Las Vegas Pics

Eek!  I'm blind as a bat without my glasses, and I left that at "sis' place this afternoon.  So now I'm getting ready for the Sting concert (new hair, new outfit, entirely new makeup, new bling) and it WILL be ineresting as I can't see what I'm doing except in a Mr. Magoo sort of way, by squinting my eyes and standing 10 feet away from the keyboard.  Try typing, ha!

Easy enough to download some photographs from this afternoon - don't know what they look like, however; they're all just blurs of color to me:  All of the following were taken in and around 'Sis' place on the golf course:

High temperature today was 71 degrees F.  With only a mild breeze it was downright hot in the sun.  I sat with my feet up under the shelter of the upper deck overlooking the golf course, my feet up, shoes off, sipping wine, reading the newspaper.  Sis made lunch - I had leftovers from last night: delicious pork tenderloin, sage gravy, mashed potatoes; and fresh sliced tomatoes on the side.  For dessert later on, I had more of Michelle's delicious pumpkin pie she made yesterday, with ice cream on the side.  YUM!  I feel like I'm at an expensive spa resort, with everyone taking care of me!

It's great!

The tea roses are still blooming!  Leaves on the deciduous trees here are just beginning to turn color; the large roses out front are in full glory - I need to get photos of them tomorrow or Sunday...

The cyprus hedge by the big outdoor chessboard....

More of this excellent weather in store for my entire stay. I'm SO glad I didn't wear my winter coat from Milwakee like so many other people on the plane did!  I wore my jeans jacket and I haven't had to wear it; today I removed my short sleeve sweater and rolled up the long sleeves on my cotton shirt when I was outdoors.  Even now with the sun down the temperature is about 65 F, it won't drop down into the high 40's until well after midnight, but I'll be shooting zzzz's at the ceiling by then.

And now, to the bathroom to remake myself!  Sting, I'm coming...

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas

Here's me yesterday, arriving in the hotel room, trying to take a photo of myself.  I'm at the Excalibur with what seems like a million children running around in the hallways...  Still, I love this place, I'v visited many times before but I've never stayed here.  I saw the mirror and I couldn't resist, I mean, it's soooo like "mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"  ME, of course, darlings :)

I'm about to go out shopping - shopping shopping shopping!  I saw a houndstooth checked tote bag that I MUST have...

The weather is PERFECT!  Bright sunshine and temperatures in the 60's, sat out in the sun all yesterday afternoon.  It felt soooo good! 

This morning when I rolled back the black-out curtains in my room I couldn't resist taking this photograph out the window:

That bright blue clear sky and the sun is so intense!  My room is at the "front" of the hotel and overlooks the tramway, which is fun to watch when I'm sitting here working on my little Acer notebook.

I'm still on Milwaukee time, it's 11:29 AM time but only 9:29 AM LV time...


Later:  Back from shopping!  I scored some bling!  I bought some real bling and some fun fake bling, an Egyptian blown glass ornament to add to my Christmas tree this year from The Egypt Store at the Luxor and an unexpected gift for Mr. Don.  I wasn't even looking for one and it just jumped out at me, practically into my hands.  I fell in love with it and I hope he does, too. 

It's now 1:41 p.m. Milwaukee time, 11:41 a.m. Las Vegas time.  Going to go to lunch with Isis and Michelle.  I was going to take photos of my bling but as luck would have it my batteries ran out!  Still, got a couple of photos of one of the turquoise and silver rings I bought this morning:

Not the best photo in the world, but it gives you an idea.  The stone is about an inch long and the mounting is elegantly simple, bead and "flower" sterling silver work on either side.  I also bought a pinky ring - never thought I'd ever own one.  There is just something about this green turquoise, and the lady whose store it is.  A fascinating woman, we had a good long chat I tried on ring after ring!  Such fun.

Batteries ran out on the camera - must get some new ones.  I'll add more later. 

Tonight is the Sting concert at Caesar's Palace. I am so dehydrated!  I've been pounding down those little hotel room plastic cups of water - must get myself juiced back up!  This climate will make you into a prune if you're not careful.

Back from Vegas, Baby!

