The Sleepless City

Ahhh, Las Vegas. I think we can be friends.
I flew from Atlanta to Vegas last night and did my best to enjoy the in-flight movie while impatiently awaiting our arrival (the inflight movie was The Ghost Writer and was quite terrible...it was one of those films that gives you the impression the person who wrote the musical score desperately wanted to write the score to...well...ANY OTHER MOVIE but the movie they're supposed to write for. This particular composer sounded like his life-long dream had been to write a score to Harry Potter and since that was definitely not going to happen, he just gave up his hopes and gave the score to The Ghost Writer...which consistently caused me to peer over Ewan McGregor's shoulder throughout the movie looking for the Hogwarts Express...or excessive numbers of owls...one word: fail!).
Flying into Vegas is quite the experience. I am under the impression that flying into Vegas during daylight is impossible. Like literally...I don't believe they offer day-time flights. I've flown into Vegas three times, twice for layovers, and all of them were at night. I think Vegas just KNOWS it looks so damn awesome at night...letting people miss out on that spectacle is just plain boring. And stupid.
Las Vegas is LITERALLY a grid of lights in the darkness. 10 minutes to arrival, you still cannot see any part of it and everything outside is dark. And then BAM! Lights. Everywhere lights. I think it is safe to say the only dark corners to hide in are within the hotels themselves. Because the city itself is always alight and twinkly.
I was pleased to have ZERO hold-ups or hick-ups getting myself and luggage from the airport to the New York New York hotel where I am staying...which, I must say, is freaking amazing. I took a local shuttle bus which was quick and pretty inexpensive. This is my first time to Vegas. My first rude awakening reminded me that Vegas hotels are unlike most hotels in the world. I stepped into the hotel, expecting a calm, collected, and quiet lobby to meet me. WRONG-O. I forgot that we're talking about hotel CASINOS so the moment I entered, I was hit by the chaos that is a Vegas Casino. Music, slot machines, crazy hooker-type people, you name it. I got all checked in and found my room and was delighted to find I actually had a decent view of the city! By this time, it was around 1:30am. John came home around...actually I haven't any idea what time it was. But it was late. I was in a groggy state of oblivion at that point and I'm sure anything I said sounded very much like it was being played in slow-motion since that's how I sounded when I tried to order my shuttle ticket to the hotel. Heh.
Today I'm peering outside, anticipating adventure...planning what to do with my evening since I will be alone for most of it. Maybe a show...maybe I will follow a map a friend drew for me to follow while I'm in Vegas for the utmost memorable experiences. Maybe I will stay inside and watch tv until I pass out. Maybe I'll get a tattoo. I don't even know...but the options are endless.
SWEET.

Photo: Unknown found via The Independent