What Happened in Vegas ... Part 2

Friday

Our first full day in Las Vegas was Friday. But it wasn't just any ordinary Friday -- it was Halloween! Woo hoo - Halloween in Vegas, baby!

That meant that, morning 'til night, we couldn't tell which naughty schoolgirls were just visiting and which ones were for hire. Is that a guidebook or a client list?

Such challenging questions make me hungry. So we started the day with breakfast at the Wynn. This involved a daredevil taxi ride up the entire length of the Strip, from our hotel (excuse me, our THEhotel) on the south end to the Wynn on the north. The ride should probably have taken twice as long, but our driver took conventional laws of speed and safety as loose suggestions rather than rules. He viewed the road as he would a Frogger screen. Many abrupt lane changes were involved.

We screeched up to the valet stand at the Wynn and moseyed inside to begin our circuitous quest for the buffet.

Tangent

If it doesn't already exist, I think a great idea for a book would be a photographic exploration of the strange and wonderful world of carpeting in Las Vegas casinos.




Breakfast of Champions

After a few laps around the casino and a break to ask directions, we finally found the buffet. We arrived on the cusp between breakfast and lunch, which allowed us to sample both meals at this place of endless bounty. Even the fruit and vegetation displays were gigantic!

The 30-second review: The buffet at the Wynn had everything you could possibly want to eat, and many things you might not want to eat, but that's your prerogative: It's Vegas, baby, and you can do what you want. All of it was attractively displayed, refreshed frequently, and could be enjoyed in a pretty, garden-like dining room. (By way of comparison, later during our trip we ate brunch at the Bayside Buffet at Mandalay Bay, and the food there was not as good and the atmosphere was somewhat depressing.) We highly recommend trying the Wynn for their champagne brunch (weekends only). Just like our meal, but with booze and crab legs!

Flower Power

The decor at the Wynn is all about the flowers. From the fleurrific carpeting to the monuments to flora throughout the buffet dining room, no flower was left uncelebrated. We especially liked the trippy flower-filled vases in the lobby.



Baby You Can't Drive My Car

As we left the Wynn, we walked verrrrrry slowwwwly by the Penske | Wynn Ferarri - Maserati showroom. I took a liking to this cherry red (excuse me: Rosso Mondiale) Maserati Granturismo. Yum! Too bad we had just lost $40 on roulette in the casino. It could have made a nice downpayment.



Retail Diversion

After gazing a big too longingly at the Granturismo, Ryan pried me away and we embarked upon a retail adventure that was a bit more grounded in reality. Wait, I take that back. This is Fashion Show Mall. It looks like the Mothership.

Due to my acute phobia of Orange Julius, we skipped the mall and headed north...far north to the land where real Las Vegans shop. First stop: The Attic, a crazy, crazy vintage boutique featuring showgirl costumes, Zoot suits, retro furniture and accessories, and a white dude working the counter who calls you "Brother" if you're a guy, but not "Sister" if you're a girl. Discuss.

We didn't find any items for ourselves, but we did find a fantastic onesie (new, not vintage) that featured a print of the movie poster for High School Hellcats, which we thought would be perfect for our friends Hil and Andy's baby, who at the time of our trip had yet to be born.* It's never too soon to impart cautionary tales to the youth of America, if you ask me.

If only they'd also had onesies from Reefer Madness, Wheels of Tragedy, The Cautious Twins, More Dates for Kay, Boys Beware, and It's a Little Late for Tears, Isn't it, Barbara?. That would have made for an entire week of mental hygiene-wear!

*Youth of America Update: Carter John is now at home -- happy, healthy, and fashionably dressed! Welcome, little guy!

That's all for now. Next time, we'll tell you all about our evening with the Prince of Wails...