Oh my - and I want to go right back, LOL!  Weather was announced by the pilot as we zoomed in over my hometown from the southwest that the temperature was 59 degrees F.  Yeah, right!  It was fricking COLD out there, but at least there is no snow on the ground! I'm already coughing and hacking again from the surfeit of allergens suspended in the air, and shivering underneath a mondo large sweater because, despite the house being heated to 65 degrees F, there is still chill dampness in the air.  I hate this frigging climate. 

As the taxi whisked me home from the airport, I found myself wondering "where are all the cars?  Where are all the people?"  Every single thing that I saw at Mitchell International Airport was CLOSED.  And things actually were semi-busy for this time of night (my flight landed at 10 p.m. and arrived at the terminal about 6 minutes later).  Five flights arrived more or less within 30 minutes of each other so luggage pick-up was crowded with many hundreds of people looking for their checked bags.  But - no restaurants or bars open (could have used a quick drink); no sundries shops open!  TSA checkpoints CLOSED!  If that doesn't define Milwaukee as a hick town, I don't know what does. 

There were all of three (yes, three) cabs in the taxi queque when I finally wheeled my bag out to "Ground Transportation."  I got the second taxi in line and was home in about 12 minutes.  It's good to be back home, but it sucks, too!  Already I miss the hustle and the bustle of the Las Vegas Strip, despite the often claustrophobic conditons of trying to walk along Las Vegas Boulevard and, despite living out of suitcase for the past four days, I miss sleeping in my kingsized bed with the door to my own private balcony open, with just a sheet on to keep me "warm."  Ahhhh....

I sure do wish I could afford to live in New York City when I retire.  I love the weather in Las Vegas, even the tremendous strangling heat Mr. Don and I experienced when visiting for my birthday a couple years ago in August, but I won't kid you.  It was brutal.  The weather was breaking temperature records then.  Interestingly, while Mr. Don and I were breakfasting at the Peppermill a few days ago ( a sentimental visit; the prices are no longer what I consider a bargain but the food is still good and we never felt pressured to leave our table once we finished eating.  We left a generous tip in consequence -- ) we both couldn't help but overhear a conversation taking place right next to us between a local talking to a young guy who was hopeful of moving to LV.  The local was telling him that last year summer temperatures broke all-time record highs. That was an eye-opener.  All-time highs had been broken while Mr. Don and I were there in August, 2009.  And in 2010, new all-time highs were set. Whoa!  I've a feeling that will become the new normal now that climate changes are settling in over our part of the globe.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time! Good company, good food - I'm sure Mr. Don still has not begun to talk himself out and now he'll have to wait until our trip to Spain in January, 2012 to exercise his vocal chords to such effect again. 

I ran around this morning taking some photos at nearby Caesar's Palace, one of my favorite hang-outs.  It has changed so much over the years from the first time I saw it way back in 1981 (that Las Vegas is almost now totally disappeared and certainly the Caesar's Palace from that era is long gone).  I had taken several photos when venturing out early in the morning (early for Las Vegas, that is) but discovered, much to my dismay, that my memory card was full and nothing recorded).  My frustration and disappointment - well, to make a long story short, Mr. Don gave me a spare memory card he had yesterday (that is, on Good Friday), but we were so busy at Georgia and Michelle's place putting together a gas barbecue grill for 'Sis that I never took the camera out of my purse.

Sis pulled out a large cardboard box to the covered patio area yesterday about 1:30 p.m.  "Here's the grill," she proudly announced.  OH SHIT, I said to myself.  Maybe I said it out loud, too. 

And I tell you I never want to undertake such a frigging project ever ever again.  The miracle is that the damn thing did eventually get put together, after we had to partially deconstruct it at least 3 separate times because somehow a prior vital step had got overlooked -- and it didn't blow up when Sis tested it out. I suppose it's a miracle since we ended up with a few of "those" and did not have enough of "them" to construct the grill according to the instructions (if we'd done it right, that is). 

In any event, we got damn good grilled steaks off of it for our efforts.  And now Sis and Michelle have a gas grill. But I swore to the Goddess that if I ever give up using my Weber charcoal grill, I will get only get a gas grill if it is fully put together beforehand by EXPERTS, and personally delivered, set-up and tested before I ever use it! And I will never undertake such a project again.  Ever.  I'd rather write a thesus.

