Ever travel to a place that was never on your bucket list? Maybe someone suggested you go with them and your first thought as a rational human being was, “Nah”. But, your second thought as a person who suffers from wanderlust is, “Vegas baby!”
Las Vegas, Nevada was such a place for me. I’d heard so many negative things about prostitution and drinking and all the debauchery that goes on there that, as a Christian, I never had a desire to visit. (I even told a former pastor a few days before this opportunity came up that Vegas was one place I never wanted to go.)
Well, visit I did. In my middle years, I’m discovering that there’s pretty much something redemptive about every place I go. Whether due to the destination itself or the people I meet there, I’ve never been anywhere that I wouldn’t return. I don’t know if that speaks to my addiction to travel or my love for people and new experiences.
I came by my wanderlust honestly. My maternal grandmother, Catherine Claryce Wra
High Roller Observation Wheel which provides a 30-minute rotation with a menu of amenities in each car.
y Petty, was a frequent traveler in her widowhood. She took my brother, my sister or me on alternate trips when we were old enough to “behave“ ourselves. My favorite trip with her was to my only girl cousin’s wedding in Illinois — I will never forget it.
One reason I became a travel/lifestyle blogger is to facilitate and celebrate the experience of new destinations, new people, new ideas and different cultures which, of course, includes the cuisine. I’m fairly open to eating most anything within reason. If I don’t like it, I’ll never eat it again. If I do, I will try to make it myself or find it in my hometown.
Back to Vegas: After checking into Tuscany Suites and Casino three blocks off The Strip, Keith and me walked through the glitz and glam that is most people’s impression of Las Vegas. The overblown, surreal facades of the high profile hotels and casinos drew me north on Las Vegas Boulevard from one walk-through casino to the next. I saw things I’d only seen on TV. The Canal Shops at the Venetian with gondolas cruising the canal right down the middle was unique and unlike anything I’d seen before.
It wasn’t until we crossed the street over one of the multiple elevated bridges, that we witnessed something that took the shine off the wonder. In front of the Mirage Casino and Hotel, we watched a man take a cup out of an overflowing trashcan and filled it up with other partial cupfuls and walked off drinking the concoction. This was one of the most jarring and sad things I’d seen in a long time. We headed straight back to our off-strip hotel for a rest for our senses. A quiet and excellent dinner at our hotel’s Tuscany Garden Ristorante was just the remedy we needed.
After the next two days of exploring the “new” Vegas strip, I determined to do something educational. As a travel blogger, I want to learn about the places I visit. I knew nothing about Vegas’ origins and decided to learn. I booked a historic downtown tour of Fremont Street and, lucky me, I was the only one on the tour. I guess mornings are tough for the majority of Las Vegas tourists. My guide was Kelly and he was extremely knowledgeable and had a talent for keeping things fun as he dispensed his repertoire of Vegas’ fact and lore.
Did you know Las Vegas began as a railroad stop? Most people know about the prevalence of Mob activity in Vegas and there is a Mob Museum in historic downtown with a speak easy and whiskey distillery below. For those who have not visited downtown Vegas in a few years, you would be amazed at the revitalization that is going on there due to the investment of the owner of Zappos. Also, if you dare, you could dine at the Heart Attack Cafe where anyone over 360 lbs. eats free, diners wear hospital gowns, milkshakes have an entire stick of butter blended in and if you don’t clean your plate, you get bent over a metal contraption and whipped with a paddle — Kelly says you can hear the whacks from outside the establishment.
Would I go back to Las Vegas? In a heart beat. I still need to visit the Mob Museum, finish my casino/hotel tours, take a bus trip to Hoover Dam, ride the High Roller Observation Wheel and head out to Red Rocks. Can’t wait!
