I’m back home.
I was so happy to see Don waiting for me at the airport. So happy to get back to green grass and humidity (yes, you heard me right!)
Did I like Las Vegas?
Nope.
This was the view from my hotel room window – the smudges you see are dirt on the outside of the glass. The cream-colored building is the Smith Center, an Art Deco-inspired performance center. That’s where Anastasia was playing.
The temperatures were well over 100 degrees every day and I had to walk from the hotel to that building a couple of times of day and let me tell you, it was awful. Being in Las Vegas in August is not advisable. Yes, it’s a dry heat, but who the heck thinks about that when wave after wave of hot air smacks you in the face and you can barely walk? When your skin turns to sandpaper and your eyes are filled with grit and your body can’t adjust to the extreme temperature and atmospheric change?
But more than that, the whole casino thing turns me off. I’m not into gambling. I’m not into the amusement park-like atmosphere that is life in the casinos. I stayed at the Golden Nugget, one of the older casinos, which is near the theater. It has a long history. Everywhere I tried to walk in the hotel, there were crowds of people and I mean CROWDS – no matter what time of day or night – loud music playing, slot machines, a whole world designed to keep you inside, so you’re close to the slots, the pool, the restaurants, the bars. It was constantly noisy and not at all my cup of tea. First of all, I don’t like crowds. It reminded me of present day Times Square (and that’s not a compliment), only indoors and with the addition of miles and miles of slots.
Surprisingly, my hotel room was fairly quiet. And it was spacious. So, I’m grateful for that. Not much available on the tube, but I suspect that’s because they think and hope you’ll be occupied elsewhere; betting on slots, playing cards, etc.
The thing about Las Vegas is that it’s a world some people decided to create in the desert. It’s like something a child would create with Legos, only life-sized. Like Disneyland for gamblers. I’ve never understood the appeal and I understand it even less now. Though I know there’s a whole other world beyond that of the Strip and if I had a chance to learn more about it, maybe my attitude would change a bit. I have a couple of friends who live there and love it. I can tell you that it is absolutely not the world for me.
All that being said, I watched the show on Wednesday night, fueled by a wish and a prayer as I was going on 3 hours of sleep and two late flights. But once I had a good night’s sleep, I felt better and my work with the actors on Thursday and Friday was very satisfying. I’m grateful for the work, believe me.
I quickly learned that if I wanted to explore at all, I needed to do it in the morning. I used to work with a company that did national tours of shows and I often flew off to a city that I hadn’t been to before. I love exploring cities and towns. The temperatures in Vegas were prohibitive and, of course, I was mostly working. But I did discover a restaurant a few blocks away from the hotel that had great healthy food and that served Peet’s coffee. (Most mornings I was up early and had to partake of the dreaded Starbucks in the hotel.) They also made great smoothies. The minute I found that place, I felt better.
Found on my explorations.
Ditto.
The saving grace was an independent bookstore that I discovered through a Google search. It’s called The Writer’s Block. I thought I’d have to take an Uber there, but I was delighted to find it was within walking distance of my hotel. I have nothing but raves to share with you about this wonderful shop, but I’ll wait until tomorrow to write about it as it deserves its own post.
It was like finding water in the desert.
I liked it so much I that I went there twice.
As much as I dislike this city, finding the positives in any experience is always important. And these two little oases were positives.
Anyway, more tomorrow. Don was very busy back here as he had a costume fitting in the city, audition on Thursday, and a day of filming in Greenwich Village on Friday. This series – Starling – is airing on Apple’s new streaming network and one of the producers is Sara Bareilles, who Don got to spend a fair amount of time with. He thinks she’s great, down-to-earth, friendly, and kind.
We go from no work to lots of work in a short amount of time. Crazy!
Happy Sunday.
