LAS VEGAS -- I'm winding down a little Labor Day vacation here in Sin City, but I couldn't wait until I return home to get a few things off my chest:

1. I really like Las Vegas, but five days is probably a little too long for a getaway. Four days is a stretch. Three is probably perfect. I was homesick by the end of Day 2.
2. Many will think I'm crazy, but one of my keys to enjoying Las Vegas is staying at a hotel that does not have a casino. I'm at the Platinum, a tremendous property operated by Milwaukee's Marcus Corporation, and it is so nice to walk in and out of the building without listening to the burbling of slot machines.
3. Forget that stuff about it being a dry heat. The high temperatures here have been pushing the 105-degree mark. There isn't a lot of humidity, so you don't sweat instantly when you're moving around, but the wind can dry your eyes. If you sit at a pool, though, be prepared to sweat as though you are in a sauna.
4. It's a good idea, before heading anywhere warm, to know which sunscreen works best for you. I mixed SPF 50 and 15 in an effort to approximate SPF 30, which probably is the sweet spot for me.
5. Frank Caliendo is everywhere in this town. You can't turn a corner without seeing his face -- or faces -- on a cab, bus, or billboard. I might have to check out his show at the Monte Carlo before I head home.
6. The casinos do a good job of negating cigarette smoke. Maybe I'm more sensitive because of Milwaukee's two-month-old ban, but some European guy at a video poker machine next to me had a cigarette that was driving me crazy. Good thing I wasn't winning. I had to move.
7. Speaking of moving. I had to change seats at the Wisconsin-UNLV game, too. I'll be writing about the experience in more detail later in the week, but I got stuck in front of some loud, drunk Cheeseheads that made me embarrassed to be from Wisconsin.
8. I stopped in the Hard Rock Casino this morning and felt like I had stumbled into a casting call for "Jersey Shore" and a show featuring the Kardashians. Everyone under the age of 28 looks like that to me now.
9. The Social House, a sushi place that the OnMilwaukee.com editorial staff visited a few years ago at Treasure Island, has re-opened in the new City Center complex. The sushi is still incredible.
10. Labor Day weekend in Vegas is very busy, anyway. With the influx of Badgers fans and folks from Los Angeles and Arizona seeking one last summer fling, things were really packed this weekend. It's much quieter today. As quiet as Vegas gets, anyway.