Our Las Vegas Experience

We have had a great four days in Las Vegas.  Through the generosity of friends Pat and Linda, we had a nice place to stay in their condo in Henderson and we have flipped back and forth to Fremont Street and the Strip via the great freeway system here in LV.  We have gambled, dined out; monorail toured, walked endless miles, attended a concert, rode bicycles and hydrated.

The trip to Las Vegas from Phoenix was an easy 4.5 hour drive.  We stopped at the Route 66 Museum in Kingman and drove off the highway to take a close look at the Hoover Dam just a few miles outside of Las Vegas.  It is really an impressive piece of engineering, even more so when you consider they used 1930’s technology to construct it.

Lake Mead Drought Water Level

A Bridge to be Seen

Visitors Centre

Can't Believe He Didn't Jump Over!

We arrived at Pat and Linda’s in Henderson around 5 pm.  Henderson is a suburb of LV and is a monument to condo life.  Pat and Linda live across the street from “The District”. It had the ladies buzzing about the high end shopping it had to offer.  We enjoyed a pub dinner at “The Elephant Bar & Restaurant” and then it was off to gamble at the casino.  We can’t say we are huge gamblers but we do like to invest a twenty-dollar bill every time we enter.  This time I got lucky and on the 22nd 25-cent bet, I drew a Royal Flush and won $200.  Unlike other times, and due to the late hour, I actually cashed in my chit and walked out with the winnings in my pocket.  (Of course later in the weekend I reinvested most of it.)

Mike and I left the ladies to shop the next day and went off to a car show at the Orleans casino.  It was good to go to a show where all the cars were new to us.  It was a “rat rod”, open wheeled themed event but also had many other custom cars.  The desert is certainly the locale to own a classic car.  We met up with Mike’s friend Roy, who trailored his hot rod down from Surrey.  Roy reported it was an exhausting event due to the libations and parties that went with the four-day, 24-hour event.

The ladies immersed themselves in shopping in “The District” and came home with a few souvenirs for their troubles.

We rejoined late in the day for an evening in the “old” downtown to take part in the “Freemont Experience”.  For those that have yet to attend, Freemont Street is the old LV Street typically depicted in movies.  It is now closed to traffic and is home to every kind of weirdo and tourist LV can muster.  You can see mostly naked ladies dancing; you can have your picture taken with tribute movie/TV star actors, and meet guys you can “kick in the nuts for five bucks”.  It must be seen to be believed and it is a great place for “people watching”.  The highlight is the scheduled half-hour music tribute projected on the “ceiling” of the two-block covered street.  The theme this time was music by “Heart”.  The music changes every few months so it is likely different for most tourist visits.

Led Zeppelin on Electric Cellos

Cowboy Neon - Formerly Seen in LV Movies

Heart Ceiling Music-Light Show

The morning/afternoon of the following day was designated for “walking the strip”.  Walking Las Vegas Boulevard and visiting its famous casinos is a must for first timers to LV.  We parked at the MGM Grand and took the monorail to its furthest end past the convention centre.  You get to see the back streets of LV and the pools and a golf course of the famous hotels.  We got off at the Flamingo on the return and walked back to the MGM.  This took a few hours.  The Venetian was probably the most popular with our group but Caesar’s and the Bellagio were close favourites.  You can visit the canals of Venice, the fountains of Rome, or dine in the Eiffel Tower, without leaving LV.  As anyone who has been here knows, walking in LV is deceiving.  The buildings are so large, you think they are close but they are not.  Good walking shoes and lots of time are required to see it all.

Things You Don't See from the Street

Outside the Venetian Hotel

Inside the Venetian

Mid Day Outside - Evening in the Venetian

The Paris

Caesars Palace

Fountain at the Bellagio

Brooklyn Bridge - Arriving New York

Excalibur

After a return to the condo to get cleaned up we returned to the strip for dinner at Gordon Ramsey’s Pub and Grill before the Elton John concert in Caesars Palace. The dinner and drinks were great and we even had time to invest a little more money in the slots before the show.  I lost, Deborah won a quick $80 and it was off to the show.

Dinner at Ramsey's Pub & Grill

Big Winner at the Slots

Tickets to the Show

Elton John puts on a great show.  From the sets, lighting, 13-person band, and to the personal anecdotes he shares between pieces, it was all good.  It was our first show in LV but Mike (a veteran of 5 stage shows in LV) said it was the very best he had seen.  He played all his old stuff and a couple of new ones.  Keyboards, base and lead guitars, three percussionists, two electric cellos, and four singers backed him up.  Most of the time they were all on the stage in perfect harmony but many times it was just EJ by himself or with a single percussionist.  In the final set he let those in the lower bowl (the $500 ticket folks) surround him on the stage, singing along and dancing.  After one encore set, he left the stage with the sold-out crowd pleading for more.  

The Sound and Lights Were Phenomenal

His Voice Is Still Strong

The $500 Ticket Holders Were Invited On Stage.

After the show it was a little more walking on the Strip to see it all again but with a different twist with all the neon lights.

Caesars At Night

The Strip - Never Gets Quiet

Mike and Kathy left the next morning for home.  We stayed an extra day and took advantage of the 33C heat and sunshine to ride one of the many paved cycling trails LV has to offer.

We Took A Ride on the Amargosa Trail

We Joined the Amargosa Just Outside P & L's Condo

That's it for now!  We don't know how we are getting home but we will be there within the next four days.