Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Las Vegas Vacation

When deciding to go on our next vacation Andrew and I thought about places we had visited already and came to the conclusion that we had been to many destinations outside of the United States but not too many within. So, we decided that a fun getaway would be to good 'ole Las Vegas, since it is someplace we had both always wanted to go. Boy, we had a great time, even better than we had thought we would have, and we didn't even gamble very much (okay, the Roulette table and the Price Is Right slot machines did take some of our money but nothing unreasonable!). What made the trip fun for us were all of the amazing hotels that we could tour with all of their myriad attractions, the fine dining, some great shows and even a trip out into the desert to visit the Red Rock Canyon and Hoover Dam.

We opted to "cheap it" for this trip by redeeming our airline miles for free flights and our Marriott Rewards for free accommodations just off The Strip. We were within walking distance to everything and the free rooms were great, but we had the best time our last night, when we splurged on a room in the Bellagio. We decided that the next time we go we will definitely cough up the big bucks for another room on The Strip since it really makes for a memorable Las Vegas experience.

Here are two photos of the Bellagio with its famous "dancing" fountains:

Andrew in our room at The Bellagio and then some of us by the Bellagio pool area, which consists of four separate pools and a hot tub area. The mixed drinks that Andrew is carrying set us back close to $20 a piece so needless to say we each only had one of those!






One of the highlights of the trip for me was when we went to see Celine Dion's A New Day concert in the Caesar's Palace Colesseum. Yes, I'm a closet Celine Dion fan and Andrew agreed to go along with me! The arena holds approximately 4,000 people and Celine rocked the entire place.

We went to visit the Red Rock Canyon and Hoover Dam one day and had a sampling of the desert. Now that we have seen that part of our country, we know that it is someplace we would love to come back and visit one day with the family.