Three words:
Better than Disneyland.
(If you love zombies, of course.)
I'm relatively new to this whole zombie phenomenon; I was only introduced to their world when "The Walking Dead" premiered on AMC and I was instantly hooked, thanks to Rick Grimes shooting that little blond girl in the face. (In his defense, she was already dead. Or undead. You know what I'm saying). My love for zombies and The Walking Dead has grown over the last few years, so when I saw there was a 5K in Vegas that involved running through hordes of zombies, I was like, "yes Yes YES!" After all, when I was training for the Vegas half last year, I would push myself during long runs by trying to convince myself that the world had ended and it was up to me and only me to get the medical supplies back to our group of survivors.
Long runs do weird things to your brain, but that's a whole 'nother post.
Anyways, I have been eagerly anticipating this zombie run for weeks, which lead me to stock up on supplies at the world's first (and only) ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE STORE. I'm not joking, it actually exists.
Better than Disneyland.
(If you love zombies, of course.)
I'm relatively new to this whole zombie phenomenon; I was only introduced to their world when "The Walking Dead" premiered on AMC and I was instantly hooked, thanks to Rick Grimes shooting that little blond girl in the face. (In his defense, she was already dead. Or undead. You know what I'm saying). My love for zombies and The Walking Dead has grown over the last few years, so when I saw there was a 5K in Vegas that involved running through hordes of zombies, I was like, "yes Yes YES!" After all, when I was training for the Vegas half last year, I would push myself during long runs by trying to convince myself that the world had ended and it was up to me and only me to get the medical supplies back to our group of survivors.
Long runs do weird things to your brain, but that's a whole 'nother post.
Anyways, I have been eagerly anticipating this zombie run for weeks, which lead me to stock up on supplies at the world's first (and only) ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE STORE. I'm not joking, it actually exists.
WOW!
You gotta love this city. I mean, not only is it a town full of blue skies, reckless ambition and ambiguously marked traffic lanes, we are also 100% prepared in the event of a zombie apocalypse. God bless Las Vegas.
What do they sell, you ask? Well, overall, it's kind of a serious place. Real weapons like the sword Michonne carries are available for purchase (how bad ass is that?) along with Isreali gas masks, food rations (including a rather delicious looking pouch labeled "brown sugar oatmeal"), and large signs that alert others to quarantined areas. They offer a four-hour course titled "Urban Zombie Knife Defense" (four hours?) and there are plenty of books detailing how exactly to survive a zombie apocalypse, along with sanitation supplies, water bottles, and something called "Zom-bombs." I didn't get close enough to look at that last one, but I'd be willing to guess it's some kind of diversion tactic used to move hoards of zombies from one area to the next.
Before you start shaking your head and muttering about those freaks in Vegas, please know that despite the serious matter at hand, there were plenty of novelty items too. I grabbed some shirts for myself and a friend, aptly labeled 'This is my zombie killing t-shirt' and seriously considered buying a zombie make-up kit. The employees were delightful and super helpful; if they believe an apocalypse is at hand, it has not affected their moods. The nice guy with the beard engaged in a little debate with me regarding zombie infections ("Well, if you are of the George Romero school of zombies, even the slightest scratch will infect you, whereas The Walking Dead belief is that we are all infected already, and any death that leaves the brain undisturbed will turn you...") while the cashier girl happily told me she is up to Season 2 Episode 6 of The Walking Dead and she really, really, really likes Shane. I just kind of nodded and kept my mouth shut. Boy is she in for a surprise.
There was even a tiny children's section. I guess the smallest ones are not immune from a world apocalypse, either. I about died reading this:
What do they sell, you ask? Well, overall, it's kind of a serious place. Real weapons like the sword Michonne carries are available for purchase (how bad ass is that?) along with Isreali gas masks, food rations (including a rather delicious looking pouch labeled "brown sugar oatmeal"), and large signs that alert others to quarantined areas. They offer a four-hour course titled "Urban Zombie Knife Defense" (four hours?) and there are plenty of books detailing how exactly to survive a zombie apocalypse, along with sanitation supplies, water bottles, and something called "Zom-bombs." I didn't get close enough to look at that last one, but I'd be willing to guess it's some kind of diversion tactic used to move hoards of zombies from one area to the next.
Before you start shaking your head and muttering about those freaks in Vegas, please know that despite the serious matter at hand, there were plenty of novelty items too. I grabbed some shirts for myself and a friend, aptly labeled 'This is my zombie killing t-shirt' and seriously considered buying a zombie make-up kit. The employees were delightful and super helpful; if they believe an apocalypse is at hand, it has not affected their moods. The nice guy with the beard engaged in a little debate with me regarding zombie infections ("Well, if you are of the George Romero school of zombies, even the slightest scratch will infect you, whereas The Walking Dead belief is that we are all infected already, and any death that leaves the brain undisturbed will turn you...") while the cashier girl happily told me she is up to Season 2 Episode 6 of The Walking Dead and she really, really, really likes Shane. I just kind of nodded and kept my mouth shut. Boy is she in for a surprise.
There was even a tiny children's section. I guess the smallest ones are not immune from a world apocalypse, either. I about died reading this:
Turn the page, and oh yes, they really took it to heart:
So yeah, it's a bit more geek-chic than survivalist-chic, but a fun day nonetheless. If you are ever in Vegas and need to kill an hour (no pun intended), I highly recommended stopping by the store. Be sure to check out the army zombie guy by the barrels of watery blood outside, or take a photo with zombie Elvis.
Army zombie guy
But more importantly, be sure to ask yourself...do you have what it takes to survive?
The Zombie Apocalypse Store is located at 3420 Spring Mountain Road and is open from 9am-9pm. If you check in on Facebook while in the store, they give you a free postcard! If you are interested in signing up for the 5K, there are only a few more spots available, but check out lasvegaszombierun.com for more information. Happy surviving!
The Zombie Apocalypse Store is located at 3420 Spring Mountain Road and is open from 9am-9pm. If you check in on Facebook while in the store, they give you a free postcard! If you are interested in signing up for the 5K, there are only a few more spots available, but check out lasvegaszombierun.com for more information. Happy surviving!
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