Viva Las Vegas

I didn't go to Las Vegas to gamble or drink, as I don't do either of those things.

Tell someone that on an airplane bound for Las Vegas and you get some odd looks. "Why are you going to Vegas if you don't drink or gamble?" the nice older couple who had playfully nicknamed me Vegas Girl asked me on the early morning flight. They had been regaling me all morning with their own vacation to Sin City only a few months earlier but were perplexed why I would choose such a location without a desire to do the "usual" things.

I smiled. "I just needed to get away", I replied simply. It was a more loaded reality than that, but how much do you explain to strangers you've only just met on an airplane? Truth was, I was long overdue for anything even close to a vacation. I had been concentrating so much on work and the stressful day-to-day existence that I was surrounded by, that I hadn't gone anywhere in years. There was something calling to me in the desert that I could no longer deny or ignore. And it was time that I listened to fate and get on the damn airplane.

Vegas was an odd choice, I admit.

The more popular things there usually do not pique my interest; large Sun obscuring buildings are not usually my cup of tea. Although cool in their own right, I've never been drawn to large buildings. Another city, I mused nonchalantly before I arrived.

The skyline was pretty, and I loved the way it lit up from my hotel balcony at night. It was alive as if for my eyes alone, colors dancing along the horizon. And it was beautiful to fly over and to see everything when I arrived. I quickly fell in love with the place and the sites that I had previously dismissed as hulking glass and metal stretching to the sky. But it was in the architecture that borrowed from the ancient past that called to my heart.

The statues on the Paris, in Caesars Palace and the Venetian. Aphrodite, Neptune and Pegasus. The fountains at the Bellagio. The paintings. The color. The carvings and lights! The vivid tapestry woven all around me was awe inspiring. I mean I knew there was so much to explore here, beyond the skyscrapers and buildings. I guess it just takes following your heart around to find the things you really love.

As an avid photographer, I took a lot of photos of those wondrous sights.

I usually have a camera fixed securely in my grip wherever I go. I love to capture colors that surround me, the architecture and nature. I love being able to capture the moment. I also do it because I have a piss poor memory, especially for the things that cause deep emotion.

My brain sometimes makes these slip away a little more quickly, so I linger a little longer staring more than I should hoping to etch them upon my memory. Photos help, but I hate my brain for taking away these little gems faster than I think it should. Maybe it's just stress that makes things harder to hold onto. I'm not sure. Until I figure out, I watch carefully, memorize every line and snap the pic.

Travel affords me a joy I rarely get in my life, giving up control for a little while.

I can just experience. I'm not in charge of the airplanes or the check in at the hotel. I can't control shuttles, landing times or when my body decides to wake me up because of time change. I just flow as a Wanderer of the Universe and enjoy. There was a great ease in being free, in resonating fully with my surroundings. How wonderful to be able to be like that, curious, open and full of hope. It's something to strive for in a daily life because it's intoxicating.

Vegas taught me a few things. Mostly what I had been missing out on in life.

In truth, I don't know fully what that means yet, I'm still processing. Travelling a far distance gives you ample amounts of time to think. To consider your life, your desires and your options. To think of dreams and aspirations. Hotel rooms are caverns of consideration free from the everyday stress of reality, weighing all the things that are possible or impossible in life. I had been sedentary for far too long, letting life happen to me instead of being an active participant. I was reacting to what was thrown at me instead of taking action and moving in the direction of what I authentically desires. Life was passing me by. And I vowed to stop letting that be the case.

Although I didn't gamble in Las Vegas, I did throw 10 cents into a fountain and made a wish.

I can't tell you what that wish was however, or it won't come true. And that I definitely won't gamble on.

Viva Las Vegas, I hope I see you again soon.