Art + Word: Travel Photo Essay

We took a quick trip last week to Las Vegas to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday. I haven't been to Las Vegas since the crash back in 2008. This visit was a mom and daughters excursion. Vegas has something for everyone. My daughter has never been to Sin City before, so I made certain she experienced a little bit of (almost) everything the city has to offer. Since she was the birthday girl, she chose where we went, what we did, where we ate. We made a quick trip down The Strip, all the way to Fremont, ate our first meal at Dick's so we could be subjected to an hour of sacrcasm, and then spent the majority of our time in the pool, which was open 24 hours. We saw the Bellagio's Fine Art Claude Monet exhibit, Chihuly glass sculptures, and Conservatory & Botanical Gardens display. We saw Cirque de Soliel's KA at the MGM - it was brilliant. We gambled a little: longstoryshort - win some, lose a lot. We shopped, as in walked through Prada, Dolce & Gabbana's, Miu Miu's showroom. My daughter actually did shop Top Shop - apparently, it is the thing for young fashionistas. I loved the store's loud Indie music, ombre-dyed skirts and leggings, and the 10 inch chopin-like shoes on display. I could never, ever wear those shoes, but you look great in them while seated. We walked a lot. The first night, we walked The Strip for the tourist experience. There were the usual escort pushers, but this time, there were street performers of every ilk from a tiny woman in a Hello Kitty costume and men as Avengers characters, to drag queens in heels, sequins and big hair. There were also rappers and beat box dancers for Jesus, and one preacher up on a crate calling the sinners to repent. We stopped by a karaoke outside restaurant and watched a woman sing as loud and as off key as she possibly could while shaking it, and I mean shaking it hard, for a full three minutes. She was feeling herself, as in she was in full Diva. She drew a large crowd, many of whom were filming her performance. I loved it. The heat was nearly unbearable. Our last Vegas meal was at Senor Frog's and we had front row view of Treasure Island's pirate vs. sirens show, complete with sinking ship, flame throwers, writhing dancers, and a muscle-bound man inexplicably dressed as a parakeet. Vegas is a trip, to say the least. Some think it's akin to Sodom and Gomorrah. Those some need to just cozy up to the pool's margarita bar and have a few laughs, sit in the hot tub when the sun goes down, and relax. My next trip to Vegas is going to be a spa vacation.