#VegasHalloween 2021 -- day 3, part 1

Halloween, a bittersweet day in my world. 

As a child, Halloween was always an exciting time. Yes, there's a historic, religious origin that gave way to the commercial silliness of today. Be it the promise of candy, the creepiness of the afterlife that dwells in the hallways of haunted attractions across the United States or the convenient excuse for adults to showcase their creativity and be anything other than who they are, Halloween is fun for all ages. If you're into any of those sorts of things. 

I can't explain my attraction to horror, the undead or the creepiness that lurks down a dark corridor of an abandoned building, but as a kid I was drawn to the challenge of bravely navigating the local haunted house during my earliest years living in Small Town, Indiana. There were years in my life when Halloween came and went without much fanfare, but more often than not, partaking in the Halloween festivities became an important part of my fall. And for the past 15 seasons, I have worked in the haunt industry. All but one of those years as an employee of a corporate amusement park's Halloween weekends. That's another story for another blog. 

For the seventh time in 11 years, I spent my Halloween in Las Vegas. I won't recount all of those trips, either, but I will note that my first was in 2011, prior to this blog. 

This year's Halloween trip wasn't a sure thing. Under different circumstances, perhaps I would have skipped Halloween in Vegas this year. I haven't made them all since 2011, obviously. But it was a wedding I was not obligated to attend that prompted my trip to Sin City for Halloween weekend. 

After a late night playing cheap keno and drinking cocktails at the Plaza, I had a hard time rolling out of bed before 9 a.m.

No big deal, I had nowhere to go that morning, but I did want to wager on some early NFL game. I am rarely in town on a Sunday morning, particularly during the football season. After not betting on college football Saturday, I had to have a little action on Sunday morning. Having lost $60 on two UFC fights on Saturday, I wagered a healthy $20 on Sunday morning. Buffalo was hosting Miami, favored by plenty, and by 7.5 or 8 at the half. Figuring Buffalo was going to score a bunch at home, I wagered $20 on Buffalo to cover the first-half spread. 

And the score at halftime was 3-3. 

I don't bet on a lot of sports. And I usually bet something simple, often against the spread. I swear I win less than 20% of the sports wagers I make. I need to pull a George Costanza and bet the opposite of every sports instinct I have. 

Wager placed before kickoff, I ventured out of downtown. I wanted to take a little time and just drive around, seeing the areas tourists never see. Or roll down Boulder Highway on a Sunday morning, before traffic was heavy. Maybe have breakfast at Klondike Sunset. But I was slow to get going, so I had two objectives Sunday morning: Supplement my cash at a non-casino ATM and grab a fast food breakfast, preferably from somewhere I don't have access to back here in Minnesota. 

And where did I end up grabbing breakfast from? McDonald's. At least I knew what I was getting. 

Back to the Plaza, it was time to clean up for the wedding. While I was staying at the Plaza, solo, my life partner and her sisters are getting ready at Golden Nugget, where the wedding party is also staying. 

The wedding party went to the wedding chapel via a limo, I picked up the sisters. I have been going to Vegas for nearly 25 years, but never for a wedding. On Halloween 2021, it was time for my first. 

It's a block or so off Las Vegas Boulevard, and it's a nice place
to get married if you're not getting married at your casino. 

The chapel of choice was The Little Vegas Chapel. No fancy casino chapel for this party. We went to some nifty little building a block or so off Las Vegas Boulevard, a couple of blocks away from Dino's Lounge. 

The wedding couple chose the Elvis wedding. The chapel was a nice little room and Elvis did a nice job of running a wedding ceremony. There were several elements to the ceremony, including a few songs by Elvis. We were invited to dance with the newlyweds during the final song of the ceremony, and thanks to the insistence of a few in our group of 16, including the bride and groom, we all danced during the final song. 

The King doesn't get a lot of love in Vegas these days, but you can count
on him to be performing a wedding somewhere in Vegas on any given day. 

After the ceremony there were a few pictures outside the building, along with those that were taken inside the building prior to the ceremony. I think that was plenty. Most folks want 1,000 pictures from their wedding day, and there's value in having those, but probably not as much as people spend for them. The photo collection the newlyweds amassed seemed to be plenty. 

A pre-wedding photo inside The Little Vegas Chapel.

This must be a classic Cadillac, right? 

