Ah, Venice…well, not really

Jill's Journal: We hid out in the air conditioning at the Venetian this afternoon, where the girls enjoyed watching the gondolas cruise the canal in addition to studying the living statues at St. Mark’s Square. As badly as the girls wanted to actually ride a gondola, the price for a family of five was a little too rich for our blood. Someday hopefully we'll take them to Venice for the real thing.

Fun update on Gary and the WSOP: There were 6,598 entrants in the Main Event. Somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 people have been knocked out so far. Gary’s chip count going into tomorrow is in the top 10% of players, which is a super position to be in. How exciting is that? Stay tuned!

The "living statues" do blink! This guy actually moved quite a bit more than we expected. 

Hot, Hot, Hot

Jill's Journal: With the heat wave sweeping the country right now, I know Las Vegas isn’t the only place suffering in triple-digit temperatures. And the weatherman today said it was “only” 114 degrees, not the 122 we registered. But either way, it’s hot, evidenced by a phenomenon that I don’t recall having anywhere else. To explain…

In an RV, one has to plan ahead to use hot water. Whether it’s showers, laundry, dishes, or simply washing your hands, if you want hot water, you’d have better turned on the hot water heater some time prior.

Not so in Vegas, apparently. It’s so hot here that the water coming out of our tap is always hot, never cool. Our showers have been taken with only the cold spigot turned on and that’s plenty hot. In fact, water coming out of the “cold” tap would be way too warm for a comfortable swim.

Crazy town.

Viva Las Vegas

Jill's Journal: We have been having such fun wandering the Strip and meandering through the themed mega-hotels/casinos. We even took an organized double-decker bus tour of both old and new Las Vegas, which the girls really enjoyed and so did Rob and I. It was great to be reminded of so many of the old casino hotels that no longer exist (Stardust, Dunes, Desert Inn, and so many more), while seeing some of the mob spots (seriously, how many bodies must be buried out there in the desert?) and reminisce about past visits (anyone remember the water park that used to be on the Strip?).

Supposedly, as per the tour guide, if you wait 10 years or so between trips to Vegas, you won’t recognize the place because it changes so often. How true that is. Rob and I used to come here a lot, way back when. While he’s been back multiple times for everything from bachelor parties to poker tournaments, I haven’t been here since a decade ago with my Dad and sister. How it has changed. Mega-hotels I remember have been imploded and replaced by luxurious properties like the Wynn. Properties that have remained, like Caesars Palace, have completely reinvented themselves with new towers and a new entrance and are almost unrecognizable from the original. Even little things struck me; for instance, there’s no longer a “Nile River” cruise at Luxor.

The fun thing is that it’s all new to the girls and we have gotten a kick out of them taking in all the supersized glitz and spectacle that is Vegas. And while, yes, Las Vegas is really an adult playground and not so much for kids, it’s a heck of a lot easier to be here with little ones than it is to be in Atlantic City, where you’re barely even allowed to check into your hotel if you have a child in tow (we learned the very hard way several years ago that AC has got to be the least-child-friendly place in the whole U.S.).

I don’t even know how to explain to the kids about this make-believe, over-the-top, surreal, glittery city with pretend pyramids and volcanoes and pirate ships…so I just tell them we can’t take anything seriously in Vegas. There really is no rational explanation for anything here, but it sure is fun to see. Viva Las Vegas!

There’s an Elvis (or two) on seemingly every corner.

The MGM Grand lion is the largest bronze statue in the U.S. at 45 feet tall and 50 tons.

The girls, in their love of Ancient Egypt, thought the faux sphinx and pyramid at Luxor were ah-ma-zing.

I get a kick out of all the wedding chapels. Vegas is the “Marriage Capital of the World” while Reno is the “Divorce Capital of the World.” Oh, Nevada.

Drive-thru weddings…only in Vegas (surely only in Vegas?). There was a couple tying the knot at the drive-up window at this place!

