Last week on Tuesday, my girlfriend and I rode down to Las Vegas together with some of her siblings and friends and made it down that night to spend a few days together at her parent's house. After a few hours in the car, playing games like "Twenty Questions" and "Smurf," we finally made it into the valley and could see the lights from the city and the downtown areas marking our destination. We haven't been down there since the end of June, so it was nice to be back and to spend time with her family again.
On Wednesday, her brothers wanted to go riding out in a nearby dried-out lake bed, so we loaded up a trailer with ATVs, a dirtbike, and a Polaris, and made our way out before noon. I quickly learned how to drive the Polaris, but did get the chance to learn how to ride a dirtbike. It turns out that there's more to it than the pros let on when it comes to something as simple as making the bike go. After a brief explanation of the controls and functions of the bike, I went right ahead and made the rookie mistake of giving the bike too much gas and went flying off from where I started. Realizing the danger I was thrown into, I tried finding the brake by stomping with one leg, while trying to keep my balance by sticking my other leg out. Luckily, no one could see or hear my expressions of surprise and fear because of the helmet I was wearing.
Thursday was the big day! I got to help with some of the preparation, play some volleyball, and was seated to as much food as I could handle, surrounded by my girlfriend's family by 2 pm. After eating more than I said I would allow myself to, her family held a ceremony to celebrate her mother for recently getting her PhD. We got the chance to hear poems, speeches, and musical numbers from her children and family members. That evening, a group of us headed out to walk downtown and to see some of the huge, well-known hotels on the Strip. We saw large numbers of people all around, some shopping, others walking around like we were, but still saw tons of people sitting in front of slot machines like it was any other day.
The next day, a group of us went on a small hike around Red Rock, then later met up with some family members for lunch. After that we walked around some stores to see all of the different Black Friday deals at a brand-new outdoor mall. That evening, I had the chance to take some fencing lessons with my girlfriend and her entire family. We had a great time wearing the equipment, learning the forms, and then getting paired up to start fighting each other! I had a lot of fun and thought I was getting pretty good at it until we started up a relay match. They had me fence last, so I had too many points to make up before the other team finished us. I still had a great time and learned something COOL.
Okay, even though this is footage of me (on the right) getting my butt kicked, I promise I'm fierce with that épée.
On Saturday morning, we all went to a culinary school to do a gingerbread house decorating activity! I can't remember the last time I've done something like that, so mine came out looking more like a dragon than anything, but that didn't bother me. We had to make the return trip home later that day, but not before making her family and some extended family a huge Japanese lunch. My girlfriend and I made curry with rice and a TON of pot-stickers. We enlisted the help of her siblings to assemble the pot-stickers, which is actually a fun activity and makes the cooking go faster. With that, some salad, and leftovers from the days prior, we all sat down to one last feast together. After the meal, we packed up and headed home, another car ride full of jokes, games, and Mad Libs.
I had a really great time in Vegas! I learned a lot and got to know my girlfriend's family a whole lot more. We're pretty tight now!
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