Marcia and I just got back home after four days in Las Vegas for a most special event: our beloved daughter Katelin married her long-time partner, John, who we also love dearly. We’re thrilled for them both at the step they’ve taken, and the paths ahead of them. They’ve got a bright future to come, and they are a great team, so we know they will make the most of it, and then some. They’ve been living in Las Vegas since last summer, and we’ve visited them a few times, but this was the first get-together where we were all able to actually go do things other than hang out at home and avoid the virus. Props to the local government in Las Vegas for enacting and enforcing mask mandates. It made everything feel mostly safe, on top of all of our completed vaccination cards. Science FTW!

The wedding ceremony was a small and simple one at the Clark County Office of Civil Marriages. We were joined by John’s lovely mother and her wonderful husband, and by Katelin and John’s most delightful neighbors and friends, Sam and David. A great crew for a special moment. After the ceremony, we walked a few blocks up to Fremont Street for some typical Las Vegas fun (I lost everything I had to bet, but the rest of them left with more than they arrived with), then we went out for an utterly, mind-blowingly good dinner at Sparrow + Wolf. If you find yourself in Las Vegas and need a place for a special meal, I would most emphatically recommend you make a reservation there. The dishes were to die for, the service was sublime, and the space is quirky and comfortable in all of the right ways. A truly memorable meal. (We also had stellar dinners at China Mama and Aromi, and a super brunch at Sunny Side Up, the local outlet of a Chicago brunch institution near where we’d lived in the Windy City. Also all fine destinations!)

The day after the wedding, Katelin and John took us to Area 15, where we all did the immersive Omega Mart experience. It was surreal and strange and interesting and funny and wonderful, just the way I like my cultural experiences to be. It’s another strong recommendation if you’re headed out to Las Vegas, especially if you embrace the unusual with the same level of fervor that I do, and you appreciate artistically-brilliant world-building, of which this is one of the most positively overwhelming examples that I have ever experienced. Good times, and good fun.

A few photos below of the weekend, full-sized views available if you click on them. It was just delightful, on all fronts. We’re happy and proud parents today!

Before the ceremony. No shoes, no shirts, no pants, no masks: No service!

After the service, the happy couple on Fremont Street.

Expanded family photo, also on Fremont Street.

Dinner at Sparrow + Wolf. Eat all the things, all of them!

The shelves at Area 15’s Omega Mart made me literally “LOL” multiple times. That takes some doing!

Elsewhere in Area 15. Weird and wonderful!