Thought we'd try the buffet at Fitzgeralds for dinner (another cheapy) since it was right next to Freemont Street. We left the Luxor at 8:15 PM and drove over to Paradise Road then up to 4th Street passing many Casinos along the way like the Hard Rock Las Vegas Hotel & Casino and the Las Vegas Hilton. This road is much faster than the Strip. If you want to have a leisurely, sight seeing trek, take the Strip. If you want to drive at a normal pace take Paradise. At 4th Street we cut over to Fitzgeralds and parked at their parking lot, went to the buffet and were promptly disappointed. The food was dry and tasteless. The surroundings dingy. But it was cheap! Thankfully we abandoned cheap at Fitzgeralds and adopted reasonable for the duration with pleasing results.

     Full but unfulfilled we left the crowded small casino after getting our parking validated. There was a real long line for this so Marylou just played dumb and walked to the side, excused herself to a clerk, asked if this line was for parking validation. The clerk said yes but since I'm talking to you now ..., and validated our ticket. It never pays to park this way. We would have had to wait for an hour for the validation stamp. Go valet parking all the way. A small tip and it's easy in, easy out. So our parking needs met for the night we went outside and met Joe and Dawn and the crew. Most of the crew anyhow. John showed up a little later dragging himself away from a mugging at a casino. Financial not physical. Augie showed up next and we bought a couple of six-packs to have something to drink while waiting for Mike & Lynn and Juvie & Mary who were changing as they had just gotten married in a double ceremony. You can't bring your own beer onto Freemont Street as they want you to buy theirs. But we had a while before the next show so we waited at the end of the street drinking and talking. This is when we met our first drunken Indian.

     He was a pleasant fellow with his own six-pack. He discussed beer prices and where to get the best deals with Augie who he must have recognized as a blood brother. Augie is part Blackfoot. Eventually he left as the other palefaces in our posse showed up so we guzzled our remaining beers and went to get Experienced. We watched the first show from near the end of the street. It was a western theme with country & western music and images of cowboys, indians (sober ones), wagon trains, cactus, tumbleweeds, etc., etc., etc. There were a few people near us doing some kinna country line dancin' to music that they recognized cause they were singing the words. The show was wild. The whole canopy over the street lights up into an animated show. It lasted somewhere between 5 & 10 minutes. Then it was over. Next show, top of the hour.

     Organizing the movement of a herd of buffalo (yea, I heard of buffalo) would have been easier than getting this crowd to walk up Freemont Street. Everyone seemed to have their own agenda. Let's go shop over here. Wait, let's get another drink over here. Check out this Casino. OK. So, I made the attempt. So did Joe & Dawn but by the time the next show started we had gone a whole half a block. This was all right because it left us real close to the bar at the Four Queens right next to the street in a big open doorway so the walking traffic can get their drinks conveniently, and cheap I might add, er, I mean reasonable. The second show was better. It was an underwater spectacular featuring all kinds of tropical fish, sharks, jellyfish, submarines, coral and all. Lots of color, lots of movement, good music. Cool! When it had ended we all got together at the Four Queens bar got another drink, beer, whatever and tried to get a plan as to how we might make it another block before the next show began. This is when we ran into the second drunken Indian. OK, Native American. I'm not much for political correctness.

     This one was not so pleasant. He was on the warpath for some reason, although he didn't have the paint. There was something about Juvie that set this guy off. He kept raising his fists calling him out. Juvie, who was much more sober than the Injun tried to persuade the fellow that if he actually threw a punch he would wind up in a world of hurt. The Injun wasn't buying. A guy came out of the casino saying he had called Freemont security and they would be there shortly. The indigenous person didn't look like he was gonna leave until he had tusseled with Juvie, who was getting madder and madder himself. Just when I thought that the peace talks would break down and the armored attacks and suicide bombings would commence our peace envoy, Colin Powell, er no, Johnny Flick came over, wraps his big arm around the Indian's shoulder and herds him, suddenly docile as a lamb, down to the corner whispering in his ear. The guy seemed to have come to his senses and was ready to peacefully go on his way when two guys in uniforms on bikes swoop down on the guy and before you can say Geronimo, haul him off to the pokey. I asked John what he had said to calm the agitated fellow down. Some foolishness about giving up part of the West Las Vegas Bank and the Harra Strip for a cessation of hostilities. Land for peace, what nonsense!

     Well, that little excitement over with, Marylou and I abandon the quest to get everyone moving. We strike out on our own and with no one there to hold us back make it the remaining three blocks to the far reaches of the other end of Freemont Street. We make it back about a half a block when the last show that we would see that night began. This was an air show with planes, choppers, UFO's and all manner of things in flight. After the finale we get back to the group who had moved maybe 15 feet further along. Amazed that we had been to the Promised land and returned, they listened to our fabulous stories of the land beyond their imagination. Joe kept saying how glad he was that we had made it. He was slightly lit. This being the night before his wedding it was sort of a default bachelors party. No strippers but plenty of heavy drinking. We said our farewells for the night, made plans to hook up at the Aladdin the next day and drive John and Deb to the chapel with us. Then we split.

     Decided to drive down the Strip back to the Luxor to see it at night with all the lights. Awesome! There was a crew of guys doing roadwork in the middle of the Strip. This was about 11:30 PM. Odd, although the traffic was slightly less congested than during the day. Stopped at a Sev and looked at the trunk lid. Figuring than a metal rod was out of place I rearranged it to mirror its counterpart on the other side and now the trunk worked as good as new. All right! Eventually we arrived at Tropicana Blvd. a half block from the Luxor and noticed many small moving flashes of bright light reflected in the laser stream that emanates from the apex of the pyramid. It was quite a show. We later found that birds are attracted to the laser for some reason and fly through it at night creating sparkles. Wow! Man and nature combining to produce a light show unimagined by the designers. That's Mom for you. Always full of surprises.
 

Our temporary home

Freemont Street

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