Catching up, day three...

Paul had scheduled us to go to Hoover Dam and take a cruise of Lake Mead today (it's still Thursday here while I'm posting this) but when we got up we decided we needed to pace ourselves a little more slowly. Matt and I begged for a "day off". So we headed to the little village and hit Starbuck's for breakfast and newspaper reading. Paul struck up a conversation with who turned out to be a wonderful woman who has a condo in the village. She lives primarily in L.A. but is here to work in peace on her expanding business venture. She owns An Empowered Woman, "A forum designed for women to empower each other through sharing our personal stories, challenges, and victories.". How great is that? Well, if you really want to know, check out her website at http://www.anempoweredwoman.com/ and see. We got to talking about blogging and such and she asked me if I could help her get her blog up and running and streamlined. I said, "Oh ya'"! So I'm going over to her condo tomorrow morning to do just that. In a short period of time she shared some amazing stories about her life and what she's doing. I think I found myself a little Oprah!!!! Then we headed back to the hotel for a swim. I took a wander around the grounds and voila! I found the above natural flora!!!! And below, not in its natural environment but still beautiful, these plants and flowers.

And all around here there are huge bushes of Lantana, my favorite. Just as I found in Savannah because it doesn't freeze here or there, the Lantana can grow huge. They are very cold sensitive and are the last to come out for sale and the first to die in Maryland so this is such a visual treat for me.

After our swim we decided that our slower pace would be "just" a trip to Circus Circus for the buffet and their Adventure Dome carnival type venue for Matt. Whew!!!! It was...ummm...hell on Earth for the filter-challenged wiener that I am. The buffet was very good and calm and quiet and not crowded. But the Adventure Dome was the forum for the largest gathering in history of ill-mannered children and teens on Earth. I was literally trampled by a group of about 10 very large teens running through an isle which I was crossing. I was hit by at least two, I had no where to go, I was surrounded. It was crazy. There is a youth basketball tournament going on here right now and, mind you, all ethnicities are well represented so this is not stereo-typing of races but of teens. Since folks are visiting from all over the country and the world, I found it to be a negative study of a cross section of our youth in the world today. I know, they said the same thing in the 18th century. Walking around bumping into anyone in their way cussing up a blue streak on their cell phones. Sorry, my lips are pursing and I think I just aged 50 years. Matt had fun but it was a little overwhelming for him too. I left Paul and Matt there for the last little while and got a TATTOO. Yes, there will be photos. Come on, can you really come to Las Vegas and NOT get a tattoo? It's the ultimate souvenir. You'll never guess what it is...no, not the picture below, silly.

So, we've been there, done that. It is checked off the list. Tomorrow afternoon is the M&M giant video game arcade which my new Oprah-esk friend says there is a lounge area for parents to hide and lots of security so the kids can play without being under the microscope.

Then tomorrow night is the whole reason for coming here, Cirque du Soeli Beatles' Love!!!! Oh boy, we can't wait. Then, hopefully it's off to the Grand Canyon on Saturday so I can see it before I turn 50!!!! Yippie!!!

P.S. I hope I didn't sound like too much of a bummer. I'm glad for all we are experiencing, just being honest. It makes the trip to the Tidal Basin at the peak of the cherry blossoms blooming look like an intimate dinner party, that's all.