Random Thoughts From My Vegas Trip

Now that I have returned from our family vacation, I have had some random thoughts.

1. I love listening to my niece and nephew sing to the radio/CD, especially when they don't think they can be heard.  Oh, how I miss those sweet voices!

2. 103 degrees in Las Vegas is far different than 103 degrees in Texas.  I can handle warmer temps in Vegas far better than those in Texas. In Las Vegas, there is a big difference between standing in the sun and standing in the shade.  You can feel the difference.  In Texas, there really is no difference between standing in the sun and standing in the shade.

3. I really enjoyed being able to walk to and fro and found myself wanting to walk more and more. I didn't get tired, which surprised me.

4. I am so glad I got to have this experience with my mom and that my niece and nephew got to have it with her too.

5. In my opinion, the scenery on I-10 is better than the scenery along I-40 with the exception of the Grand Canyon.

6. Use the bathroom every time you see a roadside rest stop or when you get gas b/c there are areas where gas stations and bathrooms are few and far between.

7. Las Vegas is not as smoke-free as many other areas and states.  I just kept thinking . . . If we weren't on the path to Lung Cancer, we are now.

8. More people stared at my mom, who is on oxygen and uses a wheelchair when we walk long distances, than we have ever experienced anywhere else.

9. I was astonished at the number of people who would literally light their cigarettes/matches/lighters right next to us with my mom on oxygen.

10. Las Vegas has a homeless situation, and the more we walked and passed these people, the more thoughts I had on what Las Vegas should be doing to change the situation.

11. We only visited one buffet, and I asked the waiter what they did with all the food at the end of the night as we were there just before they closed, and he said they just put it all in the trash.  Really?!? I am sure there are rules that have to be followed, but with the homeless situation, is the trash the right place for all that food?

12. There is a volcano in Arizona.  We happened upon Sunset Crater Volcano in the middle of the night as we were headed to Four Corners, so I don't have good pictures.  Wish we could have seen it in the daylight.

13. There are lots of tourists in Las Vegas.  The majority tend to sleep late and stay up late.  If you want to walk around with few crowds, head out between 9:00 and 11:00 am.

14. We tried to eat like the locals and find less crowded and less expensive areas.  However, restaurants and fast food places, even gas stations, away from downtown and the Strip close at 10:00 pm.  Just be prepared.

15. I was a little worried about taking kids to Las Vegas for "vacation," but there is plenty for them to do.  Check websites and blogs for free and less expensive things to do as a family.  There were many families there, even with tiny babies and toddlers. (We were there for my niece's dance competition or it would not have been a place we would have visited right now.)

16. My niece and nephew noticed there were no children's channels on cable/satellite in the Las Vegas hotel.  

17.  We went through Border Patrol in New Mexico at 3:30 am.  I was driving at the time, and everyone in front of me had to show ID.  When I rolled up to the officer, he was nice and polite, asked how many were in my car, and told us to have a nice night.  He didn't ask for or want to see my ID. I found that very interesting.

18.  The parking lots and roads at the Hoover Dam are very dirty, covered in oil or something.  My niece, nephew, and sister-in-law all wore flip flops.  By the time we got back in the car from our visit, their feet were black.  When the kids washed their feet in the tub once we go to the hotel, the dirt left a black ring around the tub.

19.  The night we walked The Strip and wandered in and out of most of the hotels, Celine Dion was in concert in whichever hotel.  As we walked by her theater, I told my niece and nephew all the people we were passing were going to a Celine Dion concert.  They asked, "Who is Celine Dion?"  I thought it was funny.  My sister-in-law told them she is the lady who sings to the Titanic song.  They then acted like they knew who she was, but I'm pretty sure they only knew her for that one song.

20.  It is possible to go to and have fun in Las Vegas and not gamble, drink, or see a show.  :-)

Golden Nugget in Las Vegas

The Dance Competition's host hotel was the Golden Nugget.  It is a very nice hotel, the beds are comfy, and the pool is very neat.  The pool has a shark tank with 5 different kinds of sharks at its center.  A 3 story slide takes the slider through the Tank and out the other side.

Slide

Shark Tank

Waterfalls

 Inside the hotel/casino:

Painting with glass sculpture in front. 

They had glass sculptures and glass light fixtures throughout.

  

Lobby and stairs leading to valet.

A lighting feature with crystals and colored glass.

 A fish tank in one of the restaurants.

 The Golden Nugget

The hotel opens up right onto Fremont Street, which has music and videos playing overhead, other hotels/casinos, eateries, and shops.

View of the screen above Fremont Street

Discovery Children's Museum in Las Vegas

My niece and nephew love Science museums, so we decided to find the local museum while visiting Las Vegas.  We visited Discovery Children's Museum.  It has three stories with 3 or more learning areas on each floor. In the center of the museum, there is a climbing system that stops on various levels allowing for more learning.  There are also areas to climb to different levels or slide down to other levels.

The Strip in Las Vegas

Today, we walked up and down The Strip.  Check out our day of fun and exercise.

 Inside the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino

Looking north down Las Vegas Blvd from one of the walking bridges.

You don't cross the street like most intersections.  You go up to a bridge to cross over and then back down to continue on the sidewalk.

 Looking south down Las Vegas Blvd.

Statue of Liberty at New York, New York

Excalibur

MGM

Luxor

 

 

 

  

Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

Eiffel Tower at Paris Hotel & Casino

Dancing water at the Bellagio

Caesar's Palace

Volcano eruption outside the Mirage

Siren and Pirate Show outside of Treasure Island

Gondolas outside the Venetian

Sheamus

As we were walking through Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, I noticed a red headed man sitting at a table near a door.  I thought it was Sheamus from WWE, so I asked my family.  As we got closer, we believed it was. 

He was gracious enough to take a picture with my nephew and give him a hug, and he shook hands with my brother.  He was a very nice man.  We love watching him wrestle, and seeing him made my mom's day. She has loved wrestling since childhood, and she was so excited to see a wrestler close up.  :-)

Tanked--Acrylic Tank Manufacturing

My niece and nephew love to watch Tanked, which is an Animal Planet show that follows the owners of Acrylic Tank Manufacturing, ATM. We added ATM to our list of must-see places while in Las Vegas, and I am glad we did. 

Once we entered the area that leads to the store, we looked through one windowed door to see Wayde and then Brett.  They were taping a show.  They even waved at us between takes and allowed us to take pictures through the window.

Wayde is standing up in the middle of the picure are the far end of the table.

 

We saw this tank as we walked down the hallway.

Once we made our way into the store, we met the shop managers. The gentleman was so friendly, gave us special permission to see a secret tank of fish.  He asked us if we knew what kind of fish they were, and my niece knew immediately--Piranhas.  He was quite impressed with her.  We also learned that his daughter is from Oklahoma, so he and my sister-in-law talked about Oklahoma for a minute.  We had a pretty neat bond with this man.  He told us he would try to get autographs between takes, so we bought my nephew a t-shirt, and the man got Wayde, Brett, the General, Agnes, and maybe someone else to sign it.  So cool! 

We were able to watch everyone work in the shop.  They had at least 3-4 tanks started.  Redneck spoke to us, and we watched him work for a bit.  Wayde, Brett, and the General couldn't get away, so Agnes came out to talk to the family and take pictures.

It was a great experience, and the kids loved it!