The Journey Home - The Scenic Route - Vegas First

Rather than just turning around and backtracking the way we just came, we have decided to take a northern route to come home. It's alot more miles but we get to see more and visit more states on the way home. From Bakersfield, California, we headed for a night in Las Vegas.

This is a Joshua Tree. It was given that name by the Mormans who settled this area. They said it symbolized Joshua reaching to heaven in prayer. Whatever.

Not far out of Bakersfield, we came across this "windmill farm". It was way out in the middle of nowhere. There were hundreds of windmills in all sizes. Sparky said that it is part of California's energy plan but that it has been unsuccessful.

Hills along the side of the road.

Nevada is all about glitz and abundance. So even the Welcome sign and welcome center is over the top. There was a roller coaster here, a huge hotel and casino, and across the road there was a casino that looked like a castle.

When we got to Las Vegas, we put the top down and drove down the famous strip. When getting to the strip, we went down a road that was one block off of Las Vegas Blvd (the strip). It was so strange because it was just a normal neighborhood. Kids riding bikes. Dads mowing lawns. Moms working in the yard. Life was going on as usual just one block away from all that..."stuff".

Welcome to Las Vegas

Strasosphere. I'm not sure what is inside that structure but I assume you can go to the top.

The Pyramid

New York, New York complete with the Brooklyn Bridge (not pictured).

The MGM Lion in from of the MGM Grand Hotel.

For my brother Duane, who rides a Harley. This is the Harley Davidson Cafe.

One of the things that is listed in the book "1000 things to see before you die" is the lights of Vegas at night. So after having driven down the strip during the day, we went back after dark to see it at night. We just drove down the road with the top down again so I could get some pictures. Some of my pictures were pretty blurry as I was having trouble getting the right settings on the camera. It was interesting to see the lights anyway.

The "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign.

A fun and yummy place.

Even Denny's looks good with all those lights.

Again, for my brother.

"Paris"

The Pyramid.

This was a screen that went over the street and you walked on the street down below. I'd never seen anything like that before. We saw many Elvises and other characters in this area. Of course I didn't take any pictures of them cause if you took their picture, they expected you to give them money.

The best part about being is Vegas is that Sparky and I went to a Drive-thru Wedding Chapel and renewed our vows. We drove in there in our red mustang (with the top down) and went up to the drive through window. After we filled out the appropriate paper work, the minister came up to the window. He talked to us for a little bit and then asked us if we wanted a Christian ceremony and we said yes. He asked if he could pray a prayer of blessing over us. We said "Absolutely." He name was Pastor Joel Garcia. His prayer of blessing was very meaningful to us. We then repeated vows and exchanged rings again. The vows we repeated were very good and I wish I could remember them word for word.

I know the whole thing was very cheesy but it was fun and it meant alot to us. A great memory.

Yes, Elvis was there. Actually, you could have Elvis at your wedding but that cost alot extra. We opted not to.

The cherubs in the tunnel.

The roof of the "Tunnel of Love".

It says "I can't live without you." It's true.

This is the window where the minister came to renew our vow with us. Fun!

The bride and groom.

These pictures are ones that we took with our camera and with Sparky's iPhone. We had some pictures taken by a photographer there at the chapel. Just a few minutes ago, I went to get the cd of photos out of the case and I broke the cd. I am sick. I've never done anything like that before. The worst is that we lost the pictures. I'm going to try to contact the chapel and see if we can get another copy of the cd. At least we got these photos.

I have to say that I did not care for Las Vegas. It troubled my spirit to be there. I'm glad we went. I'm glad we renewed our vows. I'm glad we had that experience but I don't think I would ever want to go back. As I posted on Facebook. Been there. Done that. Do NOT want the T-shirt.