With all of the travel restrictions, we certainly miss traveling to see our friends and visit new places. Even visiting "old" places would be ok with us. Lola mentioned the other day that we should probably blog about our Vegas trip, mostly to keep a running record of all of our travel. So, here it is!
Friday February 21, 2020
It was pretty hard to keep the whole trip a secret from Lola. AA was doing pretty good until he slipped and said she couldn't look at the American Visa statement online. This was the first hint that they were going to the US. Other than this, Lola knew that they were going somewhere but didn't know where. Lola did give a little bit of an ultimatum earlier in the year saying that they better do something special for their 10th wedding anniversary and she wasn't planning it...
AA packed Lola's bag and had everything ready for her once she got home early from work so they could head to the airport at 3pm. Once at the airport, AA tried to trick her into thinking that they were not going on a flight by going downstairs to catch a cab home. "The look" that Lola gave was piercing - good thing they were going somewhere otherwise she would have been very disappointed.
By the time they got to the check-in counter for their flight, Lola had an idea of where they were going. Since Swoop only had two flights leaving at around 5:30pm, it was either Orlando or Las Vegas. And since they were supposed to go to Orlando in May, Lola was fairly certain they were going to Vegas.
Having a quick bite to eat at the restaurant, everyone was ready for the short 3.5 hrs (direct) flight to Las Vegas. The flight was uneventful other than an initial 30 mins delay which was known about 3 hrs before the flight (pretty much at the same time that they got into their cab). Lola and AA watched some movies they had downloaded on their iPads to kill the time. AA also elected for some sleep because once in Vegas, sleep can be hard to find.
Arriving in Vegas, they grabbed their bag from the carousel and made their way to catch a Lyft to their hotel on The Strip. Traffic on the interstate was pretty light at this time of the night (approx. 8pm, if memory serves correct). Traffic getting to the hotel front door was busier but not crazy.
Once checked in and bags dropped off in the room at Caesar's Palace, it was time to check out the sites. Lola was craving some Shake Shack (burger and fries) so they made their way down The Strip to grab a snack. It later turned out that this was going to be a routine - an evening burger snack from Shake Shack, Lola was determined to do this every day.
Saturday February 22
It was a fairly lazy morning - sleeping until about 8 or 9 and then making their way to Denny's for breakfast. It was a little rainy, but rain was better than snow and it wasn't going to slow them down. The wait to get in wasn't too bad, about 20 mins or so. Lola was hungry and AA was in search of some coffee - both were satisfied shortly after being seated.
After eating breakfast, the duo continued to walk north along The Strip to check out the Venetian. AA pointed out Treasure Island where he stayed with his brothers when they came to Vegas a couple years earlier. After crossing The Strip, they made their way south back towards the hotel and went to checkout the Chinese New Year flower display in the Bellagio (right beside their hotel).
AA had a surprise lined up to go and see Gwen Stefani in concert and had to pick up tickets. Lola didn't know the plan until they got to the ticket desk. She was excited because they have the same name; that and because Gwen Stefani is a pretty good entertainer. And because she is dating Blake Shelton, who is Jimmy Fallon's man-crush - Jimmy Fallon has the same birthday as Lola.
After picking up their tickets, they made their way to the Paris hotel to go up the mini Eiffel Tower. The views of The Strip from atop the look-out deck are pretty spectacular. And the wind up there is equally impressive. Lola liked watching the water show at the Bellagio and watching all of the people and traffic on the street. AA liked watching the planes take off from the airport.
Once back with their feet on the ground, they made their way towards the MGM Grand to go towards Top Golf. Unfortunately the wait time to get a bay at Top Golf was upwards of 2+ hrs so instead AA and Lola had to find something else to do to kill time. So, they went back to the MGM Grand and grabbed a snack. While walking through the Grand, they noticed a long line of people waiting to see Mike Tyson. Later, AA found out that there was a big boxing match planned Saturday night. Too bad they already had tickets to see Gwen, not that they would really fork out the $$$ to go and see a fight.
Supper was at a Mexican restaurant in the Miracle Mile Shops which is attached to Planet Hollywood and where the show was.
The show was REALLY GOOD. Gwen Stefani did not disappoint with her performance. What's even more impressive is that she is 50 years old! AA still, to this day, cannot believe that she is that old (not that 50 is old).
