Day 16 - Vegas or Bust

Las Vegas, NV

If you've never been, Las Vegas is as interesting a place on this Earth as any. The whole city is built upon a continual barrage of lights and sounds and smells. A veritable playground, one thing you should never be in Vegas is bored. I chose to stay at the Mandalay Bay for two reasons. The first being, it has absolutely epic pools. An active wave pool, a lazy river, a couple "lagoons", and the whole thing is surrounded by sand, creating a beach type environment with cocktail bars on all four corners of the complex. The other was the famed Mandalay Bay Aquarium - this is right up Conor's alley, in fact. 

When he cracked his eyes this morning the first thing out of his mouth was, "What time are we going to the Aquarium, Dad?" That in and of itself is validation of the decision to stay here, though admittedly I could have planned this one a bit better.

If you read yesterday's entry then you know Ms. Sylvia is parked in the Excalibur garage two complexes away from the Mandalay Bay. Couple that with today's temperature being 105 degrees Fahrenheit and it was a pretty easy decision to leave the truck parked. That would mean sticking around the Mandalay / Luxor complexes and taking advantage of the amenities here. 

The Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, while amazing when you consider it has over 2,000 species of sea life on the premises, is just not that large. It took us about 15 minutes to make our way through the entire exhibit. A good visit, but small. Just as well, at least now we can go to the pool!  

Making it to the pool around 11:30am PST would mean finding two spots to sit would be a challenge - especially because there was nothing available in the shade. This would mean that the only way to manage the oppressive, desert heat would be to get into the pool(s). We started in the lazy river, then went to the wave pool, then back to the river. All in that would be about an hour which - among this many people is about as much as I can take, so I excused myself to sit down for a bit and left Conor up to his own devices. We managed to stay for nearly three hours, which is considerable given the heat and the Sun! But while I was sitting in the Sun and Conor was off playing in the wave pool, another kid who Conor described as a 14 year old, pushed him onto his back in about a foot of water, Conor slammed his head into the hard pool bottom and came up dazed and hurt. Thankfully the Lifeguard caught it and threw the punk-kid out of the pool, but the damage was done. Conor had a mouse on the back of his head and immediately lost all interest of staying at the pool.

We made it back to the room and I gave him some Advil and iced it down. In about an hour or so he was fine, but now what? We started looking for arcades and found one to be walking distance (given the ability to move from casino to casino through a series of connecting walkways). We played in the arcade for an hour and a half or so, grabbed a quick bite, and were back in the room by 8pm. It seems a Saturday in Vegas is a planner's paradise, because every show (Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, etc.) was booked. Just as well, I thought. I'm still pretty tired and can use the extra rest.

Considering the day, I wondered to myself if Vegas was a bust. Did I not plan it well enough? Should we have had other things to do? I don't know. The lights and sights and sounds and grandiose nature of the city made it a memorable destination on our route, but I'm not sure about how well we filled the time. 

Whatever - tomorrow we put this town in the rear view and move North into Utah. A conversation with my friend, Nigel - the gentleman who helped me modify Ms. Sylvia, mentioned a few four-wheel drive parks along the Southwest of Utah, and I found a few dinosaur fossil dig sites and out-of-the-way exhibits that all seem to be pretty close together, too, so we're heading there on our way to Yellowstone. With no final destination for tomorrow, who knows where we'll end up. But the weather looks sublime North of here, and the mystery of it all is as exciting as anything else!

Today was the first day from the Healing Road where I really missed home. Weather it was Vegas triggering a flight response (this place can wear you down - even after only one day), or maybe it was Conor getting hurt, something about today sparked an emotional response in me. I miss our home, our dogs, my chores, my bed... But what's greater than my missing home is my determination to see this thing through. My focus has been on Conor and this has driven us to where we are today - literally. But what I realize in moments like the one I had today is that I have a lot of work to do on myself, too. As much as I can do to help Conor adjust to life without his mother, these next two weeks will be important for me to continue adjusting to life as a single widowed parent. To know that when he gets knocked down or hurt, his health, wellbeing, and emotional support fall to me and me alone. I have to at least consider how to play a more mothering role in his life, right? Because I'm not sure a set of brass-knuckles in his Christmas stocking is the right answer, either.

Vegas wasn't a bust, but it's not been a highlight. Tomorrow we're back on the Healing Road, and still with more questions than answers... But we're getting there.