October 20, 2003

So we had this vacation

I want to apologize for taking so long to write a new editorial for this website. I've been busy with a lot of things lately, and just never seemed to find a minute for this. I'm sorry. On with the story.

So, we went on a vacation last week. We drove out to the Grand Canyon, then to Las Vegas, then back through southern Utah, and finally came back home. It was a good vacation and I really needed it. The last couple of weeks at work I was really on edge, and I feel much better now. That said, there are always a few PFFTs to be found in these things.

For instance, I've read a lot about how cheap hotel rooms in Las Vegas are. Now, a lot depends on your definition of "cheap." I did find rooms available the same night for $50/night, which isn't bad at all. However, I found internet rates around $35/night a few weeks beforehand, but since I didn't know for sure which nights we would be there, I didn't make any reservations. We ended up paying the $50, and that's fine, but I wish people wouldn't go on and on about how great the hotel prices are there. And I wish those $35 rooms materialized when we were actually there. We were there on weeknights too, so that's not the problem.

While we were in Vegas, we got a flat tire. We drove over a sheet metal widget that poked a big hole in the tire, and Fix-A-Flat couldn't even help us out (but we did have a spare). There is construction everywhere in Vegas. Somebody really should be held responsible for these kinds of things. I lost a perfectly good tire because of that, but there's nobody to sue, and I suppose even if there was they would say you take your chances when you drive on roads where there's always construction. PFFT to that.

Another thing. We camped a few nights during our vacation, and I'm glad we did because the motels at the Grand Canyon are probably pricy and perpetually sold out. That's not the problem, camping is fun. What is the problem is how tent sites tend to be other than flat. Earlier in the year I spend a weekend camping where if I turned to my left side I felt like I was going to roll down the hill. During this trip, my legs were slightly higher than my head because of a gentle slope. It's hard to get comfortable in that position. How hard would it be for the campground operator to spread a little dirt around to get it all even?

Las Vegas has to be the most touristy place in the world, except maybe Disney themeparks. It's impossible to just "blend in." The whole city is very quintessentially American, and yet it's different somehow. I think it's what happens when you take America, and remove all the morals (Puritan or otherwise). I'm glad there's a place like Vegas, but I think I'm just as glad that it's not like it everywhere. I wouldn't want to live there.

So that's a little rundown of the PFFTs of our trip. I admit, there aren't many that immediately come to mind, and if I spent a little more time I could probably think of more. But you get the idea. And hopefully more PFFTy things will happen soon for me to write about.

Published: October 20, 2003
Editor: stacy