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Endsleigh specialise in Home Contents Insurance for people in the UK

Returning home

Diary

If you noticed our suspisciously long absensce from the blogosphere, fear not – we’re back! I didn’t want to alert every burglar in town that we’d be away from our beloved house, so I didn’t mention that we’d be going on vacation. Cause you know, burglars just can’t wait to get their hands on our gobs of hand-me-down and thrifted goods. They’re probably casing the joint as I type.

We spent the last week and a half touring around the south-west corner of the US in my parents’ deluxe RV. We stayed in Las Vegas, Long Beach, San Diego, and LA. Visiting the LA area made me realize how much I really loved the Northeast. We saw hundreds of multi-million dollar beach homes and deluxe hilltop mansions, and 99% of them just bored me to death. The neighborhoods were a sea of sameness. Nice, fancy sameness, but sameness nonetheless. I’d take their weather any day. But their architecture? No way.

Las Vegas Welcome Sign

Vegas, on the other hand, was an architectural dream world. It was completely surreal and overwhelming. The casinos were so over-the-top extravagant that each seemed wackier than the next.  Everything was so grand in scale, from the fake Eiffel Tower at the Paris casino to the giant Sphinx head at Luxor……… it felt like one HUMONGOUS theme park. Which I guess, essentially, it is. With free alcohol, “full service asians”, and slots at every gas station, hotel, and super market. We played penny slots with chain-smoking old ladies for 5 days straight. Despite our dilligence, we failed to hit the jackpot.  I was desperately hoping to win enough to pay off the mortgage, or at least the Home Depot bill, but we barely broke even. Ah well…. lady luck failed us yet again.

Paris Casinon, Las Vegas, Eiffel Tower

Paris Casino – gorgeous exterior, but kinda disappointing and sketchy once you get inside!

New York Casino, Las Vegas

New York, New York casino – complete with a working rollercoaster and Irish pubs!

LASMAN3.jpg

Mandalay Bay, one of the swankiest casinos we visited.
I was sad to leave my parents, who I don’t see nearly enough, but it does feel good to be home. Waking up in a different city every day is disorienting. Time floated, days merged, and even the locations seemed to become one blurry jumble. Being in constant motion was a great distraction from our regular every-day life, but driving down our street and opening a familiar front door was comforting after so much traveling. And now that we’ve had a break from the rigors of fixer-upper life, we’re mentally renewed and itching to get back to work!

Comments, Thoughts, and Feedback

Gary had this to say on 11.14.06:

Reading this reminded me of an old Monkees song. The bad news is, I actually remember when this group was popular!

The local rock group down the street
Is trying hard to learn their song
Seranade the weekend squire, who just came out to mow his lawn

Another pleasant valley sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Rows of houses that are all the same
And no one seems to care

See mrs. gray shes proud today because her roses are in bloom
Mr. green hes so serene, hes got a t.v. in every room

Another pleasant valley sunday
Here in status symbol land
Mothers complain about how hard life is
And the kids just dont understand

Creature comfort goals
They only numb my soul and make it hard for me to see
My thoughts all seem to stray, to places far away
I need a change of scenery

Ta ta ta…

Another pleasant valley sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Another pleasant valley sunday
Here in status symbol land

Another pleasant valley sunday…

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