Not sure how often these cars hit the streets, or what they're used for, but I suspect they send them when you don't have a wedding party to pick up, and therefore don't need the stretch limo.

Ceremony is over, it's back to the casinos, and vacation mode. 

There were two children in attendance. Young kids, too. Elementary school age. They're the niece and nephew of the bride. So it was kind of important that they be there for their aunt's unorthodox wedding. They were not staying at a casino. Their family was at a timeshare off the strip, down from Ellis Island. 

The problem on Sunday afternoon was finding a place where a group of 12 or 14 people can assemble for food and drink, with two children in tow. With no plan, our destination ended up being Saltgrass, the modest priced steak house at Golden Nugget. 

My overpriced chicken sandwich wasn't anything to go back for, but add a large beer to that, and a good one, not that Bud Light I usually drink, and a bill for about $25, or slightly less, wasn't obscene. The service was efficient, and the staff was quite accommodating to our large group spread out over two giant tables. I'd order something a bit fancier if I dine there again. 

Late afternoon is upon us and it's time to go change clothes, after a stop upstairs. The sisters were discussing their Sunday evening plans, and they had yet to be finalized, so I went up to their room, awaiting their plan. That plan didn't involve me, technically.  

With that Sunday night plan yet to be finalized, it was time for me to head back to the Plaza. No more Sunday church duds for me. It's time for casual clothes prior to some of us reconvening at Circa, where the bride and groom want to watch their Minnesota Vikings take on the Dallas Cowboys. There was no set plan for the remainder of the evening, other than the bride and groom planned to remain downtown and take in the Halloween atmosphere. I planned to do that, too. And eventually I did. 

#VegasHalloween 2021 -- day 1

I am old and lazy, so I don't write as often, or as frequently as I would like, about my trips to Las Vegas. but I will chronicle a lot of details from my trip during the next few days. 

In 2011 I spent my first Halloween in Las Vegas. That was a solo trip. In 2021 I spent my 7th Halloween in Vegas. It's that much fun. 

This year's trip wasn't necessarily going to happen. My life partner and her sisters were traveling together to Vegas for their cousin's wedding. I was not obligated to go. I did not book a trip with them. The two sisters are married, with two children. Their families were not going, and I wasn't expected to go, but perhaps it was presumed I would go since I go at least once a year, and often more than once in a year. 

When I go, I like to go for several days, and given I went for eight nights this summer, I would have been fine with skipping this Halloween. The cousin's wedding was on Sunday, and that necessitated a weekend trip. I often go from Sunday to Friday or Saturday. 

Long story short, when I got another three-night offer from the Plaza a couple of months ago, after the sisters booked their trip, I booked a three-night stay that overlapped the wedding weekend. Then I found a reasonable round-trip flight via Delta, using my points. Sounds like a cheap trip, eh? 

Indeed it was. And we like to rent a car, and opted for the convenience of having one, which the three sisters split amongst them. 

My job: To do the driving, and transport the sisters, as necessary. 

I arrived on Friday, Oct. 29, early in the afternoon. The sisters did not book their flights on Delta, so I traveled separate. I arrived about five hours before they did. 

I'll skip the detailed story about the rental car considerations and pursuits. I avoid renting from Budget, but that's who we used this time around. The sisters chose an intermediate SUV, and after 45-50 minutes of waiting in line to complete the paperwork, it was off to the parking ramp, where I had to wait about 15 minutes for my vehicle to show up. That's how short they are for rental vehicles these days. And of course I got a white vehicle. I never choose white. Alamo, and others, let you choose from a row of vehicles. Oh well, I'll live. 

Everybody wants to rent a car from Budget...until they do it.

For what it's worth, there weren't many people waiting at any other rental agency, but Budget had a long line waiting. Rates are higher than I've ever seen, and cars are in relative short supply, reportedly, but somehow Budget knows how to undercut the competition. 

I ended up with some Nissan, and it was a nice ride. 

From the airport it was check-in time at Plaza. I slept less than four hours on Thursday night, as I worked late into the night on a ton of stuff, and didn't have much time to sleep. I could have used a nap on Friday afternoon, but determined I wouldn't get much rest before having to go to the airport to pick up the sisters. Given I hadn't eaten breakfast, or a meal at the airport, I needed something to eat. I went downstairs to Pop Up Pizza. 

