Final Day

Tuesday, June 4th, was our final day in Las Vegas.  It was with a touch of sadness we packed our bags instead of lounging by the pool.  Since our plane would not depart until 9:00 pm, we had the whole day to spend in the city.

After enjoying lunch at NYNY, Meg (see photo) and I having beer and pizza at Sirrico's and Glen and Mike pigging out on pastrami (2 inches thick) and beef/ cheddar sandwiches at Greenberg's Deli, we took the monorail on one last trip down The Strip.  Mike had bought a wallet at Madam Tussauds Wax Museum shop and his friend, Ben, wanted one, too.

Did you know?

1) That The Strip is not actually within the city limits of Las Vegas

2) The first casino on The Strip was built in 1941 and was called El Rancho Vegas

3) The Strip runs from the now-defunct Sahara Casino to Mandalay Bay (coincidentally the monorail's north and south termini but the train itself doesn't run down The Strip)

4) The Sahara was the last vintage 'Rat-Pack' hotel and hosted The Beatles in 1964.  It closed in 2011 after 59 years in business

5) In 1995, when Dean Martin, a member of the Rat-Pack, died, the lights along The Strip were dimmed.  In 1998, they did the same for Frank Sinatra

6) The Strip is the second highest-grossing gambling centre after Macau, China

7) Las Vegas means "the meadows" which Spanish explorers called the area because of its water supply

8) Ironically, Mormons were the first to settle here but they left in 1857.  By 1905, Vegas was a railway town because the steam trains needed its water.  Mining ventures in the surrounding mountains also used the town as a base.

9) Gambling was legalized in 1931 which saw Vegas's tourism industry grow but it was the Manhattan Project in the 1940s that propelled its development

10) The fastest way to and from the McCarran Airport is not the cheapest.  Ask for the most direct route

We left NYNY mid afternoon figuring we'd have a leisurely meal at the airport after going through security.  I had booked Glen and myself on WesJet so we could fly home with Meg and Mike.  Apparently, WestJet flies more people into Las Vegas than any other international carrier (Air Canada is second).  

We departed from the new terminal 3, opened in 2012, but before taking off, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Las Vegas Chophouse & Brewery.  It was a delicious way to end our Vegas adventure eating our way through casear salad, chicken picatta, crab cakes, a prime rib sandwich and a club sandwich with mashed potatoes.  All washed down with Stella and Longboard beers.

Glen and I boarded the plane first and missed seeing Meg and Mike pass us.  The plane took off early so I assumed they were sitting in the back.  I slept for an hour and was still pretty groggy when we landed at midnight.  We used our Nexus cards but it took several goes before the machine recognized us.  Iris scanning is not all it's cracked up to be.  Meg and Mike actually reached the luggage carousel before we did.

Meg had arranged for a limo to pick us up and the driver was there waiting.  I've never driven in a stretch limo before.  What can I say?  I sure could get used to it.  It was a fantastic way to end our holiday.

Two days later, Glen and I were in Kananaskis Country gazing at this view (photo below) from our hotel room.  The contrast with the glitz of Las Vegas was awesome!

Boring 'Dam' Blog

Third time's a charm.  After wanting to visit it the last two times we've been in Vegas, I finally got to see the Hoover Dam up close and personal.  Many years ago, I watched a National Geographic TV show on the building of the Hoover Dam and was inspired to see this feat of human strength and engineering.  Glen was game but Meg and Mike declined, they had plans to see the  National Atomic Testing Museum (dams are boring whereas blowing things up, aren't).  It did sound fascinating but I had my heart set on seeing the dam.

We spent the morning relaxing by the pool then ate hot dogs at Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs in NYNY's Greenwich Village.  Nathon's Famous was founded by a Polish immigrant called Nathan Handwerker who sold his wife, Ida's hot dogs at a stand in Coney Island, New York.  The hot dogs became so famous that President Franklin D. Roosevelt served them to the King and Queen of England in 1939.  Last year, over 435 million Nathan's hot dogs were consumed.

