Saturday, February 21, 2009

They must not do laundry in Las Vegas!

Ole was down to his last clean pair of undies so the day finally came when I had to do laundry. I usually carry enough clothing in the rig so that I don't have to go to the laundromat more than once every two weeks. You know what an ugly, boring and expensive proposition that can be. And the things you find in laundromats can be so disgusting - that is if you can even FIND a laundromat these days.

Big Brother was in the same shape - no clean socks left. So after sorting two weeks worth of dirty clothes we perused the phone book and located what we thought was a close-by laundromat. Now mind you, EVERYTHING in Vegas is 10 miles away - I don't care where you are at the present moment - whatever you want is 10 miles away and always in heavy traffic.

So we drove our 10 miles, reached the location and guess what? No laundromat - poof - it had disappeared. Closed up and converted into a book store with slot machines. Now we knew there were other laundromats listed in the yellow pages that we had looked at, but had neglected to write the addresses down (of course). And, have you ever tried to find a phone book theses days? They're non-existent too what with everyone carrying cell phones. Big Brother is pretty familiar with the layout of the city, so we thought we'd go by what he remembered from the phone book. The second laundry that we found was not a self-service laundry, but one of those drop-off places. Believe me, I would have dropped the laundry off, but I had so much (including rugs and some blankets) but it would have bankrupted me. So on to the next place he thought he remembered. And then several more.

We left the house at 11 o'clock, and we had now wasted 2 and a half hours and hadn't even gotten our clothes into a washing machine yet. Frustration is setting in big time. By this time we're all the way on the other side of the city and cl0se to where we started out. That's when, in pure frustration I decided to go back home and sit down in front of the computer to locate a laundromat. I googled Las Vegas self-service laundries, then plugged their address into Streets and Trips to determine their actual location. When I found one that was only 10 miles away I phoned them to make sure they were still there, to determine that they were actually self-service and what their hours of operation were.

Success!! The Rainbow Laundromat was only 10.2 miles from here and was open until 8:30 p.m. By this time it was getting to be 3 o'clock and the normally heavy traffic was getting even heavier. But I forged ahead, working my way through dodging overly assertive drivers from here to there and finally got my clothes into actual washing machines by 3:30 in the afternoon. Folded the last item at 5:30 and drove in the driveway at 6:30 p.m.

The lady that ran the laundromat told me that laundromats are closing in the city because all the big apartment complexes are putting in their own big laundry facilities instead of just a machine or two, so the apartment people don't need to go to laundromats anymore. And of course all the "rich folks" in LV wouldn't think of doing their own laundry - they farm it out - drop off and pick up or even have the laundry service come get it and deliver it. Of course you've got to have a bit of money to afford going to the laundromat these days too. By the time I was done I had gone through $25 worth of quarters. A quarter gives you 6 minutes worth of drying time. The washing machine was $2.25, with a very small drum and water that only filled to the 3/4 level so you couldn't load very many clothes in.

BIG rip off!!

I HATE this city and I can't wait to leave.

Love Lena




3 comments:

Schnitzel and the Trout said...

Lena, you just ventured into my least favorite place in the whole world--laundromats! Good for you taking it into your own hands--for two men--ya sure!!

StitchinByTheLake said...

I hate laundromats and rarely have to go to one thank goodness. But when camping it's sometimes a necessity. I won't go though unless my husband goes with me! blessings, marlene

Meggie Marchstives@gmail.com said...

Don't you LOVE the smell of soap-infused humidity? Your post reminded me of my childhood vacationing in a pop-up camper. I LOVED going to the laundromat because it was an activity that ventured on normal. The folks who inhabited laundromats, I imagined, probably were able to take nice hot showers, and cook food in a real kitchen (instead of over a camp stove) and had an actual refrigerator, instead of an ice chest. Camping was different back then, wasn't it? Not as many people had RVs. Camping has taken a turn for the better, in my book.
Are you going anywhere else before you come back home?