Pills! And other American tales...

Although we ended up having a fabulous time in the US, it's safe to say that America and I did not get off on the right foot this visit. You see, just about the moment we touched down at McCarran International Airport I realised I'd forgotten to pack my trusty pills - the daily ones that help regulate my pesky hormones and stop me getting pregnant. Oops. 

If I was in Hong Kong or Thailand I'd just stroll to the nearest pharmacy (and there'd likely be one on the next street corner) and pick up a pack to tide me over. But I was in America, a place where reproductive health is a bit of a touchy topic at the moment (see also 'war on women'). 

Straight off the plane I did a quick Google to get the lay of the land (so to speak) and it left me fearing poking and prodding and testing. Chats with two different yet equally sceptical/unfriendly/judgemental concierges (both female) didn't make me feel any more comfortable with the whole situation. 

After many dead ends I was finally referred to the hotel doctor, who berated me for - among other things - laughing on the phone (he clearly didn't think I was taking my reproductive health seriously enough). Did I mention I'd just gotten off a long haul flight? And hadn't eaten? And was possibly delirious? 

Anyway, long story short, there was a knight in shining armour in the end. Or, more accurately, a Walgreens pharmicist in a lab coat. I may have cried. She may have been awesome. No! She WAS awesome. Another Google to find the active ingredients in my usual meds, a search of the shelves to find a match, a quick call to the grumpy doc to get the okay and voila! Crisis over. 

The lesson - ladies, when you travel to America don't forget your pill. And, by the way, I noticed our hotel mini bar was well stocked with condoms. I know there are health issues associated with oral contraception so it's a bit more complicated but at the (emotionally fraught) time it did make me think - if you want control over your reproductive health, best not to have lady parts. 

[Speaking of lady parts, if you're easily offended by naked lady bits don't try too hard to figure out what is lying on the immaculate Vegas lawn in the photo below...]

 

The lovely Walgreens pharmacist reaffirmed my faith in America - just when it seemed every man and his dog wanted to have a say in my life, she made me think that maybe it really is a society built around convenience, choice and freedom. 

She also reaffirmed my love of Walgreens. I am obsessed with the place. I think I visited almost everyday. I bought five different mascaras, lingered longingly in the snack aisle and stocked up on all kinds of wonderful over-the-counter medication (Nyqil! Robitussin! The pretty blue one that helps me get over jet lag!). I realise this makes me sound like some kind of pill popping freak. I'm not, I promise. It's just that the strongest over-the-counter medicine you can get in Korea is a hangover cure that tastes like bee urine (or so I'm told), and this is after they've relaxed the regulations.

Other American things: 

- At one of the Vegas bars where we were having a pre-dinner drink or three, there was a DJ who was Goldmember! Helmet hair, stilted dance moves and all. And he played Gotye. It was pretty great. (On second thoughts, it would have been even greater if he was actually wearing roller skates...) 

- There are three main differences between a reasonably priced hotel room in Vegas and an outlandishly priced one: double glazing or lack thereof, the size of the bathroom, and the level of smoke stench. We had a reasonably priced one on this visit.

- Vegas is possibly the best place on earth to be jet lagged. Wide awake at 4 in the morning? Go say hi to the cleaners on the casino floor, grab a vodka and orange juice and maybe tuck into a plate of hotcakes (American breakfasts! Oh my!).

- I have a serious, serious mac 'n' cheese problem. I go weak at the knees anytime I see a bubbling mass of pasta with that gooey, creamy sauce. Y to the um.

- The outer fringes of Orlando suck. It's an un-walkable soulless wasteland with not even one token 'gator napping by the roadside to brighten things up. But the shopping is quite enjoyable. And did I mention the mac 'n' cheese? (Orlandians - please don't send hate mail. I'm sure there are nice bits. Somewhere.)

Holiday Slideshow : Vegas baby!*

I adore Vegas.  It's one of those only-in-America places.  These days you might find similarily ridiculous over-the-top, just-because-we-can, ostentatiousness in places like Macau and Dubai, but they don't come with the history, heart and sense of pure fun that you find in Vegas.

If you google 'kids in Vegas' you'll find all kinds of sites telling you that Vegas is not a family holiday destination.  But both the step-sons loved Vegas - in the post trip review that we always do, Vegas was the bit that everyone agreed was completely ace. (FYI, the step-sons are 11 and 13 years old.  Also FYI, we don't gamble.)

They were intrigued by the stories of how Vegas was developed, they loved the idea that all this crazy stuff was built just for fun, and they never got tired of making jokes about France being right next door to Egypt which was right next door to New York... They loved all the great meals (especially one at Switch - a super tasty steakhouse in the Wynn where the decor changes every 20 minutes or so), and the view from our amazing room at the Bellagio (see photo above).  Vegas was a hit - and that's even though we didn't have time to visit the sharks at Mandalay Bay, ride the roller coaster at New York, New York, or even go for a swim!

Probably the most amazing thing we did in Vegas was a helicopter ride out to the Grand Canyon, via the Hoover Dam and all kinds of amazing desert landscapes.  The weather wasn't great - there was a lot of rain and mist about - which meant we couldn't land in the Canyon, but it was still pretty amazing.

Seeing as I have inherited my Mum's dislike of flying, small spaces and heights this part of the trip was somewhat challenging for me.  Especially as the pilot decided the front seat was the best place to put me.  I was basically in a perspex bubble, vibrating high above the earth.  For the first 45 minutes I was completely kind of freaking out, much to the amusement of my fellow passengers.  

If you haven't experienced that kind of panic before, it's like your brain just constantly screams at you 'get out NOW', but you can't, so you're trapped, and it's not very fun, at all.  And also clearly not very logical.  And a bit embarrassing, especially once the swearing kicks in.  I've found ways to calm myself down (counting is good, as is photography - they give me something else to focus on).  And once my body/brain got used to the way the chopper moved it was all okay.  So for the last 45 minutes I was actually able to stop freaking out and enjoy the views.

*As we helpfully taught the step sons on this trip, you can never ever just say 'Vegas'.  It's always always 'Vegas, baby!'.

Holiday Slideshow : Hoover Dam!*

Before we hit the bright lights of Vegas (baby) we headed to Hoover Dam.  I had pretty low expectations here because when it comes to giant feats of engineering and historical milestones I've really only got about five minutes of 'wow, that's cool' or 'hmmm, interesting' in me before I start getting bored, bored, bored.  So it was a pleasant surprise to find that the Hoover Dam was in fact amazing.  A prefect combination of stunning natural scenery and grand human design, with just enough interesting factual tidbits scattered about the place.  

It was built in the early-mid 1930s, and the public areas were purposefully designed to be beautiful, so there are all kinds of gorgeous Art Deco touches everywhere.  Whilst everyone else on our tour was agog at how much cement was needed to build the thing (over 5,000,000,000 barrels if you're curious), I was obsessing over light fittings and tiles and mosaics and fonts and the way the tunnels curved just so. It was wonderful!

*Said in Penguins of Madagascar style, aka this.