A Family Affair (A Weekend in Vegas)

My brother and I are sitting on the top floor of Margaritaville. It's Saturday night, right when the clubs up and down The Strip start to open up and let the hedonism in. We can see Pure right across from us. The Strip is alive.

We down cup after cup of semi-watered down brew called Land Shark. Around us, clusters of people chatter in raised voices to rise above some Jimmy Buffet wannabe blaring through the loudspeakers.

Everyone's in high spirits. A randy bunch of dudes and semi-hot chicks at the table across from us are especially high. Or drunk. Most likely drunk. They drink from the weirdest looking alcohol-containing contraption I've ever seen, probably built for the sole purpose of producing embarrassing pictures that'll show up on the Internet. Two of the chicks are seated on one guy whom my brother dubs Stifler. He had me going. I really thought that was him. Another girl is seated on another dude's lap. They make out for five minutes straight. The waitress as she gives us the bill notices the two of us staring at the couple is disbelief. "Apparently, they just met," She snorts.

Ahhh, Vegas.

I go to Las Vegas twice a year; Once in the Spring to partake in the glory of March Madness, and once in the fall to immerse myself in football, college and pro. This time however, the brother was graduating UNLV, so Mom and I made the drive through the unforgiving Mojave Desert. Here's a tip, unless you absolutely need to, don't go in August. Unless you plan on spending your time buck naked, which I'm absolutely positive some people do. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But ANYWAY, this trip was a family affair, so no wild and crazy partying this time around. However, Vegas with Mom is not as dull as you might think. While thinking of things to check out in LV, I jokingly suggested Thunder From Down Under. "What is that, a play?" She asks me. If only.

I admit, the options of things to do in Las Vegas with your mother are slim. But when you're talking about MY mom, there are three; Gamble, eat and gamble. Fortunately, I enjoy all three, so I didn't have a problem finding things to do.

However we did find some time out of our busy schedule to check out the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. If you're not into gambling, or if you have kids in tow, I would definitely recommend checking out the Reef. They have a lot more than sharks, they have stingrays, jellyfish, barracudas, and so much more. The kids will go nuts.



This is the Lionfish. Why it's called the Lionfish...I'm not sure. I guess I'm not too good in aquariums either.

And that's the extent of what my family and I did in Vegas. I could tell you about the slot machines that robbed me senseless with their cute cartoon characters and Star Wars motifs, or the travails of playing craps with surly old men, but that's not that interesting. Not compared to walking down the Miracle Mile Shops and having mom attempt to pronounce the name of this boutique:



"Fa-CUCK!!"

Yes, mom.

Ahhh, Vegas.