Whew!

All right, so I am back from vacation! I actually did sit down here a few times after I came home, but the idea of writing every single thing down into this blog just exhausted me to death. So here is a very quick rundown (as quick as I can make it).

Sunday (departure from Cleveland): We miss our flight (leaving at 8:30 AM. Damn. We're not sure if it's our fault or the airlines, or no one's. The line was impossibily long. We get booked on the 12:45 flight instead). In a way it is a good thing, because I was on the flight with someone I used to work with on my rotations, and my family actually got to eat a leisurely breakfast before we went. (And lunch, too, even though they also served us breaded chicken patty sandwiches, a salad and M&Ms.) But the best part?

This:






















I wasn't even brave enough to get near Anderson Varejao (for those of you not in the know, he's one of the Cleveland Cavaliers). My brother, on the other hand, has no shame, so he asked the guy for a picture with him. Anderson Varejao is incredibly nice, by the way. And I'm sure the girl with him (girlfriend? Quick shag? not sure) thought it was hilarious that all the people in the airport kept bugging the guy for pictures.

Arrival in Las Vegas: HOT Even though I hated the humidity in Ohio, this was worse. I baked instead of steamed. We did see the Bellagio (the dancing water fountain is beyond awesome--"Singing in the Rain").

Monday: Went all over to different hotels/casinos, and some guy at Planet Hollywood accosted us and asked if we wanted free tickets to a show, and a free dinner. The trade-off? We'd have to listen to a 90 minute presentation about Westgate Resorts. Okay. We did that. My brother prolonged the 90 minutes into two hours, by asking our salesperson a steady stream of questions. We saw Cirque du Soleil (Mystere) at Treasure Island. Way cool.

Tuesday: We saw the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and a Joshua Tree Forest (the largest in the world, in fact).

We also got our free dinner at Planet Dailies (yummy) and saw Lance Burton (yawn, I think I would have loved it more if I was about 18 years younger--am I really that old? eep.)

Wednesday: Last minute sight-seeing. Home. Finally we get to fly home...we arrive at the airport at 8:15 PM...dawdle a bit, as our flight does not leave till 11:30 (we're paranoid about missing the flight, given our experience with the flight on Sunday).

We make it to our gate after being lazy (dad gambled away his money on the slot machines in the airport)...only to hear an announcement that our flight has been delayed till 1:30 AM (Las Vegas time!)! So we wait in the airport for hours, half asleep/asleep. I talked to the woman next to me, who is a pit boss at Planet Hollywood. Interesting conversation and a very well-traveled woman.

I'm glad to be home.