Day Five: Finale

On day 5 we ventured out to explore several of the other famous hotels we were hoping to see.

We saw Ceasers Palace

Flamingos at The Flamingo

A little taste of Venice at The Venetian. Here we catch a glimpse of the rare Skirted Lauren. Skirted Laurens are very rare in nature, and can only be found at night in far away cities.

And the Grande Finale of our trip, Love by Cirque Du Soleil.

Love was amazing. It's definitely worth seeing if you find yourself in Vegas. We roamed the strip a little after the show, and got back to our hotel room around 2:00 am. Tomorrow we head home bright and early. It's been a great trip.

Day Four: Roaming the strip.

We discovered the Tram today. There are trains between many of the hotels that makes traveling the strip during the day much easier. I wish we had discovered it on Friday and prevented a two mile hike across town in 117 degree heat.

We ate at the Buffet Bellagio, it was amazing. All you can eat Creme Brulee nearly did me in. On the way we stopped at the largest chocolate fountain in the world.

And a crazy botanical garden:

We got lost in MGM, and eventually saw both the gold lion:

And the real ones:

We tried an Oxygen bar, and explored several of the nearby mega hotels.

Monday will be our last real day in Vegas. We leave early Tuesday morning. Our stay will climax with the Cirque Du Soleil presentation of Love. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions on things to see and do in Vegas. This has been a wonderful trip.

Day Three: A Lazy Day.

We spent day 3 indoors, hopping around the different bars and gambling on slot machines and black jack. A fun relaxing day. The only solid plans we have for the rest of the week are to eat at the Bellagio's buffet tomorrow night(it came highly recommended by a couple folks) and then Cirque Du Soleil Love, their show on the Beatles, on Monday.

Day Two: TOOL!

Think for yourself.

Question authority.

Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities, the political, the religious, the educational authorities who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing, forming in our minds their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable, open-mindedness; chaotic, confused, vulnerability to inform yourself.

The words echoed through the Planet Hollywood theater as Tool opened with Third Eye. The concert was unbelievable. Amazing. I can't manage the words to do it justice. Their live songs all have a little bit of their newer albums style worked in, and they were amazing. The effects were brilliant. If you get the chance to see Tool, definitely go. Hands down the best concert I have seen to date.

Day Two: The Strip

Lauren and I ventured out on the strip during the afternoon. It was about 115 degrees.

Here we passed by Excalibur.

We took refuge from the heat in the Miracle Mile mall. One part of the mall had a giant domed roof painted like the sky with small buildings built within it. Yo Dawg, I hear you like buildings.

At night it's still very hot, but nothing like the extreme temperatures during the day. We went out at night to explore some more. Here's Paris:

The Bellagio fountains were awesome.

Vegas Lessons learned:

1. 115 degrees is ridiculously hot

2. It's impossible to keep track of time in a casino.

3. Black jack dealers deal way too fast for me to count cards.

Vegas Day 2: Our Room

We checked in late last night. They were out of pyrmaid rooms, which we were suppose to get, so we have a room in the tower. We got upgraded to a bigger room, and our rooms location is the closest room to the casino floor.

Here's a little taste of the view from our room.

Stay tuned and follow along with our adventure in Las Vegas! Tonight: Tool.

Las Vegas

I've always been a little impulsive.  Life is uncertain, eat desert first I always say.  With that said, watching the remaining Tool tickets sell out in California drove me to a quick, crazed decision: That a Las Vegas trip was in order.  I've always wanted to go to Vegas, and after searching around, found a great deal that my wife and I couldn't pass up.  We're staying in premium pyramid rooms!

In addition to the Tool concert, we'll be seeing a Cirque Du Soleil show(complementary tickets from our hotel for booking 3+ nights), and hopefully visiting the Hoover Dam.  If you have any more suggestions for things to do, please leave a comment!

So the itinerary for the summer is filling up with an impulsive trip to Las Vegas in July in addition to Carrowinds and Chevelle in Charlotte.  A definite trip to Floyd and Roanoke in August, a week long hike on the Appalachian trail in early September, a Cruise in late September, and a Muse concert and Richmond trip in early October.  After 3 years of minimal travel, pretty much just a trip to Cancun with Lauren's parents, we have something planned every month.   It's nice to treat ourselves.