LAS VEGAS
2001 was an interesting and world changing year. Here is but one small scene of a much larger picture.
In the month of December, I reached the 60th year of my existence. I personally am not much in to celebrating much of anything. Remembering the life I led 30 years ago, I never expected to get here. Crystal thought that reaching 60 should be marked by something special. So she surprised me by planning a trip to Las Vegas. She knew that I had never been there before and had always said I would like to get there sooner or later.
After the events of 9-11, travel had fallen to a level that caused airlines and hotels to make offers that were hard to refuse. So Crystal got on the Net and found a combination package that got us to Las Vegas on America West airlines and 4 days and 3 nights at the Venetian Hotel. The reason she picked the Venetian is that 9 months or so ago, one of the Travel Channels programs showed the construction of the Venetian from start to finish. It was a pretty amazing thing. The owner had traveled to Italy and had every thing measured, photographed, and copied to be as close to the real thing as possible. The place was amazing. The Grand Canal was on the Second floor, winding through restaurants and shops. The ceiling was painted to always be a beautiful sky with fluffy clouds overhead. There was always some sort of street performer in sight. Throw in the voices of the passing gondoliers singing to their passengers and you had a very lively, entertaining place.
We were up early on a Monday morning to catch the flight. Due to the increased airport security, and having been to the Bahamas twice since 9-11, we knew what to expect and how long itwould take to finally get to the plane. We had never flown on America West, so once in the air, we found it was a no-food flight. Just coffee, Cokes, and a small bag of peanuts. Due to a dip in the Jet Stream we had a starving 6 hour flight ahead of us. Thanks to the time zones, we were due to arrive around lunch time so we would survive. When you arrive in Las Vegas and get off of the plane, you head down the concourse into the terminal, and there they are. Slot Machines every where! When we arrived at the baggage claim area, a woman from the plane also arrived, except some where along the line, she had put 1 quarter in a machine and now had a whole bucket of quarters. Viva Las Vegas! We’re going to get rich if it’s that easy. Well, it wasn’t and we didn’t.
Once we finally acquired our luggage and found the right bus to the hotel, we were on our way. We could see all of the famous places off in the distance- The Luxor, The Mandalay Bay, New York New York, The Eiffel Tower at The Paris and as we got closer to the strip, the was the bell tower at the Venetian. Here we were, for a few days of fun in the desert.
It is hard to describe the look of the lobby as we entered to check in. Everywhere there were art works, the ceiling and the walls were painted or covered in Italian designs of the 1400’s. It was beautiful. We have learned over the last few trips that Crystal is the person to check us in. I tend to take what is offered, but she has learned the tricks and the questions to ask in order to get any possible perks or good deals that might be had just by asking. We ended up with a room on the 8th floor overlooking the Strip and The Treasure Island and Mirage hotels.
In order to get to the elevators that take you up to your room, most hotels in Las Vegas route you either through or by the Casino. The Venetian was no different. From the check-in area you had to walk down a long hall with a polished marble floor, marble columns up to the painted ceiling, and then into the Casino. We managed to avoid the temptation for the moment and made it to the room. Well, “room” might be an understatement. The suite was over 750 sq. ft. - larger than the downstairs area of our first residence, the condo. It had two levels, one with couch, desk, chairs, table, TV- the other was the sleeping area with a king-size bed, and another TV. The bathroom was huge also. We would be quite comfortable here. In fact I could be quite happy living in that room for a long time if someone would pick up the tab.
After we got in the room, we unpacked and then went looking for lunch. We had decided to explore the hotel that afternoon and leave the rest of the town for the next few days. So we pulled out our map of the hotel and headed for the Grand Canal. Crystal wanted to go to Wolfgang Pucks place located in St. Marks Square. The walk along the Canal brought back memories of the real Venice. Since we had gone for a gondola ride there, we passed on the short cruise inside the Venetian. We found Wolfie’s place and secured a table “outside” so we could watch the people. The service in Las Vegas could teach the rest of the world a thing or two about how to treat customers. The wait people were always pleasant and very knowledgeable about their jobs. If you ordered a glass of wine, it was if they had memorized the wine list in order that they could make sure that you got exactly the wine that you wanted.
The lunch was very tasty and needed. Next we wandered through the shops along the Canal, then, went to begin our quest for our financial fortune in the casino. I found the tables to have a higher minimum bet than in the Bahamas. So the fortune would have to be made on the quarter slots. Hmm, this may take a little longer that we had figured. After 2 hours of give and take, mostly give, we went back to the room to re-group and figure out what to do for dinner. The hotel had 5 or 6 fine restaurants and lots of little places along the canal to eat. We decided to “kick it up a notch” at Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico Steakhouse. It was a wise decision. The food and service were exceptional.On the way back to the room it was time to deposit a few more quarters in the machines to see if the luck had changed.
