2010-04 Las Vegas

Ray and LeAnn celebrated their 20th anniversary by going to Las Vegas.  The morning we were to leave, LeAnn woke up not feeling well with stomach problems, but we decided to go ahead and go.  We arrived in Las Vegas and checked into the Wynn before noon.  LeAnn took a rest during the afternoon and Ray went exploring for a couple of hours.  The rest helped LeAnn and she felt good enough in the evening to go to the show we had purchased tickets for. 

We walked from the Wynn down to the Venetian to watch the Blue Man Group.  We had great seats in the center of the stage, just a few rows back from the "wet zone", which are seats that come with their own ponchos to protect you from possible water and over spray from the show.  After the show, we wondered through the Venetian and marveled at the indoor river and the gondolas that are going up and down the river.  With the way the ceiling is painted and the lighting is set-up, you can feel as if you are outside.

Saturday was a day for exploring the strip.  We got up and headed down the strip, stopping at various casinos along the way to admire their architecture and themes.  Neither of us are big into the gambling aspect of Vegas, but enjoy the people watching and the casinos themselves.  We were lucky enough to be going by the Bellagio when the musical fountain show was starting, so we watched that for the first time.  Inside the Bellagio, a flower show was on display that utilized both tree sculptures and flower art. 

The New York, New York casino has a mini skyline of the city of New York as its facade, with even the Brooklyn Bridge.  The inside has a series of food vendors and restaurants laid out in a series of alleyways in the back of the casino. 

Towards the south end of the strip is the Luxor.  The Luxor is the large pyramid shaped casino.  the rooms are all along the outside the perimeter of the pyramid, and the center area is wide open to the top of the pyramid.

Heading back to the north on the other side of Las Vegas boulevard, we ate at the Hard Rock before going to the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Casino.  The tower is a half scale version of the one in France.  From the top we got to watch the Bellagio Fountains again, as they are right across the street

We had tickets to O by Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio, so rather than head back up to Wynn and then come back after a full day of walking and with sore feat, we decided to hang around and wait for the show.  This meant we were going to the show in our casual clothes rather than dressing up.  We realized the night before that while some people dress up for the shows, many don't.  The show O is set in water and full of acrobatics.  The pool has a hydraulic base that can rise or fall from the top of the pool to the bottom, so one minute the people in the show are running across the top of the pool on the floor, the next they are diving into the pool at the same spot from 20' above.

Sunday we took the car and headed up to the old downtown casino area.  On the way, we passed the Gold and Silver Pawn shop from the TV show Pawn Stars.  We stopped in to check it out.  It is a small store that looks bigger on the show.  When we went by again later in the afternoon, there was a line up outside just to get in and walk through.  

The main street for the downtown casino is Fremont Street.  This is the famous street with the overhead canopy and light show.  We did not see the light show since it only happens in the evening, and we were there late morning.  A bunch of the old, original neon signs of the first casinos in Vegas (many since torn down) are scattered around Fremont Street and kept up as an outdoor museum.

We then headed out of town towards the Hoover Dam.  We never made it that far and stopped in Boulder City, which was one of the main residential areas for the people working on the dam.  We wandered up and down the main street, which is filled with antique shops, cafes and knick-knack stores.  On the way out of town, we saw an old railroad museum.  It was just closing for the day, but you could still walk around and see the trains.  They have working trains and give 45 minute, 6 mile train rides on the weekends.

Heading back to into town, we decided to stop at the Stratosphere.  We went to the top and got some great views of the city.  They were testing a new activity for thrill seekers that allows you to fall off the edge of the stratosphere while attached to cable that unwinds to control your descent.  Although not open to the public yet, we saw a couple people get suited up and testing it.  I don't think you would have seen LeAnn or me lined up for this one, even if it would have been open.

On Monday, we checked out of the hotel late morning and spent some time on the casino floor before heading back to the airport and on to Minnesota.  We had  great time, and didn't lose a lot of money (since we didn't spend too much time gambling).

Some of the exploring up and down the strip.