Viva Las Vegas

Arriving in Vegas is always surreal would Bugsy Siegel have known how this would take off when he setup his money laundering casino? The strip with the light shows, smoke-filled casinos with $1 Margaritas and high rollers is never short of a heartbeat

As for HIGHlights Bette Midler - the Showgirl must go on was just simply amazing - she danced, skipped, told dirty jokes and entertained! After watching her the Phantom at the Venetian and Cirque de Soleil - Mystere were all second class in comparison.

Good news is that we did not gamble ....not so good news is that we found the shops and there are many many of those institutions...

We saw lots of Elvis impersonators - Viva Las Vegas but we saw Kobe Bryant who was dining in the Wynns Casino !

4th of July

What does the 4th of July mean ? In the USA this is a holiday with Cookouts (BBQ) and fireworks aplenty. But what is real meaning of this day?

Did James Taylor capture the essence of this date with his song:
"Who fell into you at a quarter to two
With a tear in your eye for the fourth of july
For the patriots and the minutemen
And the things you believe they believed in then"

We could also interview Thomas Jefferson's who was responsible for penning a Declaration of Independence which was adopted on the said 4th of July, 1776.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

These are inspiring words ...... some 332 years later.......I wonder if Thomas would realize it would take so long

Happy July 4th!