Parrothead Party at Tommy Rockers

Part Two: Viva Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada - We were up and out of Salt Lake City by 9 am, as we had a very, very long - 400 mile - drive south on I-15 to Las Vegas. I-15 goes straight south, takes a right at Arizona for 26 miles, then enters Nevada. The weather was beautiful and sunny. And it only improved the more we continued south! The future was looking bright: for those you living on a planet other than MINE - we are going to Las Vegas to see Jimmy Buffett - two nights in a row!

We saw our first Parrotheads at the rest stop near milepost 90. My decorations went up immediately! Parrots now plaster our windows. Lisa went to the Margaritaville Cafe in Negril, in March and brought me a giant blow-up "Air Margaritaville" airplane, which now hangs from the front of Goldie. I still had 4 extra tickets and plan to resort to shameless commerce in Vegas. (A side note: The ticket I sold to the Parrothead in Phoenix? She emailed as soon as she saw my return address - she is FROM Beaverton and her folks live just down the road from us!)
 
We checked into the oh-so-exclusive RV Resort in Vegas at 3:00 - obviously, we made great time today and we gained an hour - back to Pacific Time. It was 90 degrees and I love it! (Excuse me, but wasn't it SNOWING yesterday???)
 
DT has finished his jog.  We will go out in search of food. Shabbat Shalom from Las Vegas.
 
Added later: Our search for food was delayed, because we ended up at the Las Vegas Parrothead party at Tommy Rocker's! Of course, this restaurant HAS food, but we were at a private party in the parking lot, and as it was a Buffett party, they were serving Cheeseburgers (in Paradise). We entered the bar, paid our $10 cover charge and then lined up to get our graft. First you were given a "ticket" - a laminated "Last Man Standing" party placard, complete with lanyard (color of your choice), a tropical straw hat, plastic leis, stickers, temporary tattoos, Corona bottle openers, Mardi Gras beads and other assorted Buffett "stuff". We also received tickets for a beer or margarita and a ticket for a cheeseburger. Obviously, this was the best ten bucks we have ever spent! The bar was packed and the Buffett party spilled-out into the parking lot, which was decorated by the Las Vegas Parrothead Club for the festivities. Buffett music blasted from the sound system. We knew no one when we entered, but now have new, new best friends (Cindy and somebody? from San Diego). Cindy was wearing a hat of her own design: it was a basic beach straw sun hat, with a bikini-clad Barbie doll sitting in a lounge chair on the very top of the hat. Barbie is hoisting a to-scale mug of beer. The hat was also decorated with fresh flowers. (Obviously this millinery concoction is not sanctioned by Mattel.) But this hat is just a small sampling of the clothing people had donned for the party. If you have never seen a 250 lb. man in a grass skirt and coconut-shell bra... well, you haven't lived! If he is wearing a sharks fin hat, well, that's just gravy. I can't say much - I have quite an array in my own "Jimmy Buffett Concert" apparel line.
 
The party was just hopping! We knew it was going to be a major blast, so we decided to leave before the police showed up. Titled after a song on Jimmy's new CD, the Last Man Standing party was going to live-up to its moniker. We headed out in search of food. Specifically, Mexican food. Mind you, Tommy Rockers has GREAT food, but you simply could not MOVE in any part of the restaurant or parking lot, and I am sure the wait for a meal would be hours.
 
We passed several 24-hour taco restaurants and decided to try our luck. The place we chose had a drive-up window and the window was busy. Inside, there were no customers seated, but several waiting for take-out. The TV was loudly blasting a Mexican movie - we could barely carry-on a conversation. The walls were decorated with things that were like signs, but also were like paintings, of waterfalls, but the paintings were plugged-in and the water "moved". I ordered a chicken taco ($1.65) and DT ordered a taco and a cheese enchilada. We asked if they had beer, and we were pointed to a door in the corner, that led to a 7-11-type shop. DT paid for the food and I wandered next door. The shop reeked of cigarette smoke, provided by two people seated at a line of video poker machines. One seat was occupied by a heavy-set man drinking coffee and pushing away at his machine. (He may live in that chair.) A middle-aged woman, wearing black and white plaid capris and a leopard-print shirt, was working the other machine. You could buy a 16 oz. BudLight for $1.50 and carry it through the door to your taco. The food was divine, gigantic portions, freshly-fried taco shells, very spicy and if we don't get sick, we may return.

RV Park: Outdoor Resorts Las Vegas