May 8, 2006

Viva Las Vegas

So. Two weeks ago, we traveled to New Jersey; the hotel we stayed at was very nice, had free Internet access in the rooms (they even gave me a cable), provided a crib for our use free of charge, included a decent breakfast, and my son's crying couldn't be heard in the next room (which was a good thing).

I spent this past weekend in Las Vegas with the in-laws, and it's true when they say nothing in Vegas is free. The hotel/casino we stayed at offered wireless Internet in the rooms for $12/day, charged us $8/day for crib rental, didn't have soda machines available (but hey! You can visit the bar 24/7), and the walls were so thin that folks three doors down could hear my son when he woke up. And now I know where all the people who can't smoke in California and Arizona anymore have gone.... !

On the up side, I have to say the police in Las Vegas are very, very nice. We didn't get hit with a substantial fine when a policeman came across my father-in-law holding my son on his lap while he played a slot machine... the policeman was very kind while explaining it was extremely illegal for Isaac to be anywhere near the gambling machines, let alone touching one. I will admit we all saw the signs about "18 and under" but didn't get the brain cells connected with letting our one-year-old sit with his grandparents. Another plus was the "Tournament of Kings" show at the Excalibur - we all had a ton of fun at that one. And, of course, the biggest positive of the weekend was seeing family!

I didn't learn anything new about libraries or librarians this weekend... only that I don't think I'd want to attend a conference in Las Vegas, but I would like to win the lottery so I could see all of the shows! (OK, not all of them - I have no interest in Wayne Newton or Celine Dion - but I'd love to see any of the Cirque du Soleil shows, a Penn & Teller event, or a Blue Man Group performance.)

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