.
Anyway, Magnolia’s had treated us right yesterday, so we went back again. The food was just as good, and portions were large. When you can keep Jayme happy, you must be doing it right. He has a simple and unsophisticated palette, but he knows what he likes. Everyone else found things they liked and cooked to their liking. Even the service had been good. A plus, Magnolia’s
We were heading over the LINQ Promenade to do some shopping, but mostly to ride the High Roller, the giant Ferris wheel, which opened in 2014. Margo and I had yet to ride it in all of the trips we made here. We made over to the LINQ Hotel and parked in their garage.
You would think that it would be fairly easy to find your way through the garage to the casino and then outside to the shopping area, the Promenade. You would be half right. Finding the casino was simple. The Promenade always seemed to be just around the next turn. The signs in the casino are never crystal clear. They get going in the right general direction, but there always seems to be one missing or maybe just missed. We found it, but I don’t think it would have been possible to be further away from the High Roller, and still be on their property, when we made it outside. One more reason to hate casinos.
Once outside we could see where we needed to be, and after walking for enough steps to make my FitBit spin inside my pocket, we made to the ticket booth. And found it closed. It did not open until 4 PM. I was certain that it was supposed to be running. I later checked the website and what I found said it should have opened at noon. Blame COVID I guess.
The day had started hot, and was only getting hotter. I decided I might as well have something to drink, and found a Fat Tuesdays like place, selling frozen drinks. I got a strawberry daiquiri. Margo a margarita flavored one. Jayme got a Bud Light, feeling as adventurous as an old dog on a rug. Pam was good.
They did not mix the drinks very well and all the alcohol was on the bottom. It was also one of those yard glass styles, half a yard, because that was the smallest they had. And, maybe because of the heat, I was getting a brain freeze almost every pull on the straw. This was not what I had in mind when I bought the thing. But, I soldiered on and finished it before it got too melty.
Once outside we could see where we needed to be, and after walking for enough steps to make my FitBit spin inside my pocket, we made to the ticket booth. And found it closed. It did not open until 4 PM. I was certain that it was supposed to be running. I later checked the website and what I found said it should have opened at noon. Blame COVID I guess.
The day had started hot, and was only getting hotter. I decided I might as well have something to drink, and found a Fat Tuesdays like place, selling frozen drinks. I got a strawberry daiquiri. Margo a margarita flavored one. Jayme got a Bud Light, feeling as adventurous as an old dog on a rug. Pam was good.
They did not mix the drinks very well and all the alcohol was on the bottom. It was also one of those yard glass styles, half a yard, because that was the smallest they had. And, maybe because of the heat, I was getting a brain freeze almost every pull on the straw. This was not what I had in mind when I bought the thing. But, I soldiered on and finished it before it got too melty.
Margo was not doing so well. The heat was getting to her, so we did out best to keep her inside. But, wearing a mask made it uncomfortable to be inside, so she wasn’t a ton better. We shopped, getting some Hawaiian Cookies (Jayme and Pam liked these, and got more than we did), a bear for Jackie, but we didn’t really find a shirt for Veronica. Margo picked up some candy at a two or three story sweet shop. No chocolate to be found, so I was not impressed.
Margo called home to get an update on the dog. Nellie was not really any better, but she wasn’t getting worse. At least according to Veronica and Jackie. Margo got both Jessi and Jolene to stop by and help give her medicine, some pumpkin for Nellie’s tummy, and just to evaluate. We were going to have to get her to the vet if she did not start making improvement.
We had three shows scheduled for today. Which in hindsight was one too many. I will tell you that we did enjoy each one. Our first was at the other end of the strip, at the Tropicana. We decided rather than get the car and deal with the heat and traffic. We would just hike to the back of the LINQ and take the monorail. They share a station with Harrah’s next door.
The monorail is a nice way to travel. It is usually quiet and clean. It is air conditioned. The seats are comfortable and it offers a few minutes of relaxation. It is also in the very back of the casinos, which means it is another long hike. This was starting to take its toll on Margo, and her back. She had been having spasm problems before we came out. It was not doing Pam any good either, but I never her complain, no matter how stiff she seemed to walk. I was fine. As long as I had my cane for a little support, I was having no trouble with the distance. I was just tiresome, tedious, and seemed like such a waste of time. But, the ride was nice. It dropped us off right at the Tropicana.
