Viva Las Vegas!!

We went to Las Vegas last weekend. A little far from White Rock, but they do have beaches there, just a little far from an ocean.

I've need thinking a lot about this post, and what I really want to say. The past two times we have been to Vegas, first in 1995, then in 2008, have been fun, and we saw a lot, and did a lot. The first time, we were starving students, and could barely afford it, but we went to a couple of cheap/free shows, ate a lot of buffet food, and spent a whopping $4 on nickel slots. The second time was better, as Stefani got a couple of good deals, and we had a bit more money. This time was a bit different though...

Our flight left Bellingham at 10AM Friday morning. On the flight I wondered how this trip was going to go. There was a large group of 20-something girls going wild, and getting drunker by the minute. They were only the beginning.

Once we were in Vegas, everywhere you looked, everywhere you walked, everywhere you went, were drunk 20-somethings, bikinis, really loud music, sexy advertising, and advertising sex. It seems that the saying "what goes on in Vegas" has become a motto for everyone there, and a lot seems to be going on, and coming off. Previously, our sensitivities have not been so ... sensitive; but this trip seemed to be different. There are more parties, more drinking in the streets, more loud nonsense, and way more skin. The street-corner preachers at the Bellagio fountains and Fremont Street have a lot more work to do than before, let's put it that way.

So, this is looking like goodbye Las Vegas, more than anything else. I don't think we will be back anytime soon, and when we do, it will either be to the Wynn, which is in a cleaner, classier (more expensive) area, or we will go to Red Rock Casino, which is way off the strip on the outskirts of Vegas - someplace away from the Sin in the City.

Now, that said, we DID have fun! There is a beach at the Rio that is free for the public, and we spent a few hours there. We spent a few hours at the pool at our hotel (Bally's), until the partiers woke up and started their day. We saw Mystere, which is a Cirque show that everyone should take an opportunity to see when in Vegas. We saw La Reve again, watched The Sirens of TI. That's another change. Treasure Island has a pirate ship show. It used to be the pirates against the British, and the show was filled with pyrotechnics blowing up the ships, stunt men falling in the water, swashbucklers fighting, walking the plank - all the great pirate stuff! Now, it is a group of horny pirates being seduced by a bunch of horny strippers, and it is filled with sexual innuendos and double entendres. Nice family friendly show...

Best time we had in Las Vegas was when we weren't in Las Vegas. On our last day we rented a car and got outa Dodge - went to Valley of Fire, which is a great State Park full of sandstone and limestone formations jutting off the desert floor, petroglyphs, and a lot of heat! Thank goodness our car had a/c! Although, what rental car in Vegas doesn't?

Anyways, we are glad to be home, even though we came home to more rain, clouds, and cold. Hopefully the good weather is on it's way, and we can go back to enjoying the beaches here.

Stay warm and dry!