Road Trip To Sin City, Part 4

... and the last in this series, I hope. I had to add these fun and funny pictures. I am working on another post, a deep thoughtful one. So here is a break before the depth.

Bro and SIL at the dinner the night before the wedding. There wasn't really a rehearsal, and her family didn't come to this dinner. I don't know if they weren't there yet, or just tired. But our family and their friends came. Aren't they cute? Poor kids were both sick, but the good meal and hot tea helped a lot.



DH and me at the same dinner. Bro took the picture. The one I tried as a self portrait was a funny angle straight up my nose. I won't bore you with that.



This was a funny picture of SIL's mom. We were waiting impatiently for the Limo to show up at the Stratosphere, to take us to the wedding site. Everyone with cameras was taking pictures. SIL's Mom and I took pictures of each other taking pictures of each other. Then I tried to get a good picture of her. I got this first. She joked that this was more real. I have another picture that is nice, but this one makes me laugh. Our families are going to get along well.



This picture is for the pure funny of it. This is in the Paris, right beneath the Eiffel Tower. I gather from the stuff we could see, that it is Asian food, but the name... is fitting.



When we walked around the Miracle Mile shops, there were columns that had different words on them. Each column had a different word, and each word was in all different languages. "Desire" has Pig Latin.



There was "Love". We pondered what language had "HAHA" as it's word for love. My comment was, "They're joking, right?"



I know a guy named Fred. I didn't know the name meant "Peace".



"Peace" had the best words. This was the longest individual word we saw. It almost took the whole side of the column.



Bro got a kick out of this one. Goom-Jigi. I really need to find out what language that is!



This is one of the lions in the MGM Grand. This is the view up to her, from a walkway. The plexiglass is all scratched up, this is a very clear picture of our actual view. She moved her paws to cover her face for that guy trying to get a camera up her nose. It was so nonchalant, but full of personality. "No more pictures, today, dear."



Later, this same lion got up and gave the people a show. She urinated on the glass...and immediately about 10 cameras were up in the air, trying to get the picture, from underneath her in that walkway. I was not under the walkway by then. She had about 50 people laughing and taking more pictures. From this, I gather that big cats don't cover their excrement like domestic cats do. (I like my cats using the litter box!) When she was done, she went back and lay down in the exact same spot she was in before. Like nothing had changed.



Sisters. Better than by blood, we are sisters by choice. We each refer to the other's Mom as Mom Squared. Our Mothers act like sisters, too. I met Best BFF when I moved to Gallup, at the age of 6. She was 7, and would turn 8 before the first year was out. We have shared all sorts of adventures. Vegas was better than the Arizona State Fair! (My favorite vacations as a kid, once neither of us lived in Gallup anymore.)



This is the current state of construction of the new bypass bridge at the Hoover Dam. I guess the plan is that the dam can still be toured and stuff, but the majority of the traveling traffic is not going to go over it anymore. This bridge had a sign that they were hoping to be done by 2008. They missed. But it is tall and looks pretty impressive.



I found the place where steak sauce is from! A mountain road near Flagstaff, AZ.



So Mamma Mia knows that I was not telling stories, here is the proof. I tried to go to her Uncle's restaurant in Albuquerque.



They were, however, closed. The sign explained it was a private party. Entrance would be granted by Invitation Only. *Sigh* So I didn't get the *BEST* Mexican food in the state. They had just had a Grand Re-Opening, and I was told that the employees were probably all drunk anyway, so it wouldn't have been fun. It is on my list for the next time we go through. Maybe we can meet up with Looney Mom again. (Yes, I am hanging my head in shame. I am a terrible long-distance friend. I didn't call at all. Bad Chelf!)



The yummiest hot Chai latte away from Vintage. This was the second trip to Perennials, as it was so very good the first time. I bought two of those mugs, one for me and one for my friend. (He and his wife are also big fans of How I Met Your Mother.)



I hope you have enjoyed my vacation documentaries. I hope to have many more adventures, and share them with you.

Road Trip To Sin City, Part 3

Word of the Post
Today's word is: vacation
/va*ca"tion/
noun: The act of vacating; leaving a void; intermission of employment, leisure time away from work devoted to rest; on holiday.
verb: To spend or take a vacation.
This was the most fun I have had hurting myself on a vacation.
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On the way to Vegas, we stopped to have a late lunch in Amarillo, TX. I love my new little car... and I think it is scary how so many larger cars on the road may not see me. Partially because the color could blend into the road, but mostly because other drivers are distracted or just not looking. When I pulled into this space, I got tickled over the visual of small vs. large that I had created. The intimidating Hummer I parked near.



I used to have all sort of posters and t-shirts for the Roadkill Cafe'. This trip, I found a physical store that called itself that! I took this picture as much for my mom and her love of Windmills, as my own little sick fascination. This is down the street from the gas station we stopped at in Seligman, AZ.



