We spend the first two days going up and down The Strip showing our friends the sites. I don't think they really belived us when we told them there would be a lot of walking to do! One of our trips included going to Ceasar's Palace, and what luck we had. Inside the Forum Shops section is this rather large display used for the Fall of Atlantis show and around that is a huge fish tank. Well as luck would have it, we walked the "right" way around the fish and saw this sign advertising a FREE behind the scenes tour. We stuck around for it and it was very much worth it. We got to see where they keep the sick, injured and pregnant fish. We also go to see the under the scenes of the Fall of Atlantis show. This would be one of those hidden jems of Vegas.
Raceday Sunday was hot, and since I haven't mentioned it already I should say we were there in the middle of a heatwave, in MARCH! Now the track is about 18 miles north of where we were staying, but we didn't realize it would take us an hour of weaving through Vegas streets and through Nellis Air Force Base (this was a cool part of the drive). We spend the morning going through the booths and souvenier haulers before finally getting to our seats. The race was fantastic, but very hot! Rob got us a treat and bought us each an ice cream sundae, at $6 U.S. each! It was worth every penny, but did little to cool us down. I do have to say that as great as the race was, Jimmie Johnson (my driver won), it was also very boring. The Vegas crowd is a horrible bore when it comes to watching a race! We are so used to the Michigan group, that this one didn't compare. Then there was the bus ride back to the hotel. This left a lot to be desired and organization was not great. We paid in advance for our bus ticket, so that ensured us a seat on the bus (as opposed to an hour long ride standing up), but it took us almost two hours to get on a bus! It was a little crazy. We finally got back to the hotel around 9:30 p.m. It was a great day, but it was also very long.
More to follow...another trip to the Grand Canyon and our day at the Valley of Fire,
British Columbia - December 2005/January 2006
It had been 15 years since I was last out west and that was simply way too long. This time there were several reasons for my visit, first my husband and I were taking his parents on a plane for the first time; second, we were going to visit my brother-in-law and third, we just wanted to travel. The morning we left we had a big snowfall but made it to the airport with lots of time to spare, and time for my in-laws to take in the whole experience. Nothing overly thrilling on the flight, although I can now say I have been to Alberta, if only in the airport! A few of our week's highlights include:
Picture opportunity at the bottom of the falls. Shannon Falls
Shannon Falls was just one stop on the road trip to Whistler. It is absolutely beautiful, but quite foggy at the top. The picture doesn't do the falls justice. Next stop Whistler. Again, from the bottom, it was a disappointment, too foggy. We decided to spend the money anyhow and head for the top. Who knows when we might be hear again. Well we were not disappointed in the least. About 3 minutes into the 16 minute ride we were above the clouds and the view was spectacular.
The clouds kept coming and going, but we got some really great shots.
We also spent some time in Stanley Park (Prospect Point and overlooking Lion's Gate Bridge). We went to Vancouver Aquarium and it was great watching the Belugas, sea otters (rescued from the Exxon Valdez disaster) and watching Spinnaker (the dolphin). We got a close-up look at the Port of Vancouver (Rob's brother was doing construction work down there). And of course we spend some time just relaxing.
Las Vegas - March 2005
Both Rob and I agreed that Vegas wasn't necessarily one of our top travel destinations, but when a really great opportunity came up we just couldn't pass it up. We learned one very important lesson during this trip, we will not travel at night/overnight again, unless it's a really long flight and we don't have a choice. We arrived in Vegas at 10 p.m. traveling to our hotel, The Golden Nugget (on Freemont St.) only to find out that the room we had booked wasn't available (we'd be able to change rooms in the morning). By the time everything was settled our bodies were telling us it was 3 a.m.
The first few days were spent going down to "The Strip" checking out the casinos. The one main thing that stands out in my mind is the fact that the Bellagio (supposed to be one of the nicest) was the smelliest!
We went to Cesaer's Palace and watched the Fall of Atlantis show. Of course we caught the fountain show at the Bellagio. The aquarium at Mandalay Bay was fantastic. The sharks, fish, jelly fish, it was absolutely beautiful. Saw the white tigers at the Mirage (which we were really lucky to see because they weren't on show for the rest of our stay).
Of course who can go to Vegas without going to Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon. Okay, maybe some people can, but I most certainly wasn't going to miss out of that opportunity. We lucked out and had great weather the day we decided to go. Upon arriving at the Hoover Dam we walked around for a bit, checked our just how big it really it (pictures do not to it justice). I had Rob take a picture of me sitting in two time zones (see picture). Then off to the Canyon. We decided that going to the West Rim was our best bet because of the time it actually takes to get to the South Rim (we later found out that this was the best choice, it was so cloudy and snowing at the South Rim you couldn't see anything). After following our designated route we finally veered off the main road for 27 miles of dirt road driving. It was a blast! We stopped along the way to take a picture of some Joshua Trees. After what seemed like forever (it was a beautiful drive, but 27 miles of dirt road is enough for anyone). We came around the final corner and there it was...THE GRAND CANYON! It was so worth the drive and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Pictures to come
On our second day of road trips (and last day in Vegas) we decided to take a trip to Death Valley. What can I say, it started out as a huge disappointment. The drive took forever! The desert really isn't anything to talk about, as a matter of fact in our 2 1/2 hours of driving we saw a ski hill (with snow), the prison (in the middle of the desert), a very small town and the atomic bomb sites. That's it! We finally got to the turn-off, Area 51 in one way and Death Valley in another. Guess what we didn't know...Death Valley was closed! Yep, 2 1/2 hours of nothing and the main road in was closed due to fall flooding. The valley hadn't had rain in years, and wouldn't you know it, closed. Well all wasn't lost, we saw this sign that said "Direct Route to Vegas." We had the time and though why not, we could always turn around if needed. I was not disappointed in the least. One of the places that I also wanted to visit was Red Rock Canyon, but I had resigned myself to the fact it wasn't going to happen. Guess what...the direct route took us right by Red Rock and I got to see it after all. It was very much worth the side trip. Red Rock Canyon is absolutely beautiful.
More pictures to come
We lucked out getting to the airport. It was a major departure day and the airport of packed. We however got there at the perfect time, the lines were too long and we got through with little wait time. The group we were traveling with however waited well over an hour to get through. Okay, we were now checked in, now the journey through security. Not fun in these heightened security times. We go upstairs and figured it would take us forever to get through (huge line and added security make for a long wait). Nope, wrong, we made it through in under 5 minutes. Somehow we were shuffled into the First Class, air crew entrance and didn't have to wait a second in the line that lasted forever! Talk about perfect timing.
Long story short, we were lucky enough to have prearranged seats, which meant we were guaranteed. On the other hand three of our group didn't have seats. Two got left behind, with no hotel and no help from the airlines. Yep, March Break, during ConExpo is a busy time in Vegas! Tee-Hee-Hee! Okay I shouldn't laugh because I don't know what was worse, getting left behind or the overnight flight home!