It was a weird vacation to Las Vegas. What happened?

To begin with we booked a room at the Las Vegas Hilton on a credit card. The people who took the card info turned around and tried to use the card to buy meat in Ohio. The credit card company cancelled the card. And Las Vegas Hilton cancelled the reservation because the card was no good. We ended up staying in 3 different hotels in one week.

Then Hurricane Georges threatened Miami. Before we could leave for Vegas I had to put up hurricane shutters on the house. No fun there. Lots of sweat though. After getting shutters installed the night before leaving, I discovered a roof leak. Couldn't leave home with a roof leak, so the next morning before catching a plane at 10:30am, I had to go to Home Depot and buy roof patching material and slap it on the roof where I thought the leak was. Finished that job at 9am. While still sweaty, got dressed and drove to the airport.

Just as I pulled into the airport Fast Park area a tire went thump, thump, flat. So I had to leave the car with a flat tire. A shuttle bus took me to the airport. At last I could relax now that I was standing at the ticket counter. Then I realized I didn't have my cameras around my neck. In my haste to get to the airport, I left them on the back seat of the car in plain view of anyone to see and steal. Abandoning the ticket line and with 45 minutes to departure, I ran out of the airport and frantically stood outside looking for another shuttle bus. getting back to my car, thank God, my cameras were still there, but I couldn't get to them. The other shuttle driver promised to fix my flat and I gave her the key. So the shuttle I was in called her on the radio for her to get back to the parking lot. She arrived, I got the key and my cameras, took another shuttle back to the airport and finally got in the ticketing line once again.

Changing planes in Houston. I was walking along the concourse there when somebody stepped on the back of my foot and tore the heel lose on my shoe. Now I had a flat tire on my shoe and went cloppity clop onto the next plane. I bought Super Glue at Las Vegas' McCarran airport and did a quick shoe repair. People thought I was crazy pressing my shoe in my hands and then standing in it and grinding the heel as hard as I could to get the glue to hold.

The next misadventure came when we took a humvee tour in Arizona's Mohave Desert (that will be another web page). We were bouncing along in desolate, rugged terrain when the hummer couldn't get over an embankment. The vehicle had taken so much abuse that the transmission broke. Now we were stuck in the desert with no one else around. It's spooky and hot out there when you aren't moving around. Real quiet too. But aha! I brought my cell phone for just such emergencies. I turned it on and it blinked NO SERVICE! Well, I guessed the reason must be is that not too many people are placing calls in the middle of the Mohave. AT&T can't collect a lot of quarters in the desert.

The tour guide tried to climb a mountain to see if his cell phone would work at higher elevation. Half way up he got an asthma attack and had to be brought his medicine. I went wandering off in search of a highway, but instead fell down into a gully because of loose rock, and ended up with a cactus ball stuck to my shoulder. Using a small tree limb, I knocked it off, because I couldn't touch the sharp needles. My wife pulled out several dozen cactus needles from me. Thanks, wife.

Oh yeah, and when I fell into the gully, the sole on one of my track shoes came half off. So now I was doing another cloppity clop this time in the desert. Had to fix that shoe also when I got back to the hotel room. Always carry Super Glue with you. Even if you're just going to the bathroom. You never know.

That was if for the misadventures. Now for the fun stuff.

music to accompany this page. Las Vegas MIDI

On the Strip (Las Vegas Blvd) we rode a free shuttle bus to what's called THE FREMONT STREET EXPERIENCE. It's a covered street for pedestrian traffic only. Casino lights are everywhere. This is the old part of Las Vegas where the casino's began in the Fifties. The overhead cover has a laser light type show where moving images are shown to the accompaniment of music. Also there are live bands playing on different street corners. People walk around with glass mugs of beer shaped like a football.

Getting from the MGM Grand to Ballys property you first take a monorail train, then get off onto moving walkway that ends at The Strip. If you want to walk from the lobby of one of the newer hotels to another, it is probably a 2 mile hike. Yes, the properties are next to each other, but they encompass a lot of real estate. When a cab drops you off at the front of your hotel, it is almost a mile walk thru the casino to the elevators to a long walk thru the hall to your room. Want to go downstairs to eat lunch? At least a 1/2 mile stroll.

