There really is nothing like Las Vegas.   Love it or hate it, it’s unique.   And since Brian and Leigh haven’t kicked us out yet, we finally got a chance to go scout around town with them today.

Our first stop was the Las Vegas sign on Las Vegas Boulevard at the north end of The Strip.   Leigh is building a collection of photos of everyone who has stayed overnight at their house.   Each visitor is posed in front of the Las Vegas sign.   I’ve been wanting to be the subject of one of those photos ever since I saw the first one on their blog months ago.   The sign is a popular spot, despite being located in the median strip of a busy road.   There’s always someone there getting their picture taken.   So now we are part of our hosts’ permanent history.

Now, we’ve all seen the mammoth Bass Pro Shops, but of course the Las Vegas one has to be bigger and better than all the rest.   The one we visited featured an enormous salt water aquarium, in addition to a casino, a bowling alley made to look like a very long Airstream, and a hotel.   It’s all free to roam, which reminds me that there are a lot of great things to see and do in Las Vegas that won’t break the bank.

The Airstream bowling alley is only two lanes and kids aren’t allowed inside.   But it turns out we all like bowling so we headed over to a different casino with about 70 lanes.   (There doesn’t seem to be any bowling in Las Vegas that isn’t attached to a casino.)

At sunset we went to the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Gardens.   (That’s the weirdest combo since the Hawaiian Nuts and Ukulele Company last week.)   At Christmas time the cacti are covered in colored lights and the effect is ethereal, even spooky.   This gives me ideas for our future Christmases in the desert.   A saguaro in the backyard makes a very interesting Christmas tree.

Then of course we had to take the chocolate factory tour (free & quite brief), and ended up in the chocolate store.   So some people we know are going to get some very nice chocolates for Christmas.

We really have to leave Las Vegas now, or at least the driveway.   We still haven’t been kicked out officially, but our holding tank is full.   I think that’s a sign we’ve taken sufficient advantage of the hospitality.   We’ll hit the road in the morning, due south, and see what’s interesting between here and Mexico.