Vegas over Easy

Feb 16

CCM


Jack is a mad man, under his diplomatic sheen, he is a ball buster.
We check into our Circus Circus room and we smell smoke right off. Jack is on the phone with vengeance, he knows he is just about to have fun,
“Hello, yes we wanted a non smoking room, this one smells like smoke” (this said with an “ I am about to explode” tone to it.)
At this point I was so tired that I was in mid tumble onto the bed.
We get moved that very moment to the room next door. Jack charges out to the stairwell in search of a security person to let us in, he jigs one in and verbally drags him to our room.

Once I got back from my second outing at Circus Circus, having realized that this was the same Hotel that Hunter S (RIP) was staying in when he went Fear and Loathing, I had to look around. I was now wired, over tired and had to work it off with buzzing noise, flashing lights big crowds and stale air. The casino was low rent family entertainment, some sort of twisted Disney alternative. Since kids can not gamble the Circus Circus folks just set up a a whole slew of sanitized Carney stands: toss a ball at the stuffed cat, squirt water and race the horses, darts, basket ball toss.. everything you remember wanting to do in a cotton candy haze as a child was there for a price—gambeling for kids, perfect training. And in the middle of it all- an actual Circus big top with free performances from 11am to Midnight. The patrons, mostly over 60. The acts were 4th rate and there was some fun in watching that go down.

Circus Circus is less than $100 a night and you are on the Vegas strip- thrill #1
Thrill #2- its called Circus Circus and you do not notice that there are probably 2000 rooms in the place until the sparkle of the big top entrance begins to fade.
So in tune with low rent family vacations are Circus Circus that they actually have an RV lot too- right on the Vegas strip, it is crazy. The giant parking lot with hook-ups sat not too far from our out of the way quarters. As I walked away from our compound I passed a mid 50s couple, the woman was cranking it up to the man,

“ I really thought we would be staying in the main Hotel building, this is not what I was expecting”

The man, a safe 7 feet ahead of her, said nothing.


Since Vegas at Night did not happen but Jack and my schedual included rising at 7 am most mornings we decided to take on what Vegas we could at breakfast hour and beyond.

First stop—PARIS. A casino based on all things Paris (I wonder how they did during the freedom Fries fiasco). The place was huge with their massive vaulted ceilings all painted with a Rococo blue sky and clouds motif. There was no way of ever knowing time of day or even day or night.

Little promenades decorated like Paris streets, lined with restaurants, shops and souvenirs fed in and out of the casino proper. The Producers was being performed nightly in their theatre, staring David Hasselhoff—somehow it made sense.

The highlight of the morning was not the Crepe but a trip to Bellagio, an Italian themed casino on the other side of the street that had an art gallery featuring the work of Ansel Adams. As he is one of the most well known photographers around and I did a photo degree at University I was a bit Poo poo about the oportunity, seen it done it, kinda attitude. Silly me. Jack pressed hard and we tossed in out $15(that was the other deterent) a piece. What can I say, fantastic, and after having just been down the Grand Canyon the show offered up perfect sense and a machine gun fire of inspiration. What did I learn, easy? : know your stuff so that when you really need it you are ready to take full advantage of the opportunity even if it is by the seat of your pants. Jack and I walked out with smiles all'round.

What happend next, Jack can be the only one to relay.