Margo was not doing so well. The heat was getting to her, so we did out best to keep her inside. But, wearing a mask made it uncomfortable to be inside, so she wasn’t a ton better. We shopped, getting some Hawaiian Cookies (Jayme and Pam liked these, and got more than we did), a bear for Jackie, but we didn’t really find a shirt for Veronica. Margo picked up some candy at a two or three story sweet shop. No chocolate to be found, so I was not impressed.
Margo called home to get an update on the dog. Nellie was not really any better, but she wasn’t getting worse. At least according to Veronica and Jackie. Margo got both Jessi and Jolene to stop by and help give her medicine, some pumpkin for Nellie’s tummy, and just to evaluate. We were going to have to get her to the vet if she did not start making improvement.
We had three shows scheduled for today. Which in hindsight was one too many. I will tell you that we did enjoy each one. Our first was at the other end of the strip, at the Tropicana. We decided rather than get the car and deal with the heat and traffic. We would just hike to the back of the LINQ and take the monorail. They share a station with Harrah’s next door.
The monorail is a nice way to travel. It is usually quiet and clean. It is air conditioned. The seats are comfortable and it offers a few minutes of relaxation. It is also in the very back of the casinos, which means it is another long hike. This was starting to take its toll on Margo, and her back. She had been having spasm problems before we came out. It was not doing Pam any good either, but I never her complain, no matter how stiff she seemed to walk. I was fine. As long as I had my cane for a little support, I was having no trouble with the distance. I was just tiresome, tedious, and seemed like such a waste of time. But, the ride was nice. It dropped us off right at the Tropicana.
We were at the Tropicana to see Murray the Magician. The four of decided after looking at YouTube videos of a lot of the Vegas performers that this guy was worth seeing. He looks like he is a twenty-something millennial at first glance. Hair that sticks straight up, black glasses, and a bit effeminate. But, as I learned more about him, by some internet research before we went, the shallow impression he might make by his appearance is not this guy.
First, he is a very accomplished magician. I don’t think he is the best I have ever seen, but once you get into the top tier, the real differences in craft are probably only spotted by other magicians. I am grading him on the entertainment factor. More on that in a second.
He is 47, and is the go to expert for Pawn Stars when they need some piece of magical or historic magical equipment validated or appraised. Being a Subject Matter Expert is anything but superficial.
I think the persona is geared towards having people underestimate him, and to distract them. I think both of those work to a magician’s advantage, and again, someone exploiting those is not skin deep.
He came on to the stage, and introduced himself and told us he was not gay. Which everyone was thinking he was. We had a table right up front, and we began to keep a close eye on his tricks. His slight of hand was amazing. Every time I thought I had found some sort of flaw, it became obvious that his was where he wanted your eyes, while he was doing something else.
As good as his magic was, he was also very funny. This is where the entertainment factor comes in. He did not have a huge stage to perform from, so it was harder to get the Wow factor. Not impossible, because I was wowed more than once. But, being funny and magical is really good combination. It reaches you on multiple levels. The first Las Vegas show Margo and I ever saw was The Amazing Jonathon, back in 2003. He was a competent magician, but was very funny. We enjoyed that show, and Murray (Sawchuck) the Magician, very much.
First, he is a very accomplished magician. I don’t think he is the best I have ever seen, but once you get into the top tier, the real differences in craft are probably only spotted by other magicians. I am grading him on the entertainment factor. More on that in a second.
He is 47, and is the go to expert for Pawn Stars when they need some piece of magical or historic magical equipment validated or appraised. Being a Subject Matter Expert is anything but superficial.
I think the persona is geared towards having people underestimate him, and to distract them. I think both of those work to a magician’s advantage, and again, someone exploiting those is not skin deep.
He came on to the stage, and introduced himself and told us he was not gay. Which everyone was thinking he was. We had a table right up front, and we began to keep a close eye on his tricks. His slight of hand was amazing. Every time I thought I had found some sort of flaw, it became obvious that his was where he wanted your eyes, while he was doing something else.
