Las Vegas
After
an enjoyable, but exhausting, week in Japan I was ready to head back to
Stittsville for a good rest.
Unfortunately my traveling companion had other plans. We had been home for less than a day, when we
were back on an airplane. This time we
were headed for Las Vegas, and I didn’t know what to expect.
Since leaving
Geneva, I have often thought about new
places I would like to visit. Sometimes
I have gone on the Internet to learn more about these places, but
Las Vegas was never one of the places
that really interested me. Bears are
really not at all interested in gambling, and I had been told that
Las Vegas was a place people went to
gamble. So it was not one of the places
that I was particularly interested in seeing.
I even told my traveling companion that I was tired, and that I would
rather spend a quiet week with my grade 3 friends in Stittsville. He thought about that for a minute, and then
said “no”. He said that when I left
Geneva I had told him I wanted to see
all the interesting places in the world. He insisted that Las Vegas was a place that everyone
should see, at least once.
As
always, my traveling companion was right. Las Vegas is unlike any place I have
ever seen, or even imagined. The strange
thing is that at the same time, it is a bit like many places I have heard of. I know it sounds impossible, but you will see
what I mean. In Las Vegas, you can do things that you
never would have imagined possible. The first day I was there, I demonstrated
how brave I was, by sitting inside a Lion’s mouth. I didn’t even shake a tiny bit. All the people watching were amazed, and
cheered when I did that. I didn’t want
to disappoint them, so I didn’t tell them it was just a statue of a Lion. At least I’m pretty certain it was just a
statue! Now that I think about it, I did
feel something hot when I was in his mouth. Hmmm, I wonder…
I
mentioned that Las Vegas was a bit like many places that I have
read about, and wanted to visit. I saw
some really amazing things – things that really did not belong in the middle of
a Nevada desert. I saw the canals of
Venice, with couples being taken for
romantic rides on gondolas.
I know
what you are thinking. Venice is a long way from
Las Vegas. I don’t think I would have believed it either,
if I had not seen it with my own eyes.
That wasn’t the only strange thing I saw. When I looked out the window of my hotel, I
could see the Eiffel Tower. I know the Eiffel Tower is big, but it would have to
be very, very, very big for me to see it from Las Vegas. When I was out for a walk, I
even went past it, and the hotel beside it was called “Paris”. I though Paris was a city, not a hotel. It was all so strange that it made my poor
little bear head hurt.
I
wasn’t certain that I liked having cities in the wrong place. That part of Las Vegas just seemed wrong. I am a bear who likes to travel, so I think
that if you want to see a city you should travel to see it. Bringing the city to Las Vegas just isn’t the same. There were some other things that I did like
though. I’ve already mentioned the Lion,
but I also found some amazing crystals that almost looked like they were from
the movie Superman. They were so big
that I couldn’t even touch the top of them.
I thought about breaking one off and taking it home, but then I realized
that would be wrong. Besides, people
were watching, and I didn’t think they would be too happy with me if I did. It was fun to think about it just the same.
Before
I knew it, my week in Las Vegas was over. I didn’t really want to go there in the first
place, but in the end I really enjoyed myself.
It is a very strange place, but I agree with my traveling companion. It is one place that everyone should
see. He said they should see it “once”,
but I almost think I wouldn’t mind going back again some time. We shall see.
However, all that is far in the future.
For now I’m looking forward to seeing my grade 3 friends again, so I can
tell them all about my latest adventure.
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