After the show, it was time for Lola's nightly burger so they headed to Shake Shack to get a double shack burger on a gluten free bun, no shack sauce. Lola was in heaven.
Sunday February 23
Sunday was another day of exploring Vegas. This time, breakfast was at a restaurant in the Miracle Miles shops again. After filling their bellies, Lola and AA went for a walk inside the mall and then north along the Strip to go and check out The Flamingo and finishing in Emperor Shops - high-end stores attached to the Caesar's Palace complex. Then, it was time to catch a Lyft to go and see the Neon Museum, where a bunch of the old Vegas neon and lighted signs are in a graveyard-like arrangement.
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| Lola liked the curved escalators inside Emperor Shops |
It was really neat to see some of the old signs that were taken down as old hotels were torn down to make room for newer hotels to take their place.
After walking around in the mid-day desert heat, it was time for lunch at Siegels - a 1940's-esque restaurant reminiscent of Rae and Jerry's. The food was excellent - AA got upsold on the daily drink special (maragaritas) with his pastrami sandwich while Lola enjoyed some fried rice with her iced tea.
After paying the bill, they made their way to Freemont street to check out the sights and sounds. It was pretty busy.
They continued to walk around the street and go in and out of the different hotels/casinos and shops.
AA wanted to see the light show which started 6pm so they had to kill a little more time - they found a neat "Container Park" just off Freemont Street which was similar to Magnolia Market in Waco Texas which is a space where people can just come and hangout, grab some food or drinks and enjoy some live entertainment.
While AA was getting drinks, Lola made friends with a couple who was waiting for their luggage to arrive, which was lost by their airline.
After enjoying their drinks, they made their way back to the covered portion of Freemont Street just in time to see the light show. It was pretty spectacular.
Then, they caught a Lyft to go back to their hotel to get ready for dinner at Yardhouse and then onto the High Roller ferris wheel to see the Strip at night. Again, the views were pretty spectacular.
After returning to the earth, it was time for Lola's nightly Shake Shack. They took a detour, walking to the Mirage and stopping to catch the final few minutes in one of the hockey games.
So many burgers...
Monday February 24
With their return flight at 7pm, Lola and AA pretty much had the entire day to continue to explore. AA rented a car from the airport and they loaded their luggage into the car and went for breakfast at Denny's. Funny story - after returning home, AA and Lola found out that the Denny's they went to was at the same resort (Tahiti Village) as where Lola's great Aunt and Uncle stay when they go to Vegas each year.
Then they took a short 1 hr drive east of Las Vegas to go and see the Hoover Dam and take a "Dam Tour". The views overlooking the Dam from the recently built interstate bridge were worth the short hike.
And the views from the Dam itself were equally impressive. It was quite a feat to build such a massive structure back in the 1930's. And the rate at which the Dam was built are equally astonishing. Although not many details from the tour can be recalled by our fading memories, the one thing that does stand out was the way they decided to cool the concrete (water cooling lines) to allow it to cure instead of waiting the hundreds of days to cure and be able to move onto the next layer. This allow for construction to proceed rapidly.
The sheer scale of the entire Dam is just as impressive as the views. Walking through the miles of tunnels inside the Dam and overlooking the turbine generator hall, you can only get a slight sense of appreciation. It was also interesting that the two turbine halls each supplied power to their respective state that they were situated in - Arizona and Nevada.
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| Stairs going up |
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| Stairs going down |
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| Generator Hall |
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| The view looking out one of the ventilation ducts |
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| And the view looking down |
After learning as much as they could about the Dam, Lola and AA made the drive back to Las Vegas to make a quick shopping stop. Stop 1 was at Whole Foods where Lola stocked up on rice pasta and snacks. Stop 2 was at Athleta so Lola could get some new pants and a new sweater. Then it was on to Shake Shack for supper. Lola had succeeded - 4 days, 4 Shake Shack visits.
Then it was a short drive back to the airport to board their flight and return back home to the wintery North.
Well, I was hoping this blog would help me with missing travel but instead it makes me want to travel more. Hopefully things start to turn around with this pandemic so we can go back to normal and can start traveling again soon. Otherwise AA is going to have a lot of vacation time paid out at the end of this year...
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| Ok, not this much vacation time but you get the point ;) |