Our tour van, run by Casino Travel & Tours, was 20 minutes late picking us up but we were the penultimate stop so left the city on schedule.  We were 11 on the tour with our guide, Mark.  He drove us through the outskirts of the city along the highway to the dam.  He flooded us with information on both the dam and surrounding countryside.  I learned (in no particular order):

1) The water feeding Lake Mead created by the dam, comes from the Rocky Mountains (in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming).  It's the largest reservoir in the United States
2) Most of the electricity generated by the dam goes to southern California
3) The dam straddles the border--half in Nevada and half in Arizona
4) A $29 helicopter ride lasts 90 seconds
5) Boulder City is one of two places in Nevada where you can't gamble (you couldn't drink there either until the late 60s).  Just outside of town is the oldest casino in the state, The Hacienda
6) 96 people died building the dam; workers got 2 holidays a year--Christmas and Independence Day
7) It was the first time hard hats were used at a construction site
8) It was built in 5 years (2 years ahead of schedule) and under budget
9) It was originally called Boulder Dam
10) It was always meant to be a tourist attraction

Our guide had the 'gift of the gab' but I have forgotten most of what he said so I'll give you my own take on the dam story.

The raging waters of the Colorado River roared through Black Canyon and was prone to ebbs and flows of drying up or flooding.  Farmland (and families) in Southern California suffered.  In 1928, the government (Bureau of Reclamation) authorize the building of a dam to provide electricity and irrigation water for the southwestern states.  The Colorado River runs through seven states so the dam would impact more than just Nevada, California, and Arizona.  Future president, Herbert Hoover, a professional mining engineer and then Secretary of Commerce, tried to reach a deal to build the dam but it was the Supreme Court that finally forced the states into an agreement.

The Hoover Dam is an arch-gravity design that uses the strength of the canyon walls to hold the water so the dam itself need not be as massive.  Still, the Hoover Dam is immense.  At its bottom, it's 660 feet thick and the top is 45 feet wide (designed to be a highway between Nevada and Arizona).  Construction began in 1931 as America suffered its Great Depression and the dam project attracted thousands of workers.  Las Vegas wanted to be the headquarters for construction but the government required Six Companies (the winning bidder for the dam) to create a model city called Boulder City where workers would be housed.

We began our tour in the art-deco style visitor's centre where a Bureau of Reclamation guide took us into the bowels of the dam.  First stop was to see one of the diversion tunnels that were used to divert the river around the construction site.   Coffer dams were constructed to keep the site dry as the dam was built.  The tunnels now are steel pipes which direct the water to the turbines.

The group separated to enter two elevators and I left Glen behind.  We met again at the enormous turbines.  There are eight on the Nevada side and nine on the Arizona one.  A smaller one provides electricity for the dam itself.  Here the floors were done in lovely black and white tiles as the power plant was meant as a showcase for tourists.

After learning all that there was to know about the dam, we headed outside for photographs.  I couldn't hang over the walls (vertigo issues) so Glen took all the photos of the base of the dam.  Soaring overhead is another feat of construction, the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.  As early as the 1960s, the dam's highway became congested but it was only after the September 11, 2001 attacks that the government realized the dam could also be a terrorist target (you must pass through security twice before entering the dam area).  The by-pass is an arch bridge spanning (1060 feet) the Black Canyon and was completed in 2010 (construction began in 2003).

Walking on the dam was painfully hot.  Our guide had given us cold, bottled water which warmed to tepid in minutes.  I was determined to walk to the Arizona side where a clock told us the state's time.  That's when we remembered Arizona is like Saskatchewan and doesn't go on Daylight Savings Time so its clock gave the same time as our watches.  Glen insisted I take a picture of the back of the dam as who does that?

First on a tour bus is always first off so it was approaching 6:00 when we finally got back to our hotel.  After a quick stop in our room, we met Meg and Mike for dinner.  The Sporting House is not a restaurant we would normally dine in but Meg had checked out the menu and it looked good.  There was a game on (hockey and baseball) so we had to assured the hostess we would be spending more than $15/hour of our stay.  It is a large venue and she sat us in a alcove with some quiet hockey fans (an oxymoron but this is America).  Glen and I ordered buffalo shrimp and Meg and Mike ordered crab stuff mushroom caps which we shared.  Both were delicious!  That's when we learned about their day at the museum.

Meg felt they could walk from the Flamingo to the museum forgetting that one, Vegas blocks are long and two, it was 43ºC.  Mike's beer & Clamato juice drink became soup.  The Atomic Testing Museum (part of the Smithsonian) was worth the effort as they saw all the relics of the United States nuclear program from 1951 to the present and in the Ground Zero Theater, experienced an atmospheric nuclear test.  Due to the heat, they opted to take a cab back.  Most impressive to Meg was a B53 nuclear bomb on display.

