Blogging Melodrama: There's no Place Like Home.......

15.4.05

There's no Place Like Home.......

Tortured in Tinsel town or How to have fun in spite of it all.

I just got home and threw my suitcases down the flight of stairs to my apartment entrance way. It's nine thirty at night, and I'm too pooped to pop, as the expression goes.

These last six days have been an exercise in pure self-torture.

I went to Las Vegas to see my granddaughter get married. Her new hubby paid for the flight over and the room at Circus Circus and many of the meals to and from Sin City.

Sin City is a perfect name for the place. My God how that place has changed. It's more Sex than any one person should have to endure; especially if your planning on taking your children there for a family vacation.

Jesus! In our room (my 3 room mates and mine) there were books advertising places for gay and lesbian party places, night clubs, meeting places, rates for mates, escorts, and many shows. This one book had visuals that I was offended by, let alone my 15 year old grandson being exposed to in our rooms.

One can expect that on the strip and when walking down any sidewalk on the strip, or anywhere in Nevada for that matter, but in our rooms? I have news for you.... I'm not a prude; not by any stretch of the imagination, nor am I prejudiced, but this is a bit much. Now if your on drugs, a nymphomaniac or some other sex driven person, then this place is for you, and you won't be bothered by the constant barrage of sex!

Okay, I knew it would be smutty, but for Christ's sake, do we have to have our noses rubbed in it 24/7? I felt dirty the whole time I was there. I can only imagine what my grandkids and other smaller children, in the extended families there for the wedding, were thinking; let alone the hundreds of parents that took their small children there on vacation. I wouldn't be surprised to find clubs offering sex acts with small children on the show marquee; it's gotten that raw.

Well that was the first impression. Now lets get to the supposed "FUN" part.

I was locked out of my hotel room twice due to only two keys for four people and all four people were going in four different directions most of the time.

Ever been so exhausted you just wanted to go flop on the bed and sleep for days? Well that's how I felt after walking for miles in one airport getting crammed into tiny seats for three and a half hours then walking in a parking lot to a bus. Then after the shuttle to the car rental place, lugging luggage to a car. Then driving through unbelievable traffic to the Circus Circus hotel, where we drove around looking for a parking place to check into our rooms.

Thank God for small favors; by this time I was running on auto pilot due to only a four hour nap (10 p.m. Thursday and another hour nap on Friday) prior to the 62 hour torture-a-thon from South Bend, WA to Circus Circus room number 647 (11 a.m. Sunday).

The rest of the party were on separate floors, which sucked for the wedding reception; if they had all been on the same floor and connecting, we could have had room for the unexpected family that flew in from all over the country for the wedding on Tuesday.

The Wedding was teary for the mother and grandmothers and groom.

The chapel ceremony was beautiful and filled with brides and grooms being video taped and photographed every 7 minutes. Attendee's were advised to smile when entering the chapel for the video would be going and the bride and groom would want a bunch of smiling people on their keepsake.

Jasmin's grandfather (my ex-husband) requested the right to offer a blessing on the bride and groom, so after the minister asked if there was anyone with objection and found no takers, he announced a blessing would be given.

The minister was only a little taken aback when he asked who gives this bride and was answered by the bride's father, "No-one! I don't give away my daughter, but I take Leif as my son." This custom was started when I took my daughter's husband (the bride's father) as my son at their wedding, and I guess it's a new keeper tradition now. It makes perfect sense to us.

After the bride and groom were married and off to their hummy noon in another room for the remaining 2 days; the rest of us went out playing in the Circus and down the strip. This was the only fun part of the whole time there.

We went to Freemont street and watched a really talented artist paint pictures with spray paint; had seafood dinner buffet at the Freemont ( by the way,,,, if you want to pick from the menu....keep to the right when you get in line; otherwise you'll wind up spending $75.00 for dinner buffet too by mistake instead of $20.00 off the menu). NO! There are no free buffets anymore, so don't look for them.

No! There is nothing free in Las Vegas anymore, not even water. A small bottle of water from a vending machine is $1.75. If you go to a shop and purchase water your looking at prices of $1.75 - $2.25 - $3.95. You won't be able to find Coca Cola in very many places; Pepsi is everywhere (our family can't stand Pepsi products).

I sprang for dinner at the Pink Pony (prime rib dinners) and gave everyone 10.00 to go gamble with on our last night there. I had given James money to bungy jump and prodded others to chip in. He bungy jumped and was video taped four times; two on each video. The initial jump was $89.00 then $25.00 and $20.00 and the fourth time was free. That's what my grandson did on HIS vacation; and is now qualified to jump anywhere (he's hooked). Their motto is "Why live on the edge, when you can jump off?"

We got a straight through flight back with Southwest and made the connections to our cars without problems, but the long drive home was in super slow motion. So by the time I hit my place I was ready for bed. My birds didn't take too long to make up to me after I gave them some pretzels. They are both pretzel junkies.

Now today I've unpacked and semi settled back into my home routine.

So that was the great excursion to the land of Oz....

News Flash! The Wicked Witch of the South has taken over Oz....head for the Emerald City and have some good clean fun....

Where's the Emerald City?

Seattle, Washington

There's no place like home.