Vegas Vacation

Yesterday, we returned from our week long trip to Las Vegas. It was a fabulous, but very busy, vacation. The plane ride on Saturday from Charlotte to Vegas took a little over four hours and I managed to read some of my book and knit an entire dishcloth during the flight. That afternoon we bought snacks and drinks at Wal-Mart then managed to squeeze a nap (we had to wake up at 3:30AM to catch our first flight) in before the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur where we stayed. The next day, we woke up bright and early to drive to the Grand Canyon. On the way, we stopped at the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon Caverns. The Hoover Dam was amazing and the Caverns would have been interesting if the tour guide had actually used some geological facts in his tour. Instead, it consisted of a lot of corny jokes. We arrived at the Grand Canyon and checked into our hotel in time to catch a bus to Hopi Point to watch the sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking!

Monday, we traveled around the Grand Canyon, stopping at various view points. We also went to Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon. Tuesday, we took it easy for the most part and had dinner at Emeril's. It was one of the best dinners we had all week. Wednesday, we were on the road again, visiting the Shelby Museum, Valley of Fire, and Red Rock Canyon. It was a long day, but worth every moment. We tried to go to Fremont Street after dinner at Rainforest Cafe but, for some reason, the buses were not running on schedule and we gave up. In fact, my husband and I never made it to Fremont Street but after getting stuck in the crowds at Treasure Island we decided it was not worth it for us.

Thursday was our last day in Vegas and was the most fun my husband and I had all week. We traveled with his family and this was our first day to explore completely on our own and just be together. We had breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas (I highly recommend this restaurant for breakfast - C'est tres bien!). I had waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream while my husband had eggs, toast, sausage, and bacon. He was really unnerved by the menu as the restaurant did use some French terms, but I think he liked it. After breakfast, we walked around the Bellagio and Ceasar's Palace. Thursday was also the day that we FINALLY got to go to the pool! I had been looking forward to going swimming all week and was so happy when we finally did. Afterwards, we grabbed a light lunch (it was around 3:30) and went to the Fashion Show Mall, which was huge, and then Madame Tussands. I did not realize that Madame Tussands was so interactive and they included props for you to use in photos with the waxed figures. It was very fun and completely worth the cost. We had planned to see the car collection at the Imperial Palace but got there at 7:00, not knowing that the exhibit closed at 6:00. Hubby was bummed but we had a great dinner at the Outback Steakhouse located near M&M World (yes, we went there too and bought way too many M&M's). It was probably the best dinner we had all week.

Overall, it was a tiring week. My husband and I have decided that if we ever go back we will skip Las Vegas and spend more time at the Grand Canyon since we were both very disappointed that we did not have more time to spend there. Now, I need a vacation to recover from our vacation!