City that never sleeps

The day started out with a trip to the Dog Park with Kymba and another dog, Mia, a German Shepherd x Husky, whom we were looking after for a couple of nights. Dogs cannot be exercised just anywhere and there are several Dog Parks in Las Vegas which offer specific fenced off areas where dogs can run off-leash with benches (for the humans), poop bags, water taps and in one place a gazebo allowing overheated owners respite from the sun.

Then Sharon and I were off to have our nails done at Pink Nails where you could simply walk in without an appointment. Inside there was a bank of about 10 small tables in rows of two for the manicure and large reclining chairs for the pedicure. The poor girl who had me asked if I used hand lotion at all !!! to which I replied that I did but that I also did a lot of gardening. "Ah" - was all she said. No-one does gardening out here of course so my hands were a bit unique. We were done and dusted in about 20 minutes.

Later we went for our hair - for which we did have to make a prior appointment. But even here everything was leisurely and, after the shampoo and head massage, hot towels were placed behind my neck and over my head while I enjoyed a hand and arm massage! I felt very pampered.

A bus came to pick us up and we finally arrived at the Stratosphere all spruced up and already in party mode having enjoyed champagne en route courtesy of the chap who had organised the event. Inside we walked through the statutory banks of one-arm bandits, then the gaming tables and finally arrived at the lift which whizzed us up in seconds to the 108th floor. The meal was excellent, the company very convivial and the view exceptional. I have already posted a blip of The Strip at night so I decided on this blip which shows the moon hanging in a pitch black, clear sky over the jewelled city as it clearly shows how the city suddenly stops at the desert. The roads run in straight lines, as in most US cities I believe, and looking from the height we were at (over 1,000' from the ground) the city simply sits, like a sparkling brooch, completely surrounded by the black wilderness which is desert. The only buildings of any height belong to the numerous casinos and hotels which sit cheek by jowl along the four mile stretch of The Strip starting with Mandalay Bay at the south edge and the Stratosphere at the north. At night these are brightly lit and stand out from the rest of the city like twinkly mountains and you just know that within each building money is changing hands at an amazing rate all night!

A very late night so I am now posting this mid morning on 17th!