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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Viva Las Vegas (and a return to reality)

On my way home from Salt Lake City and Alt Summit, I stopped overnight in Las Vegas. While I'm not much of a 'Vegas person', I do have a major obsession with old neon signs, so the bright lights of Vegas, especially the vintage lights, do hold an attraction for me. I got into town late, but thought I'd take a quick walk around my hotel to grab some photos of my favorites of the lights nearby.  




Other than being really affordable and having great signage, I choose the El Cortez as my home for the evening because it is one of the few Vegas hotels to have retained it's original facade (they added on next to the original hotel). The Spanish-style hotel, owned by Bugsy Siegal for about 6 months in 1945, is also one of the only hotels where you can still play slots with quarters. 






The medians and walkways near the Fremont Street Experience serve as the Neon Museum, with many vintage Vegas signage relocated to the area. While I appreciate that this wonderful signage was saved, it's a bit unfortunate that the bright lights of modern Fremont Street (and in the case of my favorite- the Chief Hotel sign, even the scaffolding of the zip line) can obscure what were once the brightest lights in Vegas.


After seeing how affordable rooms in Vegas can be, the mister and I are talking about returning soon. I'll definitely be seeking out more of the historic neon signs there for my collection of photos. If you ever visit, I'd encourage you to look beyond the modern glitz and glamour for a bit to appreciate what remains of old school Vegas. 

Now that I've returned home from Alt Summit, I have to admit, it's been a rough re-entry into reality. I don't talk about it very often, but some of you know that I have a neuro-sensory disorder called Fibromyalgia. While I've learned to live with it fairly well, some days are tougher than others and the last two days have brought me to a halt with my least favorite symptom- awful fatigue. So, as I ease back into things, I hope that you'll forgive the lack of posts lately. I hope to be back next week with lots of Valentine's ideas!

7 comments:

  1. Great shots, friend! I love that last animated gif - might have to steal someday if I make it back to Vegas (I actually love it there)

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    1. Thanks Brianne! I get stupidly excited whenever I have a reason to make a GIF- they're so fun! Feel free to borrow anytime. ;)

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  2. Great shots! Vegas is great. I used to go back in the day when you could actually rent a deck chair at a motel on the strip. YES, the deck chairs by the pool were for rent so you could crash and sleep.

    Love the OLD Vegas - that of the gangsters and Liberace and all. The new Vegas is just a little too tidy...

    We should meet sometime! (<------just kidding - can you forgive me for introducing myself 8,000 times to you each.time we met at Alt?????) <----there's probably a treatment for that SOMEWHERE.

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    1. Thanks Sandra! Ha- that's amazing about the deck chairs. I definitely think I would have enjoyed old Vegas- new Vegas kind of freaks me out. No worries about the introductions-I'm sure there are people I have forgotten I've met too. ;)

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  3. love.love.love these shots. will we be seeing a post of all the Salt Lake City signs :)

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    1. Thanks Melanie! You know what- I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to go take photos of the SLC signs! I'll be back there in March, I'll have to do it then.

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  4. Good post of sign boards.It is very important for a business to proof the identity of the business & by this people know the exact location.

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