My CoolWorks

Living & Working in Great Places

Q's Visit to Las Vegas - January 2012

Some time in December, I was researching travel deals to Las Vegas and got a flight / hotel combination including round-trip airfare directly from Bellingham that my boyfriend and I couldn't refuse. Having been to Las Vegas before, I know that it's a fun town with lots of great entertainment, but gambling is not my thing. So, we opted to balance our time staying in the city at night and getting out to the wilderness during the day.

Here's our quick itinerary:

January 1 - Arrive, check out the Strip and see the show Absinthe at Caesar's Palace
January 2 - Valley of Fire State Park
January 3 - Death Valley National Park including Scotty's Castle, Stovepipe Wells, The Dunes / Sea Level and Furnace Creek / Las Vegas Fremont Experience
January 4 - Buffet and flight home

The Strip

What's a trip to Las Vegas without a little people watching and getting mesmerized by the twinkling lights? That's how we spent our first day and parts of the other three. Having arrived the day after the huge (300,000 estimated guests) New Year's celebrations, we got to experience the hung over crowds and actually, always surprising to me, the number of families with children, young children, walking around in the "city of sin" or "lost wages." The best part for Oliver and I was the really nice weather. Not that it's been that cold, mind you, in Bellingham, but it certainly hasn't been in the mid-60s. That was absolutely a welcome change up.

We stayed at Treasure Island, home of the Sirens of TI.

The flower display at the Bellagio was amazing. The bears were made out of hundreds of carnations!

Here is the Venetian tree with the Mirage in the background. The Venetian had their Winter Wonderland decorations up, which were absolutely gorgeous.

The new Fremont Experience is pretty cool. I wish I had actually gone to "old" Vegas before they spruced it up. Now they do music videos hourly on the big screen above which goes on for about three blocks. After walking around for a bit, we had dinner at Red Sushi in the Golden Nugget. Yummy.

All in all, Vegas was all one could expect it to be - a land where you can party all night if you wish, take in some people watching, and listen to about 15 other languages than English.

Next Stop: Valley of Fire State Park

Tags: 2012, Las Vegas, Q, The Strip, visit

0 members like this

Comment

You need to be a member of My CoolWorks to add comments!

Join My CoolWorks

Comment by 40Rob on February 17, 2012 at 7:45am: I don't gamble either, but Vegas is a quick cheap flight from Phoenix and it seems there is always a cheap room to be had somewhere. Some incredible thrift shops and a nice Asian Market not too far from the Strip on Spring Valley Road. It can be a little sensory overload for me, though, so I try to take it in manageable chunks. The Bellagio gardens and lobby flowers on the wall by Dale Chilluly are amazing!

Comment by Kari Quaas (Q) on January 23, 2012 at 5:11pm: I'm not a gambler either. I hope to in March, since we are officially going to APPL conference, be able to take advantage of the pool and relax. The people watching in Vegas never fails to amuse, scare, or entertain me.

Comment by Keith Larson on January 23, 2012 at 4:41pm: I have really enjoyed Vegas each time I go. It's a major airport in the west so it's a convenient layover. Most of the time I can find a real good rate...especially on hotwire...$25-35/night. I don't gamble much, and usually have found plenty to keep entertained.

Comment by Kari Quaas (Q) on January 10, 2012 at 6:04pm: I may be back there in March for another conference....

Aggie - we did have fun. More posts to come. :)

Comment by Jeremy Stovall on January 10, 2012 at 5:35pm: Always a fun stop in Vegas.I'm trying to plan a trip hopefully in Feb for a nice 4 day break.