Last week Monday (7/21), I hit the big Five Oh - 50 years old.  And what better way to spend it than a vacation in Las Vegas - The Happiest Place On Earth (for Midlifers).  No big fanfare.  Just Paula and me - shopping, gambling, and eating.

We were scheduled to fly out on Thursday at 1:00 PM.  But on Thursday morning at about 9:00 AM, I got a call from Vacations Hawaii.  The airplane is delayed in Las Vegas with mechanical problems.  The tentative flight is rescheduled for 5:00 PM, so we’ll need to be at the airport at 3:00, but to call after 12 noon to be sure.  So after 12 noon we call and were told that the plane won’t be in until later that evening and the new departure time is 6:30 on Friday morning, so be at the airport by 4:30 AM.  And that we will be compensated for the lost day.

Friday morning we made it to the airport at 4:30 AM.  The moon was full and peeking behind the coconut trees.  It’s what tourist live for.

We got in to Las Vegas at around 3:00 PM, got our rent-a-car and made a bee-line for Trader Joe’s to pick up some bottled water.  But first, I just had to snap a picture of the iconic Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas sign.  We checked in, settled down, fed ourselves to an early dinner and then fed the machines for the rest of the evening.  Here’s a view from our room at The California hotel.

The weather was clear as you can see.  Oh, did I mention that it was hot?

The next day was Saturday which meant shopping (ok, everyday meant shopping).  First stop was Meadows Mall.  No damage done there (in other words, we didn’t buy anything).  Then a stop at the 99¢ store (since Paula’s reading glasses broke) to get a few more pairs.  Then on to Burlington Coat Factory.  If you like Ross’, you’ll love Burlington Coat Factory.  They don’t just sell coats there.  Minor damage done there.  Then it was time to hit the Las Vegas Premium Outlet mall - aka The Downtown Outlet mall.  They added a new wing which equates to more stores and a bigger Coach outlet store.  There is even a True Religion outlet store there.  I found a pair for jeans marked down to $89!  But I resisted and told Paula that if I hit a jackpot, then I’ll buy them.  Even checked out the French Connection United Kingdom or FCUK store, but came out empty handed.  We headed back to the hotel for dinner and some more gambling.  It was on the Diamond Head poker machines that we were playing.  Actually, I was playing and Paula was watching as she wasn’t doing to good - gambling wise.  I held a pair of aces and saw 2 more aces pop up - Woot!  Four of a Kind!  Then Paula says “4 Aces with the kicker!”.

A $500 jackpot

Paula says now I can buy myself those jeans.

Sunday morning after breakfast we head straight to the Downtown Oulet mall and I score myself my first ever pair of True Religion jeans.

Then we headed over to the other Burlington Coat Factory store for some more shopping.  Nothing exciting at that store, so we head to the Las Vegas Outlet Mall - aka Belz.  Cruised  the mall and found a few bargains.  Oh yeah, as I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, I was planning on getting my first ever Senior Discount on Monday when I turned 50.  But as we read the sign, the 50 Plus Club discount is only good on Tuesdays, the day we were scheduled to return home so it wasn’t going to happen on this trip.  But I still had to preserve the thought:

After leaving Belz, we headed to the South Point hotel and casino to try our luck on the Hot Rod progressive poker machines.  Made a little bit on money, but nothing substantial.  So we decided to head back to the hotel the long way - down The Strip.

Caught a glimpse of the Bellagio water show

When they build in Las Vegas, they don’t fool around

We got back to The Cal, took our purchases up to the room, and headed back down for dinner.  Tried our luck on the video poker again - no luck.  Tried the video Keno - no luck.  Walked on over to Main Street - no luck.  Okay, called it an early night.

Monday was our last day for shopping so we headed first to Trader Joe’s to stock up on the omiyage.  Then it was back to Belz for a quick exchange that Paula had to do - wrong size.  A quick swing back to South Point hotel and casino to deposit some money, then I told Paula that I wanted to check out the new mall that was built next to Fry’s Electronics.  So we did a drive though.  Wow!  I was impressed with this place.  It’s named:

And it’s built just like a little village.  There’s a big Whole Foods in the front corner of the complex that looks like it’s just about ready to open, but the rest of the mall consists of smaller upscale shops.  And there are little restaurants with outdoor seating and roads that go though the complex - just like a little town.  There is even a town center.  A multi-level parking structure is just on the outside of the village so as not to disrupt the charm of this little oasis in the middle of the desert.  A map of Town Square can be found on their web site here (roll over Directory and select Interactive Map).  There is even a theater complex.  It appears to be only about 1/2 occupied right now but more shops are opening up in the near future.  We didn’t get out and walk around but did drive around to snap a bunch of pictures.  Here’s a little preview of Town Square, Las Vegas:

This place is huge

It’s very well maintained

It’s like it’s own little town in Las Vegas 

Cozy outdoor cafe

A nice mix of architecture

Little kiosks outside of Juicy Couture

A gazebo in the center of town for performances

A beautifully manicured lawn in the center of town

Even a water feature for the children to frolic in during the hot summer days

These strings of lights adds to the village charm.  It must be beautiful at night.

