May 19, 2014: There’s no place like home!

According to our dog-sitter, my pug Jelly was “fussing a lot today”.  Despite her hip dysplasia and arthritic shoulders, she couldn’t sit still.  It was as if she could sense something was up.  Something like…

Dad coming home!

Yes, following four great days in Vegas, I am back in familiar territory more familiar territory (since, truth be told, The Strip has become a sort of home away from home over the years).  It was a terrific trip.  We spent time with friends, ate at some fantastic restaurants (Julian Serrano, Joe’s Stone Crab, and Jaleo) and, when all was said and done, I came out ahead at the tables.  Well, technically, I lost some money – but nowhere near as much as I was prepared to lose, so I’m going to consider that a win.  There was that hiccup with our accommodations on the first night, but once we moved from The Cosmopolitan to The Aria, we were much more comfortable.  Still, I don’t think I’d stay at the Aria again.  It’s a minor quibble, but the rooms are way too dark.  There is no central light source so I had to rely on reading lamps for my night time reading – but the illumination they provided was incredibly poor.  No wonder my eyes ached for most of my trip.  Also, the blackout curtains did a damn poor job of actually blacking out the morning sunlight.  As a result, we were usually up by 7 a.m.  Nope.  I think it’s going to be back to The Bellagio for me on my next trip to Sin City.  Whenever that is?  Quick!  Who’s in for a group vacation?!

Breakfast: a vanilla eclair and a nutella napolean. Pesto chicken sandwich not pictured because who cares.