In my opinion, our dam tour was better than the museum bomb.

Shopping in Vegas

Those who know me, know I hate shopping.  I don't mind gazing in windows and seeing merchandize but actually buying something is not my cup of tea.  On the other hand, Glen and Meg used to tackle Boxing Days sales together.  So Sunday was designated shopping day but first we had to say farewell to Tim and Ed.

We met them and had a big breakfast at America of omelettes, french toast, and a BLT (me, of course).  I declared afterwards that there was such a thing as too much bacon but the others scoffed at this.  We said our farewells to Tim and Ed (I hope we can meet them again in Vegas as we had so much fun together) then headed to the pool to relax before our shopping spree.

Okay, it wasn't really a spree but it did take several hours.  First, we took the monorail to Harrah's then walked to the Venetian.  It was very hot (42ºC or 107ºF) so we tried to stay inside as much as possible but we were headed to Fashion Show so had to cross Las Vegas Blvd at the Wynn Resort.  I practised the waterfall photography technique my sister, Lynda, taught me at the hotel's fountain (see photo).

Fashion Show Mall looks like the flying saucers in the movie, Men in Black.  It's described as one of the largest malls in the world with 250 stores, but West Edmonton Mall beats it hands down.  WEM is no longer the largest mall in the world (it lost that title in 2004), but is in the top ten.  Still, Fashion Show Mall is huge.  Fortunately, Meg knew where she was going as they had explored the mall the last time they were in Vegas.  Mike had bought a watch there and wanted to replace it.

The flying saucer is called The Cloud and at night becomes a movie screen.  During the winter, the mall has snow storms which helps set the mood for Santa and his performers on the mall's fashion runway.

After buying the watch, we walked from the mall to Treasure Island, now branded as TI.  When Glen first visited Vegas, there was a pirate show in the lagoon and the skull and crossbones are still part of the TI experience but the show is now called The Sirens of TI and features scantily-clad woman.  Here we caught the tram to Mirage.  A short, hot ride.

Mirage has a tropical paradise inside with beautifully arranged floral bouquets.  It was also cool.  We walked through the casino on our way to Caesars Palace where Meg wanted to have lunch at the Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill.

Caesars Palace is another old Vegas hotel.  The original towers were built in 1966 and like the Flamingo and Tropicana, its owners were accused of dealing with organized crime.  The hotel changed hands many times and finally merged with Harrah's Entertainment.  It has also added to its original layout.  In 1992, it built the Forum Shops at Caesars to provide high-end shopping to The Strip.  In 2000, it closed its Circus Maximus Showroom and rebuilt it to house Celine Dion's show.  Now called The Colosseum, it even looks like the one in Rome.

Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill is a modern British pub-style restaurant where the staff where punk fashions with lots of safety pins and spiky studs.  There are 36 beers on tap and over 60 bottled beers.  A beer sommelier helped Meg and Mike choose their beverages but Glen and I weren't thinking straight so chose an American beer.  The heat was affecting me so I opted for a chilled shrimp salad then a summer baby vegetable salad.  My body was craving vegetables and water.  Meg forced me to drink a full glass which was one of the hardest things for me to do.  Meanwhile, she had Mac n' Cheese made with three cheeses and black truffles.  It was fantastic!

We stopped at the Pandora shop on our way to the Flamingo.  My friend, Wendy, had given me a bracelet for Christmas and I wanted to add some Vegas charms.  Meg and I checked them out while Glen and Mike explored a store with TV memorabilia and antiques.  I ended up with three charms--a die, a lucky shamrock (Wendy is of Irish descent so it was appropriate), and a bag of money.  I thought it might help me win big but that was a fond hope.

There was a letterbox hidden at the Flamingo so we decided to explore their wildlife habitat (with flamingos) and see if we could find it.  Unfortunately, Meg reacted badly to the heat so she and Mike bailed soon after seeing the turtles.  We weren't far behind as a wedding  prevented us hunting for the box.  We ended up on the same monorail train as Meg and Mike so walked back to NYNY with them.

I was not up for supper but still joined the others at the Nine Fine Irishmen and we were seated upstairs.   I had a bowl of Colcannon soup (potatoes, cabbage, and leeks) and Guninness.   Our table was in a good spot as the entertainment began downstairs and it was loud.  The band played many songs we knew and even had an Irish stepdancer performing.

