Jen

Viva Las Vegas!

These antibiotics are kicking my ass. I overslept this morning and came in late for work. Plus, I’m walking a little slower. Stupid dog.

I’m thinking I’ll start talking about Vegas with a usual top list of events.

1) Air traffic. On our way to Vegas, Pat and I waited for an hour on the runway. Twenty planes had to take off before we could go. Also, there was a screaming baby. Imagine the fun we had! Luckily, airplanes are like Valium to me. As soon as I get on one, they knock me out cold. Back at O’Hare, returning from Vegas, we waited on the ground for an hour before pulling into the gate because another plane was there. It turns out that someone decided, once he/she had already checked in their bags and boarded the plane, that they didn’t want to fly anymore. So, the airline had to open up the baggage compartment and search for this person’s bags. Our pilot gave us a great speech about how if you don’t feel secure enough about flying, don’t get on the plane. He also talked about how he would do everything in his power to make sure that we got to our destinations safely. What a good guy. Pat and I played cards most of the time, so we were busy. Unfortunately, we had these two monsters* in front of us, who were loud and spoiled. Mom just put on her headphones and ignored them almost the entire trip. How nice of her.

2) The parent’s house. It’s a beautiful house with mountain views from almost every window. The back yard, still a desert scene,** is huge and my dog loves it. All we needed was some furniture. The movers did not show up any of the days I was there. This means, no beds, lamps, chairs, TV’s, or really anything. We stood all the time, or sat on counters or the floor. Pat and I slept on a sleeping bag on the floor.

3) Ants and other creatures. Pat and I stayed in this guestroom that had it’s own bathroom. We saw a few ants the first day,
but we figured that there would be some bugs around considering no one had been in the house for the past couple of weeks. Saturday, we see more. They only like our room, our bathroom and my parent’s bathroom. That night, Pat kills about 20 or so in the bathroom and finds where they are coming from- a small break in the molding of the corner of our room. Pat has this problem- if he knows there are bugs, he can’t sleep. We discuss the option of relocating, but that also is a problem. This was the only bedroom with a light. We didn’t want to sit in the dark and hang out, so we stayed. The next day, we got ant traps and killed off the entire population. Or so we hope. Other bugs, cleverly named “speedy” or “hoppy” also got into the house on occasion. The hoppy guys were the coolest by far. When you would open the door to come inside, they would sneak in after you, almost like they were planning it. The looked like mutant crickets.

4) The quest for lone mountain. Las Vegas is surrounded by mountains. You would think it would be easy to find the mountain that just hangs out all by itself. Not so. Of course, in our search, I got to see some incredible landscape, that and a whole lot of ATVs and bullet shells.

5) Treasure Island. My parents like to gamble. This much is probably already evident. This comes in handy at times. They got Pat and I a comp room at Treasure Island, which is a pirate (YAR!) themed hotel. It’s really cool. Please, please go see the pirate fight if you are ever out there. It is hilarious because it is just so bad. Also the room was nice. So nice because there was a bed, chairs and a TV!

6) Gambling with the P’s. We went out gambling with them twice. The first time was interesting. . . Ted takes Pat and I to the strip Saturday night. I put in a dollar at the first slot we sit at and I win fifty bucks. It was so cool! Later that night, I win another 40. I see Ted put in $10 after $10 and it’s kind of disturbing. So we are at this slot machine, Ted sitting next to me and he says,
Ted: Hey Jen, can you lend me $50?
Me: You want me to give you my winnings? I don’t think so.
Ted: That’s ok, I was done anyway.
Yeah right. Of course I tell Pat right away, and we find the story even more hilarious when we are in the car going home and Ted says, “Yeah, I know when to stop gambling.”

7) Roulette. Pat and I have plans to play roulette all weekend. The hotel gives this little instructional booklet on how to play all the table games. So we read and observe. We were planning to go out late Monday night, but it didn’t happen. Tuesday morning, Pat and I get up early before our flight (aka 5 am) to try our hand. So we sit down, get two cups of coffee and start the game. I had this dream the night before that I should bet on 34. That worked out really well, because before I knew it, I was up to $90 on a $5 bet. This is one rule I learned about gambling: know when to quit. I didn’t. I walked away with $47. Still not so bad, eh?

It was a great trip, even with all the mishaps. It was especially good spending all that time with Pat.

I’ll attempt to write about the dog bite after lunch. This is a helluva lot of reading. Sorry.

*4 or so year old twin boys. Just because they are blonde does not mean they are cherub-like.
**Lots and lots of gravel like sand.