Road trip, or things I learned in Laughlin

My sweet husband decided I needed a vacation ( I did) and booked a weekend getaway to Laughlin, where I had never been.  I haven't been very many places in my life.  Sadly, my first husband had been everywhere and didn't want to go back to see anything with me. Chris wants to go everywhere I have never been and we have been creating a small list of those places; Laughlin and Oatman were on that list.

I know, you're saying "Oatman"?  My Dad always said I should go, just to see the wild burros in the street.  It's a faux Western town, total tourist trap, with wooden sidewalks and mock gunfights in the street. The burros were sweet and tame and stood there while you scratched their heads.  Some of them wanted the little hay squares we bought from the vendor, but I suspect most of them really wanted something more interesting, like Kettle corn or potato chips.  They would take the proffered square, then drop it.  ah well.  I gave half the bag to some delighted kids who ran off to try to feed the burros.  It was a perfect day, not too hot and not too cold and I really enjoyed the trip through the desert, talking about how the people who made the movie "Cars" must have been out that way, as a lot of the landscape reminded me of the background in the movie.

The whole point of the trip, for me, was to get some rest. I took a longer than I planned nap and by the time I woke up, most of the food places were on the verge of closing.  We looked on Yelp and found a place with terrible photos but great reviews,Bumbleberry Flats.  We went and were delighted by the food.  Our waiter, Peter was sweet and enthusiastic , HOW he managed that level of enthusiasm at midnight is beyond me.  I recommend this as a go-to if you are ever in Laughlin.  I also have a dire warning....

We took the water taxi to the Colorado Belle.  The water taxi was terrific, the weather was perfect and the trip up the river was just what I had hoped it would be.  We got to the Belle and that's where the trouble started.  I have never met more negative people as a group than those who work at the Belle and the Edgewater.  The buffet at the Belle was closed ( something they neglected to TELL us and we wandered all over before finding the shuttered restaurant)  We didn't WANT pizza or burgers, so we went over to the Edgewater.  Here is where the caution comes in.  Don't.  Just DON'T!  where do I begin with the level of misery that was their sad little buffet?  The stale bagels (my Dad used to call bagels "cement doughnuts" but these had been sitting out for who knows how long and were dry as a fart in a windstorm to boot)  The huge block of  "Smoked salmon" that was tasteless?  The lack of fresh ANYTHING????  When I asked the waitress what this particular dessert was- it appeared to be some kind of cake in a cup with a mysterious compote on it- she replied "They don't let us eat the food here."  WHAT???? My first thought was they didn't want the help getting sick! The best thing was the cake that looked like it came from an offsite bakery and the two mimosas I had.    When I went to he restroom in the casino, the custodian was complaining LOUDLY how people were pigs, accompanied by grunting noises.  Seriously?  You are insulting people as they walk in?  I looked at her and she said, " oh not everyone".  I know that this is not your dream job and it can be frustrating, but if you are unhappy you need to find something else.  The whole vibe of the Edgewater was one of decay and unhappiness, as if they put new paint over old without bothering to clean what was beneath. It made me uncomfortable and we went back to Harrah's where the staff seemed to be having a great time and the vibe was MUCH better.

I am still trying to find that hour we lost on Saturday night.....