EYE SPY...

...sights around Vegas from this past weekend (giving me a chance to play with a new toy for squeezing lots of photos into a smaller space - Mosaic Maker.  You can still click to enlarge the grouping - the weirdly cropped pictures look to have happened during the process - the massive Chinese figure in the third row had people included in the shot to give perspective...sadly, that is no longer the case.  But, this is a "learning" post, with this new gadget - in any event, it will give you a taste of some of the wonderful sights we saw that day).

Surrounded by Jackie's on Saturday (my friend, Jackie; and my daughter, Jaci/Jaclyn) - it was a fabulous day.  Most of us who live in Las Vegas are fairly far removed from the hustle, bustle, and lights of The Strip, though you can find a slot machine in every single grocery store and gas station.  Every once in awhile, just for fun, you have to take a day to mingle with the tourists, and see what new sights there are to see.

Starting at the new Cosmopolitan, where the Vegas term "Eye in the Sky" (for those not from here, there are live cameras in the ceilings, above every gaming table) has taken on new meaning (Jackie also got a vibrant picture of that pink chandelier I posted a while back, and two large ceramic dogs that have been reduced to slivers of their former selves by the mosaic), we sipped on Mimosas in the fabulous Chandelier Bar, before wending our way down The Strip to the dollar margarita place (you read it right - small in size but, thanks to a very over-indulging bartender, with enough tequila to fill a $5 glass - we might as well have skipped the "slushy part" at that point.  And although my daughter might appear to be a two-fisted drinker, she was holding mine for the photo op), and on through the crowds to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for lunch - always an entertaining meal.

After lunch, it was over to Caesars Palace (photo session with my son, Louie, who works as a club promoter), and then to The Bellagio, where we 'oohed/aahed' over the beautiful floral displays for Chinese New Year - Year of the Rabbit.  Had a wonderful time, and walked Jackie's legs to death...literally.  She was limping pretty badly by the time we got back - there's a reason we only do this once in awhile...and why we need those $1 margaritas while we walk.