There’s something about this random building in the Arts District that is really cool.

The Stratosphere is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the U.S. at 1,149 feet.

There’s almost as many pawn shops in Vegas as there are Elvis impersonators. This is the one featured on the reality show “Pawn Stars.” Look at that line of people waiting to get inside (in 110 degree heat, no less!).

The canopy-covered four blocks of the Fremont Street Experience is classic old-school Las Vegas. Situated downtown, quite a ways from the Strip, this is what Vegas used to be. Once known as the Glitter Gulch because of all the neon signs, this was the site of first paved street in Vegas, the first hotel, the first gaming license, the first casino designed from the ground up, the first high-rise, the first telephone, etc. Now it’s part pedestrian mall and part old-style casino fun. And yes, those are zipliners! Up to four are whizzing by every couple of minutes.

The Golden Gate was the first hotel in Vegas. Built in 1906 as Hotel Nevada, this is sort of where it all began.

A million dollars on display at Binion’s, where the World Series of Poker began in 1970. Although no longer held at Binion’s, the WSOP’s Main Event has come to be the most coveted prize in poker. Rob and Gary, the guy from Lexington whom I jokingly call Rob’s poker BFF, have attended as spectators two of the last three years. This year, Gary is living his dream and coughed up the $10,000 entry fee to actually play in the Main Event. Rob is here as support and the two have been preparing since Gary arrived yesterday. Play starts tomorrow. Go Gary!

Red Rock Canyon

Jill's Journal: Fewer than 20 miles from the spectacle that is Las Vegas is the tranquility that is Red Rock Canyon. This National Conservation Area is known primarily for its hiking, which we fully intended to do. But oddly, on the day we had scheduled to visit, the temperature in the whole Las Vegas area dropped from the 108 degrees of the day prior (and the day after) to 61 degrees with winds and rain. We opted to just enjoy the 13-mile scenic loop drive instead.

And really, pictures don’t do it justice. In spite of the overcast day, the red rock was extremely striking. The towering cliffs can stretch up to 3,000 feet above the desert floor. This is a beautiful place – eerily silent and wild, especially when considering how close it is in proximity to the bright lights and crush of people that is Vegas.

We had hoped to spot one of the herds of wild burros that call the canyon home, but we never did. However, we did see plenty of evidence that they really were there. :)

The Sign

Jill's Journal: Other than the Hollywood sign high in the hills, I can’t think of a better-known sign in all the country than the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” one. A mainstay at the southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard and the unofficial start to “The Strip” since 1959, it’s even on the National Register of Historic Places.

Although Rob had already visited the sign on his own, we just had to kick off the girls’ Vegas experience with a photo op too. There was a long line waiting for their own photos with the sign (while baking in the sun in the 108 degree heat), so we opted to pull the girls off to the side to snap a quick picture from a little farther away.

We also introduced the girls to the Strip and got plenty of ooohs and aaahs over their first glimpses of the Vegas versions of Egypt, Rome, Paris, New York, and so much more. I think we’re going to have fun here!

As promised... Victoria's Gallery

As I mentioned last week, Victoria wondered (aloud again, just this morning) why her photos were not up on the blog just like Madelyn's. I pulled her whole camera and wanted to post a few of these as well - what a treasure trove. These are untouched - raw from the camera.

 

About 80% of the pictures in Victoria's camera had to do with the latest books the kids have been reading for school.  She loves to take pictures of all the illustrations.  Here are but a very few of them.

Victoria is clearly very excited to have finished her week's work in school.  Note the red scribble over her entire to-do list.  Obviously she was excited to document the occasion.

The pattern pictures below were some of my favorites - books and pencils, and their structure - there might be an entire semester in  Art College about these pics...

Below - it is apparent that Breyerfest is on the girls' mind.  From these posed pictures (best friends), to the monetary goal in the third picture, they are excited that we might be able to attend this year.

