Home Again, Home Again

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My weekend was spent roaming Las Vegas, Nevada. Vegas was a fabulous treat for my 30th birthday and a new experience for me. Here’s a basic list of what went down:

– Total and immediate sensory overload. Slot machines, half naked go-go dancers, and an Elvis serving drinks. This was just in walking from the front door of the Excalibur to our room. The hotel was great by the way. Not only was it cheep, but the revamped rooms are rather nice, the hotel was clean, and the staff was courteous and helpful. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

– We walked the strip, up and down, up and down, this includes overhanging walkways, which required stairs, lots of stairs. Sometimes this was in heels. Each day we walked an average of 4 miles. We walked so much my legs felt like rubber and I was required by by shoe inserts to survive.

– We saw Love, the Beatles inspired show by Cirque du Soliel. The opening number blew my mind and the performances, costumes, and incredible music carried me through with bliss until the end. There was less impressive stunts and acrobatic work in this one, but it was still flipping fantastic.

– On my first day, I won $150 on a 25 cent slot machine! Woo! This powered most my trip without my having to dip into my bank account.

– Outside the Bellagio, a long line of protesters marched by carrying signs that referenced immigration issues. While the fountains of the Bellagio performed an elaborate dance of water along to a cheering classical song, the protesters chanted, “Obama! Escucha! Estamos en la lucha!” (which more or less means: Obama, listen! We are in the fight!)
– We entered the Bellagio, checked out the elaborate indoor gardens, and then exited again, only to find that the protesters had been replaced by preaching missionaries, carrying their own signs about sin and Christ.

– People watching was fabulous. There really are all kinds of people to sit back and wonder at. (Speaking of people, who brings there kids to a place obviously for adults with cards full of naked women scattering the sidewalk and drunk people stumbling around at two in the afternoon. Not that I’m a prude, but it doesn’t make sense to me.)

– So, so much walking.

– Much drinking. Much dancing. Bars we hit were Coyote Ugly at the New York New York (not bad but not great), BB Kings Blues Club at the Mirage (would have been cool if anyone were there, but it was Sunday, so *shrug*), Dicks Last Resort at teh Excalibur (one giant “that’s what she said” joke), and The Bar at Times Square at the New York New York (by far our favorite with dueling pianos and great music).

– I met a multitude of Elvises hanging out in The Bar at Times Square. They let me take a picture with them.

– We saw the Tournament of the Kings dinner show full of chessy acting and jousting, and horses, and knights in shining armor, and pyrotechnics. There are no utensils, so you have to eat with your hands. Quite fun actually and they let you pet the horses at the end.

– I met up with two friends who live in Vegas. One who I’ve known for years, and we had breakfast and talked. The other I met for the first time in Vegas. We knew each other through youtube. Together we checked out the CSI Experience, rode the monorail around, got lost, and chatted. It was great to see and hang with both of them.

All in all, I had a fabulous time in Vegas, though definitely by the end of three full days, I was feeling very rough around the edges and never (and by never I mean not until an unspecified next time) wanted to see another slot machine or drink alcohol again.

On a side note: All my pictures from Vegas mysteriously vanished off my camera (the photo posted here was taken with my sister’s camera). I attempted some photo recovery programs to no avail. I suppose what happens in Vegas really does stay in Vegas.