What Happens in Vegas...

... SHOULD stay in Vegas. This was my second trip, and I think I've seen enough. Seldom have I seen a more poignant example of the Ugly American. I realize there are people visiting there from all around the world, but the vast majority of them are Americans. You can tell by the bad haircuts and the non-existant fashion sense, the juvenile attitude towards nudity, the roving packs of white males and the inability to gauge when to say "when" to a bartender. Here are more random thoughts, observations and tips from me to you:

** I can't stress this enough: do NOT bring your baby/toddler/pre-teen child or children to Vegas and drag them around casinos until all hours of the night.

** At the nicer bars and clubs, women often get in for free if they are by themselves, while if you are a couple both of you have to pay the cover. So, stand in line separately and join up again once you are inside.

** If you are pregnant, please don't drink. There isn't some magic fairy dust that will make the alcohol drank in Vegas any less threatening to your fetus than anywhere else (despite the fact that most drinks are watered down).

** There are two outlets on the Strip that sell half-price show tickets for the same day, they open at noon.

** Unless you are going from one end of the Strip to the other, skip the monorail and walk. By the time you walk to the stations you could have been half-way to your destination.

** We are in our early 40's. Most of the people in Vegas were either 10 to 15 years younger or 10 to 15 years older than us.

** Do not travel in groups of 10 or more, you take up too much room in restaurants and make the rest of us wait even longer to be seated.

** Parking is always free at a casino. Getting out of a casino parking garage requires a GPS and a trail of bread crumbs.

** Get off the Strip and drive out to the desert, there are many amazing natural wonders to see that don't involve a g-string or break-away clothing.


Red Rock Canyon