The Fremont Street Experience

Big Daddy and I arrived in Las Vegas on a Sunday afternoon. We grabbed our bags in one of the busiest damn airports I have ever seen and took a $30 (yes $30) cab ride to the hotel. So right off the bat, Vegas wasn't getting high marks in my book! We were booked at Treasure Island. Now I do admit that the hotel seemed quite nice. Extravagent, to be sure, with expensive restaurants and lots of slot machines and tables. The first thing that hit me was the smoke! Being an Austinite, I am not used to dealing with smoke thanks to the smoking ordinance. I don't know why it shocked me, but it did. The room wasn't bad, the furnishings were nice and everything was clean, but the view stunk and the bathroom smelled kind of like bum piss. Hey, I call 'em like I smell 'em! Everything was completely spotless in the bathroom, so I just assumed that the cleaners they used had a strange smell and yes, I have an overly sensitive snout!

We dumped off the luggage and went to check out our surroundings and get our bearings. And as it got a bit later in the day, we hopped on The Deuce (for those of you unfamiliar with Vegas, this is a double decker bus that travels up and down the Vegas Strip) and headed for the Fremont District.
I was most wanting to go there because of the "old Vegas" feel. If I had to be in Vegas, I wanted to see where it all started, I wanted to see the neon and the glitz. Well I certainly wasn't disappointed! I have never in my life seen so many blinky lights and neon! My eyes struggled to keep up with it all!

When we got off The Deuce, we were greeted by this marvelous cowboy! Ain't he a beaut?

And for those of you that wonder what a girl in Vegas does if she sucks at gambling, doesn't hardly drink AND is broke...
Now ya know!

At one point we got a little hungry, but didn't want to spend $40 a piece on some buffet that we would never be able to eat enough to justify the expense. So, we found a little row of street vendors that were selling everything from hot dogs to BBQ to Jamaican to Philippine cuisine. We eventually stumbled across a Philly Cheesesteak vendor and it was all over. Big Daddy can't resist a good Philly Cheesesteak. I was a little leery, I have a weak stomach and most food from vendors doesn't set well with me, but I figured what the hell? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas right? So if I spewed all over the sidewalk no one would ever know! I was pleasantly surprised though. The sandwich was good and we were able to get 2 sandwiches and 2 drinks for about $10! Woo-hoo! And just as a side note, for those of you that enjoy Coca-Cola products, Vegas is NOT the place for you! Pepsi owns the whole damn town! Yuck.

After eating I was ready to start exploring again. And then it happened, all the neon turned off and George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" came blaring out of every speaker and the huge screen overhead began to light up. It was crazy! And yes, it was impressive.


In between the Viva Vision light shows, we beetled around Fremont Street, taking pictures, people watching and looking for Elvis! Yes folks, I had three goals for my Vegas trip: 1) Spend quality, child-free time with my spouse, 2) Take craploads of pictures, and 3) FIND ELVIS! I did manage to catch a quick glimpse of Elvis on Fremont St. but I lost him in the crowd, damn his hide! So I had to work on goal #2, take lots of pics.



On our way back to the main strip, I couldn't help but grab a shot of the Bonanza. That place was enormous! And just down the street from it was the Sahara and that seemed about as old school as it gets! I've seen that sign in so many Vegas films!


And that my friends was highlights from my Fremont Street Experience. But did we head back to the hotel and call it a night? Of course not, this was Vegas baby! We got off The Deuce and started hoofin' it down the Strip. But that is another entry!