 

I had no choice but to finish with these two pictures.  Something tells me that the camera is in Madelyn's hands, but I don't care - what amazing photos.

Adventures with Elizabeth

Jill's Journal: Oh sure, she looks innocent enough, but if there were ever a person with a knack for finding trouble adventure whenever I’m with her, it’s Elizabeth. It doesn’t matter where we’ve been together over the last nearly 20 years – the Bahamas, Tijuana, Nashville, Phoenix, you name it – if we’re together, hilarity just somehow happens. I’m not sure which one of us is Lucy and which one is Ethel, but we’d surely make those fictional ladies proud by our ridiculous antics. Our time together in Las Vegas on this trip just overlapped by one day, but Elizabeth and I made the most of it with a very rare-for-me girls’ night out. And my goodness, I could not imagine a more loyal and dedicated friend. Everyone should be so lucky as to have an Elizabeth. We’re at such different places in our lives, her single and carefree and me married with soon-to-be-four children, but somehow our friendship still just works. And I’m pretty sure it always will. I have no doubt we’re friends for life.

It’s been over 15 years since Elizabeth and I actually lived in the same city. However, in an extremely bizarre twist, we’ll soon be in the same state again. Plans call for her to leave Las Vegas and move to New Jersey in the spring. New Jersey! Of all places! Her move has nothing to do with ours, but out of this whole enormous nation, we’ll be within an hour of each other on the opposite side of the country from where our friendship started nearly two decades ago. How strange (and fortuitous) is that?

Vegas baby.... VEGAS!

A well-known line from the small film Swingers, that title is what I shout just about every time I come to Vegas. I included a clip of the scene below, just so you can understand the inflection and scream it along with me...

We made our journey up on Saturday and I got to cross that drive up I-15 from California off my list of "must-drives". I'd never driven into Vegas the "traditional" way, at least the one you always see in the movies. Interestingly, I think that driving into Vegas during the day, with all the new overpasses and construction is not nearly as aesthetic as driving into Reno on I-80E, nor as clear-you've-crossed-the-line as driving into Atlantic City (with the sign and the overpass). That being said - it's still Vegas, and still a sight.

While photographing the Welcome sign at the top of the post, I ran into a guy that somehow thinks he looks like Elvis (because of the jumpsuit?) and sits in the first parking spot by the sign in a 1956 pink Cadillac waiting for people to jump at the chance to take a picture with "Elvis" in Vegas. This lady in the photo was overjoyed to get a pic. Now, Elvis wouldn't have worn a jumpsuit when he drove a 56 Caddy, he only ever bought a pink Caddy for his mother, and after a little research I found out that Elvis probably never owned or bought (then gave-away) a 1956 pink Caddy. Now, Elvis also probably never drove around in one with the front emblem missing nor the wipers taped to the windshield, but this is Vegas - a town where pretty much everything goes, if only you believe in it. Clearly, he does well enough to know that plenty of people want to believe.

As a side note - in doing the research I discovered that anyone out there making fun of the Wiggles (a group of Australian men that sing kids' songs) -- well, they should just stop. I found out that Greg Page, a Wiggle, not only purchased the last car Elvis ever owned for $100,000+, but that he owns the fourth largest collection of Elvis memorabilia in the world. Clearly, there is something about the Wiggles.  Even stranger - when doing a search of the blog to see if Jill had ever posted about the Wiggles - she had, and it was about Elvis... scary?

We'll be here a few days not only to visit the town, but so that I can cheer my friend on in the World Series of Poker "Main Event". A $10,000 buy-in event that millions of people watch on TV each year on ESPN. I don't know how far he'll go, but I like his chances. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to play in that game - but I haven't truly practiced poker in so long that I wouldn't even waste the entry fee for a satellite game (where you can enter a bigger game for a reduced fee if you win). Good luck Gary - I'm proud you're living your dream! (pic from a 2009 WSOP event)