Am now safely esconced (first time I’ve used that word!) in our Las Vegas accomodation. Nice place. Roomy, cool and reasonably well laid out. Not on The Strip, but then, we did choose the place ourselves. And the alternatives that were right in the centre of Las Vegas, were of the Mega-hotel type. Not to our taste at all.
Between the travelling, jet-lag and not much opportunity to have a decent meal, the first day or two in Nevada were not that great. Add in sunburn (convertible enhanced) and a trip to Polo Towers (the place we chose NOT to stay in) for a Timeshare heavy-duty sales assault, we were not too inclined to enjoy Las Vegas. The sales guy near blew a fuse when, after nearly three hours of waffle, I said that I could not actually see any benefit to the scheme that he was pushing. He did not say the word ‘stupid’, but in body language, voice tone and expression, it was set in 48 point Roman Bold Italic with flashing text and Font-Color Red!
Ten minutes later, we were sitting outside the back door with the smoking pariahs, clutching our ‘gift’ and waiting in the heat for a bus. We came in a stretch limousine, but when you say ‘NO!’, it is a soldier’s farewell and a quick exit.
The gift, to be fair, looked quite good. A Visa Gift Card to the value of $100. It bounced the first time we tried to use it!
Which brings use to the First Rule of Vegas.
“If you can’t afford to lose, don’t come to the table.”
We knew it. The timeshare guy, for all his years of experience, pressurising punters, did not. The other Vegas Rule – “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” – in consequence naturally applies. And his Polo Tower timeshare sale will stay in Las Vegas when we move on.
And on to better things …
Went to the Rick Thomas Magic Show in the Sahara. Great show. With tigers. Recommended.
The Sahara is old-style Las Vegas. Frank and Dean era. A little seedy looking, but none the worse for that. It is part of the atmosphere – and I liked it for that.
We have now driven around Las Vegas quite a bit. We took the Car-Navigator Challenge and followed its instructions to the letter. Cruising down The Strip at night in a convertible is really neat (a borrowed US expression ). A racetrack in neon. Ya jes gotta do it folks! I mean this. Do it!
So. A poor start, but we are getting into the spirit of things. Tomorrow is the BIG DAY. The Grand Canyon by helicopter. On my birthday. Planning gets you the prize.
Unlike the timeshare guy, I know how to lose. And I know how to win!
See you soon.
Happy Birthday, Dave