Things to do in Vegas

OK, Friday here, trying to come up with something to rant on about – maybe start a new concept there – I’ve got to get going on Brighton’s half naked Thursdays (HNT) even if she’s dropped the ball on that recently. So let’s start a Ranting Friday, think up a topic to flow on about (as if that wasn’t done almost every day of the week).

Feeling good today – lots of things lined up to do at home. Need to start working on that front courtyard this weekend. Have to figure out exactly what kind of overhead to put in. We don’t want a solid roof like we have out back, it will make the front room too dark, so I’ll probably do a steel framework like out back but then put some 2x6 wooden boards on edge, spaced a few inches apart. That way it’ll look substantial, provide some shade, and not need too many horizontals to hold them up. We’ve started some vines, they’ll be trained up over the top so in the summer we should have shade from the leaves, but in the winter the leaves will fall off and there will be more sunshine. Because of the winds here I’ll have to dig some fairly large holes and fill with rebar and concrete for footings, to bolt the verticals to on each corner. B picked out some concrete pavers, hit a construction yard last week and bought four of them to lay out, to insure it will look as planned. We found it’s always best to buy a few first and play with setting them out. That way if it ends up not being what you want you will only be out the money for the few, instead of jumping in and getting the whole project done and being unhappy, and out big bucks for something that isn’t liked. After taking out the concrete slab a few months ago we need to get some fill to bring the level up to the desired height (even with the tiled entryway). So I’ve got to figure out how much fill will be required, and how many pavers to get.

lorum asked what there was to do in Vegas besides gambling, so let’s put in a few seconds of thought and come up with a short list – I’ll think about this over the weekend and probably add to it in a few days.

