Our Final Evening in Vegas...
After skiing we headed back to the city to prep for our last evening in Vegas. After all that we had done throughout the week, I have to say it was a pretty uneventful evening, but we had a good time, and called it a night fairly early!
We had dinner at Triple 7 Brewery in old Vegas, we were all starving and were surprised when we got to the restaurant and there a was a bit of a wait! But it was worth it as the food was great, there was a great selection from ribs, to nachos, to steak, chicken fingers and even sushi!
Kara and Paul both ordered the brewery sample platter of the various beers they have, and they weren't disappointed! But there is one that taste like coffee, and even Elaine didn't like it. But Paul drank it all... nothings goes to waste when he's around, least of all alcohol!
After dinner we decided to walk Freemont Street one last time... I was in search of a souvenir t-shirt - which I didn't find, and John was in search of the arcade he had wanted to visit all week! Along the way, we saw a guy get arrested, saw the really HUGE cowboy sign and Bass glass, and found the Heart Attack Grill where ironically a man suffered a heart attack not more than a few days earlier! Crazy huh?
We ended up finding the arcade that John had wanted to visit, but unfortunately by the time we had gotten there he wasn't up for it, and we decided to call it a night. But not before we said "Hi" to this adorable English bulldog! She was attracting the attention of all the ladies! Isn't she adorable!
Well I'm now finally caught up... and this is my last post from our trip to Vegas. It was an awesome trip, and I couldn't end this series without including one of my favorite parts (our recording of the Bellagio Fountain)! It's so fitting, cause it is "time to say goodbye..." to Vegas!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILBmNRUQWKU&w=750&h=411]
Skiing in Las Vegas!
When we planned this trip, we knew it was going to be a full week in Vegas. And honestly most people don't want to stay in Vegas for more than a few nights. I think it's either because they don't want to lose too much money, or you may just get sick of the gambling and non-stop party.
Because we were there for an entire week, we had to do other things with our time there, and what better to do than find a place to Ski! We've gotten so many comments that people didn't think it snowed at the Grand Canyon, and I have a feeling most people will be even more surprised that there is a Las Vegas Ski Resort! Yes, Vegas is in the desert, but where there are valleys there are also peaks and you are surrounded by them in Vegas!
Kara was the one the initially research and found the Las Vegas Ski Resort! She had never been skiing and thought, "why not experience it in Vegas!" It was just Kara, Kevin, Paul and myself for this trip... we got up, dressed and ready and were headed out to do a half day on the slopes. It was only about 45 minutes or so outside the main strip of Vegas, so it was a pretty easy ride. I was amazed as we were driving through the desert how the elevation started to change. We went from dry and warmer climates to cold and snowy in no time!
When we arrived, the place was pretty packed... there were a lot of snowboarders too! Kara, Kevin and I signed up for a lesson, and had stayed on the bunny slope for most of our time there. Paul got all of us started prior to our class, but once our class started he was off to the crazy fun slopes!
The class was good, Kara and I had taken a couple falls, but nothing awful. I definitely think we learned a lot in our lesson (although it was longer than any of us expected). Kevin decided before they stopped the lifts that he wanted to try one of the more challenging slopes, and said it was a lot harder up there! He said that neither Kara or I would have been happy... haha.
It was a fun day! Check out some of the pics... who would have thought you could ski in Vegas!?
After hours of Skiing and no real lunch, we were ready for some beer! The lodge was open for an hour or so after the slopes shut down and we had a blast filling up on beer and talking with some of the instructors and locals.
What a fun day!
Related articles
- The Beautiful Grand Canyon In Blue (perdueosity.com)
- An Evening True to Vegas (perdueosity.com)
An Evening True to Vegas
We got back to Vegas in the afternoon, after a very long night on I-40. When we got back, we decided to stop at a discount tickets place to buy tickets to a show. While we all would have loved to have gone to a Circ show, the ones we would have been willing to splurge on were sold out. So, the consensus was to get tickets to X Burlesque at the Flamingo. It seemed like a "Vegas" thing to do!
From there we headed back to the room to regroup before our night out! The plan was to get the classic pics in front of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign"...
...hit up the BEST buffet at the Bellagio of course! We got some more awesome pictures in the garden, but didn't think anyone would be interested in pictures of us pigging out!
