Vegas!

As I eluded to in my last post, I joined my sister in Las Vegas this week for some fun.  Allyson had a conference in Las Vegas and asked if I wanted to come out and play.  I had never been to Vegas and was more than happy to take advantage of this sister boding opportunity.  She was busy most of Monday and Tuesday, so I flew out on Tuesday afternoon to catch up with her.  Unfortunately, my flight was delayed so I didn't get out in time to make our show (which we moved to Wednesday night), but we hit the ground running.

After dropping my luggage off in the room, we got a drink and lost our first dollars at the slots.  It had to happen sooner or later...

Allyson with her big winnings! (that's a 10 cent voucher)

We then took in the city.  We rode to the top of the Eiffel Tower and looked at the city lights from above.  Forty-two stories up provided a very nice view of the Strip and a nice view of the Bellagio fountain show.

The Strip at night

We stayed at Bally's, so after the Eiffel Tower we headed south on the strip to see the city.  We walked in the different hotels to look at how extravagant they were and we also saw some very interesting people.  

Bellagio fountain show from above

We stopped at M&M's World--4 floors of fun!  As we wandered around the city, we found it interesting that things were still open so late and there didn't seem to be a closing time.  Does that city ever sleep?

 Wednesday Allyson was free until mid-afternoon, so we started the day at the Miracle Mile Shops and got some things for ourselves.  And a few Christmas gifts.  After lunch we headed to the northern strip to see the Mac King Comedy Magic Show, which was very good.  Then Allyson had to go back to the conference and I wandered around the city to take in some sights alone.

Canals at the Venetian

New York New York hotel

The Luxor

 As darkness fell on Wednesday evening, the Santa Ana winds really picked up and I had a hard time walking back to the hotel.  The sand was blowing in my eyes so I headed back to the hotel before our meeting time to relax a little.

Excalibur

 Wednesday night we headed to the north strip again for our show, Mystere.  It was very good, but very strange at the same time.  I wonder how they come up with this stuff.  The theater was pretty empty, so we got moved from the cheap seats to third row center which was very nice.  Then more exploring...

Winning big!

 Thursday our original plan was to ride the roller coaster at New York New York, but between the wind and the rain and the cold temps, we opted for more shopping instead.  And I got to see the aquarium I had been reading about!

All in all, it was a great trip.  I was afraid that the short amount of time that I was able to join Allyson would feel rushed, but I think we maximized our time and saw a lot.  I know we walked a lot!  It was a lot of fun, but it is nice to be home again.  Now if it would only snow...