It was Vegas, baby! Buffet lunch, a fine arts exhibit, rare gems, Chinese New Year, and a case of cheap wine.
OK – so it wasn’t exactly your sordid “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” scenario. But it was an adventure, nevertheless. I knew I would find geology somewhere in Sin City! And we ended up having a ton of fun.
Detail of Fiori de Como glass chandelier in the lobby of the Bellagio
Measured in miles, the distance from St. George UT to the Las Vegas city limits is really not that far – just over 100 miles. At 75-mph interstate speeds the drive takes barely an hour and a half. Culturally, though, it’s light years away.
Every now and then I feel the need to swallow my general antipathy for all things Vegas (particularly it’s perceived plastic glitz and its grab for groundwater beneath the Snake Valley – but that’s another story for another time) and just go there. Usually I only go for the day, but if I’m seeing an evening show I’ll stay the night.
A while back my sister Jeani and I had read about an exhibit at the Bellagio gallery of fine art entitled “Figuratively Speaking: A Survey of the Human Form.” So we planned a day outing which included lunch, the exhibit, and a couple of passes through Trader Joe’s aisles during which time we would empty the wine shelves of as much Two Buck Chuck as we could fit into the back of her SUV. Neighbor Barb came along for the fun.
The buffet at M Resort and Casino at the south end of Las Vegas Strip was voted the best buffet in town by readers of the LV Review Journal. We gave ourselves nearly two hours to enjoy our lunch and the surroundings. My end-of-meal coffee included a shot of Bailey’s. Luckily I wasn’t driving.