What’s a town without an Apple store?

If you look closely, you can see the Oakley guy with the Rock On hand sign

Security uses Segways to get around a town this big

Ann Taylor

I told Paula that when we come back in the winter, we’ll have to return to Town Square and walk around in the cold, brisk winter air.  I’m sure we can spend a whole day there.  I’m so looking forward to returning there.

We still had some time to kill so we drove over to the MGM to eat a pretzel from New York Pretzel and visit the lions.

Aren’t they just too cute.

After the MGM, we stopped by Fashion Show mall to see if any sales were going on and just to make the most of the vacation time we had left.  I was able to snap these pictures of the Wynn and it’s new tower, Encore.

We then headed back to The Cal for our last night in Sin City.  Ate a nice dinner and proceeded to spend the rest of our allowance in the machines.  I put my Player’s Card in and lo and behold, they remembered my special day!

We packed our things and all our purchases, stayed up the whole night as we always do on the last night of our stay, checked out at 5:00 AM and headed to the car rental return.  Checked in at the airport, forced ourselves to stay awake until the airplane was on it’s way home.  We always sleep on the flight back - it just seems to make the trip that much quicker.  And we returned home to 2 happy dogs and our two daughters.

I couldn’t think of a nicer way to celebrate my 50th birthday.  I mean, hitting Megabucks would’ve made my birthday complete.  Heck, it would’ve made my life complete, but such was not the case.  But I have no complaints.  We had fun.  We won a few jackpots, but ended up leaving our gift from President Bush (stimulus check) in Las Vegas.

One thing that we didn’t do on this trip is get our fix of In-N-Out burger.

Oh yeah, and what would a shopping trip be without me bringing home this:

Yup, another pair of shoes

Some people love to shop (me).

Some people hate to shop.

Some people think they love to shop when actually, they just love to buy.

A person who goes to the mall only when they need something specific, then purchases the first one they find and then goes home, is not a shopper. That’s a buyer.

A shopper will browse and look around to find that specific item on sale - even if it means visiting a couple/few stores. In fact, a shopper must visit more than one store to justify the purchase because if they had bought from the first store, then they’d just be a buyer.

See, shopping is like hunting. And finding the item on sale is part of the chase. Buying the first one you see is like shooting a lame animal. There needs to be a chase to appreciate the kill. And paying less than retail for an item is the kill. The bigger the savings, the larger the kill.

Taking it a step further, shoppers don’t go out only when they’re looking for something specific. Shoppers will go out anytime - on the hunt for a good bargain. A good bargain on what? Doesn’t matter. If it’s on sale, it’s a score.

A buyer will pay $2 for a $1 item that a buyer needs.
A shopper will pay $1 for a $2 item that a shopper doesn’t need.

After years of observation and training from my wife, I have learned the art of shopping. Shopping doesn’t mean you’ll always find a good deal. Like everything else, there are good days and there are bad days. Some days, a shopper even comes home with nothing. gasp!

A man goes fishing all day and comes home empty handed.
His wife says “You spent all day fishing and you come home with nothing?”
The man replies “That’s why it’s called fishing and not catching”.

A shopper goes shopping all day and comes home empty handed.
A buyer says “You spent all day shopping and come home with nothing?”
The shopper replies “That’s why it’s called shopping and not buying”.

And men, you too can learn the art of shopping. Just like I did. It’s not difficult and in fact, is kind of challenging. It does require some patience on your part and it does give you exercise. But best of all, you get to create your own look instead of dressing like how someone else wants you to look. After all guys, if you let someone else buy your clothes, you might as well have them lay out you pants, shirts, and socks on the bed for you every morning because that’s what you’re allowing to happen.

Give a man an outfit, dress him for a day.
Teach a man to shop for his own outfit, dress him for a lifetime.

Oh, here’s a tip. If you’ve found something on the sale rack but just can’t decide whether you should buy it or not, whatever you do, do not put it back on the rack. Hold on to it like was your firstborn. Then walk around the store with it and contemplate the purchase. After lugging it for some time, you’ll come to your senses and remember the ol’ shopper’s adage: Just buy it - I can always return it later.

Did I even mention that I love to shop?

Well, I do. Especially when it’s Ala Moana Sidewalk Sale weekend. By no means is it like the sidewalk sales of Old Ala Moana, but a sale nonetheless.

Speaking of Old Ala Moana, here’s a memory:

Here at Midlife Crisis, I’ll be visiting Old Ala Moana every now and then, remembering the good old days and testing your memory. So here’s the first test:

Other than Liberty House and Sears, there were 2 other stores where you could enter from the street level and come out on the mall level and vice versa. One of those stores was Woolworth’s. What was the other one?

Ed and Dons had 2 stores in the mall. Where were they?

What was the name of the leather goods store and where was it located?

Otherwise, have a good weekend. See you at the mall.