Goodbye to the Palace

The Moulin Rouge was a hotel and casino operation

opened in the segregated Las Vegas of 1955 for

African-American patrons not welcome at the

other Vegas hotels. It also closed in 1955. The site

is now on the national historic register.

In the morning we'll be saying goodbye to the luxury of Caesars Palace. Throughout the day my mother kept repeating, "Thank God for this day." Yes, my folks enjoyed revisiting Vegas after 28 years. We walked, road the monorail, and drove to many of the sites along the Vegas Strip. My dad made his $1 donation to each of the casinos we visited via the first 25 cent slot machine he could find in each. My mother tried to scope out shopping opportunities and had us patiently waiting as she perused the racks at Nieman Marcus and Macy's. As we toured, my father videotaped many of the spectacles and provided what has to be a hysterical narration of all that he saw. By unanimous vote, the three of us proclaimed the luxurious Wynn hotel as our favorite. From its Ferrari/Maserati dealership to the picture perfect indoor flowers and trees, the Wynn is a lottery winner's fantasy come true. I guess we'll have to start playing our lucky numbers in order to stay there during our next visit. Until then, we've got wonderful memories, photos and video to chronicle was has been a joyous day.

As I mentioned in my first blog entry, one of the purposes of this cross country adventure is to take my father to visit his brother, Alfred, in Sacramento. They last saw each other in 1960 at their father's funeral. At dinner this evening, my father called his brother's daughter, Alfreda, in Sacramento to let them know we'll be in the area. He didn't want to let them know before now to avoid any stressful preparation on their part. Well, his niece was thrilled to the point of hysteria upon hearing his voice and news of our visit. Even over the phone, her excitement was contagious. We’re all excited (although my father is trying not to show it). As wonderful as our Las Vegas time has been, I truly believe Saturday will be the day we remember most from this trip.

5 a.m. wake up call coming so I’m down for the night. Peace.