Our vacation is finally over. It's day 1 from being home and I'm thankful for so much! Caleb and I both had an amazing time while in literally another world...but I found myself being thankful for so much more than I thought possible.
The day we flew out I was beyond anxious. You hear so much about Vegas and it's surroundings, I honestly didn't know what to expect. Caleb, being there before, fore-warned me of the sin but also the beauty. We made our arrival at 4 that afternoon and literally 4 hours later...we were in bed, asleep! We attempted to walk down the strip but time, pregnancy, and disgusting pictures forced us to turn back. It was too early in the week for that.
The next morning, being Valentines, we had made reservations for The Top of the World restaurant. We dressed all fancy (they had a dress code & Caleb looked mighty fine in his suit and tie) and were seated next to the window over-looking the entire city. This place did a 180 degree turn around so we were able to see everything from our seat. Food was nice. Waiters were great. Valentines Day = successful. Post-lunch, we took another stroll down the strip, this time keeping our gazes ahead, not down. I've never seen a street so littered with naked girls. My heart ached for every single girl who felt she had to expose herself in that way. So, I said a small prayer. The closer we got to the middle of the strip the better it got. There was less trash and more super nice hotels. We went in EVERY single one. They were absolutely beautiful and had great stores! After about 2 hours of serious walking...we caught at taxi back to our hotel.
We went to the Cirque du Solei 'Mystere'. A-MAZING! Completely worth the money! I swear, I almost threw up like 10 times because I honestly felt I was going to witness someone die. No joke. They do so many crazy things!! One guy held himself up with one hand 100ft above the ground while holding a huge cube-thingy! It was awesome. Caleb loved it, I loved it. I can't wait to see another!!
There was this awesome 50's diner in our hotel called Roxy's. This was one of the highlights of our trip! They served, probably some of the best food ever while singing old songs! Everytime, I ordered a turkey blt wrap...without the wrap. I wanted, well baby wanted, toasted bread(: ABSOLUTELY amazing. It was well worth 10.99! Not to mention, Roxy's workers were by far the most polite people in the entire city. Also, the sweet monorail information lady who rode with us to MGM one day. I wore my chosen "God" t-shirt one day....she must have been curious(: I also said a prayer for her. I felt more confident in that one!
Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon: Absolutely beautiful. If that had been the only thing we did the whole time, it would have been beyond worth it! God was so magnified that day. He is a beautiful creator and artist. It felt so surreal to actually be in these two places. I never would have thought that I would get to have that experience, and I suggest that everyone make it possible!!
On every street corner there were men (and sometimes women) constantly pushing baseball sized cards into your face. You could clearly tell that these were the only jobs available but it was by far the most annoying experience the whole trip. Each one wore a shirt that said 'Hot Hot Girls Direct to your Room. Call: xxx-xxx-xxxx!!' The baseball sized card was a picture of a nude girl. I was extremely suprised to see that most people were passing them up, telling them no, or taking the card and dropping it back to the ground. There is hope for this city!
The annoying shirt-wearers were the only down-fall of our entire vacation. And even in that down-fall, we were able to see the hope that was still there. This made my heart glad. I have to be honest, it took me a couple of days to quit saying, "EWWWW". After having the epiphany that people are actually refusing the offers I decided "Eww" was not the appropriate word anymore. Another astonishing discovery was that there weren't many people gambling in the casinos! You would think, it being Vegas, that every casino would be full. Nope. Trust me, you have to walk through the casinos to get to ANYTHING in EVERY hotel. Gosh, but the cigarette smoke was ridiculous. Blech!
Alcohol. It was also few and far between. Living in a 'dry' town, even seeing the word beer shocked me! It had been so long since I had seen a place offering any type of alcohol and it took me a day or two to realize I wasn't in Kansas anymore. During the day, I witnessed more people drinking their water, cokes and other odds than a alcoholic beverage. At night the bats came out though...What do you expect in Vegas, huh? With all honesty the only time I actually saw someone in a stupor was at 3:30am on our way to the airport. As soon as the elevator doors opened, BOOM, there they were. I'm pretty sure this girl had no idea where she was, what she was doing...or possibly who she was.
My conclusion of 'Sin City' is this: The name 'Sin City' actually comes from the thought that the mafia used to run Las Vegas. With that, they had their so-called prostitutes. Many people seem to think that anything goes, when in all actuality that is not the truth. Some in the city pride themselves on others coming and 'letting their hair down' so to speak. Some, I said! Most of the locals actually look down on this thought and intend for it to be a family vacation spot and push every other amenity other than gambling and partying. Now, think about this...how many cities have bars? clubs? and 30 minutes from my own hometown are two casinos. Living in my 'dry' city here, I tend to forget that myself. It's nice to remember that my bubble doesn't exist everywhere I go and there are real needs and prayer to be lifted! It is a true eye-opener to remove myself from comfortable and place myself into unfamiliar. I believe that is when you truly find who you are in God. In the places of unfamiliar. When no other believers are close by, what will I do? Will I try and blend in or continue to strive for holiness and stand apart?
At the end of the day, I am glad that we had our "Vegas" experience...maybe not the one most people would be thinking of when they hear of this city, but it was indeed a wonderful experience. My heart was glad to be home where there is grass and sweet tea though(: Grass...another beauty the Lord made! I never thought I loved grass as much as I did. I received a new measure of thankfulness. I'm thankful for grass, sweet tea, my family and my God! I am thankful to know that there is more hope than I had imagined for a town so looked down upon. He is bigger!
-A new believer in greater things!
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