First day in Vegas-October 8, 2011

When we woke up this morning we could not decide what to do. So, we got in the car and took off. We ended up downtown on Fremont Street. If you've not been there it is the original part of Las Vegas where the Golden Nugget is and always has been. However, the streets have been closed and a gigantic canopy built across the top, above the buildings. That means no matter what the weather you can stay cool and dry. We spent a few hours there. Then we went to the strip. The traffic was bad with about 90% of the cars having California plates. They must take over Vegas on the weekends. Anyway, we parked at MGM Grand, had lunch there and went to see the lion habitat. Then we went to the M&M Store. We've been there before but we have never seen the yellow M&M dance! It was so much fun. He or she was surrounded by many employees but he (or she) was the star. I bet the yellow M&M is a boy. Does anybody know for sure? It is just fun to stand there and look at an entire wall of huge tubes of M&Ms divided by colors. It's such a happy place. Outside of one shop there were two guys dressed to look like Michael Jackson. I'm telling you they looked so much like him it was creepy. Then there was a guy who was a statue. One guy was dressed like Gene Simmons from KISS. And the Green Lantern. They were all on the streets so people could have their pictures taken with them. People watching on the streets of Las Vegas is much more fun and interesting than people watching at an airport. I know everybody talks about how bad the economy is in LV. But it is not slowing down commerical construction. There are two huge casino/hotels under construction now and several are being remodeled. There is a ton of money being spent in this town. The hotels are packed to the gills. It is amazing to see. So much for a down economy here.