What I think is Fabulous about Vegas
So off we went, a couple of wide-eyed country bumpkin newlyweds headed to the big time. He drove from Arkansas to New Mexico in his green Chevy Blazer that we so lovingly named "McGyver." The thing was held together with paper clips and chewing gum wrappers. I trailed out behind him in "Ashley," my black 2-door coupe (man, I sure do miss that stick shift sometimes!). McGyver had a mishap in New Mexico. So, we loaded up Ashley with his stuff and she got us the rest of the way safely, and on time.
I still remember rolling up Boulder Highway, after passing over the Hoover Dam. Right over the top of it! I couldn't believe it! (A by-pass has since been put in.) Traffic was at a stand-still and the summer was already hot. I rolled my window down and totally took in the newness.
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We had no idea where we we're in the city, or how to get to base. We stumbled upon a street that was the same name as the base and figure it would surely get us there. It did, sort of
Our first place was an apartment off of Sahara & Nellis. That first three years we we're here, Mike was in training out of state, or working through the nights. I was really on my own, right there in the thick of it. We could see, and probably even walk, to the Sahara if we we're up for risking our lives! I had no idea of the real dangers, and still loved every moment.
After almost a year of living virtually alone in one of the shadiest parts of Vegas, we we're offered a house on base. Our first home was literally a bomb shelter. It was built in the 1950s to withstand a nuclear fallout. It was tiny and dark. With solar screens on the high, narrow windows that stretched the length of the front of the house. The rest was true military house style, complete with hospital tiled floors and decades of "Army white" paint layered on the walls. The plumbing sometimes spit rusty water at you, & the concrete walls had settled in so many different places, it was a wonder the roof didn't slide right off. But, I loved it. It's a part of our history. The smell, the location, the neighbors. Coming through that gate on Craig. Fighting NASCAR traffic (or avoiding it if you we're smart). Seeing the light of the Luxor been up in the nighttime. Ah, that was home.
I fell in love with the big city that first time around. After Vegas we moved out East to North Carolina. Then up north to Montana. Nearly a decade and two little loves to our name later, we are BACK. And I feel alive again after nearly four long years of hibernating in the frozen tundra.
There are places and times that no man should live in, Montana has both. She a beauty, but she's a real beast, too. So, getting back to the desert heat suits me all too well these days. Which brings me to my first Vegas fab:
The Weather
Over 300 days of sunshine and blue skies? I'll take it over the best3-monthsummer MT has to offer! I can only remember up to three days of Vegas rains. The clouds almost always burn off, but when they don't, they look like cotton candy stretched across the sky. It only snows in the mountains, and even the windy days are broken up. I know what you're thinking, "Sara, c'mon, it gets to like 120 degrees there. That's out of control." Oh no. It's soooo good. If I can sweat and burn calories without having to even exert myself? That's a win folks. I will admit that it's not the best situation for the ends of our bell curve: babies and the elderly. But, long summers means lots of pool days. Oh yes. That's the life. If I can walk outside at the end of January barefoot and in shorts, that's the good stuff. When it doesn't take 20 minutes on either end of going out to pile on the layers of warm, that's a good thing.
I'm going to say this, and my local friends are going to cringe, but, I love The Strip.
The varying transient population at each hotel, each place's unique scent (I especially like the MGM & Bellagio), the individual casino draws (like the Bellagio fountains, the Paris' mini-tower, the Venetian gondolas) I love it all.
Okay, I do have to say that I do not love the costumed panhandlers. That's something that has developed since we lived here in 2008, and it sucks. But, they've kinda pushed out the card flippers. So there ya go
But the fact that I can be transported to nearly anywhere in the world, just by stepping into a mega-casino? Now that's cool. For example, this week's homeschool read is Papa Piccolo. So, we're going to the Venetian! The bridges, the canals, the gondolas & singing gondoliers, the colors, foods, smells, and accentsall right there for my littles to absorb. You don't get that back in Arkansas.
