A Week in Vegas - Fun on the Strip

We spent the last week of October in Las Vegas!  The first couple of days were spent just being on vacation.  The first night, we got in around 8pm and grabbed dinner between the airport and our hotel.  Once we checked in, I was ready to settle in and recover from traveling.  Not Andy!  He said that we were in Vegas, 2 blocks from the Strip and we were not going to spend our first night in!  So, off we went to explore.  There were people everywhere!  Many in costume - early Halloween celebrators and street performers alike.  It didn't take long for the bright lights and people-watching to snap me out of travel sluggishness.  You have to have your wits about you to push through all the street soliciters too!  Vegas Lesson #1: Ignore People Who Ask Questions.

At one point, we heard some Elvis music and it seemed to be coming from a statue with speakers.  There was a large crowd gathered around it.  We slowed to see what was up.  Someone walked right by the statue, and it reached out and touched him!  This man was painted gold from hair to toe and his lips didn't move while he sang!  I was a safe distance away and it startled me!  Vegas Lesson #2: Never Trust a Statue.

We walked the Strip nearly every evening after dinner.  There is so much to see , the crowd and performers are ever-changing, and the constant activity on the street keeps crime down even in the middle of the night.  This week, there were superheroes on the street all day and night - How could you not feel safe? ;)

Vegas Lesson #3: You Don't Have to Look Far for Quality Entertainment

We went to one Cirque du Soleil show - Beatles LOVE.  That was absolutely incredible!  They do the show in a custom-designed circular theater with a hydraulic floor system in the middle and countless cables and tracks in the ceiling.  They told the story of the Beatles with chronological songs from their albums, extra studio recordings of them playing around coming up with songs, and historical radio and TV clips about them.  All the while, the actors/artists/acrobats are coming from all directions, defying gravity and bringing the story to life.  Wow. 

 The free entertainment on the Strip was memorable as well.  We watched a couple of spray painting artists work their magic with the simplest of tools.  There were magic shows, break dancers and poppers, and a wide variety of musicians.  One of my favorite street performers was this guitar-plucking fellow stationed across from the Bellagio:

His music was really catchy, his tip jar was called the Karma jar, and his backdrop was the dynamic Strip traffic of limos, cops, and traveling billboards and the incredible Bellagio fountains exploding into the sky.  It was the quintessential Vegas moment, taking all of that in at once.

Vegas Lesson #4: ANYTHING can be stretched into a Limo.

We didn't "feel lucky" on this trip, but we did walk through casinos, stopping sometimes to watch table games play out.  We spent enough time in them to learn Vegas Lesson #5: If the "Casino" fragrance was ever bottled, you could use it to repel just about anything!  Blech.

We pretty much walked the Strip from end to end - the furthest adventure being a long afternoon walk to Mandalay to see the Shark Reef Aquarium.  They had a wide variety of creatures and had it set up in a corridor of learning.  It was cool to see these lizards interact with the snake through the glass.

We got to touch stingrays!

The jellyfish put on a show:

And there were sharks of all sizes gliding along with their teeth-showing frowns...

...which we tried our best to imitate:

Marquesha's Trip - Part VI: Cape May

Saturday presented us with a blue-sky, perfect day for playing in the sunshine.

We ventured out to Cape May, to experience the Atlantic Ocean and climb to the top of a lighthouse.

199 Steps we climbed...

...counting, laughing, getting glimpses of the ocean through the porthole windows...

...and watching our progress through the perforated steps.

At the top, the view of the ocean and a deserted bunker:

Looking up at the operating lighthouse lights, spinning 'round and 'round.

Smiling at the one simple rule of being atop this lighthouse:

Happy just being together.

On day one of this trip, we started the Buddy System.  If the group scattered, you were in charge of keeping track of just one other person.

Colleen and Marquesha were joined at the hip shoulder:

Suzie and Bethers had each other's backs:

And I quite possibly smothered my fluorescent friend  ;)

Not to worry - He survived!

We played.

We discovered jellyfish and rocks and endearing shells.

We were super cool in our shades (and hat).

We came across this beautiful building, and couldn't believe the irony of its inhabitants:

We made the most of St. Joseph's safety-yellow shirt.

We stopped to see the sinking concrete ship at Sunset Beach.

We gathered 'round a hibachi grill and had teriyaki and a delicious assortment of sushi and insta-buddied a trio from Vineland who insisted I eat off their plates! (which may or may not have horrified my travel companions ;)

On our way back to Pottstown, we stopped by Bether's favorite ice cream shop.  It was a delightful building with oh-so-yummy treats.  We held to our tradition of sharing ice cream around the table before having to say goodbye.

We really soaked up the minutes of our 3 days together, and I just love reliving it through the photos.  Thank you, Marquesha, for braving this adventure with us.  We think the world of you!!

Marquesha's Trip - Part V: Welkinweird Tour

Back at Bether's, we toured the grounds of Welkinweir as dusk fell.  Such a peaceful place.

Then, the tour took a turn - into the spectacular oddities of the estate house...

The Kitchen for the Short:

The Organists  :)

(even down to the cheerful labels  - Great and Swell):

The view of the entry lobby from above, through the sound grate meant to release the organ's music throughout the house:

Hidden rooms, just around the corner:

The workings of the organ, in a room that first appeared to be a tiny closet:

(Some of the parts looked just like rolling pins!)

An open grave in the basement (the anatomy expert investigates and determines the bones are manufactured):

A bookcase that gives way to a secret tunnel:

Horrors in the tunnel:

A cave-like room at the end of the tunnel, damp and dark:

Enough exploring for one day?  Well, ok.