So You Think You Know What Vegas Is About--Think Again

Most people who haven't explored Las Vegas brush it off as a city of crash casinos and glitz.  I think our trip shows that it has more to offer than just gambling and shopping.  Yes, we did play video poker machines (losing more than winning) and there are black jack, craps, and poker tables and high-end shops but interspersed among these, are gardens, menageries, fine art work, statuary, fountains, and waterfalls.  Buildings are over-the-top designs with replicas of what would be ostentatious if it weren't Vegas but you can also see the homes of real people not far off The Strip.

But why not embrace the zany and accept it as part of the travel experience.  I love photographing unique buildings and Vegas is a fun place to capture.  NYNY has the Statue of Liberty (see photo) and the Brooklyn Bridge, MGM Grand has a giant gold lion, The Venetian, The Grande Canal (inside and out) and the Luxor, a pyramid and sphinx.  Where else could you see such works?  For many who don't travel the world, this is the place to experience a gondola ride or see top-rated entertainers without the expense of international travel.  Most hotels offer discounted rates (especially during the week) and airlines do the same.  It cost us $100/person to fly from Denver to Las Vegas and $200/person to fly home to Calgary.  There are many air/hotel packages offering free entertainment or coupons for attractions which make a holiday highly affordable.

Food prices vary depending on the restaurant as many celebrity chefs have places in Vegas so you can dine on haute cuisine or at McDonald's.  Each resort supports a variety of restaurants and for those with hearty appetites, there is the famous Vegas buffet in most hotels.  Glen still remembers when you could get shrimp cocktails as you gambled but that has disappeared (probably a health hazard) but you can still get 'free' drinks.  The rules are you must be gambling for the drink girls to serve you.  Beer comes in a bottle; mixed drinks are 'watered'.  Remember to tip or you'll never see the girl (yes, they are always women) again.

We had a big American breakfast with Tim and Ed at America (how appropriate).  I enjoyed a bagel with smoke salmon while the others had omelettes and pancakes.  Afterwards we headed to Mob Attraction at the newly renovated, Tropicana.  Built in 1957, it has had a tumultuous history with close links to organized crime so it's fitting that a scene from the movie, The Godfather, was filmed here.  Today, the buildings have been completely upgraded in a tropical motif and the 2 acre pool is visible from the various walkways between the hotel's towers.  The casino was refreshing as it was done up in bright whites and pastel colours so different from most others which tend to make one feel night is 24 hours long.

The Mob Attraction is a history of the mob's involvement in Las Vegas.  The video presentation is hosted by James Caan who went 'underground' with the mob when filming The Godfather.  We also interacted with live actors, becoming part of a mob operation.  I was slipped some money which, in retrospect, I should have bribed the policeman instead of blowing our cover (I'll never her the end of that).  The attraction has memorabilia of the famous Vegas mobsters, Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel and Meyer Lansky who built The Strip's first hotel, the Flamingo, as well as a video of the making of The Godfather.

There is a letterbox at the Tropicana so we braved the intense heat to search for it.  Meg had found it before so knew the location and Tim braved the dirt and garbage to drag the box from its hiding place.  The hunt made us hungry so Ed suggested we try Nine Fine Irishmen for dessert.  We all shared their Bread and Butter Pudding and Guinness Chocolate Bomb then went to our rooms to rest.

Everyone agreed Italian was what we wanted for supper but I didn't want to eat in the fancy place in NYNY so Tim suggested Buca di Beppo, a chain of family-style Italian restaurants.  Family-style means sharing and each menu item serves 2 (small) or 4 (large) and large parties are encouraged with specialty tables like the Pope's (12-18 with the pope's bust in the middle of the table) and the Kitchen Table (6-10).  The Buca di Beppo began in the basement of a Minneapolis apartment building in 1993 and has since grown to over 85 locations.  Glen and I shared the Apple Gorgonzola Salad Ed ordered, Tim's Eggplant Parmesan, and our vegetarian pizza while Meg and Mike shared two huge meatballs and a bowl of spaghetti.  Behind us was a wedding reception and it brought back memories of our own reception in the basement of The Villa Capri, a long-gone Italian restaurant in Ottawa.

P. S.  Meg reminded me we had lunch at her favourite Mexican restaurant in NYNY,  Gonzlaes Y Gonzales but I'm not sure how we fitted that into our busy day.  I do know I had excellent fish tacos.

