Las Vegas & Red Rock Canyon

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June 14th 2006

Published: June 19th 2006

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Travelgirl

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Pretty amazing view?

Vegas is CRAZY! Vegas is FUN! Vegas is HOT! Vegas is WEIRD! Vegas is HOT! Vegas is DRY! Vegas is EXCITING! VEGAS IS @*&@*^ HOT!!! VIVA, LAS VEGAS! OK, now that's out of my system...lol! It is 7:26am, Wednesday morning, and I FINALLY have a chance to sit down and write our first official blog. We flew from Providence to Vegas via Southwest airlines Sunday morning and the flight was awesome. It was smooth, scenic, and very peaceful. We even had our own row. Ah, yes. Allow me to explain. I am an "anxious" flyer. Hell, I am an anxious walker...lol. Anyway, I get VERY shamed having to go up to the airline check-in counter and give a "song & dance" about why I need a PRE-BOARD pass and explain my anxiety. I don't know why, but I can ONLY fly if I am in the first two rows. If all that is available is 3rd row and back -- I am off the plane and in a car driving or waiting for the next flight. I need to be up close. Weird? Yes. It's not easy being me...lol. To add to the shame is the fact that I am not

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Flying over the Rocky Mountains!

only a travel agent, I OWN A TRAVEL AGENCY! So, my dear, sweet, loving, silly April gets into her "protective" mode and STEPS UP to plate. She becomes the anxiety ridden one and I the...um....supporter. We have been doing this for YEARS now (remember, we celebrated our 10 year anniverary May 3rd). To say April is a PRO at this is an understatement. I honestly think April HAS taken over my anxiety and actually DOES have anxiety about flying at this point. The look of STRESS is in her eyes the second she gets to that ticket counter, until she is seated on the plane. I play the "supportive" partner, trying not to laugh - in complete awe of her acting skills. Anyway, Sunday she was in rare form. April knew she only had 2 options. Fly to Vegas or spend 5+ days driving there. OH NO....Ape was getting on that plane and nothing or no one would get in her way! LOL! She started with the pre-board pass, which we got, and then after the people in the wheel chairs were boarded April pushed her way through 3 VERY TALL, VERY BIG, VERY HAIRY men and ran down the

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You can almost see the circular shape of the world? Breathtaking?

boarding corrider...I running behind her...remember, at this point, as far as April and everyone around her is concerned, she is an anxiety ridden mess! I am laughing hysterical just from the look in her eyes. By the time I reach the door of the plane April has that "oh crap" worried look x 10 in her eyes and screams to me, "THE FIRST ROW ISN'T AVAILABLE - CRAP NEITHER IS THE SECOND" -- I do the whole, "don't worry it'll be OK" speech -- but April knows she MUST get 2 seats in the first two rows or we are road trip bound. In all the years of being together I have never been more proud. She managed to move one big guy out of the 2nd row, leaving 2 empty seats for us. She sat in the middle, knowing I need the end seat, and the small man next to her looked at us with BIG eyes and sweat forming on his brow. April, noticing there were many empty seats on the plane, coaxed the man to MOVE to the 4th row so he could have more room....that man was up quicker than hot coffee falling on your crotch!

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I mean really -- what can you say? Flying over Utah!

I just stood in the isle....in pure amazement. Not only did April manage to kick 2 guys from the 2nd row -- she did it in a frantic frenzy RECORD BREAKING time! Her voice was higher than it ever was and she asked me 50 times if this seat was OK? She didn't stop asking until we were 35,000 feet in the air. After that, she smiled, took a deep breath and ate her free peanuts. Life was good. And it was! The flight was smooth and went by so fast (thanks to my i-pod, portable dvd player and, of course, April). The scenery was BREATHTAKING -- especially when we were over Colorado, Utah, and landing in Vegas. You see amazing views of the Rockies and Lake Mead. This world is gorgeous. The landing was a "bit" bumpy, because Vegas is in a valley, but I can deal with 5-10 mins of bumpiness -- especially knowing Vegas is right outside!! To think you can be in Providence, RI and then Las Vegas, Nevada in 5 1/2 hours blows my mind. Flying is awesome. As much as I get nervous with it -- it is SO cool.

OK, so we

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Flying over Utah.

land in Vegas and I am feeling a bit icky at this point. I had several "calm your ass down" pills in me, hadn't slept the night before and hadn't really eaten anything in almost 24 hours. After taking the little tram to baggage claim we had to take a shuttle bus to the Alamo car rental station. This is a big production when you feel icky after getting off a plane. I was chugging down ice water like I was at a frat party and managed to dribble a little water (not from my mouth -- the bottle) on a very cranky, well-to-do old lady. She was like, "YOU'RE DRIPPING ON ME -- WHATEVER THAT IS"! I wanted to say it was petroleum but said "sorry" and that it was only water. I was very calm - remember - lots of pills - loooooooooooooots of pills. A train could've hit me and I would've been like, "cool - man"! We finally get the car, and arrive at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino. I barely remember the drive there. I was so exhausted. I just wanted a bed. When we arrived at the hotel there was a line to check-in

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Flying over Nevada!

longer than I had ever seen. I honestly rubbed my eyes and shook my head to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Ape surveyed the line to see if there was anything she could do to "fix" the situation, when she realized we were stuck in the line, we settled in an accepted our faith. About an hour later we were in our room and I was out cold! I slept the entire afternoon/night and felt very icky. It was all good though because Ape and I needed that sleep. I did feel old though. I mean, we're in VEGAS and the first thing we do is --- sleep?? LOL!

