And
this was our first whole day in Las Vegas, heading to the Stratosphere and back,
four years ago, March 6, 2016:
So
today, Mike did not think he was up for a trip to the Hoover Dam and all the
walking we might have to do – so we went to the concierge of the Tropicana and
asked for some ideas. Of the suggestions he gave, we opted for a day pass on
the monorail which we picked up at the hotel across Tropicana Avenue – the MGM
– which has a huge picture of David Copperfield on the side of the building
along with other advertisements. We walked through the MGM lobby which is very
similar to the Tropicana lobby both of which remind me of the Dave and Busters
bars back home – only smokier because I guess cigarettes are allowed.
We kept walking, walking, walking, looking for the signs
for the monorail. Down escalators, through more lobbies, past shops selling
everything from diamonds to home grown bananas – the signs said to go past the
Brad Garrett Comedy Club – down more escalators. Finally, we got to the
monorail station and hopped aboard.
By this time, we must have gone on a few up
escalators, because we were up high, and the wind was whipping away – outside,
we were cold. On the train, however, we were comfortable and warm enough. I
took pictures with the phone because the camera and my postcard stamps were the
things I managed to forget to pack for the trip. Las Vegas itself is very flat,
and so there are mountains that can be seen far in the distance in every
direction. Beautiful yet a bit hazy. I took pictures of the different hotels we
passed and the Trump Tower. The monorail boasted that the end of the line was
the Stratosphere, Las Vegas' needle-like projection into the sky that you take
an elevator 100 stories up to eat and drink and take in the view from the top.
The monorail ends within sight of the Stratosphere,
but not exactly on its doorstep. We started walking. The wind was so cold. Rain
was spritzing and making us even colder. We crossed Paradise, and the Stratosphere
seemed to be one block over on our left – but there were seedy looking
buildings and fences between us and it – I was, to quote Mike, “beginning to
freak out” - I was cold and frustrated. We turned around and walked back to
Paradise. On the corner was a McDonalds – we had no desire to buy anything to
eat or drink since we had had a humongous breakfast at the hotel – but we
shamelessly went into McDonalds anyway and sat down until we had warmed up a
bit and I could think rationally again.
We walked in the other direction to get to the Stratosphere
– kind of like taking the hypotenuse from the monorail instead of taking the
side roads which had earlier seemed like the more sensible route. And before we
knew it, we were standing in a lobby similar to the Tropicana and MGM hotels.
The Stratosphere is a hotel. As we were crossing the street to get there, Mike
struck up a conversation with the woman who was waiting for the light with us.
Her name is Tina. She was getting off work early that day
because of the bad weather. She said she works in front of Paris at the Eiffel
Tower – apparently one of the biggest attractions in Vegas. Tina told us we
should not have gotten day passes for the monorail – there is a double decker
bus which is much cheaper, the fare is good for the whole day, you can get on
and off, on and off, and, best of all, it stops right in front of the
Stratosphere – she had just gotten off the bus when we met her. The job she has
is to talk folks into hearing a 30-minute time-share spiel. Apparently, Tina
stands outside like a circus barker to draw people in. She was in full
salesperson mode while chatting with us. “Do you want to go to a show? Cirque
du Soleil? The Love Beatles Cirque du Soleil? Did you check for
tickets online? Are they around $100?
Then they add tax and fee on top of that? Yeah, you come around and see
me – I'll get you in and out of the time-share talk real fast, and I can get
you good tickets to the Love Cirque du Soleil - $30 each! Just come and
see me tomorrow or whenever it fits your schedule. And don't be talking to
anyone else!!!”
We walked through another Dave and Busters’ type lobby, up
and down escalators, and finally arrived at the Stratosphere tower. Did we also
want to go on the rides? What rides? Well, at the top of this 100-story needle,
there is a drop – the highest sky jump in North America. Then there is a ride
called Insanity. And then
there's.....Mike said we just want the ticket that takes us to the top in an
elevator and delivers us to the bar that is there.
