Las Vegas
Trip Start
Nov 01, 2004
1
115
133
Trip End
Nov 01, 2005
Las Vegas,
United States
Thursday, September 1, 2005
We started early and hit the road about 7.30 and drove through the LA highway system into the desert. We stopped in Barstow long enough to post a parcel before heading on and stopping at Calico Ghost Town. A rebuilt miners community trying to show you what Gold Rush life was like - we didn't take to it as it was overly twee and very very quiet. Also only 5 of the buildings were genuine. We headed on and we had lunch in the Mad Greek Restaurant in Barker - nice with mad Greek owners. We passed into Nevada which became state number 2 for us. We kept on and eventually arrived in Las Vegas about 2pm. We checked into the Excalibur (a rather mixed up theme of Aruthurian and Robin Hood legends!) which looks like a giant Lego castle in the middle of the desert. It is really baking hot now. We didn't want to experience Vegas without the others so we headed out to Red Rock State Park where our friends Ed & Lotta got married
01 The route to Vegas - Calico Ghost Town
. As we entered the park and started the drive the rain started!! We had rain for half of the drive and were treated to some fabulous thunder and lightning followed by rainbows! The Red Rock Canyon gets its name from a red seam in the rocks which is just stunning. It's a lovely little park and we took our time savouring the different stopping points while trying to stay dry. We drove back to Vegas itself and had a meal in the hotel's posher restaurant - Gill had a lovely steak and Stewart had some delicious crabcakes...but the highlight was the dessert - a lovely choc mousse with Cabernet Sauvignon sorbet. We then relaxed before jumping in the car and taking 40 minutes, a few arguments, some wrong turns and a roundabout way to get to the airport 5 miles from the hotel!!! We waited with signs for Andy Farrell and Sue Lord who were joining us for 3 and a bit weeks - and they brought Baahli to see us! We spent ages catching up and made our way back to the hotel where they crashed - umpteen hours travelling via Canada to get to Vegas.Day 307 Friday 02/09/05 Las Vegas
Although exhausted, jetlagged Andy was up early so we all ended up getting up and heading for the buffet breakfast - great value and the service was good - Stewart dropped a bowl and very quickly he was surrounded by people trying to clean it up
02 The route to Vegas - Calico Ghost Town
. We basically spent the morning catching up with Sue and Andy round the outdoor pool and in the hotel's spa. Sadly the spa was small and segregated so it wasn't quite what we were after....it did have a lovely jacuzzi, big TV and free fruit juice & water. We had lunch in the casino before doing a little shopping and a little gambling. After the girls had a nap we took the monorail up the strip (although it's one block off the strip) and took in some other casinos - the free Treasure Island Sirens Show, the gondolas outside the Venetian, the Mirage volcano and a little bit of the famous Bellagio fountains. The buildings are just fabulous and stunning - an Eiffel tower, a pyramid, roman Coliseum, etc but the fakey atmosphere didn't appeal to us. The strip is not really good for food (unless eating in the casinos) so we ended up walking a lot to find an average Chinese with a buffet. After the meal we headed home.Day 308 Saturday 03/09/05 Las Vegas
Andy & Stewart were up early and went for the buffet breakfast again - this time with no spillages. The four of us then headed out to see the Hoover Dam which sits on the border between Arizona & Nevada. It's an art-deco dam and is nice for a mass of concrete! We walked across the dam and into Arizona which is state number 3
03 The route to Vegas - Calico Ghost Town
. and after a quick ice-cream to soothe the heat (and a cone for the little squirrels) we headed back towards Vegas. The dam is near Lake Mead and we had planned to drive round a section of the lake tomorrow.... but the lake is man-made and the hills around it are covered with scrub and don't exactly look that pretty! After a quick lunch Gill& Sue went off to lose money at poker lessons & games, Andy relaxed and Stewart played the slots. Stewart was playing the penny machines and managed to win 58 dollars! To celebrate Stewart & Sue had some cocktails (hmmmm - yard of mango daiquiri) with Gillian having some icecream! We then headed over the Tropicana to see the free airshow (Andy says they do it better in Blackpool). That night we had the great American All-You-Can-Eat experience with a 20 dollar dinner buffet at the Luxor and it was fabulous.