Things to do in Vegas:
1. Walk the Strip and Fremont and see the casinos. This is kind of like Disneyland without the rides. Just to view the architecture, ideas, and people. You can go from New York to Egypt to Paris to Venice in a day.
2. Free stuff. Giant fish tanks at Caesar’s and Mirage, Caesar and Cleopatra wandering around Caesar’s, overhead shows at the Rio, free concerts under the canopy downtown, fountains at the Bellagio, Vixens and Pirates at TI.
3. Paid attractions at some casinos, such as Shark Reef at Mandalay, Imax at Mirage, car testing at the Sahara, Star Trek at the Hilton. gondola rides at the Venetian.
4. Do the roller coasters, like Grissom used to do on CSI – there are a bunch, from New York to Sahara to the rooftop rides on the Stratosphere.
5. The free shows – most casinos have one or two cocktail lounge areas where you can see some pretty good entertainers for the price of a drink.
6. The shows you pay for – there is no place in the world with so many entertainers with permanent shows; Penn & Teller, Lance Burton, Celene, Barry Manilow, Elton John, the Blue Man Group, Circ du Solei’s stuff, traditional feathered showgirls, Madona and Bette Midler are considering moving here. Or hit one of the traveling shows, from the Rolling Stones to Reba to Sting to whoever you can thing of.
7. Restaurants – there is nowhere in the world that has so many great places so close together. Every casino has at least one, the Bellagio and MGM and Mandalay each have a half dozen magnificent places. And some of the buffets have pretty good food, lots of it. Sit at the outdoor place at Paris and watch the Bellagio fountains, or go high and try the one at the top of the Eiffel Tower, top of the Stratosphere, Mix on top of Mandalay Bay.
8. Nightclubs – again, Vegas is the home of the ‘Ultra Lounge’, where you can dance the night away. Stop at Paris Hilton’s party, or dance with whatever Hollywood celebrity is at the same place as you.
9. Swimming pools – you will never see as much skin and silicone anywhere, from topless to Playboy centerfolds at the Palms. Each hotel has one or two or three or more, with different styles from floating on tropical streams to sand beaches with waves to plain concrete and palm trees. In the summer there is nothing like sitting in 110f with a cold drink watching people turn red.
10. Sports – we have an AAA baseball team and big league teams visit, the University does hoops, the South Coast does horse events, the National Rodeo passes through.
11. Art shows & museums, from Wynn’s collection to the Hermitage to Elvis or Liberace.
12. Plants and gardens – our Desert at the Springs preserve offers a view of the SouthWest deserts, plants and animals, with guided tours and lectures and walking trails with little signs and all.
13. Hoover Dam – tours of the biggest pile of concrete anywhere.
14. Outdoor parks – Red Rock, Valley of Fire, the Wetlands Preserve, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon. Drive through them, walk around, or just sit and look.
15. Helicopter tours – to the Grand Canyon, Death Valley or just along the Strip.
16. Rent a scooter or golf cart and cruise the Strip slowly. They tried renting the Segway, but there are too many people on the sidewalks so the county would not permit it.
17. Conventions – there are always several in town, either find somebody to get you tickets or some have paid days, from the International Tea Convention to electronics to furniture to porn stars (sorry, ‘Adult Entertainment’).
18. Exercise – walk or bike the many trails, from the Red Rock loop to assorted desert trails.
19. Water stuff – water ski at the lake, white water rafting below the dam, jet skis, fish, or just float around.
20. Shopping – from Maseratti and Ferrari at the Wynn to rain falling from the ceiling at the Desert Passage to million dollar diamonds at Caesar’s or the Bellagio, Gucci, Jimmy Chu, Prada, to models at the Fashion Show Mall.
21. Spas - spend the day getting pampered and massaged and made over; quite a few of these at the bigger hotels.
22. Adult entertainment – Vegas has over twenty topless and a half dozen nude clubs (topless can serve liquor, nude can’t), some pretty fancy. There are still topless shows, a new one ‘Headlights and Taillights’ will feature cars and Playboy centerfolds showing off their ‘headlights’. For the girls there’s the Thunder from Down Under and a few others.
23. More adult entertainment – Clark County is the only place in Nevada where prostitution is illegal, but there are almost 200 pages in the phone book yellow pages listing ‘escort’ services (level services depending on tips of course). And every limo driver will be happy to take you on the one hour drive to Pahrump which has several legal brothels. For the women Heidi Fleiss is opening a brothel for the ladies. Don’t know how that will work, the level of involvement seems much different for male prostitutes.
24. Arcades – though the MGM theme park is gone, Circus Circus still has a floor for kids, and most big casinos have an arcade area. You can hit the one at the Sahara and sit in a real Nascar or Formula One racecar and ‘drive’.
25. Racing – yes, Nascar comes here. We have a really big racetrack just to the north, which surely has other events.
26. Participant racing – lots of go-cart tracks, even one indoors for those that don’t like driving outside.
27. Movies – most hotels have multiple screens. We usually hit the Orleans or the Palms or Texas Station, each of which have all stadium seating and a dozen screens.
28. Skiing – Mt. Charleston is visible from the Strip – a dozen inches of new snow there last week. Ski lifts and snowboarding for those of you that like cold.
29. Weddings – another Vegas tradition. It takes an hour to get a license, and you can be hitched by Elvis or a Borg or a tuxedoed minister. Or just go down to one of the many chapels and sit in the audience and watch. Didn’t plan on a wedding? Well, do a Brittany and get drunk, you can always get it annulled the next morning when you sober up.
30. Tattoos – lots of places here. Go to Hart and Huntington in the Palms and you might even have your skin on TV getting done up. Just be careful not to combine it with the drunken wedding, or you’ll have more to take care of the next morning than an annulment.
31. Driving - rent a Harley Davidson for a day or a week, go wild with a Ferrari for a day, or just take a limo for an hour, drive down the Strip and stand up in the sunroof for one of those classic movie scenes.
32. Karoke - (just for Beth & Dana) - lots of places for this, and in this town you don't always know who might stop in. Some of the leads from big groups have fun on their 'off' days.
33. Gambling – left for last, probably don’t even have to mention this one. From high roller poker to penny slots, to slot machines at the end of the walkway at the airport and in every supermarked and 7-11. My wife can make a twenty last for four hours, or lose it quickly on three cards.

OK, enough for now, have to get back to work. But let’s not forget what’s at home. Eli is walking now, with help:


She really likes wandering around the house holding on to this little car that converts to a walker.


Oh, do you like the bubbles? I looked for the stars but couldn't find them.