We’re Back…
If there had been a prize for the person who guessed where we went on our get-away then reader Nic would have won. Yes, we went to Las Vegas.
Here is my first comment about the trip – Las Vegas is a total gong show, as I’m sure many of you know.
The people watching was a treat (you could fill a book with anecdotes about the weird and the bizarre), the architecture was amazing, and the rides were breath-takingly-scary. First we dangled ourselves off the edge at 866 ft up in the air, and then we catapulted up to 1149 ft on a ride called the Big Shot at the top of the Stratosphere building. I thought hubby was going to have to change his shorts.
Me? I screamed like a little girl.
The thing about Vegas is that people go there to gamble. We’re not gamblers, as can be seen by the cashout voucher on one of our only foray’s into the casinos:
Vegas was quite the experience, but by day three I was more than ready to head home. Now that we’re home it’s the day before I head back to work and I’m exhausted. Time for a good night’s sleep in my own bed so I can get up and get my head in the game (more on getting your ‘head in the game’ in a future post).
One thing I did notice was the number of police units with the Nevada Taxicab Authority. I’m still not sure if they were a police agency unto their own as I cannot find a website, but the officers were armed and drove marked Crown Victoria police cars.
Too bad they weren’t around when we encountered the one cab driver who was of the sort to give all cab drivers a bad name when he tried to scam us…
‘Tried’ is the operative word in the above sentence. 
2. February 2010 at 9:07 pm :
“Tried’ is the operative word in the above sentence” Good for you Sandra! I am sure that he didn’t know who, or what, he was up against!
Cheers.
3. February 2010 at 3:00 am :
Here’s the link for the Nevada Taxicab Authority, enforcement investigators: http://taxi.state.nv.us/ComplianceEnforcementInvestigators.htm
Here’s a photo of their uniforms: http://taxi.state.nv.us/photos.htm
3. February 2010 at 3:03 am :
Oh and all the way at the bottom are their patrol vehicles: http://taxi.state.nv.us/TaxicabPhotos.htm
I’ve never seen them there and I’ve been to vegas about a dozen times.
3. February 2010 at 3:58 am :
I’m not a gambler either. My girlfriend and I went to Vegas for a hair show a couple of years ago. The first thing we did was take a nap. Who naps in Vegas? But we had worked all day and the flight wore us out. The people watching doesn’t let you down there, that’s for sure. We did gamble…once. We each put a dollar into a nickel slot machine. When we ran out, that was it. Two dollars. That’s it. And it wasn’t even ours. Another girl at work gave the money to us. So, no, I’m not a gambler. I guess I would go back someday but I don’t feel an urgency to do so…
Glad you had fun. This is the time of year that really feels good to get away.
3. February 2010 at 6:14 am :
Funny picture and welcome back.
3. February 2010 at 6:30 am :
I hate Vegas, BUT… we are returning next year for one thing. Just one. JUBILEE!!!!! It is the only Vegas show left that is full of bare-br**sted showgirls. And not that I have a thing for br**sts, but the costumes, the scenery, the glitz and glam are AMAZING. Breathtaking. Stupendous. And it’s the only one left. All the others are just a venue for scantily clad women to writhe around on stage.
So if you didn’t see it, go again just for that.
Sorry about the idiots. There’s one in every crowd.
3. February 2010 at 11:48 am :
Dear Sandra,
You deserved some giggles and screams for fun! So glad you had a brief escape. Looks like you got your two cent’s worth! That is a priceless voucher.
I would go to see an old-time floor show (meadowlark, you dog you) or take pictures of the neon that everyone takes pictures of. . . for poker? no. I am only a half-step above mark in that category. I only know when to fold.
Ann T.
3. February 2010 at 1:56 pm :
I am glad you had a good time in Las Vegas, and I hope you come back soon. I grew up in the Northwest, so I know it is nice to get out from under those clouds from time to time.
The Nevada Taxicab Authority is a Nevada State Agency with the same enforcement power as the Nevada Highway Patrol. The phone number to call them 24 hours a day is posted on the Permit for the cab driver on the passenger side of the front of the front seat of the cab.
Las Vegas Taxi Driver
3. February 2010 at 2:19 pm :
Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever won anything. Not even a pseudo-win (ah that good old big little word “IF”).
Ain’t Vegas great! The epitome of ‘I love to hate you’. I loathe Vegas. Yet I have been 3 or 4 times. My last visit was July 2008. I got off nightshift and jumped on a plane Sin City bound for my 4 days off. My hotel room had mirrors on the ceiling!?!? I woke up the following morning and almost crapped my pants before realizing I was looking at myself.
I don’t gamble either but there’s nowhere else on this planet that I have so far visited where the ‘people watching’ is quite the sport. Where every day rules of behaviour slide just like a Burlesque dancer’s feather boa. Where fate is decided by a spin of a wheel. Where everyone is pretending to be something they’re not: The married man pretending he ain’t married. The bored lonely housewife pretending she ain’t bored, lonely or a housewife. The 16 yr old punk pretending they’re 21…. You get the picture.
Sleep? Forget about it! When not people watching I would walk the Strip and then sit & watch the Fountains of Bellagio (hey it’s free and I’m a skinflint Brit). One worthwhile thing I did do on my last visit was take in Cirque’s “O”. Amazing! Well worth the ticket.
Vegas! Where everyone lives like the King.
4. February 2010 at 11:21 am :
I think I have that exact same ticket from last year. Except it was from MGM.
6. February 2010 at 10:01 am :
I love Vegas! It’s an amazing city with so much to do. I found the Big Shot scarier than sky diving. It’s quite a thrill.
To hijack your comments a minute, I’m shutting down my blog to comply with new department policy. I’m starting a new one and need you to please update your link. http://ten80.blogspot.com/ Thanks!
6. February 2010 at 4:56 pm :
LVTD – you must see some pretty wild stuff, eh?
RC – your link has been ammended…sorry to hear about the new policy at your department.