Two weeks!

Hi all,

Two weeks till my next trip to Vegas. I'm jumping outta my skin. I have dreams about my trip - driving the Strip, gambling at various places, seeing the sites, etc. It can't come soon enough... I need my Sin City fix! It's been a year since I've been there, and it's really hard to go that long without seeing the city. To compensate, I do plenty of writing about it, but it's not the same. I need to be there and hear those slot noises in the casinos, see those lights and the fountains at Bellagio, sniff the lobby at MGM Grand (it's got a specific scent... kinda like coconut). Yes, I miss all that.

I miss the early morning, when many gamblers are asleep, and I get up and drive down the uncrowded Strip, park in a garage with day-old beer lingering in a few cans and bottles near the entrance to the casino, and just take it all in. I like to take pictures in the morning, when most of Vegas is not awake, not quite ready for the day's activities. It's like an old car in the winter - it takes a little while for it to warm up. Vegas in the morning is really different than Vegas in the mid-to-late afternoon, and much, much different than the pace of Vegas when the sun goes down. It's much more deliberate.

So, I encourage you to wake up early at least one day the next time you are in Vegas. Look out over the mountains from your hotel room and see how the sun hits them. Enjoy the shade on the Strip before the blazing sun bakes everything in its path. Get the first cup of joe from a coffee shop before it sits on the burner for so long that it tastes like motor oil. Then, get some more rest so you'll be ready for another full day of fun.

Two weeks... yep, I can't wait!
Viva,
Mike

Next time: more stories from Andrew Yoelin's 50 Years of Vegas Memories