Eight years ago today we were all in Vegas for my baby girl's wedding. The mid-afternoon temps were hitting around 126 that weekend we were there.....the morning before the wedding, Mom and I took a walk down the Strip when it was "only" 117. She wasn't sure why I insisted on popping into the local CVS to get bottled water. Then once she started drinking, she realized how thirsty she was. For those of us from the Middle, where it's usually humid in the summer's heat, that dry heat took us by surprise.
For Hubby and me, 2006 ended up being The Year Of Vegas. We were there twice, exactly five months apart, for weddings. Couple #2 got engaged when we were all there in July for Couple #1's wedding. Couple #2 ditched their plans for a summer 2007 wedding and got married back in Vegas just before Christmas.
For the first wedding, we all stayed at the Excalibur, where the wedding was held. The hotel/casino catered to a bit younger crowd than Hubby, Mom, and me. But the wedding chapel was absolutely beautiful. If you've seen the Excalibur, it has red and blue turrets on the building, in a Medieval theme - and just below the roofline is a statue of Merlin the Magician (anyway, it looked like Merlin to me) standing on a fake balcony. Imagine our surprise when we went into the wedding chapel and found the person officiating the wedding had flowing white hair and beard, and wore an ornate black cassock trimmed in gold - again, Merlin the Magician!
We were lucky enough our first night in Vegas to be driven up and down the Strip at dusk. It was really something to see all the neon lights come on, lighting up the Strip. We tried to see the water show at the Bellagio that evening, but they cancelled that final show of the night because the wind had picked up too much. It was okay. Right after we arrived back home, I found an episode on The Travel Channel that showed the entire spectacle. I probably had a better view on TV than I would have on site.
The wedding itself was very beautiful. The guys looked so handsome, and the female attendants wore beautiful lavendar gowns and had identical hair-dos. And the bride - well, that was my baby - what else do you expect me to say besides "gorgeous"! They had the chapel for an hour, which was plenty of time for the ceremony and photos. The wedding buffet was later that night in a private dining room.
Several of us had booked the same flights. Mom was with Hubby and me, and the groom's grandma Marie and her friend were on the same plane. And because of that, we were taken to the hotel by limo once we landed in Vegas, because Grandma Marie's friend had a cousin in Vegas with a limo. It was nice.
Our December trip was much quieter. Only Hubby and I went to Vegas for the other wedding from his side of the family. We had our winter coats with us, but we didn't need to use them while we were in Vegas. It seemed so warm to us. We stayed off the Strip at The Orleans. It was a smaller venue, and we enjoyed hearing Christmas carols being played throughout our stay.
We've had a nice mild day - which has allowed the Anniversary Couple to jokingly comment on Facebook that it's 8 years later and 50 degrees cooler. But it was a dry heat...........face it, hot is hot, regardless!!
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