Hello All!
Just returned from vacation again with Jim. This year we were stronger, wiser and mucho mucho happier. I feel as if I grew up emotionally on this trip. I saw Las Vegas through new ideas. I met people with different perspectives, from different backgrounds and enjoyed our discussions.
At 74, Jim managed to drink me under the table. A former pilot, he adjusted to the altitude well. The Southwest continues to amaze me. The landscape so beautiful and the natives very hospitable.
It’s a newer America, wide open spaces, visiability for miles and miles. People live on ranches with large tracks of land. We city dwellers back East tend to forget just how close our quarters can be.
Monroe, Louisiana was the first stop again. An eight-hour drive from Panama City. It was the night before Thanksgiving and the city seemed quiet. There was a wedding party at the hotel and the festivities eventually spilled over into the bar.
This is where our adventure begins.
Slice of Good Ol Boy Life 
Sounds like you’re having fun — although Las Vegas probably wouldn’t be my first choice of places to decompress. But I’ve never been there, so I probably should keep my thoughts to myself. But I know what you mean about how your sense of space is different in the west than back east. My sister lives in Colorado, and when you look out over the plains (she lives in CO Springs, which is in the foothills) it looks like it goes on forever.