When you relocate to a city like Las Vegas, It’s sometimes hard to get used to living in a place that is ALIVE from sun up to sun down. When I moved there a couple of years ago, I came from Los Angeles, so I thought I knew what a live city was. NOT!

L.A. doesn't have anything on Vegas, when it comes to nightlife and other 24 hour activities! In Vegas there is literally something always going on. No matter what your preference in entertainment and recreation, something is always happening in Vegas!

I found out some interesting things the two “long and quick” years that I SPENT there, and SPENT there, and SPENT there! Let’s just say, I SPENT a great deal of time getting acquainted with Vegas.

I of course learned very quickly that: you can’t expect to go to the casino everyday and figure out a surefire winning system, method, schedule, angle, gimmick, scam, trick or scheme to win at slots or on the table. The lesson Learned? The casinos will win every time! (Not that I I would ever try anything illegal, nor did I ever play with a lot of money. I did, however, read books on poker playing strategies and I tried various betting methods as well as theories on playing the slots – all to no avail).

Like I mentioned, it was a “long and quick” two years. Two years can go quickly, but I say it was long, because I learned so much, it seemed like longer. I didn't really learn a lot about gambling (in spite of all the poker books), but I learned about myself and about other people. I moved there alone, after my son turned 20 and was FINALLY out on his own. Having been a divorced and relatively attractive female at the time, I moved to Vegas, and needless to say, I lost my mind!

[I’d tell you all about it, but I’m back in Cali now, and you know what they say about Vegas. (Don’t make me say it guys. You know WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS STAYS IN VEGAS!]

Anyway, one thing I did find out that I am totally at liberty to share with you, had to do with a very fun location. It is a spot for the whole family to hang out at when you go to Vegas. If you want to have a really exciting and memorable time in Vegas, but you have your children (or your parents) with you, the excitement and buzz that you will find on Fremont Street can provide enjoyment for people of all ages.

People literally flock to The Las Vegas Strip annually and as a result, the location is so popular, it attracts hundreds of thousands (if not more) of people each year. A lot of the travelers already have some ideal in mind about what they want to do and see when they get there. But is visiting Freemont Street ever on the list?

When I lived in Vegas, it was plain to see that Fremont Street was not on the typical tourist list of things to do. I found that to be unbelievable since Fremont Street has so much to offer to tourists and locals alike. If you have NEVER visited downtown Las Vegas and enjoyed The Fremont Experience, you haven’t really experienced all of Vegas!

You can’t even begin to know what you and your family are missing. If you haven’t stood under that giant LED canopy screen that towers 90-feet above a pedestrian mall and listened to the 550,000 watts of concert quality sound pumping!

Every night, starting at dusk, the Viva Vision shows appear nightly on the hour. The outdoor mall area is lined with unique retail shops and kiosks. The locals tend to favor the legendary casinos that you find up and down the Fremont Street Experience. There are more than 60 restaurants as well as the thousands of loose slots. Some of them still pay in coins (true Las Vegas style), instead of the more modern “ticket” style payout like today’s casinos.

(Speaking of old school stuff, I’m a big fan of stud poker, and although there are a gazillion places to play poker in Las Vegas, there are only a few that still host “7 card stud poker”. One of those places happens to be on Freemont Street)

This huge space that encompasses the Freemont Street Experience is definitely the hub of the downtown area. With it’s two permanent performance stages providing awesome entertainment, it is free and always open to the public. So you can roam, eat and window shop to your heart’s content. There’s even plenty of nearby parking. (I used to park at the Plaza Hotel a few blocks away because you can have a minimum of 3 hours (sometimes more) of FREE parking. That’s plenty of time to go enjoy yourself, walk around, eat, do a little gambling and still get away without having to pay to park.

Now, there are more reasons than ever to include The Fremont Experience on your list of "things to do" in Las Vegas.  More recently, they expanded the Freemont Experience so that it extends further on the east side of the major artery to the street (Las Vegas Blvd), as well as to the west. This was the city’s effort to help the smaller businesses and establishments that don’t’ get to fully benefit from the revenue that flows into the city each year. Many of these downtown businesses were on their way under, prior to the expansion of The Fremont Experience. The expansion helped to save quite a few business. When tourists go to Vegas and patronize the city’s downtown area, they are actually helping to build this section back up to the kind of place visitors once enjoyed, just as much as the other end of the Las Vegas Strip.

The expansion not only helped the existing shopkeepers, but also allowed for additional shops and establishments to come into the area and generate an income. There are more places to eat, places to go dancing, even a huge multiplex cinema! You might be thinking who visits Vegas and goes to the movies? But in Vegas, nothing is "just" anything, so a movie is not "just" a movie, it's an experience!

For those readers who aren’t already familiar with Fremont Street’s charm, I encourage you to be sure and take a second look at what the The Fremont Experience has to offer. Whether you’re going with the kids and other family, or hanging out for the weekend with friends or a special love interest, you will find something fun and enjoyable to do on Freemont Street.

You Can Do Vegas SOLO!

Freemont Street is such a cool lace, you can even hangout there by yourself. As I mentioned earlier, I moved to Vegas alone, and knew absolutely no one at all. I spent a great deal of time on my own, exploring the not as populated, less touristy places (Wow – touristy is a real word?)

I learned about a lot of great places to eat, and how to get quite a bit of freebies, and discounts, simply because I was a local. I spent many a happy Sunday morning sitting at the Starbucks table under the Freemont Street canopy. I sat merrily alone, enjoying a Tall Latte and a Carmel Glazed Pecan Roll (to die for!). Some days I simply went to enjoy the live entertainment, or “people watch”. (I’m not some kind of a stalker or anything, I just like to watch people have a good time and interact with each other). My point, of course, is I was quite content to just enjoy being in such an invigorating atmosphere. I didn’t have to be playing the slot machines or stud poker. Sometimes, believe it or not, I would visit Freemont Street and didn’t even go into a casino! (Yes, you can actually get to that point if you live in Vegas long enough).

Now that I have shed a little extra light on where to go in Vegas, I hope you will decide to spend some time on Freemont Street on your next trip. More visitors need to know what a wonderful experience they’re missing out on, by not including it in their Las Vegas itinerary.

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