The first visit to Las Vegas must be interesting and exciting to most visitors. The second and third? I am not so sure. I did not enjoy even a bit. The lights, the crowd, the noise, the shows, the huge hotels with themes, the jingling sound of the slot machines, the gambling, and the razzmatazz is not easily digestible. One of my friends who owns a computer dealership had been to Las Vegas. When I asked him if he had taken his family, with a surprised look, he said, "Sir, this place is not for going with family. I went with my friend." So that is that.

On the way, we were to another happening place, Los Angeles. All of us being tired, slept a while in the car, though our two sons had to drive and keep awake. On the way, we were lucky—is lucky the right word? —to see a twister moving a fair distance away. How much havoc can they cause? On the way too, there was the tallest thermometer in the world. As is the wont, all of us took pictures standing beside this.

The place where we had booked rooms was more of a lodge than a hotel. Perhaps we had been misled about the facilities. Managing there was not difficult, though. After all, throughout the day, we kept moving, and only at night came back to rest and recuperate.

There was a particular road or maybe a street that had a few Indian outfits. Our breakfast was done in a Udipi Restaurant situated here, and off we went to Disneyland.

Disneyland is not an unknown place to most of us in the sense we have read about it sometime or the other. We were all adults, and I had no idea what kind of time we would have there.

At that time, I think there were three distinct theme parks, and we decided to stick with one. We were spending just one day there. This park was full of rides. And for each and every ride, we had to stand in a queue. Not by any means a short waiting time. Any ride scares me as I get vertigo. The most dangerous, exciting, and adventurous ride I had ever been to be the ‘Merry Go Round.’

Continued in 254 - May Believe Make Believe - Part 1