All during this trip, and a couple before it, I had been saying in conversation the lyrics of songs we were hearing on the radio or the CD we were listening to. Last April, I said something about crack filling, and then immediately heard "..fill in the cracks..." on the Chicago CD. We also have noticed things that are related to movies. Signs, places, and songs that relate to movies we have recently watched. Jeff noticed the contrails that looked like a logo, to a movie I have seen, but he has not (that I know of). Do you see it? (I will tell you the movie was Fantastic!)



This is another view of the Revolution Lounge. The letters were turned, any that had a bottom had seats in them. This is where I got the idea to put DH in one, and take a picture of him. I like the effect of the people walking past. Not the greatest picture, but fun.



This is the entry to Ceasar's, and those circular things are actually escalators! Like the moving sidewalks, this is one of the coolest things I have ever ridden.



For Roadrunner, this is an ad on a facade of New York New York. You can see part of the support for the "Brooklyn Bridge", which is where we were walking when I saw this.



Best BFF said this was the closest she had been to NYC since she was an infant. This is the closest I have been since 1992. We drove past NYC, and I got to see Lady Liberty through binoculars... and she still appeared only about 2 inches tall. This replica is awesome!



DH and myself in front of Lady Liberty... behind us is the castle of Excalibur. We didn't go in there. It looked cool, though. We rode an escalator up like the one you see behind us. It was scary. If one leans over too far, one sees the traffic one could fall directly into! Add that it is more than one house story level high, because it has to go over traffic with double decker Deuce buses going past... and that as such a small construct, it shakes. Ferret would have been passed out by the time she got to the top. I almost was, and I am not scared of heights. I am not usually scared of man-made structures, either.



For Roadrunner's kids (mostly the little one), I saw this Nintendo PSP replica on the side of a building. It is more than a story high! It was an LCD billboard. Very cool for us gamer geeks!



The Kiss



It is a family joke that Dad really does not like getting dressed up. Ties are evil, we are certain. He might own two... one that stays tied up waiting to be put on, and this one that is clip-on. Bro wouldn't have cared if we were in Bermuda shorts and flip-flops, as long as we were there. I was surprised that Bro was in a suit, but he had to be. It was made for him, so not uncomfortable. But Dad still removes the tie when the need to show it is over. I asked him to move it, but New SIL said she thought it showed his character, so we had him put it back in the same place. Dad is surely a character.



The Siblings. DH, Me, Bro, New SIL, Her sis. Both of the families have decided that we are ALL family now. I can really get to liking this. Bro's MIL figures we all came with the package. She is not wrong; when blending families, every member is part of the experience.



I took this, to have a record of Mom's family ring. The large diamond is the solitaire from her wedding set, that fell out around their 20th anniversary. I found it (we were at the DMV when she noticed it was gone) and we had it reset. The small stones are for each family member's birth month, and the anniversary month. The stones are: February Amethyst, April Diamond, May Emerald, July Ruby and October Pink (to replace the Opal that is too soft to put with crystals). Also in the picture, a bracelet that one of Mom's friends gave her recently, a carnation (hers of the flowers that Bro and SIL gave all the women at the wedding), her watch, and the wedding band to hold the family ring in place.

The watch face has colored pencils or crayons for the hands, and colored numbers. She was a teacher before she retired, so that was special. The watch band was hand made by a friend of ours when we lived in Gallup. Turquoise, Coral and other colored stones, set in silver in a personalized new design that has Hopi, Anasazi and Navajo influences. Now that I think about it, that watch band is almost 25 years old!



Until I am struck by inspiration again...

I'm Not A Tool... I'm An Instrument!

I interrupt myself in the posts about Vegas to bring you a very good thought. My friend Rick Rossing penned this ponder on his Facebook account, and I got permission to reprint it. I did a copy/paste, and didn't change a thing, title and all.

Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~
During a Bible class, we were reading the passage in Acts 9:15 where Jesus says that Paul is his chosen instrument, and someone commented that Paul was a tool. I didn't like the concept, and I've been mulling it over ever since.

It is never a compliment to be called a tool, at least not in my experience. A tool is a person who is useful enough at what he does, but is only being used. He might not even be aware that he is not admired so much as tolerated. Like a hammer, he's used for whatever task he's needed for, then tossed carelessly back into the box with all the other tools. Tools are not generally loved, and they are easily replaced.

But an instrument is far more special! The word conjures up to me the image of a saxophone or clarinet, or a finely honed surgical scalpel. A saxophone is comprised of many intricate valves and parts that are precisely joined together and tuned to produce sweet music. An instrument is specially designed for its purpose, painstakingly and even lovingly. It is not easy to replace an instrument. The one who uses the instrument cares for and even loves it. When not in use, the instrument is carefully placed in a location prepared for it to keep it safe.

The God who created Paul and used him also formed him and loved him. The same God created me and uses me, but God also forms me and loves me. I am beautifully and wonderfully made, because I am loved.

We are His workmanship, created for good works.

I'm no tool... I'm an instrument. So are you.