At the Desert Inn we were invited to a pool side party that featured the above band and plenty to eat and drink. Afterwards there was a party in a penthouse apartment overlooking the Desert Inn grounds. The apartment took up half of the top floor. It had it's own balcony with swimming pool and hot tub, 3 bedrooms, marble foyer with an elegant fountain, library and sitting room. The master bath area was all marble and mirrors and complete with $500,000 worth of 24 carat gold fixtures. This apartment rented for $22,000/ nite. Unfortunately, we didn't rent it. Instead, we had a cozy room at the Best Western for $40/nite.

As of this date, the Bellagio hotel and Casino isn't open, but will be opening soon. The rooms will sell for $150/nite and are booked solid for the next 2 years. They will feature French Impressionist paintings (the really, really good stuff) in the lobby. It will be the only hotel and casino in Las Vegas where the slot machines will only crank over at $5/pop minimum. No tour buses or cabs will be allowed to drop off people. You must arrive by limousine only. And after 3pm, formal attire must be worn. IOW, if you find yourself caught there after 3pm, bring a paper bag to carry your cutoffs and tshirt in.

In front of the Bellagio at night there is a beautiful lighted water fountain display that is almost 1/2 mile long. The waters pulse, swing and dance to a recording of Frank Sinatra singing LUCK BE A LADY. Another great, free outdoor show. And you don't have to pass by a slot machine to get to it.

10-18-98 update:

Upscale Bellagio opens in Vegas

Bellagio, a casino hotel with a unabashedly upscale bent, has just opened in Las Vegas. The 3,000-room hotel, named after the village on Italy's Lake Como, features amenities a step above most other Vegas hotels. To wit: a fine-arts gallery containing original works by Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Cezanne and Gauguin; a 10-acre lake with more than l ,000 fountains; a botanical garden with seasonal displays; a re-creation of a Tuscan village with red tile roofs; and 12 restaurants. Prices range from $ l 59 to $499 a night. Information: (888) 987-6667; Web site: www.bellagiolasvegas.com.

Miami Herald Travel Section

Yes, Liberace owned a car and this was it. What was neat about it is that Liberace, once he parked his car, could take the hood ornament off and use it to light the way to his front door. This car was in the Imperial Palace hotel and casino auto collection on the fifth floor. There are 250 antique and classic cars on display. I down loaded free entrance tickets (normally $7) from the hotel web site. They have the world's largest collection of Duesenberg automobiles on display in a separate room. Each one of the Duesenbergs are worth probably $1,000,000 +. And each is restored perfectly.

The gold plated lion at the MGM Grand is bigger than a Volkswagen. In fact it's probably bigger than 10 Volkswagens welded together. To get from the MGM Grand to the hotels on the other side of the street, there are elevated walk ways with escalators and elevators. Use these walk ways as it's a long hike to cross the street and the green lights don't last long enough. Within a few years, the city will have elevated walk ways along the entire Strip.

I tried to cash a credit card check at the MGM Grand and they refused to take it. The cashier worried that there was no money in the account. I tried to explain that there is never any money in a credit card account. Alright, then, there is billions in a credit card account. You can charge thousands of dollars in rooms, air fare, tours, meals and transportation on a credit card, but I couldn't get $200 to gamble with. The immorality of this story is you have to bring the green stuff to Vegas if you want to gamble. No credit card charges allowed. You can get cash with a credit card but it will cost $18 for $100 cash plus the fees your bank charges.

New York, New York Hotel and Casino has the Statue of Liberty and a roller coaster in front of it. The roller coaster also travels inside the building. A huge bank of flashbulbs go off taking the riders pictures while the coaster is speeding downhill. There is a food court that is designed to look like the old streets of New York. At this hotel the cashier was very nice. They took my personal check... just in time. I was down to charging cups of coffee on my credit card so I could have cash for tips.

This was our view from the balcony of the Polo Towers. We only spent one night here. Didn't even bother to unpack. But it was a great view looking down on The Strip. the Bellagio is on the left, Caesars Palace in the middle and the green lights come from the MGM Grand. Just below is Harley Davidson's club. Motorcycle theme, of course. We had a party there also. I would like to show pictures of that, but asking netsurfers to download more pictures is asking too much. so the Las Vegas venture will end here.