Rob's blog: Rob goes to Vegas...part one...

"Why would anyone want to live here?" -Rob McKelvy

Do I look like I am on a movie poster? Maybe CSI? or something?

I have not visited Las Vegas since college when I went home with my suite mate who lived in Las Vegas. I was only 18, so we did not visit the strip, and it seemed like a normal sort of town to me at the time. I have heard so much about Vegas, and wanted to visit, mostly to take pictures. I told Warren that is where I wanted to go for my 60th birthday. We went, and Mark and Jordan joined us.

The family except for me. I took the pictures.

When Warren and I were flying in, I could see there was no vegetation, just hills, and lots of dirt. I wondered how the city got started, and why someone would want to live in such a desolate place. Usually, towns spring up around water. There did not seem to be much water. I would not want to live there, but I must say, I had a fantastic time visiting, and would go back in a heart beat. I could not believe that every hotel was basically a mall, with a casino, and theaters for shows. I found that amazing. I wish we had the time to visit all the hotels. We did not gamble in case you are wondering.

One of the first things all of us did was ride the Roller Coaster at New York New York. Well, all except Warren whose back would not fair well with a roller coaster ride. I was skepitical since the last roller coaster I was on was "The Rattler" at Fiesta Texas. Immediately after the ride started my chin was in my chest, and I could not raise my head. I thought for sure my neck was going to snap and break. It was the worst 2 minutes of my life. Mark and Amber assured me this was a mamby-pamby ride, and Mark volunteered to pay for my ride. I relented. It was not a mamby-pamby ride, at least I did not think so. There is 4777 ft. of track, with a maximum height of 203 ft, dropping 144 ft. with speeds up to 67 mph. My stomach felt that drop...twice in fact since there are two major drops. It simulates a barrel-roll of a fighter plane rolling 180 degrees, hangs 86 feet in the air, then dives back under itself. Mark and Amber went twice, but once was enough for me.

Walking up to the roller coaster. See it in the background? The loop where you go upside down is not visible from here. Actually, the loop was not as scary as the drops.

The before and brave picture.

The during and scary picture.

After that we walked around some of the more interesting hotels. The Bellagio has fountains that "dance" to music. During the evening, there are colored lights, but plain during the daytime was pretty fantastic, too.

Warren and Mark watch the fountain "dance." Thank goodness this did not last too long since it was so hot out.

I don't remember what this hotel was called, but it was my favorite one of all. I liked all the statues, and how the inside was like being outside. My hair went totally flat in LV. Not matter what I did, it was always flat. Another reason not to live there...flat hair.

Me with flat hair, Mark with a goofy look, and Amber who is the only one who looks nice.

Warren was having a pretty good time, too. Who knows what he laughing about.

Father and son.

Mark was funning around making all kinds of faces pretending he was hit by the statue boxer. I told him, go back so I could get a picture. There were several people walking by when he posed, and as we were walking away, we noticed everybody got a picture just like we did of Mark. They thought it was a great idea. I did, too.

Mark posing with Mohammad Ali who, when I was little, was called Cassius Clay.

This is the inside of the mall. The colors were amazing, and you truly felt as if you were outdoors. It was nice to be indoors though since the temperature was a blazing 117 degrees outdoors. We picked one of the hottest weekends to visit LV.

As you can see, with Mark in transition from his job, he has grown a beard. This one looks pretty full. He thinks he will keep it since he will be going to back to school (Computer school in Bolder, CO) in September.

Amber and Mark

Amber told me Mark stops at every drink refrigerator, and looks at the drinks for a long time, so I thought I should document this habit. She says he doesn't always buy drinks; he just looks. This time he bought an orange "So Be Lean." Probably because it was so blazing hot outside.

Mark's habit...stopping by to look at the drinks.

This is one of the more favored pools at a hotel. This is not our hotel. Some have wave pools, lazy rivers, beaches with sand and sand volleyball. Our hotel had no casino, and a plain ordinary pool.

A swimming pool

Amber was our "travel guide." She knew all the great places to eat, and visit. She is trying to find out some vital information for our particular outing. I was glad we had her to guide us on our trip.