Vegas! Vegas!

This was my first trip to Vegas and I had a blast! I actually stayed at a hotel on The Strip, right in the midst of all the action. Now I will admit because I was there during the Covid19 pandemic, Vegas wasn’t jumping like it normally does. Truth be told, I didn’t miss the uncontrollable crowds but big star bill boards still flashed brightly even though most shows were closed. I actually walked up and down the strip for hours and got to see a lot of the Boardwalk I’ve only seen in movies. The margaritas on tap were huge and the show girls were out in all of their flashy feathers and colorful sexy costumes. The Fountains of Bellagio were beautiful with water and lights that danced to a hot musical beat.

Of course, there was still enough street entertainment to have a great time, especially on the Freemont Experience strip. I got to see some of the original hotel casinos and the outdoor entertainment was dope. There were street rappers, amazing painters, strong and sexy marines doing photo ops, and Zip line bravados under a jumbo tech house music digital sky, to name a few. I didn’t have much luck on the slot machines personally, I tend to keep to a small limit, but make no mistake all the casino action you wanted was open 24/7! Having to make reservations to eat anywhere, even at Denny’s for breakfast, was a true sign of pandemic life.

Naturally, I wore my mask everywhere outside of my hotel room, washed my hands a thousand times throughout the day and social distanced literally everywhere in any line.  I will admit, though that since I hadn’t flown in over 20 years, I was not totally prepared for all the changes in security measures. Also, in order to fly you have to take a Covid19 test with negative results 3 days before you plan to fly out. Depending on the airline you’re taking for your trip, you may be randomly asked for proof of negative test results before you can board the plane.

When flying out of an international airport, such as O’Hare, I had to go through a body scanner, take my shoes off, receive a full body pat-down and the usual emptying of my pockets and placing my purse and jacket in a basket to be scanned.  On the other hand, on the return home at the Vegas national airport, I only had to go through metal detectors and place my belongings in a basket to be scanned by actual security personnel. Overall, my airport experience wasn’t nearly as long and arduous as I thought it might be. Believe it or not, despite all of the pre/post Covid19 tests, sanitation precautions and social distancing measures, I’m ready to go on my next adventure.  I can’t wait to go back to Vegas, perhaps post pandemic, so I can really party like a rock star.