list no. 38 : the thing about vegas

1. Downtown Vegas gets a bad rap.
2. I understand, but the strip has its own issues.
3. For instance, it's very hard to get outside a casino once inside, and even harder to find the actual street.
4. Downtown Vegas is definitely an indoor/out on the street experience.
5. And there are a lot of characters, to the point that you might wonder if you're in central casting, or a novel as ripe as your imagination allows.
6. The fact of the matter is this: whether you're downtown or on the strip, the idea is to strip you of your dough.
7. Vegas establishments selling booze, have perfected the frozen drink.
8. My favorite drinks of the weekend: the slushy peach bellini I enjoyed during happy hour, and the Miami Vice poolside, which is a combination of a pina colada and a strawberry daquiri. I'm sure it was a bazillion calories, but it was delicious and perfect and my birthday.
9. Speaking of drinking, you're allowed to walk around, on the street, with an open container.
10. The pool at the Golden Nugget, (where we stayed), had a round swimming pool centered around a huge shark tank, with a huge waterfall cascading down. 
11. There were ledges along the edge of the tank allowing one to sit and watch the fish, and a very close up view of the sharks.
12. There's a 3 ft. long water slide that travels through the shark tank, the fastest fucking water slide I've ever been on.
13. To the point that I started talking to myself about the speed, and to remind myself that I wasn't going to die so there was no need to hyperventilate. 
14. And then I popped out of the slide and up out of the water, exposing my boob, which had come dislodged from my top with the force and speed of that water slide.
15. I think most of the people at the pool were too drunk to notice.
16. I'm not a gambler, but I do love that the first slot machine I played was Star Wars, and I won $28.50, my first ever winnings. 
17. Prime rib dinner > buffet