Paula and I are spending a few days in Downtown, Las Vegas. We came to Las Vegas to attend an Affiliate Summit and after spending some time at the Rio and the Gold Coast Hotel, we thought we would take a look at the Downtown area and in particular the Fremont St light show. Today we thought we might head off to the do a bit of retail therapy at the Downtown Factory Outlets.
Daylight saving began today so we ended up having brunch rather than breakfast. If you are looking for an inexpensive place to eat where the food is plentiful and really tasty, then you can’t go past the Lucky 7’s restaurant at the Plaza Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. Meals cost $7.77 (before tax) so it ends up costing us $16.74 for two, a great deal really.
After brunch we headed back to the Golden Nugget hotel and decided to play the slots and lost of course. We have been having a lucky run so I guess it was inevitable that our luck would run out eventually. The weather is quite warm so we walked down Fremont Street for a while and then headed to the bus stop to catch the shuttle to the factory outlets.
We waited for one hour and ten minutes for a shuttle that never arrived although the sign says it runs every 30 minutes 7 days a week. However, the time wasn’t wasted as we whiled away the time chatting to the locals as they came and went. I amused myself as always taking photos of things that strike me as being odd such as this sign.
Our first encounter was with a Polish lady who stopped to admire our ARA sandals and enquire as to where we got them. We told her that we had bought them in Australia and told her how comfortable they are when you are doing lots of walking. She went on to inform us on how most of the casinos and hotels are owned by Chinese and that they also now own the Bank of America. She also talked about how drug dealers are targeting elementary schools and giving drug laced candy to young children. A sad reflection of the times.
In 1974 she had the choice to go to Australia or come to the US. She chose the US and said she wished she had chosen Australia. She earns minimum wage and has no hope of leaving the States for a holiday or to return to Poland. She seemed really happy to have someone to chat to for a while and she was very informed about a number of different topics including currency.
After she moved on we talked to a lady in a wheelchair who wasn’t sure what day it was but she sure hoped it was Sunday ’cause she was going to church.
Next to arrive was an elderly man who was bent over. Paula gave him her seat and another chap who had arrived earlier, but up to this point, hadn’t joined in conversation, also stood up. It turned out the he had previously met the elderly gentleman, and age and bus catching became animated topics.
It turned out that the elderly gent was 82 years old and he kept saying how he couldn’t believe how he had reached this age. He kept repeating “Live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse”. He suffered with a bad back as did the other younger guy who was 46. Lower back pain is associated with money worries, according to Louise Hayes, and they did look and sound as if this were the case. Apart from their ailments they discussed the prescription drugs their doctors prescribed and the varying side affects the drugs had on them.
We have found that when drugs are advertised on TV in the US, they have to disclose any possible side effects. These are more often than not worse than the condition. One that we found particularly bizarre is a drug that has possible death as a side effect of a condition that isn’t life threatening. I certainly would rather put up with the runny nose than take a drug that has a possible side effect of death.
After spending an interesting hour plus, people watching, we decided to go back to our hotel and do some work. We will give the factory outlets another go tomorrow. A cup of tea would go down a treat but there is no coffee maker in the room and to get a pot of tea with taxes , room delivery charges and tips would cost around $17.00.
Fortunately there is a Starbucks in the lobby which is a cheaper option.
Comments
As I am in the process of recreating this blog, since it was hacked. I have included any comments made previously as they appear in the archives.
1 Comment(s)
By dean t on Mar 10, 2008 | Reply
Thank you fellows for posting such a kind and wonderful blog. How was the weather we are having lots of rain and our roof needs work but the rain keeps work from starting. And real nice to hear about Vegas, fantastic place great night lights.
Keep the great blogs going and win big on the
next slot machine. Best of luck and the good
things in life. Sounds like you are finding them.
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