Roll out of the Bellagio dinner buffet uncomfortably stuffed, stop for a glimpse of the famous Bellagio fountain before we head over to the Flamingo to check out the REAL flamingos in their garden and see an awesome Vegas show!
Unfortunately for you, there are no pics from the show (not allowed!), but you can check out the website and maybe just go next time you're in Vegas! For a burlesque show, it was pretty good! The guys enjoyed it, that's for sure!
We were absolutely beat after the show, and with a big day ahead of us and a long evening and day prior, we all decided it would be best to head back to the room! But we couldn't go back before we watched a full show of the Bellagio Fountain!
It was absolutely mesmerizing! I kind of wanted to save this video for the end of my Vegas series because of the song that played to the fountain, but decided to keep it real!
I hope you enjoy our video as much as we enjoyed it in person! Like Kara said before and during the trip, "I could watch that fountain every day of the trip!"
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILBmNRUQWKU&w=750&h=411]
If I had only seen it earlier in our trip... I would have been there every evening! So AWESOME!
Valentine's Date at the Neon Museum, Las Vegas
I'm doing double duty posting as many as I can about our trip to Vegas! I've got another handful of posts, and want to get caught up soon!
So on Valentine's Day we had a date at the Neon Museum or "Bone Yard." It was a very cool experience to say the least! The museum is in development and has not been around for very long, but in an effort to preserve the true art of the Vegas signs, they have begun a collection, and built a park and are in the process of developing a visitor center.
Right now you have to make advance reservations on their website to get a tour. The tour is with a guide and they are very informative and take much care in making sure everyone is safe (around the broken glass and rusted metal) and following the rules of the museum. We learned a lot about the various designers, font types used over the years and what the different shapes and colors signify. They even offer private photo shoot reservations for special events like wedding shoots and they even had a music video by the Killers filmed on site!
It is quite a sight, check out some of our pictures (Paul did HDR's of most of these), and in all honestly while the pics are amazing, it's is so awesome to see in person! You should check it out next time you're in Vegas and support the preservation of all of this awesome work from the past! It's well worth the donation!
Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned as there is a lot more to come from our trip!!!
Fremont Experience Las Vegas: Supporting a Local Artist
We are back from Vegas now and have tons of pictures and videos to share, I guess that is the name of the game! You go on vacation and when you get back you are playing catch-up with everything from work to personal. So bear with me as I do plan to share everything we did!
I guess we were a bit ambitious thinking we could post stuff daily as we had something going on EVERY day of the trip, and when we got back to the room we crashed only to wake up bright and early to start our next little adventure.
While we were experiencing Fremont Street (in old Vegas), we encountered some awesome artists, from musicians to contortionists to impersonators, but we were most impressed with the work of Mike Fletcher with Visual Art Images.
Mike is a spray paint artist and after talking with him a bit, he let us know his specialty is landscapes. We were so impressed with work that we couldn't leave without capturing him at work as well as purchasing an awesome landscape view of Vegas including the Bellagio and fountain, Luxor, Stratosphere and more! It was amazing how he created this piece of art with spray paint, the occasional stencil, and a putty knife! Absolutely amazing! And as part of the job, all art has to be completed within ten minutes!
Check out these pics and videos! It was awesome!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVEb9SliK-A&w=750&h=411]
The above video we caught mid-painting, but as he started we had no idea what the final result would be and it was totally awesome!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5U_WAAfMzg&w=750&h=411]
He did a Bob Marley one for our friends... Caught that full show.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhTEhPFipNA&w=750&h=411]
And then an underwater scene which was also pretty incredible!
We of course purchased the Vegas Landscape as I was just so impressed with that one!
Related articles
- Our Fremont Street Experience! (perdueosity.com)
We Made It! Hello Vegas!
We all flew out Saturday, Paul and myself being the first of our group. The flight was on time and smooth, and our pilot even said "Everyone just snuggle up, and we'll be in Vegas in no time!" This was the flight Paul and I were meant to be on! What an awesome pilot!
The flight was pretty easy for the length of time we were on the plane. I watched FX movies and when I wasn't doing that I was helping Paul work on the menus design for Havana South Buford! And it turned out great!
