Having never been to Vegas I had high hopes for the place.  We rolled in about 6 and the sky was on fire.  Almost.  Forest fires to the northwest fo the city has the sky alight with fire and smoke.  Huge billowing clouds of smoke.  And the sunset and fire reflected up into the clouds and created an incredible night sky. We drove down The Strip.  With nightfall on the verge all the neon was glowing and the “characters” came out.  We drove slowly. But it’s not like we had a choice.  Much of the strip and side streets were under construction.  All at the same time.

We visited the famous Las Vegas sign for pictures. And there we saw a Vegas Chapel bride and groom having their wedding pictures taken.  While being serenaded by an Elvis impersonator.  Where, but in Vegas?

Then it was off for dinner.  We tried to find a local restaurant that wasn’t affiliated with a casino.  Almost impossible.  We did find a good Mexican place and the single margarita I drank nearly put me under the table. It was potent.

After dinner we went back to the strip.  But parking was a terrible problem, with all of the construction.  Many of the lots were full.  And we really wanted to see the fountains at the Bellagio.  By the time we found a place to park it was already late and we had to walk a half hour to the hotel.  We no sooner got there than John left us to go get the car.  Traffic was heavy.  WE watched FOUR fountain shows by the time John got back to get us.

But it was a great place to people watch.  We saw Star Wars characters, Transformers, show girls and a wide variety of other interesting personalities.

I think the aspect of Vegas that startled me most was the open nudity and prostitution.  Just walking down a block of the strip will guarantee you’ll be accosted at least 4 or 5 times with people who want to hand you what I called “trading cards”.  Nudes or semi-nude pictures of women with contact information.  “For a good time.”   There were also trucks driving around with electronic billboards advertising girls that “want to meet you”.  Hmmm…I didn’t know I was that popular….Thousands upon thousands of these “trading cards” littered the streets where people had just dropped them.  And I was surprised to see whole families out walking The Strip at 11 pm.  How do you explain this to your kids?

With midnight fast approaching we called it a day.  There were still things I would have liked to have seen and done.  But I doubt that I will ever go back to do them.

Vegas is Disney for adults.  There is so much to see and do.  But it’s all plastic and lights. I’m not a gambler.  And I wasn’t happy with the ocean of people.  Next time I need a fantasy fix, I think I’ll go back to Disney.