Viva Las Vegas Strikes Back

That's right folks, we've now been to Vegas twice in less than a year. And I gotta say, I can't wait to go back again. 

This time we went with friends. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like being there with others. There's so much I want to do in Vegas that I was feeling sort of selfish and not really wanting to compromise going into the trip (Mr. Rogers would be disappointed in me), but I just kept telling myself that I will go back again to see a Blues game eventually. 

Last time we stayed in old Vegas off Fremont street, this time we stayed on the main strip in the Sahara. 

The Sahara might be the most perfect hotel in Vegas for me. 

It's on the very north side of the strip, so if I need a break from what is essentially a giant mall with slot machines, I can get there easily. 

It also doesn't get a lot of spillover from the "normies" staying at the more southern hotels. (Normies is the term I'll use for bachelor parties, boys night out, bachelorette parties, sun burned dads drinking Mic Ultra, and sun burned mom's pulling the slot handle) 

The Sahara also has access to the city's tram system, which we heard complaints about, but it served us very well. We saved probably $80 in Lyfts using it. 

Anthony Bourdain Day 2024

Anthony Bourdain was a complicated person. He had many demons. Could tear his friends to pieces with sharp and targeted words. He battled depression most of his life. He had a severe inadequacy complex, never thinking he was good enough for any of his significant others or daughter. 

But Anthony Bourdain was the great empathizer. He had the ability to disarm anyone, make them feel safe, yet vulnerable, all around a table with food. He knew how to put into words the human experience. He never looked down, always straight ahead. (Unless your name happened to be Henry Kissinger, then he looked down on you and spit in your general direction)

It's one of those weird relationships where we've never met Anthony in person, but he meant a lot to Sal and I. Part of our travel-lust was born out of watching Anthony bravely share a meal in places deemed "too dangerous" for the average tourist. We saw him go to places like Vegas, but instead of spending all of his time wandering the Sahara, he took you to Atomic Liquor off the strip. He was always more interested in the people that could take him to the local places, than going to restaurants owned by celebrity chefs.