After the obligatory pose for pictures
in front of the green screen (pictures which we subsequently did not purchase),
and the long wait for the elevator, we did rise toward the top of the
Stratosphere. We were deposited not quite at the top – but rather at the
level with the glass and the signs pointing to places of interest. It was all
very beautiful until a man pointed to a projection hanging off the tower just
in front of us. Then the projection was retracted back out of our sight. Then
it returned again amid screams – it was the roller coaster ride at the top of
the Stratosphere! It apparently goes off the tower, stops, and retracts. Oh my
gosh! Totally not my kind of roller coaster ride! After we made one loop
around, Mike was heading to the bar which had a poster that said, “The higher
the bar, the better the buzz!” I saw a gift shop, so I told Mike I'd meet him
after checking out the postcards.
And what a disappointment the postcards were – none were of
the Stratosphere, but rather, they were all glitzy, with real glitter,
and showing off all that is cheesy about Las Vegas – what else was I really
expecting? I did not buy any.
There was a bloody Mary waiting for me at the bar where
Mike was drinking a Bud and chatting up the bartender who was originally from
Flushing, New York. They were both chatting with a woman from Montauk, which is
the extreme end of the South Fork of Long Island. She was staying at the
Stratosphere hotel and was in town for a photography convention. She is a
fashion photographer! But she said she was probably only going to the
convention on Tuesday – Monday she was booked for a tour of the Grand Canyon
and the Hoover Dam, and part of that included a helicopter ride. $250! But,
like she said, “Ya gotta live!” She and Mike and the Flushing bartender all
talked cameras for a little bit – I don't know the specifics of the Canon, but
Canons are what the fashion photographer has always had.
When the Montauk lady left, Mike asked me if I would know a
prostitute just from first appearances? (He had been approached by two
in our hotel when he went looking for coffee at around 4 in the morning Vegas
time, which was 7 AM Atlanta time!) I said I didn't really think so. So, Mike
gave me the quick course. “Tall, thin, almost anorexic, high heels, and a short
usually sparkly dress.”
As if on cue, around the corner and into the bar near the
top of the Stratosphere came a man who looked to be in his thirties, neither
pompous/haughty looking nor mousey/shy, with a woman on his arm who was very
thin, wearing spiked yellow heels, a short tight black dress that had almost
no-back – the dress made a vee shape on her back with the pointy part dipping
to just about the crack in her butt. The woman had bleached blonde hair and
bright red lipstick. Except for the lipstick, her face looked very young – I
don't think the bartender would have served her if he thought she was under 21,
but I would not have been surprised if she was that age or younger. The man
ordered drinks. Neither of them were being flashy or seemed aware of what we
thought was obvious about them. I don't think either of them had ever been
there before. The woman asked where the stairs led to, and that's when we found
out we could go even higher in the Stratosphere – to the outdoor area where you
can get on the rides!
After our drinks, we took the stairs – we knew it would be
windy out there, but oh my gosh! Super windy! And the rides! There was a ride where
you are strapped into a bucket-like suspended seat, similar to what you see at
an amusement park – there are maybe six bucket seats in a circular array. One
boy was strapped in to one seat – he was going on the ride all by himself. We
were talking to his Mom who was taking a video. He smiled and looked down. “No
fear!” his Mom told us. I couldn't watch. The ride began – the six seats were suspended
out beyond the edge of the tower – and it spun gingerly while the young
man looked down gingerly. No fear.
The only ride Mike and I were interested in after that, of
course, was the ride down in the elevator. Soon we were meandering around the
lobby once again of the Stratosphere hotel, and out into the street. The sun
was shining, and the wind was not so bad down there. It was almost pleasant
walking down the street to the monorail. We stopped in the giant Walgreens
along the way – I checked for postcards. Walgreens had the same glitzy Vegas
cards as the Stratosphere had, except they were only 50 cents each instead of
75 cents – and I bought a couple of them.
Riding the other side of the monorail
back down the strip did not yield that many more photo ops – but it was still
enjoyable. Even better was to get back to our room where we were finally able
to get warm do the bone once more.
20200307 31 20160306 The
Higher the Buzz
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