There’s more to Sin City than meets the eye!
A few weeks ago on Instagram, I posted a picture of Maryellen on a beach chair and asked everyone where they thought she might have traveled off to. I bet no on guessed Las Vegas!
Las Vegas is a post World War II boomtown that really came into its own in the 1950’s and 60’s, partially thanks to the mob and nuclear weapons. I wasn’t ever particularly interested in visiting because I’m not one for gambling or the bombastic shows the city’s famous for, but when a research trip for work had me going there, I figured I’d make the most of it.
As it turns out, Vegas is a really interesting city with some cool entertainment, food, crime, and nuclear history. There was so much to see and do that I actually feel like I need to go back to make sure I actually see it all! Since it’s not usually a city that’s well known for anything other than Elvis impersonators and slot machines, I thought it might be fun to show you all a little bit of Vegas beyond the Strip… and some of the Strip, too!
Now, fair warning, the content of some of this post is a little more murder and mayhem than some past places we’ve visited because Vegas was basically founded by the Mob, and one of the museums we visited goes into that history pretty explicitly. There’s also going to be a little discussion of gambling – hard not to get into that when talking about Vegas! – so if any of that isn’t in your (or your kids’!) taste, feel free to skip this one. Let’s say it leans a little more PG than most of my previous posts.
Las Vegas is a post World War II boomtown that really came into its own in the 1950’s and 60’s, partially thanks to the mob and nuclear weapons. I wasn’t ever particularly interested in visiting because I’m not one for gambling or the bombastic shows the city’s famous for, but when a research trip for work had me going there, I figured I’d make the most of it.
As it turns out, Vegas is a really interesting city with some cool entertainment, food, crime, and nuclear history. There was so much to see and do that I actually feel like I need to go back to make sure I actually see it all! Since it’s not usually a city that’s well known for anything other than Elvis impersonators and slot machines, I thought it might be fun to show you all a little bit of Vegas beyond the Strip… and some of the Strip, too!
Now, fair warning, the content of some of this post is a little more murder and mayhem than some past places we’ve visited because Vegas was basically founded by the Mob, and one of the museums we visited goes into that history pretty explicitly. There’s also going to be a little discussion of gambling – hard not to get into that when talking about Vegas! – so if any of that isn’t in your (or your kids’!) taste, feel free to skip this one. Let’s say it leans a little more PG than most of my previous posts.