It was fine, but nothing exceptional. Given it was 4 p.m. Vegas time, or 6 p.m. back in Minnesota, and I hadn't eaten a meal, I had no complaints. (A fig bar on the way to the airport and a Delta in-flight cookie do not count as a meal.) 

I bummed around downtown for an hour, blowing $20 on low-roller stadium gambling at Circa before heading to the airport. 

Airport pickup was a success, and we had time to spare. We had dinner reservations at the celebrated Herbs and Rye on Sahara Avenue, west of the strip. Our reservation was for 8 p.m., so we were hoping to get in an hour early. 

We were within a mile of the place when one of the sisters got off the phone. She had multiple calls from a Vegas phone number, but no message. So she called to find out why. One call: Ignore it. Multiple calls: Something is not right. 

It turns out the sister's wallet fell out of her giant purse, which tipped on the floor of the plane. And somebody from the airline found it, so she was welcome to come retrieve it. Therefore we turned around and started heading back to the airport. 

As we were driving back toward the airport on Interstate 15, we suddenly heard a funny, puzzling sound. We had no idea what it was. I turned the radio off, and it stopped. We came to the determination that my life partner's cellphone was trying to sync up with the car stereo. 

Except it wasn't. Moments later that loud, unsettling sound began again. Did we have a flat tire? It didn't seem like it. The car was still smooth. Troubled, I exited near the car rental center, and pulled into the Boot Barn parking lot. (I went to that store with a friend many years ago.) I checked the tires, and all were fine. There was nothing in the wheel wells to suggest what the problem was. There was no sign of anything dragging under the bumpers, either. 

I got down on the ground and looked under the SUV. There's the problem. The front of the underbody panel was hanging loose. We hadn't hit anything, but the screws or whatever was holding it in place had come loose, lowering the front of the panel. The wind it was catching intermittently created that horrible sound. The panel wasn't dragging on the pavement, it was all airflow vibrating into the panel opening. 

With three sisters and their luggage in tow, our first objective became exchanging the rental vehicle. 

We were near the rental center, so that was easy enough to get to. I expected a delay getting a vehicle, and a lot of hassle. Were they going to try to stick me with a damage claim? I didn't hit anything. It was not due to my negligence. 

So we pull in to the return center, I quickly explain what happened, and with no hesitation the nice woman at the return center tells me they'll get me a new vehicle. She looks under the vehicle, sees the damage, says that's not safe, and 30 seconds later we're  hauling our luggage to the "Fastbreak" counter in the garage, where I had to fill out a short form detailing what happened to the vehicle. The counter employee offers us a choice of about three SUVs, and I simply asked for one that isn't white. He gave me a Chevy Blazer, which wasn't the best choice, it turned out. 

We quickly learned there was far less cargo room in the back of the Blazer than there was in the back of that Nissan we had. And I didn't like the feel of the vehicle as much. But we were out of there, with a different vehicle within 15 minutes, that was most important. 

Onto the airport, where the sister runs into the baggage claim area to retrieve her wallet. Within minutes we're back on the road, and it's just before 8 p.m.

We're not going to make it to Herbs and Rye by our reservation time, however, so my life partner calls and asks if we can still be seated. Herbs and Rye is playing hard ball, acting like they can't wait more than 10 minutes to seat us. But a little negotiating and pleading catastrophe seems to win us five minutes or so of favor, so we proceed. At this point it's 10 p.m. back home, none of us have had dinner, and the sisters are more than ready to go to any other restaurant in Vegas, but we set out, once again, for Sahara Avenue. 

We're again within that final mile of our destination. I'm in the left lane, as you need to make a U-turn to get to the restaurant. I'm prepared for that, but what I'm not prepared for is the moron to my immediate right, who I'm not watching. He decides to start moving over into the left lane, as he seems to have just figured out he needs to make a U-turn, as well. My girlfriend tells me to watch out, as if I can do anything at this point. I look to my right, and I can see the moron's rearview mirror within six inches of our vehicle. There's nothing I can do at this point. There's a median to my left, so I can't just move over if there's no traffic coming from the other direction. 

Thankfully the moron wakes up in time to realize he's going to hit my black SUV, and moves back into his lane, probably terrified by the fact he nearly took us both out on Sahara Avenue. (I never saw if the driver was male or female, I just assume the moron was a male. I'm sexist.)

