A little Fall Blogging

Alaska changes daily.  It's wonderful to watch.  I watched spring break up of the ice race through Turnagain Arm the day after I arrived in Alaska.  I watched the color of that water change from murky grey to a smooth cobalt blue.  I watched the trees wake up from winter, and the seedlings seize the long summers and shoot up taller than me in one season.  The hillsides and mountains turned green, then purple with fireweed, and the sunsets felt otherworldly.  And I left Alaska for one week to come home to a slightly shifted Alaska.  Somehow the sun has become lazy, and begrudingly takes its place in the sky as I head in for work, rather than warming the day in advance for me.  The bridge I have been watching them work on all year was still an unpaved shell when I left, but I drove over it coming home from the airport.  And the air hangs with just a hint  of cool.  I fear the fall is here.  It snuck up while I was away.  I am still hoping my return will drive it away.  Summer is definitely my favorite season.

So what made me leave the last of my Alaska summer?  This little thing...my niece got married so I was Alberta bound. Yes I know she looks young -- she has always been a tiny little thing, but her heart and smile were shining bright so I guess she is ready enough.  I quite enjoyed seeing the Bohemian side she has developed -- ballet slipper flats, simple white lace, a quiet ceremony in the park and a smile that lit up the world that day.

It was good to get a visit in with family -- a couple of meals, a couple of glasses of wine, and a lot of wondering where all the years went that led to the first wedding in this next generation of the family.

Of course, once I was in Alberta, I was halfway to Vegas, which is where I was planning on meeting the Bermuda Scots that week anyway, so off I went to join them for a few days.  The split trip made it a bit short on seeing both groups of people, but I will take the time I can get!

Once in Vegas, I took the time to FINALLY get to a spa again and now have strikingly pretty periwinkle toenails that got compliments all the way between Vegas and Oregon, but here in Alaska where there is no call for open toed shoes anymore, it's just me and the Panthers that will be admiring them from here on out.

Vegas is always changing, but I am noticing a few changes that I wasn't so found of.  There was a time when the food, drinks, and shopping were cheap and you could spend in excess of whatever you chose.  But each time I go back, the crowds are a little lighter, the growth of the city has slowed a bit more, and while it has more than enough going on and plenty of people going through, the casino's are actually starting to price gouge.  The hotel room was inexpensive, but the resort fee and taxes tacked on brought it up a bit.  Yet with that resort fee, you still had to pay to rent a pool chair, the internet is included but only if you are sitting in the lobby -- no internet access in the rooms (although the phones could still get enough of a signal, but not a tablet or computer), and...not even a coffee pot or mini bar/bottle of water in the room.  A cup of coffee in the lobby was $4.50 for a 12 oz Americano...which seemed bad until I bought the $4.50 small bottle of water.  Of all the money I have spent or wasted in my day, I don't have any regrets...but the price gouging for water and coffee were irksome.

Fortunately we made up for it -- in the end we didn't spend that much time on the Strip.  We took a cab to the shops south of the Strip, Town Square, that the Scots had discovered last year.  We did a bit of shopping and stopped at a fabulous place to eat/drink -- Miller's Ale House.  Delicious food, $2 cocktails, $19 twin lobster tails (although we all chose fajitias), and the funniest waiter ever.  We had a great time!

Usually we end up at a show or something, but it had been a year since the last visit, we had staggered arrivals and schedules, so we just decided to wing it and hang out -- which worked out fabuously!  We headed down to the big wheel, at the Linq...well almost.  There were 6 of us, in 2 cabs.  The Scottish accent is something you need to get a bit of an ear for, and I dare say that since I left Bermuda my Scots are sounding even more Scottish.  The cabbie was told to bring us to the Wheel, and we took off, with Lizzie's cab right behind us.  A while later we turned off the freeway, Lizzie yelled "follow that cab!" and her driver said "they aren't going to the wheel, that's the wrong day."  Well, our cab driver, heard Rio...which is where we ended up.  In fact, he thought they were Australian.  Lizzie's guy dropped them in the wrong place too, and we all eventually arrived at our destination at about the same time -- but later than planned.

The area around the "High Roller" or the wheel/Rio (no where near the Rio), is a marvellous little street of shops, colored fountains, eateries, and pubs -- a great place to go to.

So we decided to spend a little time enjoying the atmosphere a little off the beaten path.

Not to mention, we had to stop at a pub George has been raving about since last year -- the Tilted Kilt.  I think I know why he liked it so much now.

Eileen had a little hole in the wall in the neighbourhood she wanted to visit too -- last year she found John Wayne there, and yup -- he was still there!  Clint Eastwood is in the ladies room.

 After that, it was to the piano bar at Paris Paris, where I was delighted to hear Taylor Swift followed immediately by Master of Puppets by Metallica all on the pianos!  Quite the range!  It was a full and fun couple of days, but now it's back to work!