Viva Las Vegas!

 Tuesday July 15 The first task of the day was to mail the cookbook letters!  WOW – that was a big relief to both Kay and I.  We dropped it in on Tuesday morning and had our first response on Wednesday evening via e-mail from Reg and Anne Gomes who live in Oakland, California!  They sent us a great picture as well as a spectacular recipe!  I’m sure they win a prize but not sure what it is!

Reg and Anne

The travel from Monterey was filled with visual delights of California agriculture with Kay providing armchair commentary.  She admitted that after only two years of retirement she could name all the trees but she did point out Driscoll berries and had insights on the growing and packing of many of the crops.  Seeing the farmworkers harvesting strawberries made me aware of the labor intensive requirement that brings fresh food to my table.  

From cool Monterey with a morning temperature of 54, we entered the California desert with a temperature of 112!  We arrived around 6:00 and settled into our Treasure Island hotel room on the 19th floor which had a wonderful view of the Strip without having to walk outside in the heat. As Kay was looking at the Strip she realized that she hadn’t been there for 24 years!

  

 She had been to the Las Vegas airport many times for flight connections and meetings but not to the strip since she and Dennis participated in the Desert Southwest Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1990.  At that time they stayed in dorm rooms at University of Nevada at Las Vegas but the Bishop’s Banquet was held at one of the casinos where she remembers clergy playing the slot machines as they were in line for the buffet– hmmmmm.  

Our task that evening was to eat at the The Buffet at Treasure Island where we dined on gnocchi prepared to our specifications and a variety of decadent desserts.  We kept watching for ACTE II on America’s Got Talent that night but missed the first twenty minutes of the show.  Don’t forget to watch the week of July 21st to find out if they go to the live shows.  (Note from Kay: ACTE II is an opera duo with a dear friend, Ashley Renee Watkins.  Both Ashley and Olanna were voice students at The University of Oklahoma with Joanna.)

Wednesday – July 16

Wednesday morning brought warm sunshine and a day of shopping.  Our first adventure was to Popcorn Girl.  This small little store was featured on Food Network and has become a favorite of the Meissner family on their frequent trips to Las Vegas.  From dill pickle to spicy hot wings to lemon meringue pie, the flavors continue to amaze the taste buds.  After sampling different types we settled on Denver style (white cheddar and carmel corn) and a variety of small sample bags for the Meissner reunion coming up in Denver.  

A roundabout car trip took us to Las Vegas’ Premium Outlets where the next few hours found us hunting and gathering.  With coupons in hand (thank you, AAA) we perused shops finding more clothes for Madison (Kendra, get another closet ready.), a Germany World Cup jersey for Drew and oh, yes, themed clothes for the sisters.  Of course we always shop at Dress Barn and they should really be sponsoring our travel.  The salesclerk recognized our Dress Barn outfits when we walked in!

After a brief stop at Whole Foods for Linner (lunch and dinner) and The Container Store so we would have matching Tea Stands.  We found our way back to Treasure Island for a great performance of Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere .  While this was my fourth viewing since 1995, it was Kay’s first experience of a live Cirque show. Kay was only nervous during one section when the aerialist was employing a ribbon high in the air and bending her knees at all kinds of angles!  All Harrison girls’ knees “lock”  when they bend at certain angles and Kay was afraid they were going to make her come on stage and participate!   Silly sister!

After the show, no Vegas trip would be complete without playing the slot machines.  With Kay’s luck and Shirley’s support we managed to lose $20 in an hour.  We were up and we were down and only played the one cent and quarter slots.  We tried four machines and came back to our winning machine and lost the rest of the $20.  Kay was convinced that someone was going to sit down at “our” machine and win a fortune after we left --- but I convinced her it was time to go to bed!