Our latest adventure took us to Las Vegas for a quick 3 day, 2 night getaway. We hit the skies on a comfortable 8:30am flight out of Little Rock on Thursday, February 5th. The flight home was direct from LAS to LIT, but we did have one quick stop at Houston-Hobby on the way over. The timing was perfect, with Cassie’s birthday just a couple of weeks ago and Valentines Day just around the corner — two exceptional reasons to get out of town. Come to think of it, this trip was an excellent prelude to a particularly busy month ahead.
Now, let me say that we set out with the goal of experiencing Las Vegas, minus all the “bad decisions” folks regret when they get home. I can proudly say that we did not pull a slot, throw the dice, or anything of the like — not one single time. What’s more? We had a blast!
We took in a Broadway-caliber performance of “Phantom!” at the Venetian. The show is the Las Vegas edition of Phantom of the Opera, hand-crafted by Webber himself. The show was quite similar to the original, with a few “contemporary” stylings. The theater made you think you were sitting in a polished opera house, complete with box seats and posh upper crust patrons — err, mannequins (not quite as convincing as those in Madame Tussaud’s across the street). A huge chandelier falls just close enough to make you wince — which brings me to another story…
Our luck on this trip seemed like it could never run out. We decided to rent a car, so we could take a quick side trip to see Hoover Dam. Wanting to be a good steward of our finances, we reserved an economy-level car. At the airport, the remorseful rental agent informed us that he was all out of economy cars and would have to upgrade us (I like upgrades!) to a mid-size. “Pick any on this row,” he said. We quickly passed up the PT Cruisers as made a dash for the Toyota Prius Hybrid. Oh yeah! We hopped in, found the key fob (wireless remote used instead of a traditional key) and hit the start button. Nothing…. Hmmm. This should be easy, because Cassie has this on her car. Again… still nothing. Ahh! The battery is dead in the key fob, so you have to insert it into a slot. Off we go!
Now back to “Phantom!” which is what got me on the topic of our luck. We walk up to the first mezzanine, and the usher says, “We’re upgrading people tonight. You can sit in the front orchestra section.” Let me say that we had the best seats in the house. About 10 rows back in the middle. Wow!!
I can’t seem to keep this post in chronological order, but oh well. Earlier in the day, we had checked in with our travel agent to get the information for our hotel. We’d only been able to get a room a couple blocks off the strip. Just for fun, I asked, “Can you get us on the strip?” (I’d called days before and found nothing) The agent quickly did some investigating, looked at me, and said, “Give me 30 minutes, and I’ll have you in Harrah’s.” Works for me! Now we are on the strip, next door to the Venetian for our Thursday evening show, and across the street from Caesar’s, our Friday night destination.
I’ve written six paragraphs and said little about what we actually did on our quick trip. Here goes…
Thursday afternoon we walked, wide-eyed, up and down the strip, exploring the Venetian and a couple other hotels. We ate lunch at Toby Keith’s Grill in Harrah’s. After taking in “Phantom!” at the Venetian, we explored the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace and enjoyed a relaxing meal at the Cheesecake Factory. Does anyone ever actually have room for cheesecake after eating dinner there?!
Friday morning took us to Hoover Dam, which was surprisingly busy for a Friday in February. This is definitely a national landmark that everyone should experience once, and then mark it off their list. I am so glad we took time to make the 30-mile-or-so drive out there and take a tour down into the dam, but I won’t feel compelled to join their loyalty club or make an annual pilgrimage. Back to Vegas.
Everyone says that you have to experience a Vegas buffet. Only the best, I say! We have starved ourselves all day to prepare for an indulgent feeding experience at the Rio. This was truly a massive palette of food from all corners of the earth. I remember as a kid the first time I ate from the Mega Bar at Ryans Steakhouse. Our meal at the Rio was the grown-up version of my childhood experience.
Friday night was a much-anticipated evening. I escorted my lovely wife to Caesar’s Palace to see Sir Elton John himself in concert. After many years at the Palace, he is leaving in April. We caught one of his last concerts for this stint at his red piano in Las Vegas. The house was packed. What an amazing concert! After the show, we walked over to the Belagio to see the renouned fountains. We gazed at three awe-inspiring performances, then we grabbed our trendy hybrid and drove down to Fremont Street, just in time to miss the last run of the electronic canopy that runs three blocks and contains more than 12 million lights.
Saturday morning came quickly, and we still had a couple of stops to make for souvenirs. Then off to the airport. The flight back was bumpy, yet seemingly short. Back to reality once again. But I think Las Vegas has earned it place on the list of repeat destinations.
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