ANYWAY -- the next day -- I was still very sick. I had the worst stomach ache and was so tired. We did manage to go downstairs and gamble a bit (Ape was up $150 -- I was down about $100). We had fun and stopped for lunch at a restaurant called the Coffee shop or something like that. The chicken soup was mmm...mmm..gooood! LOL! After lunch I was feeling still icky so we went back to the room, worked and slept. LUCKILY, Tuesday I felt MUCH better and we

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Flying over Lake Mead - Nevada.

had an awesome day!

I knew from the second I woke up Tuesday that it would be a good day. I still wasn't 100% but I felt MUCH better that Sunday & Monday. I wanted to go explore - and we did! We went downstairs and gambled a bit and I won the $100 I lost the day before back on the Wheeler of Fortune $1 machine. I was only $4 down when I hit $100 -- I took my winnings and left! LOL! The people around me were so nice. I inspired them to all walk away winners....so they all cashed out and left the machines! LOL! We were all "up" a bit. Ape, on the other hand, was down. She wasn't having as much luck as she did on Monday. We aren't big gamblers AT ALL....so we managed to tear ourselves away from the machine and go out and explore. We wanted to check out the NEW Red Rock Hotel & Casino down near Red Rock State Park. On the ride down the strip I couldn't help but notice what a contrast Vegas is. On one side is a mutli-billion dollar resort and on the other a

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Flying over Lake Mead - Nevada.

pornographic billboard promoting sex. There are drive through wedding chapels and Picasso painintings hanging in an art gallery in Bellagio. There are theme restaurants and gourmet restaurants under the same roof. Emeril, Bobby Flay and Wolfgang puck - next door to Mcdonald's! LOL! I love it. Vegas definitley has let go of it's "family" image. It is MUCH more adult since even last year. There are "adult" themed shows everywhere -- even at the billion dollar resorts on the strip. Lots of high end bars, ultra-lounges and VIP nightclubs. The motto, "What happens in Vegas - Stays in Vegas" fits perfectly. Also, Vegas is one big construction site. Being the fastest growing city -- on the planet -- this is understandable. Everywhere you look old casinos are being torn down to make room for larger-than-life resorts and projects. The face of Vegas, especially the strip, keeps changing. We were here last summer and it already looks different! Some of the resorts that were mind blowing the first time we visited (back in 1999 I believe) look like toys.....SO small and insugnificant. When we reached Red Rock Hotel & Casino my jaw dropped open. The entire area near this resort has

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The most pornographic pic I ever took! LOL!

been built up and is amazing. Every store imaginable is next to this resort -- not to mention the incredible scenery of Red Rock Canyon in the background. The outside of the casino is VERY pretty and lush. Nothing too fancy. It is very classy, hip and cool. They have the best view, in my opinion, than any casino -- Red Rock Canyon State Park. Inside the casino is well laid out, sleek and modern. The air is clean and the lighting is nice and dim. I really liked the overall atmosphere. At this point Ape and I were hungry, and were VERY excited that a popular Austin, TX area BBQ restaurant had opened up a restaurant here at the Casino -- The Salt Lick BBQ!!! The smell was intoxicating. I love that smell of mesquite wood. We were seated right away and ordered a small order of turkey and brisket to share as well as a small order of smoked sausage (for Ape). The food was out of this world good. Just enough to share -- actually more than enough! We had left overs! Their BBQ sauce was a perfect 10! I would give anything to have BBQ like

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This is the most pornographic pic I have ever taken of April! Woah! What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

THIS back home. Maybe someday??

After lunch and exploring the casino a bit (and losing some $$) we decided to visit Red Rock State Park. I love the scenic loop drive through the park. THIS is what Nevada is all about. When you enter this park you feel like you are in THE WILD WEST. It is unlike ANYTHING, ANYTHING, ANYTHIIIIIIIIIIIIING back east. The mountains are huge and the colors deeps reds and oranges. There are WILD BURRO signs and tumbleweed blowing in the SO QUIET YOU CAN HEAR A PIN DROP air. It is always windy up at Red Rocks -- so it is a great place to go cool off while in Vegas. It is roughly 20 min from the strip and a MUST DO when in Vegas. Other must do's are Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and if time allows, Mt. Charleston (where it is always 30+ degrees cooler -- it was 68 there the other day -- Mt. Charleston is only 1/2 hour from the strip -- great for cooling off). Renting a boat on Lake Mead would also be something I'd recommend...ONLY if it is under 100 out (remember it

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This is definitely the most pornographic pic I have ever taken of THIS couple? And why do I keep saying pornographic?? Hmm?

is a dry heat -- 100 here feeling like 80/85 back east without humidity). After checking out Red Rock park and searching for the elusive burro -- we decided to head back to the Casino. We did a bunch of work and before we knew it -- we were ASLEEP! What's going on? LOL!!!

Which brings us to today, Wednesday. We will probably spend the day casino hopping. The resorts on the strip are like little villages filled with shops, restaurants, movie theatres, theatres, and just about anything else you could think of. Maybe we'll hit a couple of clubs tonight? Go see a show? Anything but sleep! LOL! Personally, I would like to win 7.7 million dollars today. We'll see? 😊 Wish us luck!

Until then.....

Happy Travels!
-Des

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