Not Yet………………But tomorrow is a new day.
It seems no vacation would be complete with either Me or Crystal developing a physical problem. Coming back from Hong Kong once, Crystal developed an ear infection that made it dangerous to fly, but we had to get home. In Paris, I got stuck half in and half out of a subway car, and separated my shoulder while escaping. Next, in London, Crystal twisted her ankle in the Lord Nelson Pub, and that was before any beverages were consumed. Again in London, while walking across St. James Park, Crystal developed bad blisters on one foot from defective shoes. This time it was my turn. In the middle of the night while making a pit stop in unfamiliar territory, I shut the bathroom door on one of my toes. So in the morning, before heading out for a major walk-a-bout, I taped it up and hoped for the best.
First on the list was to try one of the breakfast buffets that Las Vegas is famous for. So we went across the street to Treasure Island. For $6.99 each, we had a very good start on the day. We went back to the room to pick up the equipment necessary to document the trip. I was loaded down with a digital still camera and a video camera (soon to change for an all-in-one). My toe was OK so far…but it was early. Down to the Strip we went to see what Las Vegas was all about. It was a beautiful day, but a little chilly, about 40*F, for us Florida folk. We headed South towards the hotels we wanted to visit. First up came Cesar’s Palace. We went into the Forum Shops and just happened to time it when the Statues came to “life”. They moved, talked and made music. We cruised the shops buying a little here, a little there. Went into the Casino and donated a little more to the local economy. Next came the Bellagio and lunch. The buffet here was $11.00 and worth every penny. Any place that has all of the peeled large shrimp you can eat plus ribs is OK in my book.
Next in line was New York, New York. Under the scaled down Statue of Liberty was a moving tribute to the victims and fire fighters involved in the 9-11 tragedy. Signed T-shirts from all over the country were hung on a fence. We went through the shops and casino, then across the street to the MGM Grand. A very large place, as were most of them. Check out the shops, donate a few more quarters, then, hit the road again. We’re headed back north towards home, but have a few more stops to make.
As you walk along the Strip, there seem to be hundreds of little Latin people, men and women offering you cards and brochures giving discounts at every girly show and strip joint in town. They accept a refusal gracefully, but they are still a bother. No homeless people to speak of. Also did not see a single policeman on foot the entire trip.
Next up is the Harley-Davidson Café for an energy boost and some T-shirts. It is an unusual place because it has 10 or 15 motorcycles hanging from a moving chain circling about the ceiling. It tends to get dark early out here, so about 4PM the shadows are beginning to get long. It is time to move along. We get to the Paris Hotel just in time for the first display of the Fountains of the Bellagio. As Frank Sinatra sings “Luck Be a Lady Tonight”, the fountains rise and fall and swirl in time to the music. Very impressive! We go into the Paris and take the trip to the top of the half-scale Eiffel tower. A very nice night-time view of the Strip and the town. This turns out to be about our favorite hotel of the trip. Down from the tower and in to the land of the machines that eat quarters. I sit at the bar playing Video Poker, and drinking free beer, and Crystal roams the floor. We’re losing a little at each place but having a lot of fun. Back out on the Strip we catch the Bellagio Fountains again, this time a little closer that before. As we approach the Venetian, the Volcano in front of the Mirage begins to erupt. Again, our timing is perfect.
We have tickets to a concert by Brooks and Dunn, a country duo at the Las Vegas Hilton at 10:30 PM so we have to change and head over to there. My toe is beginning to whimper a little bit.
We take a taxi to the Hilton and look for a place to have dinner. A Mexican cantina pops up, so we dine south of the border, then, we try to find the concert. At the same time we are in town, so are the National Rodeo Championship Finals. So putting 2 and 2 together, there were an awful lot of cowboys there to see Brooks and Dunn. They were appearing in the showroom that was Elvis Presley’s home base in Las Vegas. It was a packed house.
What happened next was one of those moments that if you were not there, and if you didn’t have a witness (Crystal), no one would believe you.
We had pretty good seats for the show. We were about 15 rows from the front of the stage. The Elvis room is not very big. It might seat 1000 people. The thing was supposed to start at 10:30 so it started to fill up by 10:20. As I looked around at the crowd, I noticed a family of 4 taking the seats directly behind Crystal and I. The father seemed normal, but the wife, son, and daughter appeared to be visually impaired to different degrees. The kids seemed to be late teens, early 20’s. The son was using 2 walking sticks to feel his way down the aisle and into his seat. I thought,” How nice that they could make it to the show”. Silly me!
