Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Viva Las Vegas

Blinking t-shirt: $10, getting your picture with Elvis $5, watching someone get arrested: Priceless.



Tons of Family Bonding:)
M&M World

The Gore-atorium--where the lobby is enough to make not want to go to the Taqueria next door.

 We walked a wild walk from one end of the Las Vegas strip to the other and back again. The strip may sound like a straight line, but the sidewalks snake you through smoke filled casinos, over sky bridges, and into shopping malls.   We covered miles-- all of it a feast for the eyes and most of it an assault on the senses! You can meet anyone from Elmo to Elvis and buy anything from tattoos to ...much worse.   So many interesting services are vying for your dollar: How about wearing a nasal cannula and sucking in some oxygen for small fee??
Caesar's Palace Casino

 Had lunch at Planet Hollywood which I don't recommend unless  you agree with $8 hot dogs for the kiddies.  Brandon wanted to see if his hands were the same size as Indiana Jones'.
 Adrie with Wednesday Addams.
 Remember this guy from the movie BIG?  Kate paid a dollar to hear his creepy words of wisdom.
We made it all the way to Circus Circus which I remember visiting several times as a kid.  The kids whizzed around on roller coasters in the largest indoor amusement park, the AdventureDome.
After all that fun it was getting late...just in time to see the city that never sleeps come alive. We had ice cream at Ben & Jerry's, watched the pirate show outside Treasure Island, and saw the volcano erupt at the Mirage. But the best entertainment of the night was walking past a statue of Elvis, admiring it's likeness even, when it suddenly high-fived Kate and sent her flailing with terror into a crowd of laughing bystanders.

There was no end to the disturbing images and at least 3 of them involved Elmo. Elmo with a sign endorsing Obama.  Elmo with a cardboard sign scrawled with "Why Lie? Elmo needs a beer"  and lastly the image of  Elmo reaching out for a handshake with a  fuzzy gloved hand encrusted with grime. Cannon wouldn't do it. (we've taught him well) Yes, there were lots of Elmos and other wacky characters to pose with like Hello Kitty, Mr. T,  and a frumpy Spider-Man.
It was a long walk back up the strip to get to our car but never has time gone slower than when we were waiting for an  elevator while someone was getting arrested 10 feet away  and swearing up a storm in the struggle. (Picture me covering up 4 sets of ears and eyes with 2 hands. )

Although the kids thought Vegas exciting, they were glad to get away from the choking smoke and have a peaceful ride home back to family friendly Utah. We listened to Michael Vey in the car, the exciting new book by Richard Paul Evans.

 Oh Babylon, Oh Babylon we bid thee farewell....
We're going to the mountains of   to dwell.. (for some reason that song keeps running through my head?)  

Here we are doing just that...
The trip had it's moments, like the girls spitting incident. "Kate spat on me."
"You spat on me first." I'll admit I was less bothered by their misbehaving and more pleased with their correct conjugation of that verb.
While hiking around I couldn't help but marvel at what a beautiful place God had created.  A few yards away, a little girl about age 4-5 asked her mom, "Who made this place?"  The mom answered, "Nobody made it. It just happened. Nature just happens."  Her answer was disappointing but I couldn't help but reflect on the sweet instincts of a child to know intrinsically that "Where there is a design, there is a Designer."
We concluded our trip with dinner and visiting with our Dixie cousins.  Brandon and I were fortunate to see two of them exhibit very fine dancing skills in their high school production of "Sound of Music."   All in all a fun-tastic, family bonding, culture-shocking weekend. Time to turn the heater on!!

2 comments:

cold cocoa said...

Holy Cow! One of these times we'd really like to join you guys on a weekend fun trip. You know how to live it up. Vegas is a bizarre place, that's for sure. And its smell is not my fave.
Now I can't get away from the last part- 2 cousins were dancing in a play? I want to see!

Megan Goates said...

You have a fun family :)