What happens in Vegas

So here's a rundown of our trips. This is the journal I should've kept but was too sick/lazy/tired to.

We started off Saturday morning driving to Vegas, which wasn't too bad because I always sleep on road trips. Not very well, though - I wake up periodically thinking that we're about to crash. It used to drive Kevin crazy when I would jerk awake and ask him if everything was okay. This time I just woke up with a very dry throat from sleeping with my mouth wide open and wooziness from my fever. The kids did remarkably well, although towards the end, every time we passed by a building, they would ask if we were there yet.

Once we arrived, I just wanted to rest. But knowing that we didn't have much time in Vegas and that we probably wouldn't be coming back for a long time, I wanted the kids to see as much of the sights as possible, so I popped a couple more pills and off we went. Turns out it would've been better if we had stayed in. We walked past a stripper's club, giant billboards for Chippendale's, barely clad people (it is in the desert after all) smoking and drinking. I had to answer my daughter's questions and explain what strippers are and why they do it. Up till now, I don't think she realized that being naked was a big deal. Nothing like a stroll down Sin City to get your kids acquainted with various sins that they were never even aware of.

Vegas has recently prided itself on being more family friendly, but it's still very much an adult world. Not just an adult place but a place where people go to purposely let go. It's like they decide beforehand to "have fun" which means gambling, drinking, hooking up, and going strip clubbing. Even the strip, with all of its "classier" hotels, still have giant screen ads of their many provocative shows.

Nevertheless, we did manage to check out the lions at MGM and the water show outside the Bellagio, which were both very cool.

Of course, the best part of the trip was watching my sister get married. The whole thing was very sweet and intimate. It was great to see her dream come true with a great guy.

All in all, it was worth it just for my sister's wedding. By ourselves, though, we wouldn't go back. The traffic on the Strip is worse than any LA freeway, the air is set in with nicotine by the hot sun, food is expensive, and most importantly, there are too many addicts walking around. Definitely not where one would take 4 little kids for a vacation.