Here are some photographs from the grounds of Caesar's ever-changing Palace.  They provide a beautiful, peaceful and cool oasis amidst the hustle-bustle and they front right on Las Vegas Boulevard.  The grounds and location also provide endless spectacular views of the Las Vegas Strip both north and south.


Just starting on the north path off Las Vegas Boulevard on to Caesar's Palace garden grounds. 
Everywhere, roses are in full bloom in Las Vegas.

Looking at one of Harrah's Casino and Resort iconic signs with the "Jesters"  as I walked toward the entrance to the new Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace (on the left).  This is looking toward the northeast. 

This is a shot of the Imperial Palace, which is located just to the south of Harrah's, as I panned my camera from the
north to the south.  My room at the IP was on the 15th floor looking out toward this view.  Gorgeous! 

On the grounds of Caesar's Palace, looking south toward the City Center and the Cosmopolitan.  Everywhere are
banks of flowers, especially this time of year, fragrant roses.  The groundskeepers do a magnificent job. In front
of the hedge, wave after wave of fragrant petunias. 

On my way out of the Forum Shops, I took this photo of the large fountain area just to the south of the main entrance.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day, about 80 degrees F, a breeze out of the south, not too strong, just enough to provide some cooling. The sun is extremely intense.  I got a sunburn without even trying. 

More photos tomorrow.

We're Here in Sunny Las Vegas!

Whew - finally!  Flight went smoothly except for some turbulence here and there, nothing that was nerve-rattling, thank goddess!  I left behind about 34 degrees and sleety/snowy/rainy yechy when the cab came at 9:30 this morning.  Arrived in mostly sunny skies and 80 degrees in LV and am still in the process of cooling down my hotel room!  What a change - from turning down my heat this morning to 60 at the house and turning on the AC in this room!

After what seemed an unusual amount of frustrations I finally got the WIFI going and paid for three days access.  Well, it's a cheap hotel but excellent location on the Strip, so I don't mind paying for WIFI access.  Wish the air conditioning unit was a little less noisy, but then, it does tend to drown out the sounds of partying and , er, other activities on either side of me when Vegas really gets going about 2 in the morning, if you know what I mean. 

As you can tell since I'm writing this, the Southwest Airlines jet that brought me here did not lose it's roof at 38,000 feet!  It was a full flight - at the most there were like 2 seats left over.  Wow!  For a shitty economy people from Milwaukee sure are still piling into Vegas.  Flight arrived right on time and the shuttle ride actually took less than an hour!  Amazing, absolutely amazing.  I'm waiting for Mr. Don to get here from where he's staying (Riviera) which is not that far from me as the crow flies but in Las Vegas there is no such thing as a straight line for pedestrians :)  He suggested I head out and meet him half way but, knowing our hopeless senses of direction we'd miss each other by 10 feet and be wandering around all night trying to find each other and missing messages at our hotels. We are both dinosaurs - no cell phones!  I hate the fricking things, truth be told.  Before, at least I would have relatively peaceful and quite rides on the bus - but NOW, I am subjected to the most stupid drivel and most intimate secrets of strangers that - trust me - I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW.  Have people no shame?  Geez! 

The weather promises to be beautiful while we're here, except perhaps windy tomorrow and Thursday.  Sure beats what I left behind in Milwaukee!

Now, about that family tree I put together for 'Sis and Michelle - whew!  I STILL haven't finished the monster.  Well, it's my own darn fault.  Instead of steadily working on print-outs, hole punching and organizing the stuff in this gigantic binder I bought, I kept digging for further information.  So, there I was last night and it was midnight and I'm going - I'm never going to finish this!  I solved that problem by hole punching everything and just throwing it into my bag along with the huge binder already stuffed full of family information.  At least I fell asleep for a few hours, I was that tired when I finally hit the sack.  When I travel I don't sleep well the night before - and this morning I knew my blood pressure was abnormally high, even after taking my medication.  Drat!  But things seem back to normal now, thank goddess!  Later I'll finish sorting through the stuff that didn't make it into the binder and get it where it belongs.

