My photographs, at this resolution, do not do justice to the grandeur of this park. 

After spending the night in Huricane, Utah, we got an early start on our one-day visit to Zion National Park. 

After we toured old Las Vegas, we wound up at the MGM where Jeanine again flirted with the one-arm bandits. Here we were treated by Kris and Rob to front row seats for an evening of magic with David Copperfield. The show was fantastic and many of the illusions simply defy explanation. 

Jeanine wanted to meet an Elvis impersonator at a drive-thru wedding chapel. In Vegas, this kind of wish is easily granted and with Rob’s expert guidance it took just a few minutes to find such an opportunity. 

Later in the afternoon, Jeanine was drawn to the slot machines, the bigger the better. She was able to net several dollars of profit while entertaining the rest of us with her down to the last bet luck. Although my understanding of probability theory generally dissuades me from gambling, I decided to throw caution to the wind. I netted a whopping 400% gain and decided to quit while I was ahead. It should be noted that this amazing feat was achieved with a single play on a nickel slot machine. 

Many of the other exhibits were just as fascinating and we enjoyed our brief visit under the ocean. 

Naturally, we encountered many sharks at very close range. 

The tour features an underwater transparent tube that takes you through the aquarium’s main holding tank. 

At the Mandalay Bay hotel we took the Shark Reef tour and met this rare aligator as we entered the exhibit. 

This morning we visited a number of the Las Vegas strip hotels including the Venitian pictured here. 

The Bellagio at night, my favorite hotel on the Vegas strip. 

We dined at Circos overlooking the Bellagio lake and fountains. 

Happy Birthday for my sweatheart. 

It is finally time for the big surprise. Unknown to Jeanine, her lifelong friend Kris and her husband Rob had contacted me months ago suggesting we meet in Las Vegas for her birthday which coincided with a conference Kris was attending. Since I needed to be in Las Vegas the following week for the National Association of Broadcaster’s trade show, the timing good not have been any better. Kris sneaked up behind Jeanine as we were walking through the lobby and took her completely off guard.