Great time in Vegas!

Chelsea and I had a great time in Las Vegas. The drive down was uneventful, just as we like it. We stayed in a Super 8 Motel the first night, clean but nothing fancy. We stayed there because everywhere else was over $200 for Saturday night, probably because it was Mem. Day weekend. Even the Super 8 was $100. On Saturday Chelsea met her Aunt Dionne, Uncle William, and cousin's Jasmine, Jonathan, and Tariq. They are a very nice family. We all hit it off right away. The kids were very well behaved and very easy to get along with. Jasmine is 19, Jon is 13 and Tariq is 8. Tariq was born at 23 weeks gestation and was only 1 lb. 8 oz. when he was born. Needless to say he has some developmental problems, but he is so cute and just a really nice kid.

We went to Fremont Street on Saturday, after eating at the buffet at the Luxor on the Strip. Chelsea got a spray on tattoo and plans to keep it all summer with the help of a Sharpie!

On Sunday we went to stay at the South Pointe, our hotel on Las Vegas Blvd. This is a relatively new hotel and very nice. We ate breakfast at the buffet and then hit the pool. Later Chelsea's relatives wanted to relax so we went to see where I used to live when I was stationed in LV from 1985-88. Boy things sure have changed! I did find the apartment complex, which was still in very good condition and Chelsea was impressed.

Later, we went back to get her cousins. Her aunt and uncle had a wedding and reception to attend. We went to the Coca-cola store and the kids enjoyed trying out the "Taste of the World" soft drinks. There were 12 different kinds and some were good and some were horrible. We all agreed that the "Beverly" from Italy was the worst. It tasted like cough syrup. We checked out a few other places and eventually headed back to the hotel. Chelsea spent the rest of the night with her cousins while I relaxed in our room.

On Monday Dionne and family had to head back to San Diego. Chelsea and I slept in and then went to the Fashion Show mall and did a little shopping, then we went to the Stratosphere and went to the top. We saw the amusement rides but neither of us were stupid enough to get on them. Then we found the nearest In-n-Out burger and got lunch and set off for home. Again, another uneventful ride home.

As we were approaching our neighborhood Chelsea said she had a great time but was glad to be home. Isn't that the way it always is? You have fun on vacation, but there's no place like home.