I never realized how heavy this laptop is!  I mean, at the most it's like 3 or 4 pounds (it's not an uber-expensive uber-thin model) and this morning going to the airport, no problem lugging it along in a Land's End bag.  But for some reason when I got off the plane earlier this afternoon suddenly I swear the thing weighs a ton!  Now I have to find a hiding place for it in my hotel room - good luck with that, LOL! 

I'll see if I can get a few blogs in before Mr. Don arrives.

Isis' Place

The roses were spectactular.  Out front there are several large roses of vibrant colors - corals, reds, white and blends.  I did not, unfortunately, think to take any pics of them.  Duh!  The pinks in the photo left are miniatures.  The shrub rose in the photo right is being shaped into a heart and hides the pool pump. 

More Las Vegas Pics

(Early morning shot inside the shops at the Venetian - no people!)  Oy, I am sooooo sick.  I started feeling crummy Saturday evening (evening I got back home).  Came down with a case of strep throat and a really nasty chest cold, feels like bronchitis.  I was so punked out I missed work yesterday, and last night was awful.  I was running a high fever and I actually had my purse ready to go (phone numbers, all the meds I'm on, insurance cards) if I called 911 in case I had a repeat of an ancient (1989) lung infection that nearly did me in.  It was a struggle not to panic as I felt the gunk building up in my chest, even though I was able to breathe okay.  The crisis passed about 3 a.m. but I wasn't in any shape to report to work this morning - very little sleep. I spent the majority of the night in the recliner so I was more or less upright - I thought it would help my lungs stay clear.  It is not easy to toss and turn in a recliner, though, and I am a restless sleeper.  At least the fever is gone!

But I don't like missing two days of work in a row - not in these uncertain times.  Damn!  I'm sure I got sick from something circulating in the bad air on that Air Tran flight going out to LV.  My throat is still sore, my ears and Eustacian tubes ache, and now I'm coughing up tons of green gunk, yech!  It hurts to cough, too.

I took these pics on my last day in LV, which was great in all ways.  A couple more shots from the Venetian shops, including a view of the replica of the Grand Plaza - I forget what it is called.

I have not gone on and won't go on a gondola ride - not in a mock-up of Venice inside a too epensive hotel in Las Vegas!  But goddess, what a business they have.  By the time I had finished my early-morning tour and shots of the interiors of the Palazzo and the Venetian, as I was walking back through the shops there was already a line of people waiting patiently to board a gondola!  It was about 9:30 a.m.  Incredible.

I made my way outside and took this shot toward the Fashion Show Mall.  I thought I took a few shots inside the Mall too, there are some nice vistas - but evidently I did not because I sure couldn't find them on my memory card!

Love how it looks like a flying saucer.  Street traffic was starting to build, and on the large plaza outside the Mall that fronts Las Vegas Boulevard, there was a long line of people snaked around the cordons waiting to get in to purchase half-price show and dinner tickets.  Geez!  They could have walked down the Strip aways and got their tickets at the litle place that is stationed between The Riviera and the Peppermill Restaurant, and saved themselves a long wait in line!

More Las Vegas Pics

I am an early riser.  Even while in Las Vegas, I stayed on Milwaukee time (convenient for timing the taking of my blood pressure meds) -- but while the hotel room alarm clock said it was around 5:45 a.m. each of the three days of my visit when I got out of bed, in my head I knew I had slept late because of the 2 hour time difference!  It is a rare luxury for me to sleep until 7:45 a.m.  But this was a vacation, after all. 

Rising early in LV has its advantages.  For one thing, you get served in the coffee shop right away :)  For another, the streets are uncrowded, the stores in the giant shopping complexes attached to the poshest of the hotels aren't open yet, and you can get great photos.  So, my last day in town, the only day that was decent enough to get out and about early, I went for a nice long walk to revisit some of my favorite places, and I took some photos.  I didn't get as far as I wanted; I was out for 2 hours; Isis was coming to get me at noon and I was back at the IP by 11 a.m. to cool down and stretch out on the bed for a rest-up.  But I did visit the Venetian, the Palazzo and the Fashion Show Mall :)  Top photo - one of the fountains outside the Venetian.  It's so blatantly phoney, but it's so well done, I love the Venetian.  It also has lovely vistas and the attention to detail in re-creating the phoniness is astounding.  I always see something new.  As per usual, the Venetian is under construction - you can see the crane hovering above yet another mighty tower on the left of this photo.  Look - no people!

