This is the third time I am writing about a trip to Las Vegas in the past two years, and my 7th visit overall. Oddly enough, all six of my previous trips took place in either August or September. It may be a coincidence, but people do generally travel more frequently in summertime, and, strangely enough, I have never visited Vegas alone.

Despite the fact that I am not opposed to solo travel, it would never occur to me to visit Vegas alone. When I think of places I travel to alone, I tend to think of long contemplative hikes or bike rides, definitely not Las Vegas.

What is odd is that, while Vegas feels more like a group activity than any other destination, I can think of few other places where it is easier for someone to entertain themselves. The shows, the games, and general sensory overload all around make it nearly impossible to imagine boredom.

One thing every traveler knows is that it is possible to return to a place one has already visited and still get a completely different experience. This is especially true if it is a different season or under different circumstances. Vegas, in early February, during the middle of the week, is just not as crowded as it is on a weekend in the summer.

This translates into both conveniences and inconveniences. Yes, it was a lot easier to walk around the strip. There were considerably less crowds to navigate. There were even considerably less people out there promoting things like limousines to strip clubs and shows. However, the downside was that I learned that there is indeed a time when I can walk into a casino in Las Vegas and not see a single open BlackJack table.

That time is 8:45 A.M. on a Tuesday morning in the month of February.

It was also necessary to walk to another resort to find an open pool.

In some ways, it was the same Vegas experience I had always remembered; Gambling. Buffets. Staying up really late. And the random entertainment that appears out of nowhere.

In other ways it was different.

I learned that the Flamingo Hotel, which is the original Las Vegas hotel, actually has live flamingos there!

Walking through this exhibit was an interesting experience. It was the first time I had ever seen a significant number of children anywhere in the City of Las Vegas! Families and drunk people in the same place just always feels odd to me.

It is also interesting to observe how quickly any particular place can change. My last visit to Las Vegas was a mere six months ago! Yet, I noticed for the first time a pedestrian mall, with shops and restaurants, like In-N-Out Burger, between the Linq and Harrahs in the middle of the strip.

Freemont Street, the original Vegas dating back to the middle part of the 20th Century, seems to be undergoing some sort of major revival, with concerts, street performers, and a good number of people walking around on a Tuesday night!

Even the table games seemed to have increased in stakes!

With the world, and particularly cities in a constant state of flux, as long as we do not have a mechanism to travel through time, one can never travel to the EXACT same place already visited. Something will always be different.

Given the kinds of experiences I typically write about on this blog, and the types of topics I regularly discuss, it may come as surprising to some that I love Las Vegas. I always talk about getting outdoors, staying healthy, and avoiding the dangers of materialism. Las Vegas, at its core, is the antithesis of all this.

I just love to observe how Las Vegas has this power to transform people. Some would say for the better, others would say for the worse, and both would have a valid point. Feeling like a different person, as I do every time I come to Vegas, can be thought of as a form of escapism. However, I feel that it is not about escapism at all.

At some point in time, we have all heard someone say “I need to go find myself”, as if the “self” is something that somehow gets lost and needs to be located just like a set of keys or a glove. While I may be getting hung up on semantics here, I honestly believe that nobody ever fully loses themselves. They may be afraid to be their true selves, or be in a setting that brings out only one component of their more complicated selves. This is when it is good to find a different environment for a while, which Las Vegas most certainly is for nearly all people.

Las Vegas has a strange way of demonstrating that all accepted societal norms are malleable and negotiable, but end up as what they are for a reason. Las Vegas does not accept norms such as not drinking on a weekday and going to bed by a certain time. However, there are other norms that develop in Vegas based on that setting. It is expected that nobody splits 10s at a blackjack table, and, at said tables I’d be shocked to see male dancers.

Nearly all people have at least one behavior or interest that surprises people because, on the surface, it does not jive with their other interests. However, there is always a common thread, which often can be found by digging deeper. Whether we are getting to know ourselves, or trying to understand someone else, determining the common thread between these seemingly unrelated interests can help us all reach a deeper understanding.