As good as his magic was, he was also very funny. This is where the entertainment factor comes in. He did not have a huge stage to perform from, so it was harder to get the Wow factor. Not impossible, because I was wowed more than once. But, being funny and magical is really good combination. It reaches you on multiple levels. The first Las Vegas show Margo and I ever saw was The Amazing Jonathon, back in 2003. He was a competent magician, but was very funny. We enjoyed that show, and Murray (Sawchuck) the Magician, very much.
This was the part of the day when I knew we would be rushing, and was the cause for my statement that we had one show too many. We had to get back to the LINQ hotel, which we had just left, to see another magician, Matt Franco. So we retraced our steps back to the monorail an rode back to where we had started. We were all getting sick of walking.
It was roughly 6 PM when we arrived, and I had not really budgeted time to eat, but we were all getting hungry. We had snacked a little at the candy store, but that was all we had had since our late breakfast. We had to stop to eat. I was fearful we were going to be late, but we were not going to last until 9 PM to eat, and would be in the same boat, then, as our final show was at 10 PM.
The LINQ Promenade had a place called Chayo Mexican Kitchen. It was going to be on the expensive side, because it was in the middle of prime Las Vegas tourist real estate, and likely crowded. If we to wait at all, to be seated, it practically guaranteed use being tardy. But, Lady Luck smiled up on us, as brilliantly as her frown had been when I sat perched before a slot machine earlier, this trip. We were seated as soon as we checked in.
The good was good. We were concerned about Mr. Finicky, but his burger and fries/chips were pretty good. His only complaint had been that it was a little too much food. He finished most of it. I can not recall what the rest of us had, but no one complained, and we were out of there with about 12 minutes to spare. That gave us just enough time to make it to the Mat Franco Theater, to see Mr. America’s Got Talent (AGT) himself.
It was roughly 6 PM when we arrived, and I had not really budgeted time to eat, but we were all getting hungry. We had snacked a little at the candy store, but that was all we had had since our late breakfast. We had to stop to eat. I was fearful we were going to be late, but we were not going to last until 9 PM to eat, and would be in the same boat, then, as our final show was at 10 PM.
The LINQ Promenade had a place called Chayo Mexican Kitchen. It was going to be on the expensive side, because it was in the middle of prime Las Vegas tourist real estate, and likely crowded. If we to wait at all, to be seated, it practically guaranteed use being tardy. But, Lady Luck smiled up on us, as brilliantly as her frown had been when I sat perched before a slot machine earlier, this trip. We were seated as soon as we checked in.
The good was good. We were concerned about Mr. Finicky, but his burger and fries/chips were pretty good. His only complaint had been that it was a little too much food. He finished most of it. I can not recall what the rest of us had, but no one complained, and we were out of there with about 12 minutes to spare. That gave us just enough time to make it to the Mat Franco Theater, to see Mr. America’s Got Talent (AGT) himself.
I have not watched a minute of America’s Got Talent. I don’t have time for much TV and watch almost exclusively documentaries on some subject that interests me. I don’t mean to sound condescending, I don’t care what other people watch or do with their free time. I just enjoy these shows and enjoy learning about some person, place or time, and how it fits into the fabric of time. So, until we had started trying to figure out what shows to see in Las Vegas, I had never heard of Mat Franco. But, we saw a YouTube video of his audition for AGT, and he was amazing. He specializes in card manipulation. While not his only talent, he is a grand master at this. He could make cards appear or disappear with just a small movement of his hand. He did easier than I breathe. Though in my defense, I do have asthma.
He destroyed a $100 bill with someone’s name written on it, and made it reappear inside a ball that was cut open later in the show. After he had returned that bill, later in the show he asked for the owner to read off the serial number, as he turned over cards he had already dealt. His cards spelled out the number. I hated that guy. He must be a sorcerer. He would have been hanged had he lived in Salem in the 1600s. I have no idea how he did any of it. I am giving him my #1 Magician rating.
As we were to find out, he, or at least the show, may have cast a spell over Pam, and I am not trying to be funny. As we were walking out of the theater, into the casino, Pam had a strange, pained look on her face. I asked if she was all right. She said “No” and said she was seeing double, and her head was hurting. I was thinking stroke or maybe an epileptic seizure brought on by the flashing lights. We sat her down at a machine. I think Jayme went to get her something to drink. I talked to her, gauging her responses, and Margo rubbed her shoulders. She was not getting worse, and then her vision started to get better. I think the headache remained. She was not 100%, but she said she was fine, so we got up and took our time walking next door to Harrah’s for our final show of the day.