Where Can We Meet? Vegas!!

Another boring day at the office for Glen working poolside but I brought my camera on Friday to explore the views from my deck chair (see photo of empty roller coaster testing the track).  NYNY's pool is in the shade in the morning so a great time to enjoy it without the heat or the hordes of guests who sun-worship.  Meg and Mike had their traditional morning cocktail called a Burnt Cherry as she read my book, White Crane.  It was neat seeing someone lounging on a deck chair enjoying my writing.

Today's excitement began when we met our good friends, Tim and Ed (see If You're Going to San Francisco for our last meeting) who had driven from their home in Newport Beach, California to join in our Vegas fun.  They were up for anything so it was off to the CSI: The Experience in the MGM Grande Resort.  Meg and Mike had done this interactive adventure before but there are 3 possible crimes to solve so the chances were good we'd do a different one and we did.

With clipboards in hand we set out to record evidence at a crime scene.  The set up is designed for those over the age of 12 but younger ones could enjoy it with help from parents.  We had a great time recording what we saw although we over-thought the whole scene, penciling in details that turned out to be staging rather than crime-scene facts.  Still, it was a hoot.  We then proceeded to go through the lab analysis of various elements of the crime until Ed blurted out "who did it".  Turns out none of us were surprised but it was so much fun going through all the stages of the detection process.

We ate lunch at Nine Fine Irishmen, the NYNY pub that had been closed for renovations.  It is named after nine Irishmen who, in 1848, fought for Irish independence from the British and lost.  Their death sentences were commuted when it was agreed they'd become martyrs.  Some were sent to Tasmania but most ended up in the Americas.  Thomas Meagher became a Civil War general and eventually, governor of Montana.  Thomas D'Arcy McGee had a Canadian connection.  He was elected mayor of Montréal then became an MP before landing the post of minister of agriculture.  He was assassinated in 1868 while entering his Sparks Street boarding house in Ottawa. Partick Whelan, a Fenian sympathizer was convicted of the crime and hanged.  It was the last public hanging in Canada.

After a brief afternoon rest, we met again to go to dinner at Caesar's Palace's Cheesecake Factory.  Having eaten in this restaurant in SF, I knew what I wanted.  The SkinnyLicious® Shrimp Summer Rolls.  They were every bit as tasty as I remembered.

Meg had suggested we see the show Absinthe at Casear's so ordered our tickets in early May.  She got us excellent seats in the white tent erected on the Roman Plaza of Caesar's.  As it turned out we were far enough away from the in-the-round stage to escape the barbed (and foul-mouthed) tongue of Gazillionaire and his side-kick, Penny Pibbets.  I'll admit I was a little uncomfortable until I realized no one was spared his comedy.  The circus acts were amazing feats of strength, balance, and danger involving trapeze artists, balancing acts, tightrope walkers, and roller skaters.  There was even a striptease so something for everyone.

Afterwards, Ed suggested we do dessert at Nine Fine Irishmen but they were only serving drinks with their live entertainment so we went to the America restaurant.  The drop ceiling of this place is a giant (90 feet x 20 feet) bas-relief map of the United States with each state's landmarks highlighted.  Glen and Tim (he shared with Ed) ordered the huge brownie sundae, Meg, the lava cake and Mike, a milkshake.  I had a coffee but it came in a 2 cup carafe.  The only disappointment was the milkshake which Mike couldn't drink.

We then parted ways agreeing to meet at America for breakfast.

Three Events in One Day--Too Much Vegas?

Thursday began quietly enough with lounging at the pool.  The water was cold so I didn't swim but I'm not adverse to reading in a deck chair.  Glen 'worked' by answering emails and for him, that's relaxing.

A highlight of any visit to Vegas is a stroll through the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay.  This is an aquarium that also features crocodiles and komodo dragons but it is the sharks that illicit the most oohs and aahs as they lazily swim above and below you.  Having snorkelled (once near a shark), the environment of the Shark Reef evokes memories of my own time swimming with fishes.   Meg loves stoking the rays in the interactive tank (see photo).  One ray wanted someone to touch it and almost climbed up the side of the tank, trying to get our attention.  If the rays didn't want to be touched, they could swim out of arm's reach.  Staff members made sure no animals were abused.  As I moved into an area meant to be a sunken ship, I missed an octopus moving along its aquarium's glass.  Meg's photos were incredible!

