My best friend Dia and her boyfriend Scott rode with me and Maddie in my RV to Las Vegas, Nevada. We stayed together for four days at the Circus Circus Hotel RV Park. It’s basically a giant parking lot with hookups but it’s the only RV park on the Strip.

The ride there together was so much fun! It was great to have music going, good conversation, and sharing the anticipation of the trip. For the most part the trip was uneventful. One hiccup was when we were about 30 miles from Flagstaff. The gas tank was getting so empty the warning light came on. We had some anxious moments limping into Flagstaff for gas. What made it even more anxious was trying to find a gas station that actually sold diesel. Thankfully we were able to fill up before we completely ran out of gas. From now on I’m filling up whenever my tank gets to 1/2 a tank. Live and Learn!

We had lots of fun walking the strip and seeing the sights. The weather was perfect – mid to high 70s! A real treat after being in cold Albuquerque! We explored the hotels around Circus Circus and none of us had seen the newer hotels in the area. One of my favorite spots was actually “Slots o Fun” at Circus Circus. It’s an area where you play the old slot machines with real quarters and handles to pull. They even had $3 blackjack tables!

Maddie had a crash course in her service dog training while in Vegas. It was a lot for a 4 1/2-month-old to take in. The sights, sounds, and smells had to be overwhelming. But she was a trooper and did great!

But it definitely tired her out! Scott suggested we go to Bagelmania for breakfast. Maddie was so tired that she fell asleep while we were waiting in line. Poor thing…..

Maddie also got her very first Starbucks Pup Cup! She loved it!!! They gave her a good sized cup and she wanted all of it. You can see while we had someone take our photo, Maddie has her eyes and nose on that half empty pup cup!

We had so much fun walking around Vegas. We went to several hotels I’ve never been to as well as some of the more well-known hotels. The weather was awesome while we were there. The perfect temperature for walking around after dark.

Of course, Dia just had to get that giant drink to carry around.

For my birthday, Dia got me a tiara that said Happy Birthday. I felt pretty special all night because all evening strangers gave me birthday wishes! And she gave me a pretty necklace too! She also got me a few other nice gifts. Even a “grow a boyfriend” kit!

They also took me to Madame Tussauds wax museum. That was so much fun to see replicas of famous people that were life sized.

Dia and I had lots of fun in our favorite store – the rhinestone store!!! All the sparkles just drew us in. We each got a pair of rhinestone shoes and bedazzled shoelaces. I also got a pair of leggings with a rhinestone butterfly on the leg.

We had a lot of fun gambling but none of us left rich. I managed to find a giant Price is Right machine that is Dia’s all-time favorite game to play. Her and another woman are seen here watching the prize wheel spin. Too fun!

It was a fun-filled four-day birthday celebration. Before Dia and Scott flew back home, we shared a bottle of champagne and smoked cigars together. A great way to end a fun time together.

We had partied so hard that I stayed a couple of nights more to rest up. Before I left the RV park, I needed to empty my gray and black water tanks. I had everything set up and ready to go. I first had to empty the black water tank. When I pulled the lever, you could hear the tank emptying, but nothing came out of the end of the hose into the sewer. The hose just got more and more expanded and looked like it could explode!

When I checked to see what was causing the problem, I realized there was a cap on the end of the hose just before the sewer pipe. I looked at that in horror!!!! I knew I had to pull that plug and that meant I had to do it without the pipe being inserted into the sewer. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Of course you can only imagine the outcome of that! It took everything I had to not throw up. That would have just made things exponentially worse! Once I was done emptying the tanks, I ran to the showers!!!!!!!

Living and learning the RV life! It’s not always pretty!

Stay tuned for my next post – exploring Nevada and Utah!