We arrived in Vegas on time and before we knew it we were in baggage claim picking up our bags and heading to pick up our SEXY Mini-van! Oh yeah!
Kara and Kevin arrived about an hour after us, and by the time we had gotten the rental car, it was about time to head back over to pick them up! Once we all got together, we stopped by the resort (Wyndham Grand Desert) to see if could check-in, but no luck of course! So we decided to hit up a local brewery and grab lunch.
We went to Big Dog Brewery for some beer and lunch and it turned out to be a great choice! The beer was pretty awesome, and the food and service we right on par! There was a nice local atmosphere and they of course had casinos too! I was admiring all the dog artwork! They had a full dog wall that was really cool, I think Paul and I may do something similar, except maybe it will be a Chunk wall!
Following our lunch we toured the strip a bit on our way have to the hotel.
We were pleasantly surprised by our amenities as we got an AWESOME deal for the week! We have connecting rooms, each with a master bedroom, full kitchen, and living space with pull-out sofas. We even have a jacuzzi tub, two washer and dryers, and the amenities are great! We will be hitting up the 24 hour heated pool and hot tub this week! I imagine it'll be awesome after long days at the Grand Canyon, Skiing and just partying and cruising the strip!
We got ourselves settled in and decided to head over to pick up some food and beverage for the room. Elaine and John's flight was arriving late, so we were killing some time until they got in. When they arrived Paul and Kevin hopped in the SEXY mini-van, picked them up and we all hung out for a bit. Of course the time difference started to hit me, Kara and Kevin, and we were a lame and called it a night. But the party was just beginning for Paul, Elaine and John!
They headed over to New York New York and had a blast! Elaine and Paul are the gamblers in the group, so they could not be in Vegas without of course getting their gambling on! They were out until 6AM (9AM est), up over 24 hours straight! They started off true to the Vegas spirit!
Vegas Baby, Vegas!!!
Paul and I are going to Vegas with two other couples in about two weeks. The six of us are split three having been to Vegas before and three that have never set foot in "Sin City." We are very excited about everything we will be able to do, as we're not just going for a long weekend, but we will be there for an entire week! And not only that, but we will be there over Valentine's Day!
One of my very favorite movies is Swinger, and I just can't resist quoting...
[From Movie - Swingers: on the way to Las Vegas]
Trent: They’re gonna give daddy the Rainman suite, you dig that?
Mike: Do you think we’ll get there by midnight?
Trent: Baby, we’re going to be up five hundy by midnight!
Mike: Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh!
Trent: Vegas baby! Vegas!
Mike: Vegas!
When we booked this trip, we booked it with the intention of sharing with friends, so we are so excited about having friends with us. But when I was looking at dates, I specifically chose the Valentine's week because it just seems like an awesome time to be in Vegas - full of crazy love birds eloping! While we plan to make the most of our time there exploring not only the strip but surrounding attractions, I think it will also be an awesome time for people watching!
So, the six of us got together the other night to discuss our plans for this trip. Things we would like to do, see, eat and more! Since we have more people than what would fit in a normal car, we will be cruisin' the strip (among other things) in a Minivan! YEAH!
Anyway I wanted to get opinions from those that have been to Vegas beforehand, because we will have plenty of time to check out a lot, so please let me know things you recommend we do and check out! We've tentatively put together a list of things we would like to do... so these are high priority, but maybe there's some cool stuff we won't want to miss out on that isn't on our list!
- Lake Mead & Hoover Dam
- Sign Museum
- Grand Canyon West Rim
- Death Valley or Zion National Park
- Las Vegas Ski Resort - Skiing
- See a show (we're gonna check discount tickets)
- Check out rides at the Stratosphere
- See the Fountain at the Bellagio (of course)
- Ride a gondola at the Venetian
- Freemont Street Experience
- Maybe go to a wedding Chapel and renew vows! hehe (Elaine and John have been married the longest, so maybe they can do it! )
- Tour the strip and see as many Casino/Hotels as possible!
We can't wait for this trip to come, it's going to be a blast whatever we do! And with both Paul and Elaine being photographers, this trip will be thoroughly documented!! Stay tuned because it is my plan to post every day of our trip! It will be truly EPIC!