Leaving Las Vegas

My husband and I had a long weekend in Las Vegas. We arrived on Friday and returned home on Monday evening. That was about three days too long. We went for a special gathering with some of my high school classmates and I was very excited about reuniting with them and reliving our glory days. Vegas is a destination we have long enjoyed for its never-ending bacchanalian party, the constant stream of “interesting” people to watch, and the cheap drinks and food. One of us has changed – either I have become more discerning or Vegas has undergone a major transformation.

As Robert Earl Keen so brilliantly states, “The road goes on forever and the party never ends.” But, I’d like my road to be a tad bit shorter and for the party to stop at a reasonable hour. I cannot believe I am about to admit this, but - I can only take so much hell raising and then I would like to go rest for a while. My feet hurt, I needed to remove my contact lenses due to all of the second hand smoke, and I was just plain t-i-r-e-d. I tried, I really did try, but I just couldn’t stay up until the wee hours of the morning drinking and gambling and hanging with my friends. If memory serves, I don’t think they were up for the late nights either. At one point my husband looked at me, asked if I was having fun. I couldn’t lie – I said, “No,” and we called it a day.

Oh, my God – the crowds. I thought America was experiencing a recession, but someone forgot to tell the zillions of people crowding the streets and casinos of Las Vegas. And the noise, there was nowhere I could go to escape the constant drone of humanity mixed with machinery. From the United Nations mix of languages on every street corner and in my hotel corridor to the ding-ding-ding of the slot machines there was no escaping the sounds. Even in the confines of my over-priced hotel room I could hear the conversations of every guest and every hotel worker who passed my door. I craved silence. On more than one occasion I asked myself why I hadn’t spent this vacation money on a trip to a secluded beach.

And spend money we did. There is no such thing as a “cheap” meal in Las Vegas anymore. We used to enjoy some nice dinners for reasonable prices while visiting the casinos – but no more. Now every restaurant boasts a big name, celebrity chef which apparently means they have the right to charge $57 for a plate of butternut squash ravioli. Let’s not forget the alcohol – I certainly didn’t. I did however, end up paying $12 to $17 for a glass of mediocre red wine. The same mediocre red wine I can buy for less than $12 a bottle at the grocery store. The cutesy little cocktail waitresses on the casino floor brought me several glasses of wine for only a meager tip, but once I sipped it I was afraid I would wake up blind the next morning and so I opted to continue on with the overpriced mediocre red. (Note to self: If I ever open a winery I should call my wines Mediocre Red, and Mediocre White.)

All-in-all I was not sad to leave Las Vegas. The highlight of the trip was seeing old friends and reminiscing about our high school days. Thanks guys for making the trip worthwhile. As far as I’m concerned what happens in Vegas can certainly stay in Vegas – I sure don’t want to take it home with me.