I didn't have time to freak out, as I only caught the last glimpse of the near-collision. But the moron was still trying to get over to the left, and had slowed down, of course, after nearly killing all of us, or so it appeared in my rearview mirror. This, of course, wreaks havoc for the cars behind us. I'm surprised the moron didn't cause a crash involving those drivers. 

It appeared the moron did get behind me, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to get to Herbs and Rye, as well. But that didn't appear to be the case, as best I could tell. I was largely focused on my driving. 

So we finally get into the restaurant, the stress on my heart at this point is about to kill me, and we sit down in this rather dark restaurant to eat. Good luck reading the menu! 

Herbs and Rye is well known because it offers half-price steaks during its happy hours, which run like 5-8 p.m. and midnight to 3 p.m.

It's a dinner only restaurant, and not open on Sundays. It's quite the unique business model in Sin City. 

I don't know for how long, but they have been running their happy hour pricing all night in recent weeks, and that included our Friday night visit. All the steaks are half price. And a few of the pasta dishes are, too. And a couple of appetizers, I believe. If you want a rail drink, that's half price, as well. 

Two of us had half-price steaks. I had the New York strip for $24.50. Yep, it's a $49 steak, allegedly. 

My life partner had the ribeye, which I think was menu-priced at $59. 

My steak had too much fat in it, and it was hard to see where the fat was when you're cutting it in the dark. I had a sample of the ribeye, and it was better than mine. The steaks are naked. Like any steakhouse, if you want anything for the steak, that's an extra charge. I like mushrooms with my steak, but I don't need them. And if your steak is any good, it shouldn't need sauces or anything extra. 

We split a few sides for the table, and they're not huge, yet cost about $10 each. But they were pretty good, and we had enough to go with our entrees, so I have no complaints. 

We tried their fancy cocktails, as well. I had the "weekend at the Waldorf," a rum drink I thought I would love. I did not. It wasn't bad, but I didn't love it. It was $14 or so, and not really worth it. 

The restaurant is nice, and it was well staffed. It's not a fancy steakhouse at Bellagio, but it's a nice enough place. Some folks were far more casual than I was. 

I will try it again, and I will try a different steak. I don't do steakhouse dinners in Vegas often, and if I get a better steak than the strip steak I had, I could see myself going there once per trip in the years to come. 

Sorry, no pictures of the food. It was dark in there, and I'm not a food blogger. I'll take food pics, but it's not a priority every time I eat a meal.  

We were all tired after dinner. None of us had any interest in a wild night on Fremont Street, so I dropped the women off at Golden Nugget, where they were staying, along with the wedding party, and I parked at Plaza. We noticed there was a fire in a lot along Main Street, a block or two off of Fremont Street. The fire department was on the scene, and we couldn't see it clearly, but we're certain it was a Dumpster fire. Yes, a literal Dumpster fire. Seemed appropriate for how chaotic our night had turned out. 

There would be no big Friday night for me. Seems lame, I know, but I worked my ass off on Thursday night, not going to bed until 4 a.m., I needed rest to make it through the weekend. I got a $3 bottle of Bud Light and retreated to my room shortly after 10 p.m.

I spent an hour watching TV and playing games on my cellphone, but I was asleep before midnight, and I have no regrets. 

Up next: My unorthodox Saturday, the tweet that resonated with a lot of people and a visit to a quirky, longtime Vegas restaurant. 

One obligatory photo of Fremont Street, as I first exited the Plaza on Friday afternoon, Oct. 29. 

Monday night at The Linq

Hours after the Riviera closed its doors last month I was making my first visit to the retail and entertainment mecca known as The Linq.

I don't spend a lot of time on the strip these days. I went to see "La Reve – The Dream" at Wynn last November, and we stayed two nights at the Stratosphere (which I'll never do again), which included a viewing of "Pin Up" (which was better than I expected). Thanks to my girlfriend I've found my way to the strip a few times the past couple of years for things I wouldn't do if I were traveling solo.

The Linq had never been on my "must see" list, and despite my girlfriend's fear of heights, she was fascinated by the High Roller last November, so we made a pilgrimage to the big wheel.

But first we stopped off at Brooklyn Bowl. OK, that was at least second. We stopped off at some fun, interesting retail store, the name of which I don't remember. It had cool stuff, and it had a book I was interested in, but I wasn't going to carry it around all night, so I didn't buy it.

