What Happens in Vegas...

I've gotten so behind in my posting lately, busy with work but also with fun!

The weekend of Friday the 13th of October held many exciting and agonizing moments in Las Vegas. I flew out to see my mother and sister compete in the Sweet Adelines International Competition. If you're not familiar with the Sweet Adelines, they are an international organization of women's barbershop choruses. As quirky a concept as that sounds, it's actually quite a lot of fun and many different kinds of talented women are involved.

My mother has been singing in Denver's Skyline Chorus for a decade, and my sister joined only recently. It was Sherea's first International Competition and the first trip to Vegas for both of them. My sis wrote a great recap of our experiences on her blog, so I don't have much to add. It was fun to hang with family that I haven't seen in a while, and the entertainment in Las Vegas was spectacular.

I actually hate the atmosphere in Vegas. I grow increasingly disgusted with cigarettes and tobacco smoke with each passing day. Unfortunately, Las Vegas is choked by smoke and air pollution. And the whole town is bloody expensive, to the point of not being worth the trouble. The day I paid $10.99 for a 12" SUBWAY sandwich instead of $9.99 for the 6" one was the moment I realized, "OK, I'm over Vegas."

Take a lot of money with you to Vegas and you'll have a great time! There were so many shows I wanted to see. We were lucky to get to see the updated Folies Bergere at the Tropicana (topless!) and the legendary Liza Minelli in concert at the Luxor. Tremendous fun all around. I've had a good run of seeing living legends up close lately and Liza was no exception. She's quite a talented and professional entertainer. I'd love to see her again, and I hope I can return to Las Vegas some time to see a few more shows.