Back to Vegas

Well, I enjoyed Las Vegas so much when I visited in May that I decided to go back in July.   I flew in to Vegas on Sunday July 8.  I got in a little earlier this time, actually getting checked in and to my room just after noon on that Sunday.

I decided to take in a show on the first night and was able to get tickets to see Carrot Top, who has his show at the Luxor.  The Luxor is right next door to where I was staying at Excaliber, and there is a walkway inside so you actually don't have to go outside to get from one to the other.  This came in very handy during the week I was there, since the high temps for the week averaged about 115 degrees.

The show was really good, although the crowd didn't seem to get in to it as much as I did.  He also had some special guests attend the show.  The lead singer of a group called God Smack was in the audience.  He was celebrating his birthday, so he and his friends were sitting a few seats away from where I was sitting.  Now I have absolutely no idea who God Smack is...but Carrot Top seemed to be impressed that they came to his show.

On Monday night I went to Brad Garrett's comedy club.  Brad Garrett, for those who may not recognize the name, played Robby Barone on the TV Show "Everybody Loves Raymond".  He now has his own comedy club in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  Fortunately for me, he was in town the week I was there, so he actually was the host each night, so instead of seeing just the three comedians that normally perform, I was able to see those three, plus Brad Garrett.  I can tell from watching him that he was influenced quite a bit by Don Rickles.  I told that to someone at work today and she asked me who Don Rickles is...boy does that make me feel old.   I will also say that, if you ever get a chance to see Brad Garrett doing his stand up, do not expect to see "Robby Barone"!  He is very funny and I really enjoyed watching his stand up.

On Tuesday morning I made the trek north of the strip and went to the pawn shop that was made famous by the TV Show "Pawn Stars".  It's really a pretty small place compared to how it looks on TV.

  I walked the entire way from the south end of the strip where I was staying, in to downtown Las Vegas where the pawn shop is.  It actually got a little scary at times, because some of that area is not the best part of town for a tourist to be walking.  I actually spent part of the time looking for "escape routes" in case I had to make a quick break for it.  But I saw a lot of the area and a lot of the little wedding chapels along the way, including a couple "drive thru" wedding chapels.  I walked inside the pawn shop and looked for just a couple of minutes when they made an announcement that they needed to get everyone out so they could do some shooting for the show and that they would open back up in about 45 minutes.  I didn't really hang around after that, and headed back south.

My next stop that morning was the Stratosphere.  I went inside planning on going to the top.  But the charge was $18.00, and while it's not really THAT expensive, I decided that I really didn't want to pay to see Las Vegas from a higher vantage point.  I was able to look out the window of my airplane when I flew in, and that was good enough for me. 

Later that night I went to the Laugh Factory comedy club inside the Tropicana.  That show wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either.  Not a very big crowd and if you want something to drink, there are no waitresses, so you just go up to the bar and stand in line while a single bar tender gets the drinks.  I wouldn't recommend that show for anyone going, unless you happen to know the comedian(s) performing and like him/her/them.

On Wednesday I spent the entire day just wandering around the Excaliber and Luxor.  With the heat the way it was, I did not want to go outside at all.  That evening I did walk up the strip to the Bellagio to see the water show.  It's well worth making the trek up to watch, and even staying a few times.  The first one I saw was to the song "Singin' in the Rain".  I waited around for 15 minutes to watch it again and the second time they did the show to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA".  Had it not been so hot I would have probably stuck around for at least a couple more shows.  

Thursday I really didn't do much sightseeing either.  On both Wednesday and Thursday I was able to get in to the fitness center and get about 4 1/2 miles of running in on the treadmills each day.  But as far as going outside went, I had no plans on going out if I didn't have to.  

On Friday I left Las Vegas to head back home.

My flight leaving Las Vegas started off being delayed by 25 minutes.  Apparently, without my knowledge, a dust storm had hit Las Vegas the night before, forcing a plane that was scheduled to land in Las Vegas to divert to Los Angeles until the storm went through.  So, that meant the crew had gotten in very late.  The part that really kind of irritated me was, as they loaded us on the plane the flight attendants did their best to rush us on the plane and get everyone seated, even though the entire crew was not yet there and so we all sat in our uncomfortable seats on an old airplane while the crew finally showed up and started their pre-flight checks.  We finally took off and were told that those of us with connections in St. Paul/Minneapolis would have our flights changed if we weren't going to be there on time to make the connections.  We were also told that we could use the Wi-Fi on the plane to check out the Delta website to see if our flights were changed, or if we would have to rush to make our connection.  However, they couldn't explain what those of us who didn't have a computer or Wi-Fi device were supposed to do.  Fortunately there was a guy across the aisle from me who 1- had a Wi-Fi capable phone and 2 - was also making a connection to Columbus.  He checked his ticket and found that Delta had determined that we could make our connection, so we were not re-booked.  We got in to St. Paul/Minneapolis at 12:45pm and had to make a flight that was scheduled to leave at 1:05pm.  It almost didn't matter though.  I have to say that was the most uncomfortable landing I've ever experienced.  As we touched down and started braking, the plane did not stay straight on the runway.  It weaved left and right several times.  So much so in fact that when we finally did slow down to taxi speed the passengers on the plane started applauding that we had made it without crashing.  

Sitting near the back of the plane we "patiently" waited while we pulled to the gate and everyone in front of us took their time getting their bags out of the overhead compartment and slowly making their way out of the plane.  

We then got off the plane, checked the screen to see which gate we needed to get to in order to make our connection, then moved as quickly as we could to get from gate G18, where we had landed, to gate C13 which was, of course, about as far away from the G terminal as one could get.  But all was well, we made our connection, even with time to spare, and got back to Columbus safely.  

As for the flight, I was happy with Delta last time I flew back from Las Vegas, much less so this time.  The planes I was on this time were not nearly as comfortable, but the employees were all still pretty nice and professional (most of the time).  

As for the vacation itself.  I have to say that I would not recommend a trip to Las Vegas in the summer time. Way to hot to really enjoy yourself, unless you plan on spending all your time in the casinos.  I also would not recommend staying for five days.  I was really ready to come home after 3 or 4, and could have combined both my Vegas trips in to one 5 day trip and seen everything I saw in the two separate trips.  

I do have one more trip scheduled in December to run the Las Vegas Half Marathon.  I'm looking forward to that more for the run than anything else.  And I'm sure I'll take in a show or two while I'm there, but that will probably be my last Vegas trip for quite a while.