Month: August 2025

We rented a car and made a stop at the Area 51 gift shop on our way out to Death Valley National Park. In the small village of Furnace Creek, the temperature hit a blistering 109 degrees. We had hoped to explore more, but it was simply too hot and we were completely unprepared for the conditions. Instead, we turned back toward Las Vegas. Along the way, we stopped at Charleston Peak Winery in Pahrump, NV. We did a wine tasting, though none of the wines really stood out to us. What made the experience unique, however, was that they served meatballs alongside the tasting, something I’ve never seen anywhere else.

Once back in Las Vegas, we picked up our marriage certificate from the Clark County Office. The entire process only took about 15 minutes, and the certificate is valid for one year. From there, we visited The Little White Chapel to check it out ahead of our October wedding. We both thought it was charming and decided that’s exactly where we’ll be getting married.

Afterward, we returned the rental car, grabbed a taxi back to the Luxor, and later walked down to New York-New York for dinner, closing out another memorable day together.

We flew out to Las Vegas on Frontier Airlines, and the flight went off without a hitch, even though Frontier is a budget airline. We landed around 10 a.m. and headed straight to the Luxor to see if we could check in early. Thankfully, it wasn’t a problem, they were able to get us into a room right away, though they switched us from a king to a double queen.

That afternoon, we went to see the Blue Man Group and picked up painting number three for our wall, we’re working toward a set of four. Later that evening, we met up with friends for dinner and drinks, a perfect way to end our first day in the city.

I picked up a car for CL, her oldest and drew up a written agreement to make sure he takes responsibility, since the title is in my name. The agreement sets out that he’ll pay back the $8,750 over two years at $350 per month. To be honest, I don’t fully trust him when it comes to money, he has a history of saying he has a job when he really doesn’t, and that makes me cautious. Helping him get this car is a chance for him to step up, but I know it will take more than words this time. He’ll have to prove through his actions that he’s willing to follow through.

While we were in Las Vegas, we left the youngest with the oldest. He’s done this before, so it wasn’t anything new, but it’s still reassuring to know he can handle that responsibility.