After braving the cold, in Toronto, Canada, followed by Ohio and a cold front in North Carolina, I headed to a friend’s home in Florida. We met thirty eight years ago, as Peace Corps volunteers, in Kenya. When I returned to Peace Corps service, after my 2017 retirement, I was stationed in Armenia and she was working in the UAE. I visited. Around the end of my first year, her son invited me on his school break trip to Sri Lanka. That was followed, a few months later, by a Peace Corps reunion, in Tanzania, at a lodge near Mount Kilimanjaro.

These days, Tarpon Springs is my friend’s new home. Her son is now a sophomore in college. I flew down to see him, before he headed back to school. Tarpon Springs has one of the largest Greek American populations in the United States. Many arrived, from Greece, for jobs in the sponge industry. The city’s sponge docks were famous and profitable. In fact, over a thirty year period, it was the largest industry in Florida! Another Peace Corps Kenya friend, also part of the mini Mt. Kilimanjaro reunion, lives near Tampa. We all met up in Tarpon Springs.

My final stop was in St. Petersburg. Then, I got to thinking. I’m still at 49 states visited. I had planned to visit the final state, South Dakota, in 2022, during my month long Amtrak train adventure. Although there’s 2,000 miles of operating rail lines, in the state, South Dakota has no Amtrak service. By the end of 2022, I was in Hawaii and heading to Guam. My 50th state would have to wait. So, last week, I decided to find a cheap flight west (from Tampa) and cross the state off my list. Then, just like in 2022, a funny thing happened on my way to South Dakota.

I booked a flight from Tampa to Las Vegas. I took (possibly) the last seat on the plane. I was in the back row, across from the toilets. The flight was delayed four times! I finally received the message to change my flight (with no additional fee) from the American Airlines app. I found a guy helping out with a departing flight, at one of the gates, and I showed him the message. We walked over to an empty counter and he rebooked me on an earlier flight from Tampa to Charlotte. When the plane landed, I had fifteen minutes before takeoff. I made it from the C gate to the B, right at the FINAL call for my flight to Las Vegas. Luck be a Lady, indeed!

My first visit to Las Vegas was in 1974. I took a Greyhound bus from Detroit, Michigan. I arrived, in Old Vegas, on my 18th birthday. I found a taxi and told the driver to take me to the Holiday Inn, on the Strip. The cabbie asked me how old I was? I told him I had just turned 18! He turned off the meter and drove. When we reached the north side of the strip, he told me to stay on the Vegas strip and only return to downtown for my bus ride home. Then, he pointed out good (cheap) places to eat. When dropping me at the hotel, he said, “Good luck, kid!” He never charged me for the ride.

Back then, I was in Las Vegas, for seven days, to see The Osmond Brothers perform at the Tropicana Hotel. This April, demolition of the hotel is slated, to make room for a proposed 30,000-seat ballpark. I’ve booked one night at the hotel, for old times sake. I also booked a ticket for Wannabe Spice, a Spice Girls tribute show, at The Excalibur Hotel. And, just like back in 2022, MGM Rewards has given me a three day hotel stay comp. This is, of course, how I missed South Dakota. I took the same comp (back in 2022) and forgot that I still needed to go!

So, … I’m still at 49 states. Kevin Costner sold the Midnight Star, his Deadwood casino. Jakes, the five-star restaurant, on the upper level, had walls lined with Costner movie memorabilia. As it turned out, he made the sell back in February 2020. So, my number one reason for visiting the state (summer 2022) would have already been gone. For now, I’m in Vegas, in a cheap hotel, with a great view. After fifty years of visiting here, I know the south end of the strip like the back of my hand. No matter how much the Vegas changes, I still feel at home here. South Dakota will have to wait.

Back in 1974, a group of teenager girls took over part of the Las Vegas strip. Well, we thought we did. It was an amazing time and one of my early solo “Ghetto Girl” travel experiences. And for that reason alone, I’ll always put money on Vegas, over South Dakota! XOXO—GGT