You know when...

Las Vegas. This city is a world inside a world. It is unique, alive, scary and all its own. I love this city. From the time I was very little, as a family we would drive through Vegas on our way to California. We always stopped and stayed for a night. Never on the strip, usually a Motel 8 somewhere and it was always hotter than Satan's basement, but I loved it just the same. We would usually pull into Vegas around 3 or 4 pm, and as we would get out of the car I would hear moans and groans from my siblings and parents about the heat. The pavement would be melting under our feet and you could never get enough cold stuff to drink, but still loved it.

Nothing has changed since then. This last June we went to California with my folks and siblings. It was on the cool side there and although we still got our fair share of sun and sand, we did have to wear long sleeves in the evenings and run the heat at night. That's just the beach for you. I love it there too...but then we stopped in Vegas on our way home to spend a few days with my sisters. We had gone from 80 degrees and breezy to 108 and blistering. As we sat by the pool the first day we were there I could feel the sun sizzling my skin and I loved every moment of it.

This round as we drove into Vegas Kenna and I started to make jokes about it. You know when your in Vegas because....so here are a few....

You know your in Vegas when you can buy gas and gamble at the same time.
You know your in Vegas when every other group of people on the freeway is a group of bikers, their girls and their long hair flying in the wind.
You know your in Vegas when you get out of the car and you start to melt like the Wicked Witch of the West.
You know your in Vegas when there's more to do at night than during the day.
You know your in Vegas when you think there's a full moon out cause its so light, then you realize its just the light from the Strip.
You know your in Vegas when sirens, sirens and more sirens from the Strip drench your dreams while you try to sleep.
You know your in Vegas when its the law to have your cell phone towers mimic palm trees...to "blend" in....
You know your in Vegas when the airplanes have to circle the city because it's too hot to take off and clear the strip.
You know your in Vegas when there are more vehicles with out of state license plates than Nevada plates.
You know your in Vegas when taxi cabs and limos litter the grocery store parking lots.
You know your in Vegas when every other car is a Mustang.
You know your in Vegas when you can catch a glimpse of three already dead people hanging around on the Strip (Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Abraham Lincoln).
You know your in Vegas when you can walk into any bar and walk out five minutes later smelling like you just smoked an entire pack of cigarettes.
You know your in Vegas when you can buy liquor, any liquor at the Pigely Wigely.
You know your in Vegas when the most popular gas station is appropriately named "Terribles".
You know your in Vegas when the taxi cabs have pics of naked girls on them.

I love Vegas....always will. And now as an adult I have sisters there and it makes it much easier to have excuses to go there often. If hyper religious people are right and the end of the world is near, and Vegas is Sin City and one of the first to go....I will shed a tear or two for my favorite city. That is assuming I am not there at the time! :)