Vegas Weekend

No, we didn't stay here, but isn't the neon cool?

Wow! Talk about sensory overload! Las Vegas is the City of Excess. Of course, I've been there numerous times, but the overindulgences really impressed me this trip. The hotels are huge, the crowds are ginornous, the neon and lights are spectacular, the traffic is worse than L.A.'s!

On Thursday, we drove to Primm, Nevada (formerly known as Stateline). In recent years two more resorts have sprung up in addition to the Western-themed Whiskey Pete's. At one time, Whiskey Pete's, as it's name conjurs up, had a western theme. It still has a western theme, but they added castle-topped architecture to the structure. So, is it a castle or is it a ranch house? Confusing. The other two resorts are Buffalo Bill's (definitely western) and the Primm Valley Resort. We stayed at the PV Resort, which resembles the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, CA. Primm Valley Casino is connected to the Primm Valley Outlet Mall. We shopped and shopped. Larry did quite well, purchasing jeans, sportcoat, shoes, jackets, etc. I didn't buy anything. I did enjoy the display of the 'original' Bonnie and Clyde getaway car, in the mall. You never know when history is going to hit you in the face in Vegas.

On Friday morning we drove into Las Vegas, proper...about 30 minutes away. We had a 12:30 brunch reservation at The Commander's Palace, located in the Desert Passage Shops next to the Aladdin Hotel. The Desert Passage is full of great stores. I bought a darling wallet at the Brighton Shop for 1/2-off the sale price. This is the only Commander's Palace open at this time. The New Orleans restaurant should be open again in August. The original is about 120 years old. I was there 6 years ago for lunch....divine. Larry had never been, so that's why we booked brunch at the LV branch. It was totally marvy. I had the crabcake appetizer....solid crab....no filler, griddle seared and topped with a truffled crabmeat salad and marinated crab claws; a version of eggs benedict with lox, caviar and instead of an English muffin, they used a flaky biscuit; dessert was faboo bread pudding with a meringue mountain on top and bourbon sauce; Larry had gumbo, cochon du lait and the bananas Foster. The service was excellent....the Szazeracs were heavenly. It was not exactly a budget meal, but it was memorable and I'm glad that we went. To top it off, there is this American Cocktail Museum in the restaurant. It's a must-see.

Praise The Lowered

On Saturday we headed over to the Gold Coast Hotel, off the Strip for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend car show. The weather was perfect for this event...a little windy, but sunny and clear. We saw tons of vintage cars (raised and lowered), vintage clothes, heard vintage music and generally had a blast. Most of the cars at this event are NOT perfect. That's why I like them....many have suede or primer exterior paint, ripped up seats and jerry-rigged mechanical parts. To me, this is more of an art-car experience, showcasing the ingenuity and cleverness of the owners.

Many people were dressed in vintage clothes, vintage hairstyles, vintage accessories. The only difference with today's vintagely dressed kids is that they sport tattoos. I don't remember many tatoos on people other than sailors in the 50's and 60's. As you know, I'm extremely concerned with purses, handbags, totes, etc. I shot some photos of samples. There were handbags 'upholstered' like tuck & roll vinyl auto interiors, actual vinyl record bags, pin-striped bags, vinyl bags shaped like bongo drums, etc. It was a bag-aganza-a-go-go for me.

Of course, the show was all about cars. Mr. Larry went nuts. There was this pink Rambler that I could have driven right off the lot...perfect. I saw the 40's version of today's PT Cruiser (I'm thinking of getting a PT, by the way). There was this car with pipes on the hood, that was actually popping corn and had flames pour out...very cool. The most gorgeous ORANGE paint job was alluring on a 40's car. There was this darling vintage ice-cream truck. Yes, there were rows and rows of cool cars, with "B" sides of rockabilly tunes being blasted into the air. There was a huge tiki bar, hot dog stand and more. We had a great time and met some wonderful people.

The rest of our weekend was taken up by a visit to the Peppermill Coffee Shop on the Strip...that's the one with the fire-spouting fountain in the sunken lounge. We also visited the Atomic Testing Museum. This was a fascinating place! We spent alot of time there perusing the various interactive exhibits, photos, atomic machinery and timeline displays.

My only yarn experience was visiting Gail Knits on West Sahara Avenue. It was a really nice shop, lots of product, nice people. I purchased 2 large skeins of superwash Cascade merino wool in chocolate and mocha colors.

We drove home on Easter Sunday, first stopping on our way out of town to photograph the Carpeteria man. Remember the Carpeteria Genie on Vine Street in Hollywood? He was taken down a few years back, so we were happy to see that he's experiencing a nice retirement in Las Vegas. We stopped in Baker, CA for lunch at the Mad Greek, right across the highway from Bun Boy and the world's largest themometer. So many interesting sights along the road to Vegas.

I'm looking forward to getting back to knitting, crocheting and hangin' with my fiber friends!