Vegas, baby!

So, got back from Vegas on Tuesday and it was awesome! Our flight there was a little longer than expected since we were flying into the headwind of a storm blowing across the country. Anyway, we got to our hotel which tuned out to be more like a luxury condo complex. It was the Meridian Luxury Suites right off the Strip on E. Flamingo.  I can not say enough good things about this place. You wouldn't believe the deal I got...Hotwire hooked me up for $79 for the week nights and $89 for the weekend nights!! We walked in the room and were stunned to see this posh place decked out in leather, marble and granite looking like Ethan Allen came in and furnished the whole place! There was a full kitchen with stainless steel appliances, really cool square dishes and a full spice rack among other things.

Dining room was really chic and the living room had an awesome flat panel TV and free wireless internet access! Bathroom had tons of space and the bedroom was beautiful and had a huge closet the length of one whole wall and the doors were all mirrors and a flat panel TV, too.

My advice is to definitely rent a car.  The Strip is kind of long to hoof all day and the heat gets pretty intense...plus there's FREE parking at every hotel/casino!!  Can't beat that!  Then you'll have the option to investigate the area and see the sites off the Strip.

The afternoon we arrived we went to the Strip to check it out.  It was cool, but I'm not a gambler so I got bored pretty quick with Vegas-by-day.  My favorite places were the ones with attractions besides the casino.

  I loved New York New York, Paris, The Venetian and Bellagio.  So when we had enough of that we started to check out what else was around to do during the day.  We decided to go to the Hoover Dam one day and Red Rock Canyon another day.  We were expecting these sites to be far but it turns out they're only about 20 miles away (in opposite directions).

Red Rock Canyon was my absolute favorite part of Vegas! You pay $5 to drive in and it's a 13 mile scenic drive with all these stop-offs to park and get out and climb or hike.  There's a really nice visitor's center at the beginning and they'll go over the trails with you.  Red Rock is amazing.  It's this burnt sienna color and when you look up and see it against a blue sky it takes your breath away.

  We climbed all over the rocks and hiked up pretty high.  It's so cool because there are no set areas to go, you kind of just explore and climb wherever you want.  There are other mountains along the loop that remind me of European Alps...I had no idea there were mountains like this in the desert!  Besides climbing, there are tons of different hikes both long and short.  And apparently there are wild burros and goats but we didn't see any.  If you go to Vegas, you should definitely visit Red Rock Canyon!

We also went to the Hoover Dam which was really cool to see with my own eyes.  There are paid parking lots, but just keep driving and you'll find the free lots.  There are various tours of Hoover Dam, but we didn't do any of them.

  We just walked across and enjoyed the views.

On the way to Hoover Dam, don't miss Lake Mead.  There's a great pull-off to park and see some beautiful views of the Lake.  You can also pay to enter the Lake Area where there's a beach and marina. 

On the way back just past Lake Mead, we stopped in Boulder City which is an adorable little town.  There we found the BEST beer garden called Boulder Dam Brewing Company.  My husband said their "Hops Chrisis" beer was the best he ever had and my Beer Float (yes, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) was incredible!!  I heard there's a great eatery there called "Best Cellars" but we didn't have time to check it out.

We ate at the Lux Cafe (I think that's the name) in the Venetian one night and it was great.

..huge menu, delicious food and drinks and not expensive.  Good place if you can't decide what you're up for...they have so many culturally different dishes.

So, the Strip at night was wild!  I loved it!  We went to a lot of great bars and lounges.  If you want to go casual, definitely check out Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville...they had an awesome band there on Saturday night.  If you're feeling hotter than hot, go to Pure nightclub in Ceasar's Palace.  Oh, the Bellagio water show at night was stunning!...don't pass it up!