Vegas is Not Just for Gambling

My trip to Vegas last week to meet up with my third sister was amazing!  She doesn’t gamble and I don’t either and how she ended up there is a very long story that I won’t bore you with.

We both saw it as an opportunity to get together since we hadn’t seen each other in almost three years.  I’m actually not that far from there but rather than drive I opted to take the airport shuttle because, believe it or not, it was cheaper than the gas for my car round trip.

It was nice being able to sit back and visit with the other passengers on the shuttle that delivered me to the airport where I caught another shuttle to her hotel on the strip.

Once I arrived, it was go-go-go non-stop (almost) until we both left four days later.

My sister is a big fan of romance and so she has to watch The Bachelorette or the Bachelor whenever it is on, so we rushed back to the hotel in time to kick back and see that.  It was time for a break anyway after walking all over and in circles once we got back to the casino/hotel just trying to find our room.  The reason for this is because things are not well marked and there are slot machines EVERYWHERE they can stick one in Vegas, so all areas looked just the same.

Anyway, we chattered away about all the happenings and ate a bag of jalapeño Cheetos for dinner, while that was on, before heading out again.  She had brought those on the plane with her and actually they were very good.  I’d never had them before.  She loves anything with hot peppers.

Over the course of the next few days we managed to walk eight to nine miles a day (she had a pedometer with her).  Up and down the strip we went, taking in all the shows at the casinos, and there was no lack of them to choose from.  Most were free and run nightly starting around 7 or 8 pm.

We rode the gondolas in the Venetian and took the elevator to the top of the Eiffel tower in the Paris.  We both figured that is about as close as we’ll ever get to either “real” place.  We took a bunch of pics and ran our camera batteries dead, but had a great time.

Taken from the gondola in The Venetian

Taken from the top of the Eiffel Tower

This is the Eiffel Tower from the strip - the observation deck is at the top

The last evening we took the bus downtown to the Fremont Street Experience and watched the people riding the zip lines and listened to the music, watched the light show and all the many mimes, painters, jugglers, etc that hang out down there.  We took the bus because we knew we’d be back after midnight and didn’t want to be walking the streets of Vegas the six miles back to the hotel.  Vegas is full of crazy characters and walking the street didn’t seem safe.  The strip is quite different with all the lights and hoards of people all the time.

Part of the Light Show at the Fremont Experience - they were playing 80's music that night and the scene constantly changed and a new show started every hour.

The time went by so quick and we really knew our way around that strip before it was time to leave.  We had a blast and, even though I came home with laryngitis and blisters on my feet, I’d do it again tomorrow.

Part of the fountain show at the Bellagio.  It runs about 30 minutes at night.  The water dances in tune to the song being played and shoots to the top of the building.  That night they were playing "I'm Proud to be an American."

I’ve posted some pics for your enjoyment.  If you can get past all the wild people and all the smoke in the casinos, Vegas can be really fun!