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1. Went out with Kiddo this evening to see Race to Witch Mountain -- wrote a full review, if you're interested.
2. Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino features prominently in Witch Mountain, leading me to ponder whether Disney owned a chunk. It doesn't seem like they do, according to the fascinating Who Owns Vegas pages.
   
3. Awesome craft of the day? A needle-felted Horny Toad Roomba cover. So want one.
4. Clever idea of the day? The Peepoo Bag. Yes, it's what you think -- it's for the 2.6 billion people around the world who lack proper sewage/sanitation systems; as it breaks down the waste, the bag turns it into useable fertilizer.
   

Looking back

Vegas is squarely in the rear-view mirror with all it's bling and high concentration of international douchebaggery.

I knew it was full of bling going in -- that's the point of Vegas; everything is bigger, brighter and bolder than everywhere else -- but the douchebaggery? that was, well, more pronounced than I was expecting. For example, I didn't expect to walk out of the Miracle Mile stores at 6 pm and have to dodge vomiting partiers on The Strip.

But that wasn't the most surprising thing. What surprised me the most, was the pervasive cigarette smoke. I always thought the clean-air bylaws here in BC were a bit over-protective but going to Vegas was like stepping back in time. I do remember walking behind people smoking in the mall or sitting in a restaurant next to a smoker -- my Dad smokes, so I was raised around it but clearly my nose and lungs had completely forgotten the experiences. For Kiddo, it was a completely new and unpleasant experience.

With all that aside, there were some highlights: the monorail announcements are actually quite funny; the food in the MGM Grand restaurants was good -- even the ridiculous room service ($8 for two scrambled eggs and $6 for one slice of french toast) tasted good; and seeing the reality of what, for me, was basically a film set was worth doing.*

The above photo was, I think, one of Kiddo's highlights -- the Volcano dessert at the Rainforest Cafe. It was the same price as our entree, I think, and I would suspect about three thousand calories. Split three ways we still couldn't finish it, but she was very happy to dig into it.

So basically, we have crossed Vegas off our list of places to go and likely won't revisit unless we are drawn there by a convention -- and then we would go child-free.


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*Funny thing. Having watched hundreds of hours of CSI, I kept looking at every corner of of the city as a potential crime scene. Being the pessimist I am I do that regardless of my location but in Vegas it was that much more conscious.

Vegas vacation thoughts....

Yes, Las Vegas and yes, with Kiddo.

Hubby and I had planned to go to Vegas for our 10th anniversary since we've never been but, as you may remember, a broken ankle kept us from doing so. At least we managed to see the Blue Man Group while they were in Victoria -- one of the main reasons we'd considered Vegas in the first place. Aaaanyway. Since then, one of the other reasons for going (the Star Trek Experience) has closed (bah!) but on the other hand, there are now regular direct flights from Victoria to Vegas.

So, we've been thinking about heading down for a couple of days in February. Neither Hubby nor I gamble so we don't have to worry about juggling Kiddo for casino time so I spent time online yesterday looking for other ideas. I got pretty excited when I found out there was a monorail but disappointed at how little area it covers. I also noted that there is both a Bodies exhibit and a display of Titanic artifacts (Kiddo is fascinated by all things Titanic) at the Luxor and I was amused to find many bowling lanes on the Strip, too.

We haven't booked anything yet so I haven't spent all my waking hours researching.... but give it time. Once we are booked, it'll be the only thing in my search history.

(Oh, and if any of you have suggestions for what to see and what to avoid, let me know.)