*Sorry this is so late! We wanted to post both nights, but unfortunately hotels in Vegas see it fit to charge 12.99 for internet access for 24 hours so we thought we'd hold off and post a one-time Vegas blog, thanks for being patient!* 
There’s a fact I have to face in life: windshield wipers just can’t keep up with some rain storms, especially when those darn semi-trucks pass you and kick up an ocean of water onto your already covered windshield. You just have to keep driving – and drive we did, right on into a traffic delayed, construction laden Las Vegas, a city that truly never sleeps. Well, we slept, but the city keeps on going long after the eyes of many have closed for the night and many professional alcoholic consumptioners have found a place (sometimes randomly) to pass out for a few hours in hopes of ending up in the correct hotel room. I’ve been here 3 times now, and it never ceases to amaze me just how crazy some people are – it’s quite scary, and 2 days in Vegas for Rachel and myself has been enough. We did just about everything you could do in two days – well, just about everything that doesn’t involve night clubs or excessive amounts of alcohol followed by meetings of random people who you may or may not end up spending the remainder of your evening with at who knows what Casino with who knows how many other random people that they met earlier in the night – in other words, if you aren’t in control, you could end up in a big mess.
First night brought us the Blue Man Group – which was super awesome for the 3rd time that I’ve seen them. We were a little hesitant at first – when we got to the blue man theatre and the usher looked at our tickets, he said “Wow, first row…you better keep those ponchos on.” See, the blue men use paint and other random yuck that finds its way into the crowd – let’s just say I’ll never look at chewed up Captain Crunch or chewed up Twinkies the same again *shivers*. Luckily, none of the nasty found its way into our laps, and we escaped with clean clothes and great memories of the awe-inspiring abilities of the Blue Man Group and their band. Second night, Cirque de Soleil, and let me just say this…if you’ve never seen a CDS show, GO SEE ONE. I mean, this CDS that we saw defines the word Random (Big guy dressed as baby with unmistakably, almost scary baby laugh, a guy dressed up as a red rooster that did about 30 flips in a matter of 5 seconds on a trampoline, an Einstein look-a-like that locked up this dude in a cage and hit on the dude’s girlfriend…) yeah, see what I mean, random. But the acrobatics and incredible maneuvering those people are able to perform while swinging 50 feet off the ground with a simple rope or two tied to their waist – just amazing!
Before the CDS, we played some Keno and actually won 90 bucks! Well, we had spent about 25 trying to win it, so we were only up 65, then the Jack of Black decided to take another 62 bucks, so we ended plus 3 from where we started – TAKE THAT VEGAS! We came, we saw, we conqu…well, conquered is a strong word but, we won and that’s what counts!
There are a lot of rude, gross people – Vegas reminds me of that but, my dwindling faith in humanity was restored on a small level when we met a new friend from Australia on our way back to our hotel after walking the strip up and down. Leon offered to take pictures for us, and we in turn took some pictures for him. Though our time with our friend was short (literally 5 minutes), he was a kind face in an unkind city. While kindness (and clothes in many cases) are lacking, Leon showed me that occasionally, someone can surprise you. I like to think it was a sort of Christian Karma, because earlier in the day, at the CDS show, an Asian man (who spoke not a lick of English) spilled 2 of his popcorn tubs on his way to his seat where his family of 4 was waiting. The sadness over such a simple thing broke our hearts when we saw what he had done, so we decided to do something about it. An usher had told him he could go get more popcorn, but it was apparent he didn’t understand, and the usher didn’t have time to help him. Rachel and I pondered and decided to attempt a random act of kindness. We went and got him more popcorn and took it to him, and even a non-english speaking man knows how to show his gratitude to an English speaking, die-hard American. He knew enough to say “Thank-you thank-you thank-you!” and we watched from out seats as the man and his family ate their large popcorn. You see, even though Vegas wasn’t the greatest first big-city of a honeymoon, and even though we missed dinner tonight for a Treasure Island Pirate show that got cancelled due to strong winds, and even though the weather was 3,483,881,305 degrees outside, and even though we were trapped into buying a 7 dollar water of Evian (it SO tasted like the same $2.49 water at the gas station!!!) little things bring you joy. From the Asian man with his popcorn, to the maid leaving Rachel’s lost necklace on the bathroom counter, to the Leon’s in our world who will offer to take a picture for you…the little things count. In the midst of Sin-City where sin is definitely rampant – all you have to do is look on the ground as you walk back to your hotel at night to see the streets and sidewalks littered with inappropriate images of father’s daughters offering “services”, there is still a glimmer of hope. If anything, our honeymoon thus far has shown us that true love is what counts (and waits), that you can still have good clean fun even though Joe Dirtiness and his groupies surround you, that being hounded by hotel workers who want to sell you a time-share to their hotel doesn’t have to ruin your night, and that occasionally, Leon will take your picture, and that will make your day!
From the Road Less Traveled,
Josh and Rachel
Vegas Highlights: Blue Man Group, Cirque De Soleil, Keno Winnings, M&M’s and Coke, Random spots of shade, Air Conditioning (Thank you God), WATER WATER WATER, (even 7 dollar water), Random Acts of Kindness, Leon from Australia, and the Nike Store.
