I got up at 6:20, read yesterday’s paper, as they have no wireless and I have no interest in tv at the moment. Everyone else got up in shifts, and we had a breakfast of fruit and some eggs, before showering and heading off to the city. By the way, they have to great dogs, Taz, a great dane, and Aspen, a poi, both are quiet and well behaved. In fact, I have yet to hear them bark, though the cat makes the most noise, meyohing to get out side. It’s another windy day, typical for this area, but sunny in the low 60’s as we head off.
Laura and Pat’s house is on a cul de sac, a lovely house, with pool, huge back yard, an a garage for Pat to work on his cars, complete with a lift. It has a huge kitchen, with an island to match, where we can all sit and talk as Laurie cooks. It works really well.
We headed in to Las Vegas strip, in Pat’s big Toyota truck, and cruised down the major strip, first through downtown Las Vegas, and some of the old casinos, heading northwest to the newer section where are the famous casinos now stand, like the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace and the Venetian. We parked in the Bellagio, went up to their amazing lobby and atrium, where the spring flowers were amazing, as was the entire room. Tulips, poppies, you name it, were in full bloom, and many were put together to form various shapes, from animals, like turtles, to almost any shape. It’s done four times a year, clearly Xmas would be spectacular. I am struck by how crowded most of the area is despite it being early May. Lines of people were checking in the the Bellagio, and when we came back later, there were still lines. We walked through the casino proper, not very busy, past all the amazing shops, not very crowded, and walked outside, intending to go to the Parisian, marked by the Effifel Tower, in the front of the hotel. They all have gimmics, from pirate’s cove to Luxor, trying to outdo the others. I imagine they are all mortgaged to the hilt and the downturn most of hurt them, as some new building has stopped, but at least today, it looked pretty busy for a Saturday morning. We walked back to the Bellagio, headed to a Hawaiian Fest, as there is a large Hawaiian community in the area. We walked past numerous food stalls, and I got some Korean Bulgogi and Evie kahlu pig with cabbage. We sat under a tent with Laura and Pat, listened to Hawaiian music and watched the dancers, most seemingly in slow motion, but I guess that’s the hula. We stayed about a half hour, bought some malasadas, made from Pillsbury dough(ugh), and went to a couple of stores, Cost Plus, World Market, and Pier I to find presents for the treasury chest as well as the kids in Colorado Springs, if we have a gathering with Jill’s friends. I laid out in the sun for a half hour but it was hot and I did not want to get burnt. Evie and the girls are making stuffed shells for dinner and we are going to watch the first game of the Cavs/Celtics series at 5:00. Las Vegas seems quite modern, though I mostly saw shopping areas, not as many housing developments. I don’t think we are in the posh areas, which seemd to be southeast of the city.
About 4:00, Pat and I drove off to climb the mountain behind his house with Leah and Evie. Evie went up part way, but because of her knee, decided to stay there and let Pat and I move up. We climbed up to one peak, where there was a bench and a great view of the city, which was far and high enough for me. The panorama of the Vegas basin is immense, with the city off in the distance to the left, and developments going almost as far as the eye can see in various directions. It was a bout a 15 minute walk up, the same down.
We went back to the house, watched the Cavs pull out what looked like a sure loss, and had a dinner of stuffed shell and Italian sausages. After the game, we relaxed, Evie played banana grams for a bit and went to bed around 10:30
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