Doing Las Vegas!

 We drove across country in 1959 - the 4 Lipshers of Brooklyn (and Rusty, our dog) were on our way to becoming Californians.  We went through Las Vegas on our way.  Neither my brother nor I were allowed in the casinos - we had to wait outside as we were clearly underage - I turned 17 a month before we arrived in Las Vegas. There was not much to Las Vegas at that time:  the metropolitan area population in 1959 was 83,000.

Five years makes a hell of a difference:  I was 22 and in graduate school, going from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas by car and staying with my mother's cousin's family - Cousin Phil Goldman was Captain of the Copa Room - he ran the nightclub at the Sands Hotel - and I took advantage of this connection and saw Frank Sinatra at the Sands 2 or 3 times.........that was truly memorable!

It's Thanksgiving morning, 2025 as I write this,  Nineteen years ago I met my brother in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving for a couple of days - I really do not remember much of that trip other than that I was there in 2006. The metropolitan area population of Las Vegas in 2006:  555,000.

On Sunday morning, 23 November, I took a 10am Greyhound bus from Union Station in Los Angles to Las Vegas.  TianTian was waiting for me at where I was supposed to get off the bus but I made the mistake of not getting off, thinking that there was still another terminal stop for me in Las Vegas.....and as a result of a stupid error, I lost over an hour (and an expensive Uber ride from Henderson, Nevada) but got to where we met to start a mini-vacation that was definitely memorable!!!  The metropolitan Las Vegas area population today is 3,500,000.

The Strip - where the entertainment, food, hotels, et al are located is where the visitors go.  The visitors are serviced by a vast resident population.   Bring in the tourists and everyone survives (while some, obviously, prosper - definitely not the vast majority who live, literally and figuratively, from hand to mouth).  Vegas was packed during our trip and our hotel rooms at the Aria were a bargain.....but then, there was neither room service nor daily room cleaning while there - ICE has limited the availability of immigrants to service the hotels..........

The day before we arrived, the Las Vegas F-1 Grand Prix took place.  Preparations for this and then taking everything that was set up down meant that traffic along the strip for two weeks before and two weeks after was insufferable:  we went all of about 50 feet in a half hour Sunday night....Sunday and Monday were traffic hell.  On Tuesday, 25 November, I scheduled a day without Uber, Lyft or Taxis (which were cheaper and far more reliable than Uber or Lyft) - we walked the entire day.....I did over 20,000 steps that day.

On Monday afternoon, we went to the Spere and saw The Wizard of Oz - the original movie enhanced for an entertainment experience.  There is only one Sphere.  Obviously, there will be more in the future.  But all I can truly say is that I do not know the words that can adequately describe what I experienced..........it is something that really cannot be understood unless experienced.  Would I go see Wizard of Oz at the Spere again?  Yes!

We had three evening dining adventures:

On Sunday night we went to The X Pot, hot-pot fusion cooking.  We had the live seafood and wagyu tasting menu.  

On Monday night we had the tasting menu at Jose Andres Bazaar Meats.

On Tuesday night we went to Scarpetta's in the Cosmopolitan Hotel - less expensive than the other two but the one we would go back to because their rack of lamb was outstanding!!!!!

..........and after my early morning bath on Wednesday (took baths Monday and Tuesday mornings, too!), I went to MaDonalds for breakfast prior to my Greyhound bus home........the secret to making a Greyhound ride tolerable:  'buy' the seat next to me for an additional $40, thereby giving me plenty of room for a 5-1/2 hour ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!