A view across one of the roadways outside the Venetian (I was taking one of the ramps toward the Palazzo shops), showing Treasure Island and one of the large digital display signs for the Mirage.  Check out that sky - gorgeous color, heh?  And look - hardly any people - just a few are visible.

A photo looking north toward the construction site at the Venetian.  No traffic! 

This is one of those unexpected vistas that crop up so often in Las Vegas, and to do it justice the photo really should be larger.  This is a shot taken from that walkway I was taking up toward the Palazzo shops, and I was struck by how lovely the garden was, with its palms and cypress and carefully pruned evergreens.  The Wynn, and behind it, the Encore, hover in the background.  Look ma, no people!  Or cars!

Here is another photo of the same front garden area, from a slightly different angle. Wish I had a backyard that looked like that!  Notice the "hanging" greenery on the top of the concrete ediface across the center of the photo going toward the left.

Las Vegas Photos

I stayed at the Imperial Palace.  I love it's location, mid-Strip, and the price for a clean and comfortable room is hard to beat.  I also like the size of the IP - I don't have to walk a mile to get out of the place, I like the mix of reasonably priced shops, I like the fact that there aren't too many of them, and I like the cozy feel of the casino's human scale.  I actually feel like I'm in the classic Las Vegas of yesteryear when I stay at the IP.  The staff is great, too.  Here are a couple of photos of my room - nice king-size bed.  It occurred to me later that I should have taken the photos after housekeeping paid a visit.  LOL!  You really can't see it very well, but on the nightstand is a plastic cup holding two white roses that Michelle picked for me from their garden.  Those roses were still going strong the day I left to return home.

The weather was crappy by Las Vegas standards; on April 20th it was in the 80s and sun sun sun. Isis emailed me that she had spent most of the day in her garden, getting things fine-tuned for my visit.  The next day, when I arrived, the LV natives were in their winter coats (no kidding).  It was overcast, threatening rain, and "cold."  About what I left behind in Milwaukee.  On Thursday, LV actually went on the books as coldest for that particular day since records have been kept.  Wow.  It rained and hailed, and the winds blew and blew.  Some parts of the valley got drenched, other areas got drizzle and mist, other areas got 60 second cloud-bursts, but by afternoon the skies had cleared.  It was too cool and windy, though, to sit outside comfortably.  As Isis and I were out and about shopping (away from the Strip) Thursday, we were able to see the storm and rain clouds moving  into the valley over the mountains and we could follow their progress across various neighborhoods.  A fascinating site.  Except for the hotels, there are no "high rises" in Las Vegas, so the vista is open and it's easy to track the progress of the storms as they moved around. 

My last day in LV was perfect - sunny, a nice breeze, and warm enough to sit outside without a jacket on.  I didn't mean to but I picked up some "color" on the few bits of skin that were showing in my three-quarter sleeve length top and blue jeans!  I have a white stripe on my left wrist where my watch was and red and white stripes on both arms where the sleeves of my blouse covered the skin; white owl circles around my eyes from my sunglasses, and that horrid brown V on my neck/chest I've been trying to fade since the end of the New York vacation last year got all red again - now I'll never get rid of it!

Milwaukee was drenched in rain when I got back home, the back yard is a soggy mess - and we got more of the same Saturday night and Sunday along with high winds.  Today it was cool but sunny - lots of water needs to be evaporated!  We are in for a slow (very slow) warming trend over the next 2 weeks, but this being Wisconsin, the forecast will change tomorrow.  I'm still waiting for that late season blizzard or ice storm to hit. 

I'm So Excited...

