Leaving Las Vegas...

Vegas, Baby! I just walked in the door, having driven back from Las Vegas. I went down on Friday night for my nephew Ryan's missionary homecoming. He spent the last two years of his life in Portugal, as we like to say, selling life insurance (euphamism for sharing the gospel).
It was a great trip in so many ways, even though sleep seemed to elude me most of the time. I don't typically do well in extremely warm climates, and even though it's just the middle of May, Vegas was July hot. The mercury measured a cool 109 as I left town this afternoon. I slept in a warm room in a little, and I mean LITTLE twin bed... I think it's funny that they call different bed sizes King, Queen, Full and Twin... there's nothing twin about it! I like how Steven Wright measures that bed... it's Court Jester size.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well either night I was there. But enough about me...

I went to see Ryan and celebrate his homecoming with his family. So, I finally saw him Saturday night. He was out most of the day with his dad looking for cars. We met up at his younger brother Robert's State Finals Swim Meet. Rob swam the 50 yd and 100 yd freestyle... placed third in both distances. He looked like an olympic-bound swimmer... if he gives me persmission, I'll post some pictures of it.

It has been a while since I've seen Ryan. He looks good and very happy. Ryan has always been a happy guy... easy to have a good time with. He's also a great looking kid. Very sharp facial features, with brown hair and brown eyes. Oh, and he's 6'5"... the epitome of tall, dark and handsome.

I took my time driving home this afternoon. After all, I was in the car by myself, listening to my choice of music, at any volume I chose... so, I decided to enjoy the ride. And I did! I stopped at various places along the road to take pictures of some of the things that I've missed about the West... vibrant sunsets... sun-glazed mountain sides... sprinklers cascading over hay fields... and plenty of livestock. I'm going back to New York next month to help my older brother move his household out to Utah... I wonder, when I land at JFK, what I'm going to miss about the East.