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