Christmas in Las Vegas

A trip to Las Vegas, proposed by my dear friend –
To include two other dear friends, a brother and a sister,
The latter of whom is coming from out of town.
I express fervent joy at the idea of flying to Vegas
And spending Christmas there,
But wonder if my finances will permit such a vacation.
We do indeed make the trip –
My dear friend finds a group package that is inexpensive enough
And we reimburse him for the credit card charge –
We are flying to Las Vegas to spend three nights! 

The lights and signs glitter there,
And the town in the middle of the desert
Refuses to spoil us.  The weather is unbearably cold,
As are the slot machines.
The points we earn during our stay
Are based largely on holding on to our money. 
We decide to go to a fancy nightclub located
Just off the Strip, but it is closed
By the time we arrive. 
The following day, we drive our rental car
To a shopping outlet, but making the drive
And finding parking take nearly an hour,
And we can’t find any special deals. 
Luckily, as we discussed earlier,
There is an earlier flight home which we can still make,
So two of my friends descend on the airport terminal
To confirm the earlier flight, while the woman from
Out of town and I return the rental car and take the shuttle
Back to the airport.  We all have a quick and easy
Flight back home, and my friend from out of town
Gets plenty of rest before flying back to Arlington, WV
The next morning. 

Now back at home, we look at the financial costs incurred
From this fun and worthwhile trip
And patiently await payday. 
We plan to make a return trip to Las Vegas next year
Around the same time –
Christmas or New Year’s,
Looking forward to more glorious lights and booming parties,
Warmer weather and much looser slots. 
And some fun shopping!