Fresh from Las Vegas

Elvis is alive…I swear…I saw him 3 times.

Dateline: Las Vegas

From: Thug

My son, and 5 friends, fresh off a one year deployment in Afghanistan, decided to spend a long weekend in LV. He invited me…quite an honor…to join them for a few dinners and a show.

I flew most of the day from upstate NY to LV. The flights were easy and on time. From Dulles to LV, I sat next to a solider stationed at Nellis AFB near LV. She was involved in the Predator Drone program. Bought her lunch..it was the least I could do for a soldier.

When we landed, McCarren airport was mobbed. It was a very long wait for luggage. They have a new system for rental cars which took way too long. Unless you are planning on doing a lot of driving, cabs are the way to go.

We are staying at the Wynn on the Strip. Unless you need to stay on the Strip, stay elsewhere. It’s first class..but the only thing that’s reasonably priced is air…unless, of course, you stop by an oxygen bar for a fillup.

I walked about 25 minutes south to the Harley Davidson Café. The woman who cuts my hair (question…why doesn’t the price go down when there’s less and less to cut???) recommended it, so I went there for dinner. Had very quick service and some very good chili and chips. They also had Newcastle Ale on tap..my favorite..so it was a great place to eat.

There are a number of bikes there, including the obligatory Peter Fonda copy bike from “Easy Rider” (don’t sit on it without permission of the photog). There’s a bike you can sit on if you are getting married and a lot of photos of celebs on Harleys (I think the closest Aretha Franklin has ever got to a Harley is the trophy tank held in front of her for the photo). There was one of Hulk Hogan (clearly before he “understood what O.J. did”) on a bike with a flame job. I know Dave did a bike for Hulk, but didn’t know if was the same one.

Walking on the Strip is a trip…including the gauntlet you have to walk through of shills snapping cards hawking “Girls to you in 20 minutes”. The trick is to wear sunglasses and not turn your head and they won’t bother you.

On my way back to the Wynn, I stopped in their Rolex store. Currently, I wear my son Mickey’s field watch (Casio) while he’s deployed to Iraq, so the people behind the counter quickly dismissed me as Rolex wannabe. Nice to look, tho…