He destroyed a $100 bill with someone’s name written on it, and made it reappear inside a ball that was cut open later in the show. After he had returned that bill, later in the show he asked for the owner to read off the serial number, as he turned over cards he had already dealt. His cards spelled out the number. I hated that guy. He must be a sorcerer. He would have been hanged had he lived in Salem in the 1600s. I have no idea how he did any of it. I am giving him my #1 Magician rating.
As we were to find out, he, or at least the show, may have cast a spell over Pam, and I am not trying to be funny. As we were walking out of the theater, into the casino, Pam had a strange, pained look on her face. I asked if she was all right. She said “No” and said she was seeing double, and her head was hurting. I was thinking stroke or maybe an epileptic seizure brought on by the flashing lights. We sat her down at a machine. I think Jayme went to get her something to drink. I talked to her, gauging her responses, and Margo rubbed her shoulders. She was not getting worse, and then her vision started to get better. I think the headache remained. She was not 100%, but she said she was fine, so we got up and took our time walking next door to Harrah’s for our final show of the day.
There was no reason not to go find our show and just sit down. We were seeing Country X, which is a burlesque show. Margo and I had never seen a burlesque show. Neither had Pam or Jayme. As it turned out, Jayme did not know what a burlesque show was. He was surprised, pleasantly, that the ladies were topless most of the time.
By the time the show started Pam was feeling better, but she was careful the whole show to avoid any flashing lights. Jayme and I did not care if the lights flashed, just do they were bright enough to see. The ladies were very pretty and put on an entertaining show.
The skits were really short, less than three minutes, usually. Lots of country music and the skits were set to those. In between some of the skits they would have a Hee Haw style joke. You remember when someone would stand in front of a fence, tell a corny joke, and then a fence picket would swivel up a smack them in the butt? Here, a girl would pop up out of a rain barrel, tell a dirty joke, get a huge laugh, and sink back into the barrel.
They had a comedian, John BIzzare, who opened and did a set about half way through. He was pretty funny as well. I guess I am getting old, I enjoyed the jokes more than I did the bare boobs. They were nice, but the jokes made me feel better.
We finished up roughly at 11:30 PM. Long day and time to go back to the hotel. Pam and I retired to our respective rooms. Margo and Jayme, who think that midnight is just getting started when a slot machine is nearby, went down stairs to feed $20s into the one-armed bandits. I wrote until about 1:30 PM, but not very effectively. I kept getting distracted by one thing or another, and eventually gave up. We had no solid plans for tomorrow, so I planned to sleep in a bit.
By the time the show started Pam was feeling better, but she was careful the whole show to avoid any flashing lights. Jayme and I did not care if the lights flashed, just do they were bright enough to see. The ladies were very pretty and put on an entertaining show.
The skits were really short, less than three minutes, usually. Lots of country music and the skits were set to those. In between some of the skits they would have a Hee Haw style joke. You remember when someone would stand in front of a fence, tell a corny joke, and then a fence picket would swivel up a smack them in the butt? Here, a girl would pop up out of a rain barrel, tell a dirty joke, get a huge laugh, and sink back into the barrel.
They had a comedian, John BIzzare, who opened and did a set about half way through. He was pretty funny as well. I guess I am getting old, I enjoyed the jokes more than I did the bare boobs. They were nice, but the jokes made me feel better.
We finished up roughly at 11:30 PM. Long day and time to go back to the hotel. Pam and I retired to our respective rooms. Margo and Jayme, who think that midnight is just getting started when a slot machine is nearby, went down stairs to feed $20s into the one-armed bandits. I wrote until about 1:30 PM, but not very effectively. I kept getting distracted by one thing or another, and eventually gave up. We had no solid plans for tomorrow, so I planned to sleep in a bit.
Day Four-
I got to sleep in all the way until 9 AM. Pam and Jayme were waiting on us. Margo slept pretty well. As long as acid reflux or another ailment is not bothering her, she sleeps well on vacations.
Magnolia’s was the start of our day again. I think I had something from the lunch menu this time. Jayme loved the place. I think he had the chicken fried steak, and found nothing wrong with it. Too bad it would be our last meal here. But, it had to end sometime.
