Giving Nature the Bird... and other fun things to do in Las Vegas

I'll admit that my work trip to Vegas went much better than expected because:

1. It was great to shed damp Seattle and let the hot sun and dry air zap some of the mold which must surely have been blooming on me.

2. I really enjoy my co-workers and we got to do a Very Fun Thing.

3. Our client is very cool.

But before I completely let go of the anti-Vegas bent from my previous post, I'd like to show you one very dirty and deeply offensive thing...

...a golf course in the desert.

Now that I got that off my chest, let me tell you about my week.

For those of you never having had the pleasure of landing in Sin City, the airport is right around the corner from its infamous Strip. The gold building next to the wing is Mandalay Bay, and the pyramid thingy is Luxor.

We were staying at Aria, one of the relatively newer hotels in the middle of The Strip. Although I wouldn't be in my room much, I was happy to have a view considering I would be waking up to it for a week.

And the other side...

The Very Fun Thing
Since my co-worker and I arrived a little earlier than necessary for the conference we were managing, my S.O. decided to join me for the weekend (I'm pretty sure it was mostly because he was desperate for some desert Vitamin D). Boy was I glad that he had, because otherwise I would have had to make a very difficult decision. The artist formerly and currently known as Prince had performed in Seattle the previous month. The tickets had been too expensive for us, but lo and behold we discovered he was performing at the Hard Rock that night, for half the price. Sold! It definitely would have been a bummer if I'd had to see Prince with the guilty conscience of not sharing the experience with my honey. Instead, we had double the fun because one of my most favorite co-workers was singing and dancing right along with us.

The next day, hoarse from screaming our fool heads off at the concert, our work duties kicked into high gear and we didn't see much daylight except through the windows of the Convention Center. I won't bore you or myself with photos of the conference, so let's move on instead to Sin City itself.

Nothing says 'Vegas' quite like a pair of Showgirls. Clearly these guys agree. Once the program was over I had a day to myself to sleep in and then take in the sights. Here's a quick tour:

1. View of The Strip with New York-New York on the left, MGM on the right and the Eiffel Tower of Paris in the distance.

2. New York-New York...

...which had the only mention I ever saw of any sort of conservation effort.

3. The Disney-like Excalibur with Mandalay Bay peeping out from a turret. 

4. Street performer with a New York-New York backdrop

5. I'll bet you'll guess this next one.

6. How about a couple more Showgirls just for fun? And look, there's Caesar's Palace in the background.

7. Aria, my home away from home.

8. Billboards as big as buildings.

9. The famous fountains in front of Bellagio with the newer Cosmopolitan on the left.

10. It's never dark in Vegas

Morning finally brings a soft reprieve.

I won't deny that I was pretty happy to return to the soothing blues and greens of my lush adopted city. Next time, I think I'll road-trip down to the desert and snub Sin City instead.