Time to finish up on the trip back from Arizona. After leaving the Hoover Dam congestion, we were on to Las Vegas. We were barely across the Nevada border when we came to the first casino:
After checking into our hotel, mixing drinks and playing a rousing game of tug with Molly, we headed down to the strip.
I'll say it upfront...I love Las Vegas. I think everyone should go there at least once in their lives for a couple of nights. The lights, the sounds, the action, the people. 
Every building is bigger than life and each has a specific theme. You don't have to spend a lot of money to enjoy Vegas. And you don't need to gamble. You do, however, need to have comfortable walking shoes! These places are huge. We spent four hours on the strip and made it through 5 casinos. Other than stopping for dinner, we were walking the whole time. Good walking shoes are a must. First stop, Ceasar's Palace. 
It's massive. Bette Midler played here for 2 years. We didn't get down to Vegas during that time, though I hear she was tremendous. 
Vegas is all about the eye candy. It's the flashing lights and the noise of the slots.
It's the massive palm trees and multi-block-sized casinos...
It's the overabundance of activity. I don't think I stopped smiling all night.
I love The Mirage...
It's one of my favorite casinos. We stayed there the last time we were in Vegas. It's decorated in a tropical theme. The plant life is tremendous, tropical and colorful...and that's on the inside of the casino.
Of course, what would the tropics (or a Vegas casino) be without a waterfall?
And then there are the slots. I love the slots. Of course, I only play the penny slots so it takes me a while to lose $5. I don't like to lose money; I just like to play.
These dolphins greet you at the entrance/exit of The Mirage.
We stayed at Treasure Island on our very first trip to Vegas. It's a pirate-themed hotel/casino.
We didn't do any gambling at TI this trip but there were some interesting exhibits, like this one:
The sign accompanying the exhibit read: "The Wooly Mammoth inhabited the Northern Siberian Slopes of the former Soviet Union. They roamed the earth during the Pliocen epoch which ended 45,000 years ago.
"This is only the tip of a tusk of an animal that likely weighed between eight and 12 tons. The carving on the tusk is presumed to have taken many generations to complete.
"As you view the tusk note the transition of military garb and weaponry which change with the generations."
I didn't get a picture of the full tusk which is a shame because it was huge. This metal sculpture of a woman on a motorcycle was...well...it was interesting. The detail was extraordinary.
And this painted relief was pretty interesting, too. Odd, but interesting.
And you can't walk past TI without seeing the pirate ships. We didn't stay for the show; we've seen it before.
Next, we crossed over the main strip and headed for the Venetian. There'll be separate posts for the Venetian and the Bellagio. They really are tremendously fun.
I love this town!
No comments:
Post a Comment