Viva las Vegas

Pat, Chris and I spent a weekend in Las Vegas for the wedding of Pat's Brother's stepdaughter. It was our first airplane trip since the September 11 stuff (we went the weekend after Columbus Day). Logan Airport is certainly a changed place. The line for the security check was pretty impressive, extending fully into the next concourse. We felt fortunate to make our flight.

Airplane Check-in at Logan Airport Check-in at Logan Airport
Security line at Logan Airport Security line at Logan Airport Security line at Logan Airport
Chris Chris, Pat, Self
Pat and Chris, looking suspicious of those who don't use the escalator Pat Chris with fuzzy dice

The Strip

We stayed on the Las Vegas Strip at the Treasure Island Casino. The Las Vegas Strip is a place that I find difficult to describe to people who have never been there before. It's a trip. Kind of like a theme park for adults, with all the ugliness of adulthood and arrested development rolled in to a single package. Yet with a family-friendly orientation.
Treasure Island (Las Vegas) Eiffel Tower at Paris (Las Vegas)

We went with Pat and Oscar to the Bellagio Casino. I don't really understand what the theme of the place was supposed to be, although I'm pretty sure it had one. We checked out an indoor flower garden that apparently was designed by Martha Stewart herself. Pat was unimpressed. "Buncha goddamn chrysanthemums in pots," she muttered.
Pat and Pat at the Bellagio (Las Vegas) Martha Stewart Garden at the Bellagio (Las Vegas) Oscar and Pat in the Martha Stewart Garden (Las Vegas)
Glass spires in the Martha Stewart Garden (Las Vegas)

The Venetian Casino provides a representaion of Venice, complete with indoor canals, gondolas and singing gondoliers. (However, unlike Thomas Mann's Death in Venice where you might be overpowered by the stench of cholera, here you are merely overwhelmed by the smell of chlorine).
Gondolas at the Venetian (Las Vegas) Gondola in the Venetian (Las Vegas) Accordion player in the Venetian (Las Vegas)
The Venetian (Las Vegas) Hallway in the Venetian (Las Vegas)

We also checked out some of the institutions of the strip, such as Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage, Caesar's Palace, and (of course) Denny's.
Siegfried and Roy sculptures at the Mirage (Las Vegas) Tiger at the Mirage (Las Vegas)
Denny's (Las Vegas) Caesar's Palace (Las Vegas)

Chris dug the outdoor escalators.
Chris (Las Vegas) Outdoor escalators (Las Vegas)

Las Vegas is a place of excess. The outdoor fountains contrast sharply with the unbelievably dry terrain of Nevada.
Swimming pool at the Bellagio (Las Vegas) Fountain at the Bellagio (Las Vegas)
Las Vegas mountains, desert and golf course Las Vegas Las Vegas