Vegas! Wow!

The last time I was in Las Vegas was 42 years ago. I was 18. I couldn't even put a quarter in a slot machine -- and they were everywhere, including Mc Donald's!

I woke up at 5 a.m. After taking Remy out for a walk, I realized that I wasn't going to go back to sleep. I hung around the house for a while, waiting for people to wake up, but I was hungry, so Remy and I finally went to The Cracked Egg for some breakfast. I had a magnificent scramble that included sweet potatoes, apples and onions, along with eggs and Havarti cheese. It was delicious.

I returned to the house and read my Mickey Spillane book for a while from the patio of Stephanie & Bob's house.

This is the view from where I was reading.

After Stephanie and Bob returned from some work-related errands, Stephanie and Amanda and I went to the Bellagio to see the amazing, seasonal display made mostly of flowers. (See below.)

We had been inside for quite a while, so we opted to walk outside to Caesar's Palace, rather than through the buildings in air-conditioned comfort, so Remy could have a pee break. It also meant that we would go around the amazing fountains, which were scheduled to entertain about 10 minutes into our walk. 

The fountain dances to the Star-Spangled Banner in honor of Independence Day.

As we continued on our way to Caesar's Palace, a man with an Italian accent came up and asked to have his picture taken with both Stephanie and Amanda. Then he asked for "a donation" in honor of the having had their photos taken with him! We walked on.

A Buddhist shrine outside of Caesar's Palace.

We continued into Caesar's Palace, where we had lunch at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant -- I had a Yellowfin sashimi dish that was not large but very delicious -- a gelato, and where I was sold something by a kiosk salesman, even though I  knew better. But we had a really good time.

Next, we took the car over to Fremont Street, as I'd been told that I had to experience it. When we stepped out of the "D" casino, this was what I saw. 42 years ago, this was Las Vegas, except that there was no canopy, and traffic ran up and down the strip. This has been my idea of Vegas for many, many years. If it were not for shows like CSI, I would have still expected it to look this way.

We had supper at an Irish restaurant, and I tried to reserve a ticket for the zip line that runs along the canopy over the street. I didn't manage to score one, though. We walked the strip, heard men drumming with some virtuosity on overturned plastic buckets, saw a couple of "dance" acts, as in a single woman dancing to loud, recorded pop music, without much real talent or enthusiasm. 

There must have been a convention going on that involved people who use primarily American sign language, because we saw a surprising number of people signing to one another everywhere we went today. 

I'm bushed. I'll be leaving for Flagstaff "exactly in the morning," as the Petersons say. Translation: whenever I get up and get my act together.