When we first moved back here, our on-base house wasn't ready for our move-in. We purposely chose a place downtown to stay so we could take full advantage of what it had to offer. We went to the Shark Reef, we played at the NyNY arcades, we saw the Knights fight at Excalibur, we ate at Fogo de Chao and all sorts of other restaurants that we otherwise would not have, we walked through the Bellagio flower gardens, we visited the Bird sanctuary at the Flamingo, we rode in the new High Roller, we went up in the Stratosphere, we had caricatures drawn, we played at the Town Square water pad & park, we shopped, we saw the lions and tigers at the Mirage, and we swam all. Day. Long. It was a month-long vacation in one of the most visited cities in the WORLD. It's right here! We love it! Just last night we had pizza at Pie Project in the MGM and walked over to M&M world for dessert. We stopped to check out the animated jungle animals at the Rainforest Cafe on the way back. This is Vegas with kids, remember. But I'm a push-over for good clean fun, regardless.
Whatever you want, it is here. Or it's nearby. Which brings me to my next point: location, location, location.
Vegas was born as a stop-over between California and the eastor north or south.whichever direction you want to go out of the city, you will not be disappointed. To the west is SoCal, where I learned what it felt like to be stoked by catching my first wave all the way into shore & have a pod of dolphins swim right under my board (on my birthday, no less!) Or to the south, Arizona and New Mexico. The painted desert. Death Valley. Red Rocks Canyon. The Joshua trees. The roaming wild assess (haha). Or to the north you can get your snowboarding on in some of the US's best powder, in Utah, or even Colorado! Desert, beach, snow, hiking, Big Mountains,..and if that doesn't satisfy you, McCarren airport will zip you off to anywhere in the world!
I mentioned the gridlock when we first rolled our nave & wide-eyed selves into Vegas. But, I have to admit that something else I can appreciate about this city, is the traffic.
What?!? Am I crazy? I like the traffic? If you know when to avoid the rush hours, the infrastructure is pretty well planned out to get you around relatively smoothly. It's mapped on a grid. I can get from the northeast to the southeast in 20-30 minutes. I can get all the way to the south west in just a little over that. That's NOT at 7 in the morning or 5 at night! But, when you've lived somewhere that "going to the city" is nearly 2 hours away, 45 minutes ain't too shabby.
The highways are set up alright and the drivers here can actually drive. I'm not talking about the knucklehead Californians in on their weekend vacay down on LV Blvd. I'm saying the 15, 95, 215, Summerlin Parkway, people here are straight gettin it. They go 10 over the speed limit and get to where they need to go and get out of the way, pretty seamlessly. BUT, because we do drive so fast and furiously here, when a wreck happens, it's often lethal or pretty devastating. I've seen white sheets & body parts, the entire top cut off an SUV like a sardine can, roll overs, cop cars on the sidlines get hit, couness Jack-knived 18-wheelersI've seen in the news of hit & runs, vehicular manslaughter.That part is nasty. Some of that is in every town and city. Some of that you only see on the news. Here, there's a pretty good chance you'll get a front row seat, live and in surround sound.
Speaking of sound Another thing that I LoVe, love, LOVE about this city is The Killers.
You may remember them from Mr Brightside. But I remember them from their return to Vegas at the Hard Rock. It was an outdoor venue. Mike had just gotten back from deployment. I had slim to no idea who these guys were oh, but I fell in love! The theme was the wizard of Oz (my childhood favorite flick) and the lead singer was even wearing red glitter loafers! I didn't know a word to any of their music then. But now? They sing to my adult life like Taylor Swift sings to my high school heart. <3 I've been obsessed with their song "Be Still" since I first heard it! Even their Freshman album has it's gems. Their cool and casual rocker flare is like a fresh, modern-day Aerosmith (my actual high school music love).
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Posted in Moving and Relocating Post Date 08/01/2015