Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Today, we Ubered from the campground to Area 15 in downtown Las Vegas. Area 15 is an immersive entertainment district that Jane had developed a strong curiosity about, and an urge to visit it.
After being dropped off, we entered a large gray non-descript building. Inside, we encountered, flashing lights, lasers, black light decor, and throbbing music. Exploring it was like being in a hippified two-story mall. The “stores” along the main psychedelic passageway offered different immersive adventures. There were also stores, restaurants, and bars.
——————— Area 15 ———————
Jane had purchased tickets for us that bundled some of the adventures. We started with the Asylum Bar + Arcade. As we presented our tickets, we were handed a small bag of tokens. The arcade was rather conventional and we enjoyed playing pinball and a couple of large-scale video games. After our tokens were spent, we realized that the arcade had another floor. We ventured up there and among the upstairs games was a mechanical hockey game that brought back memories of my brother and I playing on one as boys. Jane quickly found enough stray tokens on the surrounding games and we played a game in honor of my boyhood memories. (Of course, with my vast experience, I won, 2-0.)
——————— Asylum Bar + Arcade ———————
The next experience on our bundle was Wink World, a Psychedelic Art House. For $2.50 each, we could buy 3-D glasses to enhance our experience, which we did. Inside, we walked through a gallery displaying unusual and truly interesting art work. At the end we were let into a series of six tiny rooms, each with moving art set to music.
——————— Art at Wink World ———————
After Wink World, we decided we needed some nourishment in order to continue our adventures, and so, entered Kaia, a Japanese resturant. I had a tasty bowl with rice, sushi and more along with an Area 15 lager and Jane had a couple of sushi rolls. We were pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the food.
——————— Lunch at Kaia ———————
Our next bundled experience was Museum Fiasco but before entering, we had to individually encounter Brain Storm, a device that could characterize us by our answers to its selective questions. Jane’s Tarot card characterization was “Dark Matter” and John’s was “Celestial Balance”.
——————— Brainstorming ———————
After the Brainstorm revelations, we proceeded into Museum Fiasco, an immersive audiovisual experience. This was a large room with mirrored walls and an internal maze of mirrors. Colored vertical lights changed colors and pattern to music. Jane quickly became over-immersed and left, but I lingered enjoying the experience and taking many photos and videos of the ever-chaning displays.
——————— Museum Fiasco ———————
Next, we embarked on a scavenger hunt throughout the building. As we found and scanned icons, our devices gave us tasks to complete in order to collect cosmic particles.
After the scavenger hunt, we undertook Bot Breach. This was a virtual reality challenge to save Area 15 from a menancing giant robot. We were armed with virtual laser guns and force shields. I successfully completed my mission by killing the robot and saving Area 15; Jane was annihilated.
———————— Bot Breach ————————
Our last Area 15 experience was outdoors. Liftoff was a ride where passengers are elevated 150 feet to see panaramic views of the surrounding Las Vegas area. The circular seating area is designed like a lounge with drink holders for passengers to imbibe during the ride. We didn’t, but, the views were fantastic and the experience very relaxing compared to the over-stimulation of lights and music we had experienced indoors.
———————— Liftoff and Las Vegas Views ————————
Post-touchdown, we wandered around Area 15 observing some of the outdoor art and features and noting that there were several other buildings that we never entered. Eventaully, we ordered an Uber ride to our next destination
———————— Area 15 Outdoor Features ————————
Our Uber driver dropped us off at Fremont Street, another area that Jane wanted to visit. Fremont Street is a pedestrain mall with a large colorfully-decorated canopy that reduces the amount of sun and provides an indoor mall vibe. The mall had lots of bars, restaurants, casinos and shoppes and featured an overhead zipline. We enjoyed strolling both directions through the attrative area, but in the end, we didn’t enter any of the businesses. Instead, we tiredly requested an Uber ride back to the campground.
———————— Fremont Street ————————
After resting awhile in our motorhome, we decided we should take this final opportunity to visit Sam’s Town, adjacent to the campground. So, we walked over to the huge complex that is a microcosm of Las Vegas: casino, hotel, restaurants, shoppes,16-plex movie theater and a bowling alley. We entered into the large casino and decided now was our last opportunity for a true Vegas experience, losing money on the slots. We selected adjacent machines and after ten or fifteen minutes, we had both lost our allocated $20. “What’s bet in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
We then continued walking the length of the casino and decided to check out the bowling alley downstairs; it was huge. Returning upstairs, we entered a large plaza with tables, chairs, and plants surrounded by the towering hotel buildings. A fountain show happened to be in progress, so we joined the audience. Afterwards, we walked through a gift shoppe before walking back through the casino and to our campground.
Upon returning to our motorhome, we ate a late snacky dinner and watched some cable TV before turning in for the evening.
———————— Fountain Show at Sam’s Town ————————