After we ate, we checked out, and left the car in their lot. We had had to park on the roof ever single time. This was the most crowded I have ever seen Vegas. I figured in the middle of summer, with the pandemic still going on people would be at home. Nope. They all appeared to have cabin fever, or like us, were not going to let this virus run our lives.
Anyway, we took the garage elevator back to the bottom and decided to wander Fremont Street a bit. Margo and I still needed to get a t-shirt for Veronica. I don’t know that Pam and Jayme had any shopping to go, but we all got sick of the same ketch and heat, and went looking for another diversion.
Magnolia’s was the start of our day again. I think I had something from the lunch menu this time. Jayme loved the place. I think he had the chicken fried steak, and found nothing wrong with it. Too bad it would be our last meal here. But, it had to end sometime.
After we ate, we checked out, and left the car in their lot. We had had to park on the roof ever single time. This was the most crowded I have ever seen Vegas. I figured in the middle of summer, with the pandemic still going on people would be at home. Nope. They all appeared to have cabin fever, or like us, were not going to let this virus run our lives.
Anyway, we took the garage elevator back to the bottom and decided to wander Fremont Street a bit. Margo and I still needed to get a t-shirt for Veronica. I don’t know that Pam and Jayme had any shopping to go, but we all got sick of the same ketch and heat, and went looking for another diversion.
I had not planned much for today. All that was left on my agenda was a picture with the iconic, Welcome to Las Vegas sign. That would not take very long and we had four to six hours to use up. Margo had found our shirt and we were all ready for something else. Pam suggested dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. This is one of her favorite dessert places. I think Margo and I had eaten at the one in downtown Denver once, and that was it. I recall it was very good, and a little pricey. But, we are on vacation, and spending money is what we do. We were all in.
There turned out to be more than one location in the greater Las Vegas area, and the closest one was at the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets. This begs the question is there a Las Vegas South Premium Outlets, but I digress. This place was about 7 minutes away and most of that was fighting the construction in downtown Las Vegas.
I don’t know if I mentioned it or not, but they were tearing up streets all around Fremont Street, just making navigation, especially with an outdated GPS a real pain. They had the exit from I-15 onto Casino Center Blvd closed. That is the main one and we had to constantly drive past, and then backtrack from the next exit. We fought traffic and construction every time we went out. I am really beginning to hate Las Vegas.
We arrived at the Cheesecake Factory with little difficulty and parked in the Outlet’s multi-story parking garage. My hip was still doing fine. As long as I had my cane, walking and even stairs had not been an issue. I got sick of walking, the same as anyone else, but my hip was not calling on me stop.
It was a nice, air conditioned restaurant, and we were seated as soon as we walked in. Jayme and I got sucked into the display of cheesecakes that we needed to walk by to get to our tables. This was going to be a tough decision, even if I factored out all of the non-chocolate varieties. We caught up with the girls, who wondered what kept us. Did they not see the deliousness on display? I guess it is true what they say, that men are very visually stimulated creatures.
Pam ended up being disappointed and they did not have the White Chocolate Macadamia she had fallen in love with. Talking with the waitress, it sounded like it was a promotional item, which came back from time to time. Wrong time for us. I don’t recall what she settled for. I had a Snickers based on, Jayme had Hershey’s Chocolate, and Margo had Key Lime. The only complaints were on the size of the cakes. Too big. Those complaints were not coming from me. But, I had a smaller piece. Not sure why, but it was plenty, and like I said no complaints. All super Yummy!
There turned out to be more than one location in the greater Las Vegas area, and the closest one was at the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets. This begs the question is there a Las Vegas South Premium Outlets, but I digress. This place was about 7 minutes away and most of that was fighting the construction in downtown Las Vegas.
I don’t know if I mentioned it or not, but they were tearing up streets all around Fremont Street, just making navigation, especially with an outdated GPS a real pain. They had the exit from I-15 onto Casino Center Blvd closed. That is the main one and we had to constantly drive past, and then backtrack from the next exit. We fought traffic and construction every time we went out. I am really beginning to hate Las Vegas.
