What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas

That is, unless I decide to write about it in a blog!  I just returned from three wonderful days with three wonderful friends in Vegas.  I had not visited Sin City in about 15 years.  I'm not much of a gambler, and frankly, I did not know about all the wonderful activities outside of visiting the Strip.  Debbie, who recently moved there, showed us the ropes.  She's an outdoor girl, and our first stop was Red Rock Canyon.  It was  a cool, windy afternoon in late April, perfect for an afternoon hike.  Judy, Christie, Jan, Debbie and I headed for Ice Box Canyon.  Along the way we saw climbers bouldering (makes me so nervous) and many hikers like ourselves, out for an afternoon of exercise and beauty.  We thoroughly enjoyed the hike, but unfortunately, did not see any wild burros or horses.  Jan and Debbie had seen them just the day before, but we weren't so lucky.

The next day was devoted to hotel hopping on the strip.  We hit many of the best hotels, including Bellagio, Caesars, Cosmopolitan, Aria, and Wynn.  What a feast for the eyes.  We enjoyed the Chilule glass in the Bellagio, and more Chilule at a store next to the Aria.  His art is just for looking, as the smallest piece starts at $5,000.  People watching was also fun on this Saturday.  Every size, shape and nationality was in evidence.  Many men and women were dressed to the nines, and others looked sloppy and out of place.  I guess if you've got money to spend it doesn't matter what you look like.

Our trip to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead was fabulous.  I had never been there, and was in awe of this architectural feat built over 80 years ago.  Most interesting to me was to see where the water level used to be in the dam, and where it is now.  It's about 50% lower than it originally was.

As we often do when we get together, we talked and we talked and we talked.  We were so busy talking that we never turned the TV on.  What we talked about I cannot tell you.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  I will say we tried to get tickets for the hit show in Vegas "Puppetter of the Penis."  There were billboards for the show for 30 miles before arriving in Vegas.  They were all sold out for the night we wanted to go, so we'll just have to imagine what we missed.

We also had time to visit a friend who recently moved to Las Vegas.  She lives in a beautiful high rise condo, with gorgeous nighttime views of the Strip.  We went across the street from her condo to a local gambling casino and hotel, for a little blackjack and dinner.  We enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner (I should say Christie and I had a wonderful dinner, Deb's meal was not good) and then home to pack and collapse into bed.  A great time was had by all, and since what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas I really can't tell you about dancing in the elevator or some of the more colorful characters we met and hung out with.  One final thing that really got me is this.  When I sat down at the blackjack table, a nice young Vietnamese man greets me with a friendly smile, and says "Hi Grandma."  I was so upset by this, but came to found out that it's a cultural thing.  They call everyone Grandma, Grandpa, sis, pop, brother.  Whew.  He told me he meant it in a loving way.  Vegas is always fun, and full of surprises, especially when you go there with four fun loving friends.