Viva Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas Day 1: Well, I took my beautiful wife to Las Vegas for her birthday this year. Although money is really tight for us, this is her first birthday away from Toronto and I wanted to do something special.

And what a special car ride it was on the way here. It felt like 200 miles of rush-hour traffic. People warned me to leave early, and although I tried, there was just too much to do. At 4:45, I was caught in Friday rush-hour traffic on the 91. Any Californian will tell you, that is not a fun experience.

But we eventually arrived at 10:15, just as the GPS (we call her Dame Judy Dench) predicted. We’re staying at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino. I had never heard of this place when I booked it on Hotwire, but thankfully Dara has, and thankfully it’s not a shabby place, complete with towering ceilings which mimic the sky and a mock-up of ancient middle-eastern architecture. It’s nice.

We had a nice meal at an Oyster bar (of all places) and this morning (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARA!) we had some room service. I don’t know why, but I just love room service. If I were a billionaire, I would move into a hotel and order room service for the rest of my life.

During breakfast, I revealed to Dara that we’re going to see a show. Dara’s a bit of a sleuth, so I have to reveal bits of her surprise to her, to keep her from trying to figure it out on her own (which she eventually would if I didn’t work hard to keep it from happening). I had to tell her I bought tickets to a show to keep her from trying to buy tickets to a different show, herself. Same with the hotel: I had to tell Dara I reserved a hotel room to keep her from reserving a hotel room herself; she’s quirky that way.

So driving on the strip last night she tried to guess what hotel we were staying at, by reading every billboard we saw. “Are we staying at Whisky Pete’s?” she inquired. “Damn,” I’d respond, indicating she’d guessed it. And so on.

And so it goes with the show tonight. For my reader(s), I will give you a hint: I love Dara very much. In case Dara is reading this, I shall say no more. Needless to say, she could probably figure it out from that subtle hint right there.

So today we hit the Venetian, New York, New York, Paris… it’s like we don’t have to travel at all (and maybe I can save on the expensive Europe trip my darling is already planning in her mind).

To my friends and family I say, hello- you are missed. To Dara I say, happy birthday, love. I hope you enjoy your trip. I hope you know how glad I am that you’re my wife. And to Elvis Presley I say, I know you’re out there somewhere, hiding. But I will find you.