We arrived at the Cheesecake Factory with little difficulty and parked in the Outlet’s multi-story parking garage. My hip was still doing fine. As long as I had my cane, walking and even stairs had not been an issue. I got sick of walking, the same as anyone else, but my hip was not calling on me stop.
It was a nice, air conditioned restaurant, and we were seated as soon as we walked in. Jayme and I got sucked into the display of cheesecakes that we needed to walk by to get to our tables. This was going to be a tough decision, even if I factored out all of the non-chocolate varieties. We caught up with the girls, who wondered what kept us. Did they not see the deliousness on display? I guess it is true what they say, that men are very visually stimulated creatures.
Pam ended up being disappointed and they did not have the White Chocolate Macadamia she had fallen in love with. Talking with the waitress, it sounded like it was a promotional item, which came back from time to time. Wrong time for us. I don’t recall what she settled for. I had a Snickers based on, Jayme had Hershey’s Chocolate, and Margo had Key Lime. The only complaints were on the size of the cakes. Too big. Those complaints were not coming from me. But, I had a smaller piece. Not sure why, but it was plenty, and like I said no complaints. All super Yummy!
Now on our way to the Las Vegas sign. The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is one the southern end of the strip, and is a Vegas icon. It was put up in 1959 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Margo and I have stopped there on a prior trip, but Pam and Jayme had not. If Margo and I got a picture, it was not a memorable one, so I was looking forward to this stop.
The city has it set up so there is a place to park, so the tourists (like us) can get their Facebook or Instagram-worthy shot. We were far from alone with this idea, and had to wait in a line.
At the front of the line was this lady. She had found her niche job. She would take the tourists’ cameras, pose them and take pictures. She had an umbrella and a water bottle She had a little fanny pack on her side that said “Tips Appreciated”. If the rules from Fremont Street apply here, then was not allowed to charge, but could accept the tips people gave her.
We got to the front of the line, and she ended up taking 32 pictures. She posed all four of together, and then had us do the Price-Is-Right showing the sign. She separated us into couples and took pictures of use standing there, Price-Is-Righting, and then kissing. Pam and Jayme are seen laughing hysterically in a couple of theirs. And I don’t remember exactly why. They had a back and forth with the lady, something about inappropriate touching. Maybe one of them will clue me in when they read this. I tipped her $5. I think Jayme gave her something, too.
Pam had talked about a place called South Point the whole trip. I don’t recall ever hearing about this and all I knew was what she had said. It was a place where the rodeo performers who stay and hang out. She said it was south of town. I had the impression it was way out of town, but when I started looking for it on a map, it was only about 5 miles down the road on Las Vegas Blvd. We had time, so why not. We pointed the car south.
I did not know what to expect here. The word “resort” is tossed around pretty freely. But, Pam said they had a rodeo arena and a bowling alley, so I figured it should have some size to it. I was not disappointed. There was a large parking garage and a huge hotel, that was visible. There were likely other buildings, but I had to keep my eye on the road. We parked in their large parking lot, which was out front, and free. Not exactly a trivial thing in 2021 Las Vegas. Most of the strip hotels charge for parking.
We walked in and it felt inviting. You could hear the electronic cacophony which is unique to a casino, but it was not so in your face. It was air conditioned (of course), and that was a welcome relief from our walk just from the parking lot. In case I haven’t mentioned it, don’t go to Las Vegas in August. Not even to see George Strait.
Margo, Jayme and Pam went to play the slots. I had enough of casinos by this time, so I decided to just wander. I liked the feel of this place and wanted to see what they had to offer. I found the arena and even poked my head through a door. It looked modern and clean.
They had two bowling alleys, once of which had a tournament going on. They had bingo and a movie theater. I didn’t note how many screens, but it was at least three. I counted eleven restaurants, with several of them actually having food I might eat. I check prices for a room, and they were about what the Four Queens was charging. The whole place seemed more laid back and quieter. If we go back to Las Vegas, this is going to be the first place I look at to stay.
We only spent about an hour there and left. Our vacation time was done. We got gas and dropped off the rental car. Las Vegas’ rental cars are off site. Unlike our Dakota trip, there was no damage. Shuttle to airport, the normal trip through TSA, and our plane left at 8:35 PM. With the time change it was 11:15 when we landed. Luggage took over half an hour to get there, and then our shuttle took another 15 minutes. We did not get home until 1:30 AM.
