another eye opens

I visited another planet for the weekend: the M Resort in Las Vegas (actually, Henderson, the town next door)

I was there attending a Curves convention with my sisters

Marianne owns a Curves franchise in her small town in Maine. (In case you don't know, Curves is a gym for women that specializes in a 30-minute workout.)

She goes to the convention every year, sometimes accompanied by Joanne (above)...

or Barbara. This year they both decided to go...

along with Barbara's daughter Carlee -- they all live in Denver.

I decided to invite myself since the four of us haven't been in the same place together in several years.

There was a long day of sales meetings and pep talks, followed by the inevitable Expo where we stuffed our gift bags with giveaways -- string cheese!

I even got a chance to experience Zumba, the dancercise craze that Curves has combined with some of its workouts.

Although to be honest the high point of the day for me was hanging out at the Hostile Grape, the snazzy wine bar in the basement of the M Resort, nibbling antipasti and sampling wines by the glass

The next day we made the obligatory pilgrimage to the Strip and wandered through the various crazy theme hotels -- the Luxor (above), the Excalibur, Mandalay Bay, the MGM Grand (jam-packed for a boxing match), playing $1 apiece in every casino we passed through

And we ended up at the Bellagio watching the dancing waters do their thing, to the tune of "One Singular Sensation..."