Las Vegas, Day Two

I woke up feeling better and more optimistic! We met with a real estate agent who drove us around the city and showed us several foreclosed houses. Some of them were nice, others were frightening. In one home there were holes kicked in most of the walls and someone had used a stairway railing as a spear; it was sticking out of the wall near the ceiling...yikes.

When you drive around Las Vegas it seems pretty much like any other city, with just a lot more brown. When you arrive at the Strip everything changes. It's like Time Square on crack. People are everywhere, there are millions of interesting things to look at, and there are lots of opportunity for sin. Trucks drive by that say, "Girls to your room in 20 minutes!" Men are passing out strip club advertisements on the streets. At one point I saw a man carrying a billboard on his back. I naively said, "Look kids, isn't that cool? He's got a billboard on his back." At which point Vince said, "Kids, don't look!!!" It turns out it was a billboard advertising the 20 minute room service I just mentioned. Apparently I need to get a little more street smart!

When you're on the Strip there is no way to avoid the skin, the sex and the sin. I'll be sharing more about how we handled this with our kids in future posts. It's kind of sad when you look at it objectively. These people are wandering around, hoping to either get rich or get lucky. They have no other purpose for being there (except maybe the few who are there for some good shopping and shows).

This is why we're moving there. This is what made us feel like we made the right decision. We want to bring purpose to people's lives and giving them hope...sounds like a plan!

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