A.R.T. Vegas 2

Day two; we meet the relatives and drop in to the M&Ms store (I haven't seen so much expensive, branded crap that no one really needs in a long time. What a marketing coup!) then head to New York New York for a ride on the roller coaster. It was little hairier that I was expecting....

It shoots out of the complex and back in - and provides great views over Vegas - if you can keep your eyes open

On from New York, via Excalibur to Luxor for lunch, (are you getting a picture?) Apparently you can see that spotlight  on the pyramid from the moon....

Excalibur

Luxor

And again, nothing is as close as it looks and the service at lunch isn't great so it's nearly 3pm before we know it. We decide to see Divas the show - and again, it takes ages to get the people behind the counter to just sell us some tickets!! We walk much of the strip via the volcano at The Mirage (which only operates from 7pm) and the Pirate Show at Treasure Island (also starts at 7pm.) We're all tired and hot and the show doesn't start until 10pm so we head back to the van for a beer, a swim and a rest.

The volcano we didn't see.

WE did see the ship but not the show.

We allow 2 hours to get back to 10pm show - and we still end up being rushed! Divas is a show with female impersonators performing everyone from Madonna, to Bette Midler, Lady Ga Ga and Katie Perry. There is some discussion when we collect our tickets (yes, we only get a voucher at MGM and need to be there early to get actual tickets - quite a procedure) around the shows suitability for a six year old. "It might be kinda confusing - you know, men dressed as women." I don't mention the lady-boy, Jennifer, Sass befriended at the Patpong market in Bangkok when she was three. And anyway, being so late, she falls asleep pretty quickly.

Vegas feel a lot like Disneyland for grown ups. Aside from the acres of casino and multitude of bars (there are people walking around drinking cocktails from meter long plastic containers) there are, predominantly older hispanic people, on the streets handing out cards with pictures of nude girls ‘who want to meet you’. Sass is fascinated by these, as many cards are abandoned on the footpath so she keeps picking them up. There’s also free magazine stands called Little Darlings which are basically catalogues of girls – she’s drawn to those as well. The sex industry here appears to be pumping (pun intended).

It take another hour to get back to the RV so it's well after midnight when we get back. The next day we drive through eerie and hot Death Valley where road signs say to switch off your air conditioning for the next 20 miles! (We didn't.)

We arrived at a picturesque RV park in Bishop.