Viva Las Vegas! Viva the wait?

Recently we had the chance to take a trip out of town. It had to be a short trip, just a couple of days, but we decided to head off to Las Vegas. It's about 4-5 hours from where we live so it seemed like an odd choice since we'd be spending a significant amount of time on the road. However, it felt right despite this and we went for it.

Our last trip to Vegas had been 8 years ago and ended badly as the air conditioner in the car broke halfway through the weekend in July 2004. It was unbearably hot driving back on that trip even though we crossed the desert late at night to get back home while avoiding the worst of the heat. Now seemed like a good time to revisit Las Vegas and put happy memories in place of the old ones. We felt like we really needed to do something for ourselves without an adoption or kid focus. Of course we can't wait to be parents, but we felt like it was time to take a real break on our adoption journey. We wanted a trip focused on us and our present life that we share together.

Relaxed and happy on our road trip.

We realized just how much we needed this trip almost as soon as we were on the road. After all, there's nothing like a good road trip to take you out of your element, give you new vistas, and encourage a fresh perspective. We crossed the desert at night so we didn't see its impressive beauty along the way, but knew it was out there while we were driving. This refreshed us as did the gorgeous night sky. It was a clear night and we were amazed by all the stars we saw once we got far enough on our drive.

Happily melting in the heat on the Las Vegas strip with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

The Las Vegas of 2012 seems very different than the one we visited in 2004. We were surprised by the lack of character in some of the new buildings on the strip and a bit disappointed that it seems harder than ever to find remnants of vintage Vegas. That said, we had a great trip. We lucked out with a nice room with a view at Paris Las Vegas and enjoyed some of our favorite places. The Mexican restaurant, Taqueria Canonita, we loved at the Venetian is still there and we had a thoroughly delightful (and very decadent) dinner out.

While Vegas itself had its charms, it was the desert that really caught our attention this time. We went to Red Rock Canyon (about 20 miles outside of Vegas) and also to the Hoover Dam and into Arizona. It's a glorious landscape and the majestic beauty of the land took our breath away. The silence there also melted our anxieties away as we peacefully stood quiet in the desert appreciating the beauty around us.

Enjoying beautiful Red Rock Canyon outside Las Vegas.

We enjoyed visiting the Hoover Dam too.

While we can't quite say "Viva the wait" (long live the wait), we are happy to have had a chance to recharge our batteries and we feel ready for the next part of our adoption journey. After all there's always another road trip in our future if we need one.