I was all for seafood for lunch but that got vetoed.  Meg suggested we go to an American-style pub called The Public House in the Luxor.  I love the Luxor as it has an Egyptian theme (it looks like a black pyramid from the outside).  The rooms open onto a central space that mimics the pyramid shape and huge statues of Egyptian gods soar from the floor.  Water features add a relaxing feel to the hotel.

The pub was huge, 7000 sq ft and one wall was a giant TV.  It as hard to ignore Fred Couples when he's over 10 feet tall.  I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich but their menu offered limited food choices.  However, their beer menu was extensive.  Meg and Mike couldn't resist ordering Hobgoblin English Ale and when they saw its tap at the bar, they had to photograph it.

After lunch, we staggered upstairs to the Titanic Exhibit.   One unique feature of Vegas is the vendors who wander the halls, sidewalks, and connecting walkways between the hotels.  Those outside offer everything from coupons to strip shows to cheap bottles of water.  Inside, they offer discounts on the shows featured in the hotel.  Stop and take these coupons as they usually save you $5 on the price of intermission.  This happened as we walked toward the Titanic Exhibit and when admission is $32/person, those discounts help.  As we entered, we were given a card assigning us the name of an actual person on the Titanic.  Mike was thrilled to find he was a first class passenger as before, he had been in third class and ended up dying.

The exhibit took us from the building of the ship through all the artifacts brought up during various dives to the ship's resting place on the bottom of the ocean.  There was even a replica of the Grand Staircase and an actual chunk of the hull.  Meg said they had added a jewellery display she hadn't seen before.  We reached the end to discover even though I was a third class passenger, I had survived the sinking whereas poor Mike had not.

We returned to our room for a brief respite before going off to the Tournament of Kings in Excalibur.  We'd done this dinner/show before and loved it so when Meg got complimentary tickets, we joined her and Mike.  Dinner begins with a bowl of tomato soup (no spoons) and a glass of either water or soda.  Beer can be bought but by the time our server reached us, we were pretty much done our meal.  The meal itself is a whole chicken, a stalk of broccoli, some potatoes, and a biscuit.  There is no cutlery so fingers are the utensil of the day.  It's lots of fun.  An East Indian family sitting nearby had a vegetarian version but I'm not sure what that entailed.

The show is based on a rendition of Arthur and the knights of the round table.  Each knight is the king of a country and his 'people' sit in a specific section of the oval indoor stadium.  We sat in Ireland's section so all our cheers were for our Irish king.  The show had feats of horsemanship, jousting, swordplay, and spear-throwing.   Dancing girls added some female talent.  It is a family show appealing to all ages.  Children under 3 get in free but they must sit on a parent's lap and eat off their plate.  With the amount of food we were served, I could have shared with several children.

As we waddled back to the hotel, we all agreed that doing so much in one day was not a holiday so we would take it easy on Friday.  Famous last words.

Meet Us in Vegas

I've used this title before and yet it seems appropriate to do so again.  Not only did we meet family in Vegas (see Meet Me in Vegas to read about one such meeting) but our friends from California joined us for the weekend.

First though, we had to leave family in Aurora.  We picked Elijah up from school which delayed our departure for the airport.  We weren't worried as we arrived about an hour before our flight left.  But, by the time we'd gone through security, etc, the plane was boarding as we reached the gate.  The flight was short, about an hour and a half.  We flew in over the sprawling city of Las Vegas (see a previous blog, Viva Las Vegas).  Not only was the dry landscape of red rocks spectacular, but the expanse of Lake Mead always awes when seen from the air.

The city is about 2000 ft above sea level and is in the middle of the Mojave Desert.  Surrounded by rugged mountains (one at least 13,000 ft), Las Vegas enjoys about 300 days of sunshine and we arrived to temperatures in the mid 30º C.

We stayed at the New York New York hotel (NYNY) this time; our first time in the middle of all the action.  It is a big hotel with three towers and five large restaurants.  We were in the New York tower while Meg and Mike stayed in the Empire.  After settling in, we went to supper.  Meg's favourite Irish pub in NYNY was closed for renovations so we headed to the Rí Rá pub in the Shoppes at Mandalay Place.  One does a lot of walking in Vegas so wearing good footwear is a must.  But, it's also a good way to burn off all the extra calories one consumes in food and drink.  The portions here are large so often ordering from the appetizer menu is the way to go.  On this night, though, we had hearty appetites.  I enjoyed their shepherd's pie while Meg had a Dublin Burger.  Mike and Glen had their 'small' fish and chips but the fish filled the plate so hardly small.

