bigmacbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bigmacbear) wrote2018-03-03 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2018-03-03 11:59 pm
Vegas Trip Day 2
Saturday morning we were up and out of the room by ten. Our first stop was the Monorail station, where we caught the train one stop north to Bally's/Paris station. We took a long walk through both casinos to exit from Paris onto Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip), then crossed the street to Bell'Agio for brunch buffet. Lots of cute bears and cubs in line. We were seated in the back of the dining room next to a long table of twentysomethings obviously here for an event. The food was delicious: shrimp cocktail, fruit, blintzes, bacon, sausages, and a crab, spinach, mushroom and tomato omelet, topped off with ice cream and a square of chocolate mousse.
After brunch we returned to the Monorail station by way of an overhead walkway to the Strip. At the end of the walkway we passed a couple of showgirls from one of the nearby properties, and across the street were a pair of GI Joes from another show. Returning to Bally's by way of Paris, we stopped to rest and play slots for the only time this trip, blowing $15. Gary got the good machine on the aisle: while it didn't pay off much, the minimum bet was lower so he got to play longer on his $5 than I did on my $10.
We caught the Monorail to the north end, walking through the SLS hotel casino back to the Strip and then north to the Stratosphere Tower. On the elevator up we spotted a red bear with a fireplug build accompanied by wife and small daughter. We spent about two hours up on the tower, taking in the view, enjoying milkshakes while a group of young cubby Hispanic dudes posed dangerously for a photo, with one or two leaning on the structural beams between the windows (there are signs warning people not to lean on the glass). Gary thought the young black dude operating the elevator down, tall with a scruffy beard, was definitely One Of Us.
We returned to the Monorail station the way we had come, riding all the way to the south end at our hotel. At the final stop Gary assisted a mother leaving the train with a child in a stroller that had gotten tangled up in the seat.
We arrived at the room around five and proceeded to take an unexpected but much needed disco nap. We left the room around eight and grabbed sandwiches for dinner at the Sports Deli next to the vast Sports Book section of the casino, where people watch sporting events from horse and dog races to professional baseball, basketball and hockey. There was even a board for today's NASCAR race, which emphasized "all bets are on drivers, not cars." As we were eating dinner, a rather cute cub in a suit came over from the Sports Book and sat with friends at the table behind Gary, who overheard most of the conversation and later pronounced it "vapid".
After dinner I was still thirsty and wanted Gary to join me for a drink at one of the nearby bars in the West Wing, but he was upset with the noise and the crowd and wanted peace and quiet. So instead we returned to the Monorail station and bought a bottle of water from the vending machine, then rode north with no particular destination in mind.
When we reached the Flamingo/Caesar's Palace station, we decided to exit there for the High Roller observation wheel, but there wasn't any signage directing us from the station to the wheel, so we turned around, boarded the Monorail north to the end and stayed on as it reversed direction. It turned out that the High Roller was better reached from the Harrah's/LINQ station so we exited there and followed the signs to the promenade between the LINQ and the Flamingo, and found the High Roller at the end of the promenade. There weren't a whole lot of people boarding so we got a pod to ourselves. The ride was very pleasant although we could have done without the soundtrack.
After descending from the wheelhouse, we returned to the promenade and as I was taking a picture, a rather attractive bald bear almost collided with Gary trying to mimic his walk, much to the amusement of his multiple female companions. He asked us where we're from and told us he's from Oregon. No harm, no foul, and we all got a good laugh out of it. We cut through O'Sheas bar as a shortcut back to the Monorail station; it was loud and full of pretty people, so we moved quickly. On the platform I picked up a Diet Pepsi from the vending machine and we took the next train back to the hotel. We stayed up another hour or so drinking the rest of the water and Diet Pepsi and winding down from the day, finally getting to sleep around 12:30.
After brunch we returned to the Monorail station by way of an overhead walkway to the Strip. At the end of the walkway we passed a couple of showgirls from one of the nearby properties, and across the street were a pair of GI Joes from another show. Returning to Bally's by way of Paris, we stopped to rest and play slots for the only time this trip, blowing $15. Gary got the good machine on the aisle: while it didn't pay off much, the minimum bet was lower so he got to play longer on his $5 than I did on my $10.
We caught the Monorail to the north end, walking through the SLS hotel casino back to the Strip and then north to the Stratosphere Tower. On the elevator up we spotted a red bear with a fireplug build accompanied by wife and small daughter. We spent about two hours up on the tower, taking in the view, enjoying milkshakes while a group of young cubby Hispanic dudes posed dangerously for a photo, with one or two leaning on the structural beams between the windows (there are signs warning people not to lean on the glass). Gary thought the young black dude operating the elevator down, tall with a scruffy beard, was definitely One Of Us.
We returned to the Monorail station the way we had come, riding all the way to the south end at our hotel. At the final stop Gary assisted a mother leaving the train with a child in a stroller that had gotten tangled up in the seat.
We arrived at the room around five and proceeded to take an unexpected but much needed disco nap. We left the room around eight and grabbed sandwiches for dinner at the Sports Deli next to the vast Sports Book section of the casino, where people watch sporting events from horse and dog races to professional baseball, basketball and hockey. There was even a board for today's NASCAR race, which emphasized "all bets are on drivers, not cars." As we were eating dinner, a rather cute cub in a suit came over from the Sports Book and sat with friends at the table behind Gary, who overheard most of the conversation and later pronounced it "vapid".
After dinner I was still thirsty and wanted Gary to join me for a drink at one of the nearby bars in the West Wing, but he was upset with the noise and the crowd and wanted peace and quiet. So instead we returned to the Monorail station and bought a bottle of water from the vending machine, then rode north with no particular destination in mind.
When we reached the Flamingo/Caesar's Palace station, we decided to exit there for the High Roller observation wheel, but there wasn't any signage directing us from the station to the wheel, so we turned around, boarded the Monorail north to the end and stayed on as it reversed direction. It turned out that the High Roller was better reached from the Harrah's/LINQ station so we exited there and followed the signs to the promenade between the LINQ and the Flamingo, and found the High Roller at the end of the promenade. There weren't a whole lot of people boarding so we got a pod to ourselves. The ride was very pleasant although we could have done without the soundtrack.
After descending from the wheelhouse, we returned to the promenade and as I was taking a picture, a rather attractive bald bear almost collided with Gary trying to mimic his walk, much to the amusement of his multiple female companions. He asked us where we're from and told us he's from Oregon. No harm, no foul, and we all got a good laugh out of it. We cut through O'Sheas bar as a shortcut back to the Monorail station; it was loud and full of pretty people, so we moved quickly. On the platform I picked up a Diet Pepsi from the vending machine and we took the next train back to the hotel. We stayed up another hour or so drinking the rest of the water and Diet Pepsi and winding down from the day, finally getting to sleep around 12:30.