|
What Happens in Vegas Doesn’t
Always Stay in Vegas
The
following account was written by my friend Jackie. She and I spent 5
days in Las Vegas. We flew out there on August 31st and returned on
September 5th. We also met up with my niece Doreen who lives in
Henderson. Doreen was our tour guide for a few days.
Wood and I
connected in Chicago and had a couple of hours before our plane departed
so we had a nice lunch at a restaurant at the airport. Our flight was
delayed about 45 minutes but we finally got on our way. Having never been
there, I was shocked at how barren the land was for hundreds of miles
before we got to Vegas…eerie. You could see roads but there was nothing
there!?!?
Doreen,
Wood’s niece, met us at the airport in Vegas and took us to our hotel. It
was 105 degrees when we landed and didn’t vary much from that the entire
week. Our room was very nice and our view from the
8th floor
was of the mountains and some of the Strip.
Our first
night we just relaxed, unpacked and had dinner down in one of the
restaurants. The next morning we spent some time in the pool and hot tub
and then headed out for some sight seeing. It was rather easy to get
around Vegas once you caught on to the shuttles but there was an awful lot
of walking as well. I mean LOTS of walking! What looks rather close ends
up being blocks and blocks away.
One of the neatest things we discovered was a place called Carnaval
Court. It is an outside bar area with live music and FLAIR bartenders (like in the movie “Cocktail”). They
were awesome. The drinks were pricey but worth it for the entertainment.
The music rocked and so did Wood!
 ;o)
The hotel
lobbies were always beautiful. I think the Mirage impressed me the most
with the huge urns of fresh roses and the tiger at the entrance. That is
where Siegfried and Roy performed. The Bellagio ceiling was unbelievable
with glass flowers hanging from the ceiling and an absolutely beautiful
atrium. Caesar’s Palace was a city in itself.
It was unreal! You could get lost in there. The Venetian had fabulous
shops throughout and that is where the “live” statue and street singers
were and of course the Gondolas. I really enjoyed New York, New York. It
looked so authentic inside and out you would think you were actually
there.
Paris was
unique as well. We went up in the Eiffel Tower and the view was
spectacular. The Fremont Experience was awesome....a patriotic theme. We
heard it changes each hour so we were glad we saw what we did. Each and
every hotel had something special. The planning for all of the properties
must have been mind boggling. Everywhere you go on the streets you find
escalators, moving walkways, outside elevators, street bridges. It was
very easy to get turned around and forget where you were heading.
We also
did a little gambling, did some shopping, went to Hoover Dam and on Sunday
night we took a taxi to the Mandalay Bay to see
Tim McGraw and
Faith
Hill’s
Soul2Soul concert. It was their last concert of the tour so was
very exciting. The Mandalay is a very impressive complex and the concert
arena adjoins the hotel. On Labor Day Doreen and her husband treated us
to a spectacular buffet closer to where they live. I have never seen so
much food!
All in all
it was a vacation filled with exciting sights, sounds, great food and of
course,
Tim.
It was a great trip and so glad I finally got to see
what Vegas is all about.
Jackie |
