Anxious to check out Las Vegas itself, and to see what colossal array of engagement rings Las Vegas had to offer, Nick and Sarah were a little bit giddy. They had already made arrangements to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, see Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio, and eat at La Cirque, also at the Bellagio.  Neither of them had any great interest in gambling, so they`d have plenty of time to check out "Sin City".

"You know," Sarah told Nick as she steered the Jeep through mile after mile of desert, "everything I know about Las Vegas, I learned from watching `CSI`."
With a smile, Nick responded, "Hopefully, we won`t require any crime scene investigators."

"Agreed," Sarah said, "But if Warrick Brown shows up, I`m leaving you."

Nick nodded.  "I know, silly."

They decided to cruise down the famous Las Vegas Strip before going to the Hard Rock, which wass just off the strip.  The road was crazy with people, and, while stopped at a traffic light, some guy walked up and handed a flyer to Nick, who had his window down to absorb the Las Vegas feeling.  Sarah leaned over to see it.

"Hooker?" she asked.

"Yep." Nick told her as he crumpled it up. 

 It was still daylight, so the Strip was less impressive than it looked on "CSI"—or, in fact, "Ocean`s Eleven"—but it was still amazing.  Fortunately, everyone on the street seemed to be rubber-necking, so it wasn`t a big deal when Sarah slowed to a Grandma-like pace as they passed the Luxor.

Nick nudged her arm.  "You think the Sphinx in Egypt is as impressive?"

"Maybe so," Sarah responded.  "But in Egypt, you can`t gamble in the pyramids."  She squinted as she looked up at street signs. "How do we get back to the hotel?"

Nick looked at the GPS.  "4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89169.  Turn right at the next light and it should be on the right." He told her.

They pulled up to the hotel and let the bellhops take their bags and the valet take the Jeep.  When they checked in, they were told that the bellhops could take their bags up to the room if Nick and Sarah wanted to get right to the casino.  Sarah shrugged.  She handed the concierge a ten-dollar bill and took Nick by the hand.

"Let`s look around." She told him. 

It was crazy.  People were lined up at the slots, some of them looking like they had spent days there.  They poked their heads into the "Hell`s Belles" room, where men played blackjack while go-go dancers performed around them.  The Poker Lounge, rather than being an empty, smoky room where middle-aged gangsters in visors played, was so cool looking that it almost made them want to play, even though Sarah, no matter how hard she tried, could never remember the rules of the game.

They stopped by the Hard Rock store to get the obligatory souvenirs for friends and family, then went to the famous Pink Taco for lunch, where they also bought a few souvenirs. 

As Sarah held up a Pink Taco t-shirt, she said: "I know a guy who bought a t-shirt like this for his 13 year-old daughter.  Doesn`t that seem a little gross to you?"

Nick nodded.  "Yes.  Very Joe and Jessica Simpson."

After they ate, they went upstairs, already having no idea what time it was.  They both knew that the casinos didn`t like to let natural light in, because without a concept of time, people gambled until they dropped.  Nick and Sarah wanted to get a nap in before they went out.  It was Sunday, which meant that one of the Hard Rock`s in-house clubs, Body English, had "Sunday School", when any woman dressed in a schoolgirl outfit got free champagne.  Fortunately, Sarah already had such an outfit, so they didn`t have to shop for it.

That night, Sarah dressed up.  Nick was noticing men notice his girlfriend—which made him a little crazy—but he knew she was just trying to have the full-on Vegas Experience. 

"Don`t worry, babe." Sarah reassured him, "As soon as we get there, I will be positively eclipsed by the silicone-enhanced."

It was almost true.  She got plenty of attention, but didn`t leave Nick`s side as she drank glass after glass of champagne.  They spent most of their night dancing, and Sarah was very good at moving away from men who got too close.

After enough hours that Sarah decided to stop drinking, without any idea how late it was, the two left the club, still drunk.  As they were making their way towards their room, Sarah spotted the 24-hour jeweler in the hotel, Rocks. 

Still dressed as a schoolgirl, Sarah dragged Nick into the store and announced that she and Nick wanted to get married.  A saleswoman, who was stunningly beautiful and stacked with silicone, asked if she could show them some engagement rings.  Sarah hung on Nick, partly from the champagne, and partly to put on a show.

"Something in the neighborhood of two carats, maybe?" The woman suggested as she delicately took a few rings out of the case.

