Vegas

So, I finally got to see Vegas. It's a very interesting place and can be fun--I took 800 pictures--but not anywhere you'd go to relax! (I took the above photo of the fountains at the Bellagio, and I love it because you can see the smoke--I was thinking of entering it in a photo contest. Unfortunately, they were playing Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" during this particular display, which served to make me realize that even though the movie "Titanic" came out more than ten years ago, I still would rather not ever hear that song again.)

My friend and I stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel--which had great restaurants in it and music memorabilia and decor that was very cool, but it was also chock-a-block full of Aspiring Beautiful People, most of whom were young enough to be my kid. (Needless to say, I didn't bother going down to the pool.) My traveling companion smokes--she had a guy offer her "a bump for a smoke" while we were waiting for the airport shuttle. (I had to tell her that meant cocaine. It was kind of cute.)

Cher was great--she looks and sounds phenomenal. There were a lot of costume changes and acrobatic Cirque De Soleil stuff going on behind her. She did not sing "Love is a Battlefield", but oddly enough, she did cover Bob Seger's "Fire Down Below" (and well!).

On topic--I got all dressed up when we went to see Cher and wore something sleeveless in public for the first time since I was twelve years old (not counting bathing suits, but I've always worn T-shirts over those whenever possible). For me, that was a big deal. Once we got onto the Vegas strip, there were people of all shapes, ages and sizes letting it all hang out. My arms were exposed to the world for the evening--and, lo and behold, it did not explode. I posted pictures on Facebook and my friends and family all told me how great I looked. I cringe to myself when I see certain pictures, but Rome was not built in a day.

Temperatures were in the 90s while we were there, but physically I was surprisingly comfortable. About a week after I got home, Mr. Salted and I went to a big local festival with some friends, where we walked around all day--and I didn't get winded or tired and I wasn't in pain the next day. It was MIRACULOUS!