That sinking feeling...

While we were staying in Vegas for two nights, we booked two separate hotels, which turned out to be a great idea. So Sat morning we had to check out, haul our stuff back out to the car and head towards our next night's home. It was about 4 miles away, so not too bad. Just before leaving the hotel, we could fight our temptation no more and indulged in one of several million Vegas buffets- ours cost 7.77- go figure huh. Too bad those numbers could never come up while we were gambling! It was your typical buffet, lots of overeating going on. We got our fill and headed out. As we walked towards the parking area, Rachel immediately noticed my bike was no longer on top of my car, where it has comfortably ridden along for two weeks now. Sure, it was a gamble to leave it up there. At first I was really kicking myself, thinking of things I could have done differently that would have given that bike a better chance to survive this trip. I feel as if there wasn't a whole lot of things I could have done outside of what I did- that putting it inside of my vehicle would have only tempted them to smash my window t take it out- cause I'm positive that would have taken less time than having to take tools to the lock that was securing it and do what they had to do to get it off. Bike gone is bad enough, but having to deal with a smashed window would have been even worse. My skis were not taken, as those are locked as well. Maybe they didn't have enough hands, I don't know. I shouldn't have to worry about these things and I shouldn't have to blame myself for some lowlife asshole stealing my shit. I worked pretty hard to get that bike, but I realize there is little I can do now about it. I did venture down to the police station to get a police report. All of the people that I spoke to regarding this matter were extremely helpful and I was grateful for that. Having saved all of the bike paperwork, I luckily still had to serial number for the bike. This is very helpful because many states keep databases of serial numbers of items that either turn up found, or pawned at the shops (many of which are 24 hours- I’m guessing so that people can pawn off their jewelry to keep on gambling for just a tad bit longer). This is my only hope, but given that this is roughly the 6th bike stolen from me and little success has been achieved in the past, I'm not expecting to ever see the bike again. I found it in me to laugh while at the police station when the kind lady asked me if I had ever been a victim of a similar crime in the past. I could have gone on and on with her, as we pretty much have to lock our bikes up inside our house now at home in Raleigh due to the high frequency of thefts, but decided to just tell her that yes, in the past I have had items stolen from me. Most all have not been from neglect, but rather the sheer determination of these dirt bags who make a life out of stealing from people who work hard and mind their own business. Luckily I remembered to tuck away everything else that night, such as my electronics and any straps that might even look like they belong to a purse or some other bag under the seat so as not to give anyone a reason to smash out my window. They certainly could have gotten money for my ipod or satellite radio…

Anyways, it took a few hours to put that partially in the back of my mind- realizing I was 600 bucks in the hole without even really gambling! Ouch!! After dealing with all of this, Rachel and I checked into our other hotel, Arizona Charlie’s on Boulder Strip- somewhat removed from the real chaos. This place was really nice, and considerably cheaper as well. Our room was set up like a suite- a couch and then two rooms with a tv in each. Blow dryer, check. Iron, check. Functioning shower water temps, check. More secure parking, check. All it required us to do was figure out the bus system so we could make it to the main strip. Most cities have an automated number you can call to get route information, and after a little research we got that number. Gave it a try and was amazed when a real person was actually on the other line ready to assist me. She was incredibly nice and helpful and 30 minutes later, we were on a bus to the strip. Our choice of footwear was flipflops, of course. Once on the strip, we watched the water show at the Belagio, then essentially walked from one end to the other, which is quite a good ways. There is lots to see for sure, but for the most part, from my experience, once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen em all. Slot machines, card tables- same things over and over. Some hotels are just more difficult than others to find your way out of! Rachel saw Kathy Griffin in the bathroom at the Belagio- pretty random. We walked and walked, and walked some more to the point where our feet could stand it no longer. At about 2am we hop on the city bus back to the hotel and call it a night. Upon our arrival, we noticed our feet were disgustingly dirty- how were not exactly sure, but I have a couple guesses. The strip is a filthy place, in many more ways than one- our feet looked as if we walked barefooted the entire night when really our bare feet never touched the pavement. Pretty gross. It was certainly another interesting night in Vegas, and again, no luck gambling. Lot of Jazzy wheelchairs around Vegas I might add.