Everybody always talks about Leaving Las Vegas… what about Coming to Vegas?!?! Well, that’s exactly what happened on Sunday morning. Back to the oasis in the desert… viva!
I was talking to my 12 year old about how many times I’ve been to Vegas over the years. For him, we believe this is his 10th time already. Of course, the driving factor here is that one of his grandfathers lives in Vegas; we’ll get to spend some time with him every day while here. At the end of the day, THIS is the number one reason we’ve been here so much recently… there were times before my son though. When my wife and I lived in LA, we made the trek through the Mojave many, many times. Let’s just call it 10 times. Then of course there were those times BEFORE my wife… starting at the age of 21, I’ve been another handful of times; maybe not quite 10… Anyways, I think it’s safe to say I’ve been to Vegas almost 30 times in my life. Although each trip is different, each trip is also the same.
The heat is pretty much a constant; there have only been maybe 2x where this was not triple digits. This trip would be the same, although let me tell you… 103 feels much different than 114, as we’ve had in the past. The mountains and desert are right there where we left them. This is an underrated favorite part of Vegas for me. Growing up where I did, I had no idea about mountains; what the heck was a desert? I only knew what I read in my school books. Seeing this part of the country live and in person is really cool. I always try to take a few moments to look at the mountains… looks fake, but I know, at the very least because I’ve driven through them, that they are very real. Spending time at the pool is another big part of Vegas; again, maybe only 2-3x where this was not the case. Staying at Caesar’s for the 2nd time, we’d have our choice between 7 pools… most of which we could see right outside of the window in our room… although technically maybe 5 pools, because there are the 21 and over ones. So the heat, mountains/desert, and the pool… yes, Vegas highlights no doubt.
Of course there is the gambling; we’ll get into that a bit more later. Although this is a constant part, this has been one of the biggest parts that has changed over the years. No longer can I hit the casino and spend hours after hours there gambling my wages away; nope. I carve out a little time here and there, and try to be as smart as possible with the little dough I do bring for this purpose. It used to be harder, earlier on in the transition, but not as much nowadays; this new leaf of gambling that I had to turn over isn’t so new any more. I think I do pretty well; let me pat myself on the back. Sure, I’d love to actually WIN some money one time, but losing the minimum is about as good as can be expected.
OK, the stage has been set; another Vegas trip is about to begin. Regardless of what is the same and what is different, Vegas is always a blast. Let’s do this!
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