Las Vegas Trip

Hitting the Strip

On Wednesday we spent the day checking out all the hotels that have opened since the last time we came through Las Vegas in 1998. Not much to say about it, but there is a LOT more shoping, a LOT more of a amusement park atmoshphere, a LOT more upscale everything (eating, shopping, casinos, architecture)... Las Vegas is all about everything that it worst about America. I don't mean the sex and gambling. I do mean the crass commercialism, the gaudy facades, and the total artificial atmoshphere that pervades everywhere. I don't know why, but I love it here.

We were supposed to meet a friend who lives here for breakfast at 9:00, but we got stood up. Well, to be honest, I knew 9:00 was too early for him but he thought it'd be OK. He called me at about 11:30 and told me that he'd just woken up at 10. Well, that's the way it goes.

After breakfast, we drove over the the Hilton at the north end of the Strip, and hopped onto the tram that goes up and down the Strip. It's hugely over priced, and was almost empty. I suspect if they cut the price in half, the tram would be totally full. At current prices, we bought two all-day passes and it cost us $30. There are less expensive tickets, but because we had no plans and we didn't know how many times we watned to get on and off the tram, we figured the day passes were the best way to to go. As it turns out, we only got off and on once, so we could have paid about $5 each for the lowest price ticket.

At the MGM, we went to the CBS studio and watched a demo version of a new reality show. Fits right in with Las Vegas in it's phoniness, don't you think? It was pretty dumb, but had a few funny spots. So for once we got to give our opinion on what should or should not go on the air. Since we're part of probably one of the smallest minorities in the country, we have our doubts about how much our vote will count. But really it was just a lark to kill and hour and do something different. Almost every show we really like gets cancelled in a year or two, while the retarded reality shows and ridiculous sitcoms that numb your brain until you think it will leak out your ears get to stay on for 8 or 10 years. Nor suprises there, I guess.

We rode down to the south end of the Strip, and got off the tram at the MGM grand. Then we walked back northward until our feet gave out, and we took the tram back to the Hilton and checked out the Star Trek tour.

Here are a few places you can see in Vegas, a great way to explore a phony version of the world if you don't have a passport or the desire to change time zones.

Phony New York

Phony Paris

You can even go off world, on any version of the Starship Enterprise that strikes your fancy.

And in this chaotic and violent world, Las Vegas is probably the only place in the galaxy where you can find Borgs and Klingon's talking peacefully. So despite it's vices and shortcomings, Vegas does have its sunny side.

That was enough of a Vegas adventure for one day. We finally caught up with our friend. We hand't seen each other in about 20 years, and we had a lot of fun bullshitting and catching up for a few hours. Sorry, no pictures, we'd all rather remember ourselves and each other the way we looked when we were 20. It is amazing, though, how the eyes never age.