Nick raised his eyebrows.  "I`d like to move out of that neighborhood," he told the woman, "and into something between one and one-and-a-half."

"Emerald cut, baby," Sarah nudged Nick in the side.

The saleswoman looked at Nick. 

"Whatever the lady wants to see." Nick told her.

Sarah put on one of the rings. She looked at it from up close.  Then she held her hand out, looking at the ring from a little further away.  Then she reached for the loupe that the saleswoman had quietly placed on the case.  The woman seemed surprised.

"It`s a nice diamond," Sarah told the woman.  "But there are a few small inclusions.  What else do you have?"

The woman showed Sarah some engagement rings with diamonds of nearly-perfect clarity.  Sarah was well aware that she was trying on some rings that were at least $15,000, with most of them costing much more. 

The woman smiled at Nick and said, "This is for a lifetime.  A beautiful diamond for a beautiful woman."

Sarah snorted as she took off the ring and handed it back.  "This is Vegas, baby.  Nothing lasts a lifetime here."  And she dragged Nick away.

They went up to their room, showered, and went to bed.

They woke up, each of them hungover.  Sarah rolled to the edge of the bed, grabbed the phone, and hit the button for room service.  She ordered two pots of coffee, and waited, with one foot on the floor and an arm across her eyes.

"Nicky," she said.

"Hmmm?"

"Hoover Dam or nuclear testing site today?"

Nick thought for a minute.  "I think Hoover Dam might have a little more to offer, visually."

After coffee and another round of showers, she and Nick headed back south toward Boulder City, Nevada, to see the Dam.  They were impressed by its hugeness.  Sarah wanted a picture of herself standing with each foot in a different time zone, but traffic wouldn`t allow for it.  Then they went to the Boulder Dam Brewing Company for lunch.  Over their beer-battered fries and beer-battered mushrooms, they talked about seeing Cirque du Soleil that night.  Despite their headaches, they decided to try the Brew Pub`s Powder Monkey Pilsner, which was brewed in honor of the dam workers who had packed all the explosives.  It was their way of honoring the work that went into the construction.

When they returned to the hotel and played the slots for a few hours.  Sarah won $1,000.  Nick ended up about $100 ahead.  Sarah began to gloat.

"I beat you…" she sang at him.  "You may beat me at golf, but I won more than youuuuuuu."

"Golf is a game of skill," Nick reminded her.  "Slots are about luck."

Sarah glared at him.  "Truly the words of someone who isn't a winner."

Nick smiled and put his arm around her.  "You are SO buying dinner, babe."

They were having dinner at Le Cirque, the famous five diamond restaurant at the Bellagio, so they put on their nicest clothes, which they had earlier sent to the hotel`s laundry for pressing, and hopped onto a shuttle that would bring them to the Strip.  They got off the shuttle as soon as they could so they could walk and check things out.  Sarah looked down at the tourist map she had gotten in the hotel lobby. 

"The Bellagio is at 3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV, 89109." She told Nick.  It was easy to spot.  She recognized it immediately from "Ocean`s Eleven".  The fountains and lights were more impressive in person.  They watched for a few minutes, and then headed in for their reservation at Le Cirque.
Nick and Sarah were rubber-necking like tourists. 

"This place is awesome." Nick said, looking at the ceiling.

They ate like royalty that night.  The food was amazing.  And the restaurant was conveniently in the same hotel as Cirque du Soleil`s "O". 

The show left them entirely speechless.  Sarah, who couldn`t sit through the Cirque du Soleil on television, finally understood why so many people made such a big deal about it.  It was the most amazing show she`d ever seen.  They walked out of the Bellagio and into the insanity of the Strip.  Ignoring all of the people passing out flyers for escorts, they walked up the street to 3900 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada, to the Luxor.  The famous beam of light from the top of the pyramid was awe-inspiring. 

"The way the sphinx is lit, the way the pyramid is so perfect in its angles, everything is so perfect." Sarah said.  "It looks almost unreal."

"You look almost unreal." Nick told Sarah, a goofy grin on his face.

She grinned.  "Las Vegas is having an effect on you, baby.  We look too good to go back to the hotel now.  Let`s go to LAX at the Luxor.  I bet we`ll see celebrities."

"Perfect." Nick said, as they walked hand-in-hand into the organized madness that was one of Las Vegas` hottest night clubs.