The second of my recent book orders from Alibris is here! I had received "The Tarim Mummies" by Mallory and Mair the day before Mr. Don arrived - looks absolutely fab and the illustrations and colored photographs are to die for. Can't wait to dig in. Today, while I was out huffing and puffing and sweating my butt off cutting the front lawn (even though it is only in the 50's right now, and overcast/cloudy and windy to boot, I still managed to sweat down my hair, my jeans and undies and most of my heavy-duty sweatshirt that did little to suck up my "dew." Geez!), the mail-lady appeared in her Magic Jeep and deposited my other book order - Ian Hodder's "The Leopard's Tale: Revealing the Mysteries of Catalhoyuk". OHMYGODDESS! A wealth of reading material -- not that I need any more - my reading pile is already over a foot tall. It's not a pile anymore, it's a frigging tower. Sigh. I did a big no-no - I flipped through and looked at some of the pics in the book. Oy! Only makes me regret the time I'm spending here right now letting you know these ridiculous details in my life. Meanwhile, I don't know if I mentioned it before - I signed up for Facebook, ACH. Didn't want to - I've absolutely no interest in doing that kind of stuff, but the only way I could read all the stuff that Shira has posted about the Computer Labs 4 Kids Foundation at Facebook was to sign up (at least, that is what that sneaky site led me to believe). Anyway, I did sign up and I must have done it correctly because for the past week and more I've got these "friends" - who the hell are these people? - and emails about this and that - what is this crap? I've no idea how this works and can't find any instructions how to operate it. Amazingly, Mr. Don, who had signed up a few months ago for reasons totally unrelated to Goddesschess and the Goddesschess blog - somehow found me although I do not recall telling him that I'd signed up there too, but then I may have and just forgot, my memory isn't as good as it used to be. Anyway, Mr. Don posted something to me on a Wall? What the hell is that? I've got people lined up who evidently want to be "friends" with me, people I've never heard of and wouldn't know from Adam. How can these people want to be my friends when they don't even know who I am? I haven't posted (is that what it is called?) anything there about myself until earlier today (before grass cutting), when I received email notification that Mr. Don had posted to this "Wall." So I went to Facebook and clicked on some buttons and typed some stuff. Will it show up? Who knows. At any rate, I'm just a crotchedy femme of a certain age (don't ask) and I do not want to be friends with you, okay - so back off! Is there an instruction book for Facebook? Actually - I'd much rather dig into Hodder and Mallory/Mair - and I have Michelle's gift to read too - a biography of the Goddess Athena. But I have a ton of laundry and housework to do, and I have yet to unpack my bag from the Las Vegas trip - hope I haven't grown a mold monster or something equally gross in that bag in the meantime... Mr. Don took the top photo on my b-day, August 19th, early in the day before we both subsequently wilted in the record-breaking heat that Las Vegas experienced during our visit (figures the Goddess would give us something "special" for our visit). We were headed south toward our destination , the Luxor (didn't make it that day, ran out of time before we had to be back at the hotel for other plans), and this photo was taken on that fantastic covered walkway at the Venetian. I like this photo first of all for the overall design/effect and, secondly, because it makes me look tall and sort of slender :) Mr. Don is seen with the videocam thingy in hand; I'm leaning back against the faux-stone railing, legs crossed and utterly relaxed. Note to self - in future photos, ditch the messenger bag! The photo is a reflection of Mr. Don and I in a blanked-out window (space for lease, if you're interested). Mr. Don tried to capture the same effect that he did so well when Isis, Michelle, Mr. Don and I visited Millennium Park in Chicago during the 2007 Goddesschess Anniversary get-together, when he captured our images reflected in that great aluminum (?) amoeba sculpture. That is one of my favorite pics and a fond memory, despite the fact that it was 95 F with high humidity and I got sunburnt to hell and back and look like shit in most of the photographs taken that day.

More Las Vegas Pics

I'm working on the 8 inch Acer netbook in Las Vegas so I'm not sure how the spread between the pictures will turn out. These are more photos at the Wynn. The building in the first photo is actually the Encore, a companion property to the Wynn. The Wynn was built in part upon the site of the former Desert Inn, a hotel I remember fondly from my first visit to Las Vegas in 1980. When Mr. Don and I visited in November, 2003, the Desert Inn had been closed and had been used in a - I believe - Jackie Chan (or was it a James Bond?) movie - and spectacular special effects showed explosions coming out of some of the windows evidently. By the time we'd arrived, the filming was over, but the evidence of the "explosures" was plain to see on the skin of the old Desert Inn Hotel - scorch marks all over the place! Shortly after we left Las Vegas that year, the Desert Inn fell to the wrecking ball. It was a sad day for many Las Vegans, as an original part of the "old" city disappeared to the gigantic Wynn complex.

