Odds 'n Ends ~

 

Thanks much to all those who entered my little give-away.  Congrats to Linda M.  You must send me your snail mail address within three days.

 

It just dawned on me I've been home from Las Vegas for over a week.  Where did the week go?  I know part of it was spent doing yard work (still not caught up) but what about the rest???

 

Just some miscellaneous left over stuff from the trip I wanted to share.  Fremont Street (where we zip lined) is "downtown" and the old part of Las Vegas.  There are street entertainers that must stay in their circle.  Let me tell you, Jake saw things he never saw before . . . lol.

 

 

Makes me want to floss my teeth :)

 

A little to much "junk in her trunk", don'tcha think?

 

 

So funny.  He saw girls in pasties, thongs and fishnets, but the thing that embarrassed him the most was the Roman statue of a nude male showing his "stuff".

 

Mosaic tile floors at the Wynn.  Hooked rug inspiration for the bright hooker?

 

 

At the Bellagio.  More inspiration?

 

 

Caesar's Palace. 

 

 

These were tile floors at the Venetian.  They do not look 3D when you walk on them so the pictures really surprised me.

 

 

Really?  $75 to sit in an ice room wearing a faux fur coat and having cocktails. 

 

Oxygen bars were popular.  I must live under a rock.  Never heard of them.  You sit and breathe in flavored oxygen with a nasal cannula.  No prices listed. 

 

My grandkitty Snowball.  My son is a real Simpson's fan so named after their cat.  Only by coincidence is she white.  She hid in his room for the first few days until she put on her big girl panties and came to check us out.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

 

The Rest of the Trip ~

 

Day 3 of our trip started in California's Mojave Desert.  Our first stop was the China Ranch date palm farm.  This place is in the middle of nowhere, down a couple miles of a one lane dirt road.  Though my son had been there before, I didn't think anyone else could possibly find it.  Upon entering the store, a guy asked if we were with the other folks from Ohio.  (His clue that we were Buckeyes was the Browns' shirts both the boys were wearing.)  Can you believe there was another couple in the store from Ohio ~ and they live in a town about 15 miles from me???  It really is a small world.

 

 

From the date farm, we headed to an abandoned mine.  My son's passion is exploring mines.  He often will rappel down hundreds of feet to the bottom of a mine shaft.  Thankfully the War Eagle mine in Tecopa, California, has tunnels to explore without having to climb up or down.

 

The darkness of the mine was something I've never experienced before.  And quiet.  Nothing other than the sounds of us walking through.  Eerily quiet.

 

At one point, we did go down to the next level (at Jake's request) but came right back up.  It was a long way down but seemed even longer on the ascent!

 

Based on my Fitbit step count, we walked about 3 miles in the mine.

 

Day 4 took us to Red Rock Canyon, a short drive from Las Vegas.  Got to use my senior national park pass for the first time :)   

 

I was unable to capture the beauty of the rocks.

 

 

Next up was another trip to the Strip.  For an unknown reason, some of my pictures from the Bellagio just vanished.  POOF.  Gone from both my iPhone and iPad.  I just don't get it . . . sigh.  Here is one of the fountains in the lobby.

 

Can you believe?

 

Waiting for the fountain show to begin.  That is the Bellagio in the background.

The show was very disappointing.  We think they did not have the regular show because it was so windy.  The water did not shoot up high at all :(

The stall doors in the ladies' room at Caesar's Palace.

 

The Golden Knights are Las Vegas' new professional hockey team.  The team was just assembled a few months ago and they made it to the finals.  They did not win, but what an accomplishment.  People ~ and statues ~ are crazy for them.

 

Day 5 ~ The last thing we did on vacation, was a zipline down Fremont Street.  You exit the building to start your ride where those four square things are near the top.

 

Hanging around waiting your turn.

And you are off.  It was overpriced but fun.  I'm guessing the ride lasted about a minute.  Not nearly as scary as I thought it would be.  Jake (and my son) loved it and that's all that mattered :)

Thanks so much for letting me share my vacation with you.  My readers are the best and to show my appreciation, I'm having a little give away.  Just in time for the 4th of July, this flag measures only 5" x 6 3/4".  As always . . . the only rule is leave a comment on this post or send me an email with give-away in the subject line.  The winner must contact me within 3 days.  (Please no sharing on any social media.)  I will choose a winner Wednesday eve.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

I'm Baaaack ~

 

It was WONDERFUL to get away, but as always, great to be back home.  We had a terrific Las Vegas vacation.  Jake had the time of his life (including his first ride in a jet) and it was good to see my son.  We were so busy, I need a vacation from my vacation. 

Unfortunately my son Bill could not get away from work, so a couple days Jake and I just hung around his apartment and went to the pool. 

We made up for it in the evening.  The first evening we headed to the Stratosphere, a unique fixture in the Vegas skyline, the 1,149 foot tall Vegas resort Tower is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States. 

 

 

There are 3 rides at the top.  We rode two of them.  Let me tell you, the X-Scream was one of the scariest things I've ever done.  Check it out.

 

We also did the tower ride.  Seats were on all four sides.

 

And then it shot you up this tower.  Scary, but nothing like the X-Scream.

From there we went "downtown" to Fremont Street.  Here's Jake enjoying the light show.

 

We topped the evening off with a trip to In-N-Out Burger.  Jake had to see if he liked it better than 5 Guys.  He liked it better, but I vote for 5 Guys :)

 

 

I drove my son to work the second day so Jake and I could go to Hoover Dam.  It was my first time driving an extended cab Dodge Ram.  I have never driven anything so big and it was almost as scary as the X-Scream :)

 

The plaque states:  "A modern civil engineering wonder of the United States.  One of seven selected by the American Society of Civil Engineers.  1955"  To the left is Nevada and to the right is Arizona. 

 

 

Lake Mead.  The white area surrounding the lake used to be under water.  It was down 150' (yes feet) because of the drought.

 

Hoover Dam

 

Art Deco influence

 

I had not heard of the show, La Reve (The Dream) but I believe I read it has been the #1 show in Las Vegas for 8 years.  Think of it as a Cirque du Soleil type show performed over and in a round pool.  (Of course videos can be found on You Tube.)  One of my son's friends is a rigger for the show and his wife Kelly is one of the performers.  She was able to get us complimentary tickets.  This was definitely the highlight of my trip.  There are 79 cast members from all over the world and many dozens of behind the scenes personnel including more than 2 dozen divers who help the cast members under water. 

 

This was the coolest part of the show and I found out afterward that Kelly was one of the performers and most likely the one hanging by her arm.

 

 

 

I have much more to bore you with in another post or two.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren