So here we are again at FL320, flying back home from a two-nighter in Las Vegas. The experience was truly novel; empty TSA lines, no crowds, personalized service, and great deals. Conversely, the absence of throngs of people means many businesses are shuttered for an indeterminate length of time, and the ones that are operating are doing so at 25% capacity. Yikes.
But this is not a news report on the world’s current glum situation. I did go to Las Vegas. I did have a good time (mostly), and of course, I enjoyed losing more money than I should have at the Black Jack tables. We saw sharks swimming in large tanks at The Mandalay Shark Reef Exhibit, we got a bird’s eye view of the strip while flying in a helicopter, AND I almost ziplined down Fremont street with my niece – yea, I paid $53 to chicken out! (shhh! I haven’t told my husband about that).
The friendly attendants on Southwest. 
3:30 at the shark reef lobby at Mandalay Bay. 
Poisonous Lion Fish. 
Blurry low-light pic of sting-rays. 
More blurry pics of leisurely sharks. 
Niece and grand-nephew enjoying the slots! Plenty of choice. 
Birthday lunch venue at the MGM. 
Birthday babies! My husband and niece share the same birthday. 
Spaghetti and meatballs at Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill. 
This was prime gambling time. 
Empty tables…lots of them 
White Castle! We don’t have any where I live!! 
Birthday girl got to sit up front! 
Aerial view 1. 
Aerial view 2. 
Aerial view 3. 
I got on friendly terms with the dealer and the pit boss. It happens when you hang out a table for hours at a time!! 
Morning comes early for the wicked! 
TSA line at McCarran Airport. You could hear a pin drop.
One of the stops on my expedition was Sin City Knits located at 8826 S Eastern Avenue, Suite 110, where I spoke to the owner Debbi McCarty and taped it. She had no idea I was showing up – I know, very unprofessional of me! – but she took it in stride like a champ. I would have asked more questions, showed more yarns, etc., if my niece and husband weren’t waiting out in a car for me! I did buy a lovely locally dyed yarn that was, of course, mostly green. That is my favorite colorway right now, and I just adore the flecks of red in there. No, it doesn’t look Christmas-y, it’s just gorgeous. Anyway, like Debbi mentions, they’re not set up yet for a whole bunch of online orders, but if you find yourself in Las Vegas, check out this local yarn store. Here’s where they are online:
https://www.facebook.com/SinCityKnitShop
https://www.sincityknitshop.com/
So would I recommend travel at this time? Nope. Why am I risking infection? Because I’m an idiot? Maybe. But sometimes you just gotta go. In the meantime, I will be checking my temperature and continuing to put my faith in AND practicing social distancing and mask-wearing, as I always have.
As I sit here in this pressurized hunk of metal looking down on snow-capped mountains, I’m aware of a crick in my neck that happened because I got 1 hour of sleep last night and my traveling companion, Xanax (you thought I was going to mention my husband, didn’t you? :-D) is not helping with that…as it shouldn’t. The captain is slowing down the plane a bit and I can feel we’re descending. Back home. Viva Las Vegas, baby. May we all pull through this horrible time together.
Nittin' Ninja 