Vacation!

Some Las Vegas pics. Here is a photo of our hotel room on arrival day, Mr. Don is hard at work at the table. The next photos were taken at the Wynn yesterday morning. They don't do justice to the beautiful waterfalls and small lake/lagoon surrounded by lush greenery and artificial rock outcroppings. It's all fake, but it is lovely and it's fun. While we've been here, Las Vegas has been reaching record-breaking temperatures - figures! Yesterday 106 F; today, 108F. Tomorrow perhaps 109F, but we're flying home tomorrow early morning, thank Goddess! I love the feel of Las Vegas and we've had a great time here visiting Isis and Michelle and celebrating my 39th (ahem) birthday, but the heat is overwhelming; even short walks from casino to shops to casino to restaurant, etc., can be quite overwhelming!

Viva Las Vegas!

With this horrid recession digging in for what looks like a long stay (would not be surprised at all, darlings, to see unemployment reach 10.5% in six-seven months), I have been reading article after article about the big hit that Las Vegas has taken -- tourists aren't visiting! Well, hell, who has the money? This is worrying to me, though, because our Goddesschess partner Isis and, of course, our fabulous friends the Las Vegas Showgirls (Bambi Darlin and Candy Kane), live in Las Vegas. Hotels and casinos have been cutting hours and staff. Tips are way down (dealers in many of the hotels make mininum wage, relying on tips to earn a living wage, the same holds true for housekeeping help and other hotel staff). Building projects have sputtered to a halt; large condos have gone off the board and those underway are being pummeled by worried buyers demanding back their downpayments. Because of the credit freeze, commercial project financing is more scarce than water on the Sun. The Wall Street suits (and criminals - one in the same if you ask me) who run the mega-conglomerates that now own most of Las Vegas and BIG gambling all around the world are actually worried! Of course, they are mostly insulated - suits don't generally lay off other suits - and they inflict the most pain on those far down the economic ladder from where they perch. When I practiced law these types of people were called New York snakes. Gave snakes a bad name. delion and I last visited Las Vegas in November, 2003. We were planning a trip to visit our friends NEXT November (2009). But after being bombarded the past couple of weeks with emails from Travelocity advertising cheap airfares and hotel deals to LV, I spent most of last night checking out hotel room rates and "last minute" airfares to Las Vegas. I started at Travelocity but soon moved to Kayak to check out the airfares, and then direct-shopped the hotels on the Strip to see what rates were being offered. The upshot is that dondelion and I will be headed to Vegas, Baby, for Christmas, arriving on 12/24 and departing on 12/26. We'll visit our friends Isis and Michelle and check out the latest changes since our 2003 visit. At least three major new hotels/resorts have opened up along the Strip since our last visit - plenty to see and do and cram into our short time in LV. We're not gamblers, we may plug some nickles into the slots if we can find nickle slots anywhere on-Strip (the last time we played nickle slots was at the Westward Ho in November, 2003, now torn down and replaced by an expensive mega resort). Unbelievable room rate for a "deluxe" (i.e., standard room with two queen sized beds) obtained at the Imperial Palace of $35 and $39 special online rate a night for the two nights we'll be in town. Also got a decent round trip airfare on AirTran (but I would not consider it "fantastically cheap") although AirTran did charge me $6 extra for each seat for selecting online seat assignments for dondelion and I! RIP OFF! That added $24 to our round trip fare total. Yeah, I'm a cheapskate! Times are tough! Money is tight! You know things must really be tough in LV when the reservations clerk at a giant hotel (Imperial Palace is part of the Harrah's franchise) chats you up like you're a long-lost friend! I do have to say that she was very sweet and friendly, and I enjoyed talking with her a lot. So, I envision dondelion and I sharing a quiet steak and turkey dinner at the Sahara steak house with Isis and Michelle on Christmas day, and driving their neighborhood nuts by going around singing Christmas carols off-key while dressed in shorts (where we're coming from, 50 degrees in LV will feel positively tropical!) Viva Las Vegas, Baby! I just love that city. It energizes me just like New York does.