105 Ways to Give a Book

Vegas Baby

Why aren’t there picture books set in Las Vegas? I mean, New York toddlers have tons to choose from about their city. I think it’s time for a Vegas Baby or Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes. (Hey, that is actually is a book.) With those huge, fanciful buildings, Vegas makes a great book setting. The porn cards on the sidewalks don’t need to be featured.

Yeah, I have Vegas on the mind after coming back from my trip. We had a fantastic time. But I’m having trouble with my short-version recap. I’ve done the full story — with photos — that you tell to people who care or who have to pretend to care. I’ve got that down. The mini-response, of course, is any near synonym of great. But then there is the difficult short version, for people who ask you when they have two minutes to spare, and you say, “It was great/fantastic/wild/surreal. We went/saw/did/stayed/learned/found ______, _____, and _______.”

I don’t know what to use for the blanks. So here are some highlights of our trip, and perhaps you can vote in the comments for your favorite three.
  1. We stayed at the five-star Bellagio hotel for $109 a night, so this recession thing may be real.
  2. We went to and lost money in pretty much every fancy casino on the Strip. (But not a lot of money.)
  3. We learned that the places look much closer together on the map, and I have the blisters to prove it.
  4. We saw the dolphin and lion habitat at the Mirage, but the exhibit was greatly enhanced by being able to sit down.
  5. I did play blackjack at three casinos, and ended $15 down at the really scuzzy one, which kinda figures.
  6. We found that the Strip is to Downtown as Whitney Houston is to Britney Spears (before Whitney got druggie).
  7. We went to a comedy club, a magic show, and Blue Man Group with discount tickets — not that it was easy.
  8. I found that if you argue long enough with the timeshare people, they will call security.
  9. We learned that if you try sometimes, you just might find that you get what you need — and a comped lunch.
  10. We did take the red-eye back, were delayed in NYC, and I went to work two hours after we landed.
Vote for your favorite three and that will be my new short-version Vegas story. It’s all in your hands now.

9 comments:

Peaceful Reader said...

#3, 6 and 8 made me laugh, very funny what we remember from the journeys we take. I once saw The Grateful Dead in Las Vegas and what i remember was how sparkly everything was...until you get up close...
Thanks for sharing!

tanita✿davis said...

Oh, my word #8!!!!! Hiccuping with laughter. Agree -- a baby Vegas book would be smashing, as long as you stick with the new pair of shoes thing. The "what happens in..." thing is utterly passé.

I'm cringing at you getting back in time to go to work. Ugh. Return home, brew coffee, shower, shave, out the door. That had to be ugly.

MotherReader said...

Always glad to make somebody laugh - besides myself.

(Shower? Who said anything about a shower?)

Beth Kephart said...

I think the blisters plus the sit down plus the comp lunch add up to something!

Melissa said...

#3 (because I can totally sympathize, having walked the length of the Strip once, myself), #7 (because I want to know how you did it), and #8 (because I want to hear the rest of the story).

Suzanne Casamento said...

#1. Because Bellagio for a hundo a night is seriously dreamy. (And yes, the recession is real. That is why I haven't gone to Vegas.)
#3. I love scuzzy casinos. It's weird but true.
#9. Anything comped is fabulous!

I LOVE Vegas and I am SO envious of you. I mean that in the nicest way. ; )

Anonymous said...

3, 6, and 9--although Vegas is mostly indescribable. I once walked the length of the strip from about 11pm until about 5am, and it was interesting to me how the place seriously never dies down. (I also got blisters.)

Sherrie Petersen said...

3, 8 and 9 made me smile. Similar memories...

Little Willow said...

The dolphins, the lunch, and the timeshare!