Skip to main content

Celebrations, just like houses, benefit from location!

Image
By

 

It’s not all that often that Margo and I have an opportunity to combine time for work with time for celebration. However, on more than one occasion Margo and I have found the time to head to Paris when Valentine’s Day was around and in 2023, there was no disappointment over the venue. It may not be Paris, France, but somehow, Paris, Las Vegas, always rises to the challenge.

During the time spent in Southern California we found ways to escape to Las Vegas for just a couple of days but as we progress deeper into the year 2023, if there isn’t an associated business reason to hit the road, we tend to hesitate – taking time to just relax seems to be a tad like guilty pleasure. I have to admit, the post-COVID nostalgia just overwhelmed us – we have so missed the freedom of spontaneous decisions to go to the actual Paris or Rome and making reservations right then and there as we used to do. So, here comes Las Vegas and it is within driving distance from our Colorado home. At least, in our Jaguar F Pace SVR, that is!

This year it was a combination of when financial services met retail met hospitality. For anyone as steeped in IT as Margo and I happen to be, it seems that at any time there is a conference, event, symposium or round table happening somewhere in the US. So why not capitalize on such a circumstance when the venue turns out to be Las Vegas. The venue was not to be Paris this time but a Hilton, a little further up the strip. With 36,000 plus Uber and Lyft share rides in Las Vegas, separation proved no problem at all and with the weather drifting down the scale to be stuck firmly in the chilly sphere, the quick responses by those in the transportation business were truly welcomed. 

Of course, seeing radiators appearing as a backdrop further reinforced the image of cool nights in Vegas! And yet, seated in Italy at Bellagio looking across Lake Como at Paris and the lower portion of the Eiffel Tower seemed normal. Given that it was a belated Birthday combined with an actual Valentine’s Day and being seated right alongside the big attraction – the fountains at Bellagio – couldn’t detract in any way just how fortunate we were to be able to leave the Colorado winter snow far behind us. Joined by the Kennys of Simi Valley? Even better! Celebrations after all, just as it is with houses, benefit most from location! This evening, it was nigh on perfect.

Las Vegas has its detractors and rightfully so. There is so much that is superficial. Los Angeles earned the moniker of Tinseltown and in New York, there is no downtime for sleeping but Las Vegas wears many names. Entertainment Capital of the World, the Gambling Capital of the World, the Marriage Capital of the World, the Neon Capital of the World, the City of Second Chances, and now apparently a new one, the Bone Yard (for all the unfinished construction on display). But of late, to this growing list you can easily add event city as it is events that continue to see us driving to Las Vegas. 

From our hotel window we could readily identify with the unfinished construction on display. We were last in Las Vegas in June 2022 but we didn’t see any of this activity during that visit. As for the black ball on the horizon, it is yet one more entertainment venue apparently being marketed as a kind of super IMAX. However, closer to our hotel was the site of a lot of activity on the lot of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Wearing all the hallmarks of an abandoned construction, it stood for many years as a reminder that not all development dreams come to fruition.

However things apparently change and with change come a hive of activity. We watched, as palm trees were being lifted over the surrounding construction elements to be deposited poolside. Evidently, this hotel plans to open later this year. Behind this site lies another vacant lot that fronts the Las Vegas Convention Center but it’s almost a certainty that it wont’ continue as a car park for much longer.

Fish in Vegas? How about at Bobby Flay’s latest restaurant, Amalfi. Opened just recently within Caesars Palace it delivered an eating experience we hope to enjoy again next time we are in Las Vegas. Its presence in Las Vegas is further evidence of the changing nature of the town as the shift to events and entertainment in general is driving not only the construction business but life in general. For those residing in Las Vegas it is as if the world is now coming to them.

There is no hiding the excitement that is growing as the biggest event of the year for most Americans – yes, the Super Bowl – is coming to Vegas. And don’t forget too that for others, an even bigger event is planned as Formula One is on its way. Racing along the Strip? Legally? And with crowds going wild? Some might simply sigh and say, what’s new? Been racing up the strip for donkey’s years!

The label most recognizable given to Las Vegas – Sin City – appears to be on the way out. Too much business is involved these days so much so that anything shady has been pushed to the perimeter. And yet, Paris in Vegas or Bellagio by an artificial lake makes sense. Location may demand a premium but when it comes to Vegas, and to the times worthy of celebrations that continue to draw us to this town each year it is hard to ignore either its history or its demeanor. 

You may not roll snake eyes but then again, given the location, for fifty two weeks of the year it’s just as hard to ignore these bright lights or the fabulous make believe that is present either side of the strip. It’s enough to leave you scratching your head and wondering; what’s next for Vegas!






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We just keep on moving; all the while the miles add up!

By
Movin' right along in search of good times and good news With good friends you can't lose This could become a habit! The focus on movement continues. It has its variations but movement is so important for all of us. Whether you consider this in the context of our physical wellbeing or the pleasure we derive from a constantly changing landscape, ignoring any deep-seated desire to remain stationary is an integral part of our makeup. Call it what you want, but what is around the corner or on the other side of the hill is what drives us. Perhaps the grass is much greener somewhere else, but before we can add anything further, we have to move and see for ourselves. Consider this post as the third in a sequence documenting movement. When Margo and I look back on what took place in 2024, I suspect the overriding theme will be movement. Or, more precisely, the many moves we made. Home front; vacations and travel, we have already addressed the move to our Longmont, Colorado, condo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall is making its presence felt in Florida

By
  Remind me again why we are taking up residence in Florida? In particular, in the Florida Panhandle alongside the Emerald Coast? Oh … that’s right; fall and winter are mild in comparison to what we experienced in Colorado. Having watched the news and seeing monstrous snowstorms hitting the Rockies and the Sierra Divide, not to mention the more recent bomb cyclone that caused even greater havoc in Washington State, we have become appreciative of the milder conditions fall delivers in this part of North America. In my previous post I wrote of how we were warming to our new location. As yet we have not put our toes in the water, even as we are now the proud owners of our very first pairs of Crocs. That will likely change shortly but for now, even with the mild temperatures we are experiencing, this week we have seen daytime temperatures dive down to the mid 50sF. Ouch … finding the right attire for such chilly conditions saw us pulling out clothing we had tucked away in our closet....
Post a Comment
Read more

Moves, changes, multitasking …so what’s the future hold?

By
They often say that home is where the heart is. When you move more often than you care to, do you begin to lose heart? Or, more to the point, is there a level of restlessness that develops so that home is less important than where you happen to be, such that it is with whom you are that takes on greater preeminence. For Margo and me, having just celebrated our silver wedding anniversary (against many odds, mind you, that is what Margo keeps reminding me of), setting up a new home has been a steady constant in our joint lives. Margo bears the bulk of the burden and if I had a good voice I would be singing her praises more loudly. Moving to Boulder in the mid-1990s to a front range bungalow, then to a condo by Boulder Creek before settling into our Niwot new construction we embarked on in 2000, somewhat foolishly, as it turned out. But even with the Niwot home, just a few years later we were challenged by the need to be based in Omaha and we managed to do so for a year – the commute was ...
Post a Comment
Read more