TR SNIPPETS -- BUS BITS

On one board Keno 60 posted about using the Walgreen's on Decatur and Tropicana, just a short walk from the Orleans to buy bus passes. This worked just great. The Walgreen's is 24 hours so I could go up very early at 5 AM when I could not sleep and had nothing much else to do.

I thought the walk was very safe and easy.

There were some pretty girls working the street, but they are not aggressive or much of a bother.

Walgreen's said that they don't run out of the 15 and 30 day passes with senior discount there, so we can count on them.

While I was there I picked up some snacks and a large gallon of water that cost just 99 cents as opposed to the small bottles for $2.25 for sale at the Orleans.

Along the way I noticed a Bank of America that would be a handy place for me to get more gambling money were I to run short.

Also, if I wanted some food outside the casino that great Irish Pub McMullen's is open 24 hours and there is a Jack in the Box not far from the Walgreen's.

What this does for me is make the Orleans an easy place to start my trips. In the past, the desire to buy a 30 day bus pass had me leaning toward starting my trip downtown. This time I followed up two nights at the Orleans with 5 nights on the strip, some of them one nighters, and I wanted to do that at the beginning of the trip when I was not so tired out that the check in/check out took away from the fun of the strip hotels. I'd do that again.

However to get the Orleans I decided to try getting off the WAX at the Koval stop. The idea was that I could manage a better choice of seats if I did not wait for the NYNY stop and possible crowds.

That was a mistake.

Hovering around that Koval stop are a half dozen homeless guys asking for money. They did not seem particularly troublesome, but after 5 hours on the plane I really don't want to hear sad luck stories from a guy with a beer can in a paper sack.

I talked to another regular rider who said they were harmless but always in that area.

So, next trip I'll go back to the NYNY stop which is less isolated from other riders, patrolled more often by security, and more comfortable for an old guy with a huge suitcase.