Monday, November 29, 2010

Viva Las Vegas

In the past I've been very particular about my Thanksgivings. I like to celebrate with turkey and mashed potatoes and pie. We've celebrated in Key West and Colorado and Nebraska. Being a child, a particular child, I was very keen on this tradition and wanted every holiday to be similar to the last. My parents threw that off one year by taking us to Sanibel Island, where we had chicken and icky pumpkin pie on a boat and I complained because the pie was really bad (and it was). But it was still a really fun trip, and as I've gotten older and spent Thanksgivings and holidays away from my family, I've realized that it's not the food or even the place that makes Thanksgiving what it is, but the people you spend with it. This year was special because we added Nathan to the family; he was lucky enough to have both his first Thanksgiving and his first Turco family vacation to Las Vegas at the same time. And what a trip it was.

We drove up to Elmwood on Wednesday night to drop Shelby off with the Lakes. Our flight left at 6:30 Thursday morning, and I'm really glad we did it that way. It seemed to be much more relaxing. As I prepared for our trip, I read a lot about the body scanner and sure enough, I ended up being chosen to go through. It really wasn't too big of a deal though. We made all of our flights (and were early) and when we landed in Vegas, my parents were there to pick us up. We went to Joe's apartment to drop off groceries, checked into the hotel, and then went to pick up Steph at the airport. We had a good dinner, cooked by the family, and Joe's turkey was delicious. We went out onto the strip, which was surprisingly busy considering the holiday. We saw New York, New York, the fountains, Planet Hollywood shops, and the lions at the MGM. We gambled at the Paris for a little bit before going to bed.

Friday morning we headed out to the Hoover dam and drove over and walked over the new bridge. Then we went out to Kohl's for black friday shopping and then watched the CU-Nebraska game. I grew up with this rivalry (another family tradition) and it was almost sad to see it end. We then went out to dinner at Joe's restaurant and then gambled. I was ahead on both the slot machines and blackjack but then lost. Apparently my luck in Vegas is better but I still don't know when to stop.

Our luckiest day was Saturday, when Nathan won us a new water heater playing Pai Gow. He hit the bonus and won the hand with a straight flush. We have this theory that whenever something bad happens, it's paid back somehow. Our carport blew off and landed on the roof, we won a free cruise. Our furnace breaks and we need to replace it and the water heater, Nathan wins money for one. So we did leave Las Vegas, not Lost Wages.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, as well!

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