I'm a winner!

Day 7

This place is a circus! So much going on 24/7 it borders on sensory overload! Yesterday morning I went to the coffee shop in the hotel casino for breakfast. Just like everything in Vegas, it was ridiculously over-priced, but the location at least was great for people-watching. Right out in front of the coffee shop by the slot machines was a film crew shooting a movie. It was around 8:30 a.m. As I walked out, I saw it was Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher shooting a scene. Wow, I thought, they seem to be having lots of fun while working in their chosen profession. Even between takes they were cutting up with the crew.

Down the strip I went to take in the sights. For those who don't like to travel internationally, you could visit most countries right here! The Eiffel Tower is just down the street from gondola rides through Venice inside and outside of a hotel! I watched the water show in front of the Bollagio and wondered what in the world the snapping of the cards meant by the hard-luck folks trying to shove "girl to your room in 20 minutes" cards into the hands of people walking by. Tourists strolled by with drinks in their hands and beads around their necks; kind of like a subdued Mardi Gras without the music.

Right next door to the hotel at which I stayed (Planet Hollywood) was the Harley Davidson Cafe. There's an huge, awesome American flag painted on hanging chains with a couple of real motorcycles hanging from the ceiling in front of it. It was a really cool place with lots of Harley and movie memorabilia.

Around 1:30 p.m. I came back to my hotel to take a little break from walking around all morning. As I passed through the casino, I was surprised to see Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher still shooting the exact same scene! Wow, maybe their jobs aren't so easy! Crowds of people standing around watching them do the same 2-3 minute scene over and over again. They acted just as enthusiastic as they had been acting the scene when I walked by at 8:30 in the morning. As I continued on to my room I decided to throw a few bucks into a slot machine just so I could say that I gambled in Vegas! I played the $1 slots and quickly got bored. I took the $5 left from the $20 I had decided to gamble and put it into a $5 slot machine. I won $25!! Now you're probably thinking that I should capitalize on that luck and play some more. What I did was take my voucher to the cashier window and collected my money! Nothing in life comes for free, so I feel like these little gifts in life should be appreciated but that trying to exploit it will only end in losing (one way or another). So now I'm leaving Vegas as a winner!!!

Last night I went to The Blue Man Group show. I had no idea what is was when I bought the ticket, I had just heard from friends who had seen it that it was worth going to. What a great time!! It's a cross between a comedy, a concert, an optical illusion show and a techno concert! This picture is from the wax museum and not the live show! Oh, before I left for the show around 7:00 p.m. Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher were still out there shooting in the exact same spot! It was a different scene, but they looked like they were still having fun. Actually, they seemed more slap happy than two people having fun! I can't imagine having to be "up" for every scene when you do dozens of them in a row. I have a hard time staying "up" for each presentation when I have to do more than two of them in a day!!

That's all from Vegas. Looks like the fires will not impede my journey west, so today I head for California.