What Happens in Vegas?

When it comes to travel destinations, I tend to lump them into two different categories. There are the places that I'm dying to see and experience, the ones that if I never get to visit them in my lifetime I will feel like I've missed out. These are the dream destinations. Then there are the places that I would go to because I feel like I have to. You know, the ones that just seem to be a place that every American should be able to say they've been to. These are places like Mount Rushmore or New York City or almost anywhere in South America. These destinations I like to think of as tourist spots. Sometimes I think the sole purpose in traveling to them is to be able to say, "Been there, done that. Check it off my bucket list."

Some of the places I count as my dream destinations are the African Savannah (or a nicely controlled game park would suffice), a Scottish castle, the water canals in Venice, and some place that is warm, tropical and has that beautiful, crystal clear, sapphire blue water that I believe only exists in screen savers.

Among my list of tourist spots is Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps. I've never had any burning desire to go there. I don't drink, don't gamble, have no interest in shows and I'm actually offended by the commercials that tout "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." So when I found out we would be traveling there in May, you can imagine my surprise in discovering how excited I was by the idea.

It just hit me why I get that burst of energy in anticipation of the day. This will be our first truly adult vacation since we've had the kids. We took a trip to Puerto Vallarta for our one year anniversary and our next trip away didn't occur until about 3 or 4 years ago. We spent a weekend at a cabin by the Sound. It was no Marriott. It wasn't even a Motel 6! But it was just the two of us and it was lovely. Our second vacation occurred 2 years ago when we got the opportunity to visit my family in Virginia for a reunion. We had a great time, but we shared a hotel room and a car with my parents. No offense to my parents since we had a good time with them, but it's just not the same as getting away by yourself.

This trip to Vegas is only for the weekend so we can attend a dear friend's wedding. But there will be no children. We won't be staying at a relative's house. Friends and relatives will be there but they're all adults who are fun to just hang out with. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about traveling. Our only obligation or planned event is the wedding and then the rest of the time there is ours. This is a real, adult vacation. And it's only taken us 14 years to get it!