We went to Brooklyn Bowl because my girlfriend wanted to see something resembling live entertainment on this trip, and we didn't make it a priority in May given we went to three shows during three nights last November. (The third being Gordie Brown at the Golden Nugget. Not good. The tickets were comps and I still wanted my money back.)

Our compromise was to go to a show at Brooklyn Bowl. On Monday night, the night before Cinco de Mayo, we went to see Mariachi El Bronx.

It's what you think it is. It's mariachi music.

This seems like an odd fit for a live music venue that sells itself as a punk music haven. Why a bowling alley is attractive to the punk music lovers of America I don't know, but that's what they're going for.

Brooklyn Bowl is a second floor venue, featuring 10 or so bowling lanes and a big open floor in front of a stage. If you bowl during a concert your back is to the music, but they have live video of it on big screens above the pins. It seems like a fun way to bowl. I'm guessing they play music videos on those screens during the daytime hours.

From what I could tell, the bowling ain't exactly cheap at Brooklyn Bowl. You rent a lane by the hour, and I think the range was $20-25 per hour, depending upon when you're bowling. Live music in the house, it costs more to bowl, evidently. Perhaps the rate is no worse than four individual games at a premium price, I don't know, I'm not a bowler.

Overall I still find the merger of bowling and punk music to be odd.

As for the non-punk band playing that night, it turns out that Mariachi El Bronx is a band that developed from a punk band called The Bronx, so says Wikipedia. From what I can tell, it's basically an alter ego of the punk band, and it seems like the mariachi version of The Bronx is doing pretty well, and keeping pretty busy. MEB has performed on "The Late Show with David Letterman," and the lead singer spoke about having recently toured somewhere overseas.

Now that I know that MEB is an alter ego of a punk band, (I didn't that night,) the lead singer's comment made sense. He said something about people calling them posers, and scoffed at it. Other than the fact much of the band is white guys (and a white woman), I didn't think it was fraudulent. They seemed to do a good job playing mariachi music, although what do I know about that?

They played for a little over an hour, and the small crowd there that night seemed to be into it. Some folks looked like they were there for a punk rock concert. And there were some elders in the audience. Plenty of people were younger than me, but I didn't look like an old guy trying to fit in with youngsters. It was quite a mix of people. I'd estimate the crowd at somewhere south of 300.

The show ended and it was time to go to the High Roller. The giant Ferris wheel takes you 550 feet in the air. Unlike a Ferris wheel, however, you're not in an open-air cabin. It's enclosed, and they have a video narration playing inside as you make your revolution.

This giant wheel is set at the back side of The Linq. It offers views up and down the strip, although they're not the best views. At night the wheel lights up and changes colors.

The High Roller is a major attraction, but it's not doing the numbers that the Caesar's empire envisioned. Since opening more than a year ago they've run countless deals trying to pack up to 40 people in the cabins. (They claim the capacity is 40, but there's no way 40 people can stand around inside a cabin and enjoy the rotation.)

Among the deals have been ticket discounts through the daily deal sites, and I procured a pair of tickets that way. Two nighttime tickets were less than $60. (Nighttime tickets are more expensive.) And our tickets were for the booze cruise.

After the High Roller showed signs of underperforming, the geniuses running it decided to start offering cocktails on a portion of the cabins. There's a bar with a limited selection of canned beverages and a bartender that will mix drinks with the limited inventory of available liquors. You can drink as many as you can get your hands on during your 30-minute loop through the sky.

We had about a dozen people in our cabin, and once everybody had a drink, you didn't have to wait long for your next one. Our bartender was sharp, she would remember each person's drink of choice. I knocked off six or seven mixed drinks, mostly Malibu sunrise, during the rotation. I think I took a can of beer for the road.

Booze and a 30-minute spin 550 feet into the sky for less than $30 per person, I have no complaints. That's not something you can do many places. I won't make it a priority to return during my next trip, but if there's a discounted ticket to be had....

As for The Linq, I didn't hit up any of bars, restaurants or other gimmicky places. Most of our time was spent at Brooklyn Bowl and at the High Roller. I should have set foot in O'Sheas to see what they're passing off in the name of the former low-roller casino that was closed down three years earlier to make way for The Linq.

I'm not in a hurry to return to The Linq, but you never know who will be rocking the maracas the next time I'm in Vegas.