Now, I don’t know if you are familiar with Brooks and Dunn, but they have won the Best Country Duo at the Country Music Awards for most of the last 10 years. They are very big in the country music circles. Lot’s of #1 hits. So when at 10:30 the curtain went up and the music started, the crowd went wild. Especially the family behind us.
Let me explain why I normally don’t go to concerts any more. For example, we were at the Miami Area a few years ago. The place was sold out for Elton John. The only seat left open in the whole place was right next to me. A single seat. I thought, no one goes to concerts alone, so I’ll be able to spread out. Just then I spied a man, all 400 pounds of him, on the other side of the area. He’d look at his ticket, then, look up to try to see his seat. An usher came up to him, looked at his ticket stub, then, seemed to point right at me. Sure enough, he huffed and puffed his way around the arena, up the steep steps, down the aisle, and oozed his way down in to the seat. Over the next few years, all of the concerts I went to, I have managed to be in a seat in the row with 50 people with weak bladders, or 100 people that needed a beer every 5 minutes, stepping on my feet on the way out and the way back, or an Indian tribe that made you understand the evils of Firewater, or Gold Card seats that ended up being in the last row in the back of the upper deck, or a combination of all of the above. The only recent concert where none of the above occurred, was at a concert celebrating Chuck Berry’s 75th Birthday, with the opening act- Little Richard, who had just turned 70. The problem here was, THEY WERE OLD ! Little Richard had to be helped on and off the stage, could only remember the first verse of the songs and had none of the moves that helped make him famous. Of course he dressed the part and still told you how beautiful he was. Maybe Chuck could save the show! It was not to be. He tried, but the fingers just wouldn’t co-operate. He tried, but the duck walk had turned into a waddle. I could feel all of us old guitar players in the audience, who grew up on Johnny B Goode and Memphis, silently screaming, “ Damn, Chuck, give me that guitar- I’ll show you how it goes!” All in all, it was a sad experience.
So here we are, in Las Vegas, 2500 miles from Miami, at a nice concert, and nothing has changed. For all of the 2 hr concert the Family of Four hollered, screamed, hooted, whistled, and worst of all, THEY KNEW EVERY WORD ,TO EVERY SONG, AND SANG ALONG AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS !!! Crystal put stuff in her ears, but I toughed it out.
Now this just describes the scene for what happens next. Towards the end of the show, Kix Brooks is singing a song, and Ronnie Dunn is wandering along the front of the stage, softly tossing drum sticks out into the crowd. Most of the sticks get caught, but when one comes our way, the Family of Four are pushing and shoving everyone in front of them (that would be us) to catch the stick. In the commotion, some one bats it up in the air and it comes down, barely missing Crystal’s good eye, leaving a knot on her forehead. Well, it’s dark in the theater, so everyone is grubbing around on the floor around them looking for the treasured drumstick. In the confusion, Crystal hands me something. “ Here,” she says,” I found it!. Put in your coat pocket so no one will see it.” Having been in a band and relatively sure I remembered what a drumstick felt like, I thought it was a little too fat for a drumstick, but that was years ago and things change. Maybe they are bigger these days. Most things are. So I slipped it in my inside coat pocket. Soon the concert ended and the lights came up. The crowd started filing out towards the exits, as did we. As we started to leave the theater, I looked back. There was the Family of Four still searching the floor looking for the ultimate souvenir, the lost drumstick. Ha !, I thought, I’ve got what you are looking for. This makes up for all of the loud stuff. I win ! I’ve got the DRUMSTICK !
When we got settled in the cab for the ride back to the Venetian, Crystal said,” Well, that drumstick will make up for this knot I’ve got on my head. Let me look at it.”
I reached into my coat and pulled out……………..ONE OF THE BLIND BOY’S WALKING STICKS !. No wonder it felt a little fat. It was collapsible, about as long as a drumstick, real dirty and nasty looking and held together with electricians tape. Now it made sense why they were crawling around looking for something. I had it. What to do, what to do. By now everyone had left the hotel, I was half-way across town, holding a pole with who knows what diseases were on it, and trying to figure out what to do with
it. We decided it would be impossible to find the Family of Four, and even if we did, how would we explain how we have their walking stick. So we left it on a table in a hall way of the Venetian, hoping that they were staying there and would come along and find it.
And the end results of this is: My concert days are over for a long time. Next time, I’ll rent the video.
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