Las Vegas Marathon

I found myself in Las Vegas over the weekend, and, as proof of either how straight-laced I am or how much I loathe any form of entertainment you actually have to pay for, I was in all seriousness ready to stop someone on the street and ask them, “Just what exactly is there to DO around here?”

I spent Saturday walking up and down the Strip with my police scanner buzzing in my ear.  Ironically, I didn’t hear much happening on Las Vegas Boulevard; most of the radio traffic was in the residential areas.  I heard at least one report of a cocaine deal in an apartment somewhere beyond the casinos.

Though I ended up slowly losing a few dollars at the penny slots on Saturday (conclusion: Indian reservation slot machines are way looser), I found a worthwhile diversion by learning that the Las Vegas Marathon would be held bright and early the next morning.

So, going to sleep in my ant-infested motel room, I was up before the sun and greeted by neon lights gleaming in the pre-dawn hour.  Seeing 15,000 relatively healthy runners in Sin City was enough to keep my spirits as high as the scant club-goers, still in their $200 shirts, staggering back to their hotel suites at 6:00 in the morning.