11 Things To Do In Las Vegas (Without The Gamble)

Bootsnall listed my Las Vegas article as one of their top ten travel stories from March!

Ok it was 10th but it still counts right? ;)

Happy Paddy's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day y'all! Top of the mornin' to ya etc.

Unfortunately due to hangover exhaustion (long story!) we're not going to the party this morning, but we might venture out later.

And BootsnAll published my article on Las Vegas today - it really is a lucky day for us Irish!

Enjoy the day whatever you have planned.

Travel

Flying from Dublin to JFK airport we were concerned about our schedule; we only had an hour and a half to our connection to Las Vegas.

On landing we sprinted off the airplane and huddled around the baggage claim belt, coiled to pounce on our prey and drag it around the corner to the identification station. Spotting my pink suitcase we broke free of the pack and weaved through the crowds to the first baggage handler we laid eyes on. The pride we felt in being top of the pile soon wore off when he tutted at the tags on our cases and shoved us in the direction of Marcie and Brett, our Delta representatives.

Us: Hi. We're in a bit of a rush-
Marcie: Sure. *Avoids our eyes, taps at her keyboard*
Us: We already have our boarding passes.
Marcie: Actually your flight has been cancelled.
Us: Whaa?!
Marcie: You're now going to Las Vegas via Atlanta.
Brett: Here are your new suitcase tags.
Us: Just give us one minute please, thank you. How about another flight from here?
Marcie: *Taps furiously while a crowd gathers* They're all full.
Brett: Give me your bags and I'll retag 'em.
Us: If you don't mind we'd like to discuss our options first. How about another airline?
Marcie: *Eying the growling crowd behind us* You don't have the right class of ticket.
Brett: *Clutching tags, suddenly appears crouched beside our bags. Her hand freezes midair under our twin beams of frustration*
Us: We arrive after our seven hour journey to learn we have to take two more flights to arrive in Las Vegas at least four hours late. If you think for one second that you can get away with that without any offer of compensation -
Brett: *Stirs at our feet*
Us: And don't you dare touch our bags!!!

Eventually we became friends with Marcie, who booked us to first class. Apparently the flights from JFK were chockablock due to Presidents' Day weekend and that we should leave before the expected snow storm hit New York.

We weren't sitting together on our flight to Atlanta but I got chatting to my neighbour Jan, who was my age. That's where the similarities ended however; a native of the State of Georgia she was married with two children, lived in deepest darkest New York State, raised Baptist but was converting to Catholicism because her husband was Catholic and her children attended a Catholic school. And yes, she voted Republican. If someone would have told me before I left that I'd have the most fun I've ever had on a flight with someone with those paper credentials, I'd have snorted. And then snorted again with more feeling.

But I had a ball. As Jan and I drained the flight of white wine she entertained me with her quick, dry wit. She had met her husband at college and that they did not marry until she was pregnant with her second child. She was desperate to move her family to Brooklyn and raise them in the city, but she and her husband were saddled with massive student debt. When we talked about the upcoming election she couldn't understand why people voted Bush purely because he was anti-abortion. Surely there were more pressing issues to consider? And she shook her head at the idea that people would vote for a Republican each time around without considering the opposition, just because their family had always done so. How a more tolerant attitude was required towards people of all backgrounds, faiths and sexual orientation.

When we landed in Atlanta I told her I was glad to have met her, as she had exploded a prejudice that I was now ashamed to admit. It had been so easy to divide Americans into red and blue states, conservative and liberal attitudes, but like all stereotypes it was a load of hokum.

The second flight to Las Vegas wasn't as fun however. Our legs had swollen up like inner tubes and the stewardess seemed determined to punish us for some unknown slight. By the time we arrived in Las Vegas the accumulation of delays meant it was 11pm, so we just checked in and fell into bed.

Luckily the rest of the holiday sailed by without a hitch. (And Marcie was right about the snowstorm in New York!)

Guest Blog: The best laid plans….

Sometimes the best laid plans of bloggers and their aspiring assistants often go astray. While Yvonne was in Las Vegas for some well deserved R&R, the plan was I would share with you the joys of crochet and wool. Unfortunately, CGHM have asked me to go to Singapore to assist with a project so my entries will have a slightly different flavour. I’ll still try to get lots of crochet work in but I’ll be working quite long hours and the weather is a little too warm for working with wool.

I’m spending this weekend with a friend in a beach house in Wexford. Hope you have a good weekend!

Climate

Only eight days until the Ours and I jet off to Las Vegas, the thought of which has whipped me into a frenzy of shopping, planning and more shopping.

The temperature is in the early twenties there, which in Ireland would trigger a parade of tiny vests and hot pants. (The women wear bikinis.) 25 degrees and up is a heat wave.

So...I've been out shopping for flip flops and beach bags. I don't care how ridiculous I will look to normal climate dwellers - I throw on a t-shirt when it's 15 degrees out like the rest of my countrymen!

Unfortunately ten minutes or more in direct sunlight and I'm an itch of prickly heat. I can't lie on my front because it hurts my back. On my back my arms get sore from holding up the book I'm reading to take my mind of the prickly skin crawl...and I'm inside again to bask in the air conditioning.

Safe to say that I've never had a tan darker than weak tea but 235th time's a charm...

SpagBol

I'm actually cooking dinner for once. Ok, Spaghetti Bolognese, but I do cook it completely from scratch (apart from the pasta). Unfortunately I was wearing my work clothes when I was preparing it and squirted tomato paste all down my good cardie. You know, the one that actually looks neat and tidy unlike the bobbly fat knit monsters that lurk at the back of my wardrobe.

In a few days time I'll be writing again, and I am looking forward to it. But the thought of getting on a plane in three weeks' time to THE VEGAS is monopolising any excitement that I might feel about full time writing. I've even started looking up tips for long haul travel...so sad. (And yes, I did know it all before - the fun was in the research. I know...)