The next morning, we were up early and had breakfast at a little café, keeping our meal much the same as what we eat at home.  We sat at tables arranged along 'Greenwich Street' in front of brownstones much like those in New York City.  The plan was to begin the day with Meg and me going to the spa in the morning and Mike and Glen hanging out together until lunch.

I am not a spa person but wanted to share Meg's enthusiasm for pedicures and pampering.  I've never had a pedicure before but figured I needed to experience one at least once in my life.  Meg told me to warn the tech as then she'd walk me through it.  Our appointment was for 9:30 and Meg was taken in for her wrap at that time.  She calls it the sushi wrap and assured me I'd love it.  I waited for 20 minutes for the girl to do my feet.  I hadn't brought anything to read so I sat listening to the soothing music and it inspired me so I now have an idea on how to end the book I'm writing.

I survived my pedicure and even had a design painted on my big toe.  There was only one moment of pain for which I was thankful.  She said I kept good care of my feet--who knew?  Next came the wrap. It was wonderful and relaxing.  First, I was slathered with warm Dead Sea mud then wrapped up in layers of blankets and plastic (hence, the sushi reference).  I now know why babies love to be swaddled.  The girl then massaged my head and face.  A quick shower washed away the mud before I was treated to a deep massage using a coconut cream to rehydrate my skin.  I almost fell asleep, I was so relaxed.

We found the 'boys' by the pool drinking beer.  Fortunately, the beer was in cans so they continued drinking as we walked to lunch (the drinking laws in Nevada are civilized).  It has become a tradition we eat a meal at the Rainforest Café so we headed to MGM Grande.  The restaurant is nestled in the basement but its rainforest decor makes you feel like you're eating in a jungle.  The bugling elephant added to this ambiance.  I had a shrimp soba bowl and was shocked I had to eat this Asian dish with a fork.

After lunch, we took the monorail to the Flamingo stop.  This train is a great way to travel up and down The Strip.  It costs $5.00 per ride but there are multi-day passes which make it a little cheaper.  We weren't sure how many times we'd use it so just went with single tickets.

The Flamingo was the first luxury hotel built on The Strip.  Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel financed it and named it for his girlfriend, Virginia Hill whom he had nicknamed Flamingo for her long legs and red hair.  All the air conditioned paths in Vegas lead through casinos and each has its own unique character.  By the way, it's a myth that the casinos pump oxygen into their air but these gambling dens are cooler and often have a pleasing scent.

Our destination was Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.  We've been to several versions of this famous museum in the past (our first experience being the original one in London, England).  Anna Tussaud learned wax modelling from a Swiss physician and created her first figure in 1777 (Voltaire).  During the French Revolution, she made death masks which she showed on the streets of Paris.  In 1802, she moved to London but didn't stay long.  The Napoleonic Wars stranded her there so she toured the British Isles until finally settling in London in 1836.  There, her main attraction was the Chamber of Horrors featuring victims of the French Revolution.  Madame Tussaud died in 1850 but her legacy lives on in her famous museums around the world.

The Vegas version lacks the Chamber of Horrors and all of King Henry's Wives (which seem to feature prominently in other museums) but is interesting for its collection of Hollywood celebrities from Elvis to Lady Gaga.  Glen enjoyed having his picture (see above photo) taken with Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer while Mike seemed to enjoy mugging for the camera with any wax figure he could find.

It was definitely a beauty day for me when Meg then dragged me into her favourite make-up store, Sephora. A consultant, Mimi, offered me advise and I bought a few products she suggested.  Meg knew what she wanted so we weren't long in the store.  Mike and Glen found a seat in the shade--it was hot.  My legs had begun showing signs of my usual reaction to heat on asphalt so we headed back to the hotel so I could lie down with my feet up.

That night Mike wanted to eat at the Burger Bar in the hotel and we all thought that an excellent idea.  Here we drank Rogue Dead Guy, Arrogant Bastard and Turbodog beers and ate chill, mushroom and chicken burgers. Afterwards, Glen and I played video poker and lost $45 in under a half hour so went to bed.  Meanwhile, Meg and Mike rode the roller coaster that winds its way through the hotel and its outside environs.