VIVA LAS VEGAS!

We arrived in Las Vegas to be greeted by 103 degrees!!! And that was in the evening! It didn’t get any better during the week, reaching the highest at 110! I don’t know how people live here full time.

We found a few great buffets; it was great not to cook all week. We met Julie, my daughter-in-law’s sister, one night. Her fiancée unfortunately had to work. It was great visiting with her. We wish they lived closer, but I guess we’ll just have to come out west to visit them once in a while.

We hit the strip later that evening. (with the heat, you do everything in the evening). We saw Mirage’s “new” volcano and TI’s new pirate show (personally I liked the old better). Before leaving the strip, we saw Bilagio’s water show, which is my favorite “outside” show.

It was amazing to see new hotels that have popped up since 2006. During the day, we visited the inside of the hotels on the strip. The Pilazzo is next to the Venetian and owned by the same person. The Pilazzo is beautifully decorated with parasols, flowers and a waterfall. We wanted to see the show at the Pilazzo, but when we asked inside the hotel, the person directed us over to the Venetian. We are still not sure if the Pilazzo has a show or not, but we enjoyed the one at the Venetian.

Another evening we went to the Rio for their show. They have the best “inside” show. We love the part where they throw marti gras beads, as shown below. The crowds go wild trying to catch them.

Next we headed for Freemont Street (old Las Vegas). They had 3 great bands playing music from the summer of 1969. IT WAS GREAT! And of course Bill and I had to get our picture at Woodstock (that’s us in the middle).

But the best of Freemont Street is the nightly light show, using the songs American Pie, and Rock You.

Some of the tourists decided to take a load off their feet and enjoy the show by laying on the sidewalk.
We enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Freemont Street.

Now it’s time to head to St. George, Utah, to get ready for our next trip with Adventure Caravans – THE GRAND CIRCLE.