Overall, it was a nice trip, because we got to spend time with Jayme and Pam. I got see George Strait and Ron White. But, I am starting to really dislike Las Vegas in general. I am sick of casinos. The entertainment is good, but it also expensive and spread out all over town. Even in August it was crowded, most places. Downtown had a lot of road work going on and the highways during rush hour suck. So while there are reasons to go, there are reasons to go elsewhere.
Next year? It looks like we, Margo, Jayme, Pam, plus Sally and Chuck are all going to Florida in January or February. We are trying to talk Darrin and Kris into it, but they have a lot of other things going on, so probably not. It will be nice to all get together and have fun together.
The city has it set up so there is a place to park, so the tourists (like us) can get their Facebook or Instagram-worthy shot. We were far from alone with this idea, and had to wait in a line.
At the front of the line was this lady. She had found her niche job. She would take the tourists’ cameras, pose them and take pictures. She had an umbrella and a water bottle She had a little fanny pack on her side that said “Tips Appreciated”. If the rules from Fremont Street apply here, then was not allowed to charge, but could accept the tips people gave her.
We got to the front of the line, and she ended up taking 32 pictures. She posed all four of together, and then had us do the Price-Is-Right showing the sign. She separated us into couples and took pictures of use standing there, Price-Is-Righting, and then kissing. Pam and Jayme are seen laughing hysterically in a couple of theirs. And I don’t remember exactly why. They had a back and forth with the lady, something about inappropriate touching. Maybe one of them will clue me in when they read this. I tipped her $5. I think Jayme gave her something, too.
Pam had talked about a place called South Point the whole trip. I don’t recall ever hearing about this and all I knew was what she had said. It was a place where the rodeo performers who stay and hang out. She said it was south of town. I had the impression it was way out of town, but when I started looking for it on a map, it was only about 5 miles down the road on Las Vegas Blvd. We had time, so why not. We pointed the car south.
I did not know what to expect here. The word “resort” is tossed around pretty freely. But, Pam said they had a rodeo arena and a bowling alley, so I figured it should have some size to it. I was not disappointed. There was a large parking garage and a huge hotel, that was visible. There were likely other buildings, but I had to keep my eye on the road. We parked in their large parking lot, which was out front, and free. Not exactly a trivial thing in 2021 Las Vegas. Most of the strip hotels charge for parking.
We walked in and it felt inviting. You could hear the electronic cacophony which is unique to a casino, but it was not so in your face. It was air conditioned (of course), and that was a welcome relief from our walk just from the parking lot. In case I haven’t mentioned it, don’t go to Las Vegas in August. Not even to see George Strait.
Margo, Jayme and Pam went to play the slots. I had enough of casinos by this time, so I decided to just wander. I liked the feel of this place and wanted to see what they had to offer. I found the arena and even poked my head through a door. It looked modern and clean.
They had two bowling alleys, once of which had a tournament going on. They had bingo and a movie theater. I didn’t note how many screens, but it was at least three. I counted eleven restaurants, with several of them actually having food I might eat. I check prices for a room, and they were about what the Four Queens was charging. The whole place seemed more laid back and quieter. If we go back to Las Vegas, this is going to be the first place I look at to stay.
We only spent about an hour there and left. Our vacation time was done. We got gas and dropped off the rental car. Las Vegas’ rental cars are off site. Unlike our Dakota trip, there was no damage. Shuttle to airport, the normal trip through TSA, and our plane left at 8:35 PM. With the time change it was 11:15 when we landed. Luggage took over half an hour to get there, and then our shuttle took another 15 minutes. We did not get home until 1:30 AM.
Overall, it was a nice trip, because we got to spend time with Jayme and Pam. I got see George Strait and Ron White. But, I am starting to really dislike Las Vegas in general. I am sick of casinos. The entertainment is good, but it also expensive and spread out all over town. Even in August it was crowded, most places. Downtown had a lot of road work going on and the highways during rush hour suck. So while there are reasons to go, there are reasons to go elsewhere.
Next year? It looks like we, Margo, Jayme, Pam, plus Sally and Chuck are all going to Florida in January or February. We are trying to talk Darrin and Kris into it, but they have a lot of other things going on, so probably not. It will be nice to all get together and have fun together.
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