Viva Las Vegas

Some of you may have seen my photo in a recent paper where Jimmy and I met my youngest daughter, Emily and her husband C.J. in Las Vegas. This is how it happened.

Months ago Emily bought tickets to see Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn in Las Vegas. Her husband loves music…but not country. So, she decided it would be a waste for him to go, and invited me, knowing I’d love to see that red head with a voice unmatched by many. And, Emily said she had seen Brooks & Dunn a long time ago and they put on a good show.

Well, my and Jimmy’s anniversary is June 22. We went to Vegas on our honeymoon some 17 years ago. I’ve been trying to get back because we never went to Fremont Street, and I’ve heard so much abut it. And, Emily is a nurse now, making good money, and offered to help with expenses. So, we took the plunge.

We went to Las Vegas, flying out on Tuesday afternoon and leaving on Friday morning to come back. So it was a fairly quick trip. We didn’t get there until late Tuesday, and with baggage hassles and such we didn’t get to the room until about midnight our time. Of course it was only 9 p.m. there. Our bodies were on Georgia time though.

Anyway, it was really too late for us to do much of anything so that night was out. The concert was Wednesday night, and I figured we’d go to Fremont Street Thursday night. So Wednesday morning, we leave Jimmy and his bad knee in the casino and we set out walking. No where in particular, mind you, just ambling through hot Vegas. Before long, we stopped briefly at another casino. I ordered Emily and me mimosas, and nearly fell out when the bartender said $32. WHAT?

Well after that we gambled a little, and got a few free drinks to try to make the $16 mimosa taste better. Then we left there and went to the store and bought water, which we badly needed, and a few other necessities. Leaving there we returned to check on Jimmy, then hung out in the casino a while. Our luck not being great, we went to the room and played cards, the four of us, and then it was time to get ready for the show. ‘

I must say the show was somewhat of a disappointment. They played lots of new stuff, not the old stuff we came to hear, although there was some mixed in and actually the concert was okay. It just wasn’t great. And the crowd was a bunch of stuffed shirts. No one stood up. No dancing in the aisles. No, sit and listen. Or video with your phone which numerous people were doing.

Emily and I agreed we wanted to experience it here and now, not video the whole thing for some future viewing. Let’s face it, you’re not going to capture the sound of a live concert. You have to experience it.

But, anyway, we enjoyed it. The drinks there were even higher than the $16 mimosas, but there was more drink to it, too. The show was at Caesar’s Palace, so we saw much of it on our way into the show, although we didn’t go into the casino.

Thursday morning after breakfast, we decided to go to the pool. Jimmy would not even put on his trunks, but Emily, C.J. and I were ready to take a dip. We hung out there a couple of hours. The water was cold, which was very unusual since it was so hot. My husband, who has been in the pool business most of his adult life, was surprised and speculated about how they did it.

Beer at the pool came in a bucket, so it was good and cold which was nice. Emily even tried a frozen drink by the pool. We lounged a while, then moved on to something else. I really can’t give a full play by play, cause even though it was only three days, some of the time is a blur (maybe the drinks?).

Anyway, on Thursday morning, the hotel had a problem with its steam bar, and there was loud sawing and cutting and drilling, you name it. The manager wanted to make our bad experience up to us, so she comped our buffet for that night. That was nice. We enjoyed.

Anyway, as I said earlier, Thursday night was designated for Fremont Street. Well, Jimmy was afraid we’d make him walk too much so he bailed, and C.J. had had too much fun earlier in the day, and wimped out. In his defense, he’s been there before, and it wasn’t even that long ago.

I almost wimped out, and I’m so glad I didn’t. Anyone who’s been to Vegas knows you can see all sorts of sights on the streets of Vegas. Well, it’s nothing compared to Fremont Street where there is a light show above you, and street performers of all kinds every where you go. We were there after dark, but it was as well lit as a summer day.

It truly was indescribable. And to think I nearly missed it. What really amazed me was the number of people who had their children out visiting this place. It wasn’t bad, but there were several risque performers that young children need not be exposed to.

We had been dropped off in the middle of Fremont Street, and walked both ways. We intended to return to the stage where the band was setting up, but we didn’t. We knew we had early flights, so we called a Uber (I can do that now), and headed back.

All I say, is if you go to Vegas…go to Fremont Street. It’s indescribable.