The Non Family Vacation - Las Vegas, Grand Canyon
Aug 30th, 2013, 09:08 AM
#1
Original Poster
The Non Family Vacation - Las Vegas, Grand Canyon
My last trip report featured a family trip to Disney World. This time a friend and I took advantage of a good promotional deal out of our local airport and went to Las Vegas, also known sometimes as the "adult Disney". We took a one day bus trip to the Grand Canyon too. This was my third time in Las Vegas, but the last was 12 years ago.
I titled this the "non family vacation" because even though there were tons of families there I am glad I didn't have any little ones to worry about. There are lots of attractions that kids could enjoy while there, so I guess I understand why families go. I saw lots of things that would generate questions and need explanations while out and about on the Strip and Fremont Street.
We were there during the monsoon season of Vegas. The first day it poured off and on. I ruined a pair of sandals stepping into puddles. The rain cooled things off nicely so no complaints. We both love to walk which is a good thing because the old pedometer totaled 23 miles at the end of that day. I AM NOT KIDDING!! My friend would have kept going (it was 2 AM and I finally had to say ENOUGH!!). We also climbed 28 flights of stairs-many of the escalators were not working so no choice. We never got close to those figures again-usually 7-8 miles a day (thank goodness).
All this walking sounds great. We should have calves that look like rocks. The pounds should have been falling off. But Vegas is known for good food and we took advantage of that reputation. We didn't eat at a lot of high end restaurants but still managed to find good eats. We had a wonderful burger at Gordon Ramsey's new place- Burgerz in the Hard Rock. The nachos we had at a place called Tacos & Tequila (more upscale than the name implies) in the Luxor were some of the best I've ever had. We had one buffet - the Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan. This was the best buffet food I've ever seen, wonderful selections. There was a lemon meringue tart that I will remember forever there. We also managed to eat a little gelato-well make that a lot!! hmmm, can. not. resist.
We are not high roller gamblers. We started out feeding the slots and tired quickly of losing money. We were more content watching other people lose theirs. The promotional deal for flying our airlines were free show tickets. We saw Chris Angel as our freebie. He was a good showman. It was a good performance. I'm not full of superlatives on this one, maybe if this was the only show we saw I would rave more. But we saw Circ-de-Soleil Love. Our seats were beyond fantastic (and they were half off tickets). We saw the performers up close and personal. The Beatles are my generation, I can tell the timeline of my life to Beatles songs, so this was my show!! We were dazzled!! On a scale of 1-10 this was a high 11. I have seen one Circ-de-Soliel show before and even got to go backstage then and meet performers, But this, for me, was the top of the line, The guy next to me fell asleep (how I do not know), so it apparently doesn't float everyone's boat. We also spent a chunk of time with the dolphins at the Mirage. Part of this was Siegfired and Roy's Secret Garden with the lions, tigers who were all pretty much sleeping when we we walked past. But the dolphins were something else, they are so smart!! In another life I would have loved to be a trainer of smart fishies.
Our third day we took a Grand Canyon bus trip. This sounds like a giant yawn I'm sure to ride a bus for 5 !/2 hours there and back, but it was great. Our bus was a parade of nations. The people next to us were from Nepal. There were Australians, English, Canadians, Japanese, Scots. Italians,Swiss, and a sprinkling of Americans from across the country. The driver was fun. We watched three movies there and back along with the informational Grand Canyon and the Grand Canyon Skywalk films. I needed this time after all the walking, so I think I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. We ate a nice buffet at Williams, Arizona and saw parts of Route 66. The Canyon=breathtaking, gorgeous, and all the rest of the superlatives I can think of. We took a 3 mile hike and this is the second part of why I was glad I did not have kids with on this trip. I would have been a wreck because there are no fences!! Of course it didn't help that I picked up a book in the gift shop about all the deaths that have occurred in the canyon (a lot-so many it needed updates). My friend is fearless and was too close to the ledge a few times!! I still get chills.. Our hike started out sunny and then turned quickly into a downpour. The mist in the canyon was surreal. Even though I sound like a wimp, I would like to come back and do the mule trip down into the canyon.
We got back from the Canyon and promptly hailed a cab and headed to Fremont Street. I figure I can sleep when I'm dead. We're both grandmas but that didn't stop us. We had fun dancing in the street, seeing the street performers and people watching. We had lots of fun texting to our friends back home about "Grandmas Gone Wild". Of course we may have exaggerated it just a tad.
We saw one celebrity that we know of. Mr Dolce of Dolce and Gabbana fame. He walked out of the Chris Angel show directly behind me. (Chris Angel had made him stand up during the show, that's how I knew who he was). I wonder what he thought of my cute outfit from Kohls??? He smiled at me, his bodyguards did not. We saw lots of interesting outfits, and saw some eye averting ones. Poor young girls walking the strip in their 4-5 inch heels. My feet felt for theirs. We also saw a few wedding couples and my daughter (who is having a big expensive wedding next year) did not think much of the text pictures I sent her of ways to lessen expenses. Vegas is a very creative city in lots of ways.
I kind of thought of this trip as a little side trip. I have been saving to get to Paris and I really want to go to Spain in the next year or two. But for a "little side trip" I had a blast. I understand why Vegas is not for everyone. I wasn't even sure it was for me. But it was for me I found out, and I'm very happy I took my "little side trip". I will return, this time the side trip will be to Zion National Park-I got tons of recommends from people we met so I think this sounds like a place I need to check out. Today I plan to lie on my couch and recover, tomorrow back to reality (work!).
I titled this the "non family vacation" because even though there were tons of families there I am glad I didn't have any little ones to worry about. There are lots of attractions that kids could enjoy while there, so I guess I understand why families go. I saw lots of things that would generate questions and need explanations while out and about on the Strip and Fremont Street.
We were there during the monsoon season of Vegas. The first day it poured off and on. I ruined a pair of sandals stepping into puddles. The rain cooled things off nicely so no complaints. We both love to walk which is a good thing because the old pedometer totaled 23 miles at the end of that day. I AM NOT KIDDING!! My friend would have kept going (it was 2 AM and I finally had to say ENOUGH!!). We also climbed 28 flights of stairs-many of the escalators were not working so no choice. We never got close to those figures again-usually 7-8 miles a day (thank goodness).
All this walking sounds great. We should have calves that look like rocks. The pounds should have been falling off. But Vegas is known for good food and we took advantage of that reputation. We didn't eat at a lot of high end restaurants but still managed to find good eats. We had a wonderful burger at Gordon Ramsey's new place- Burgerz in the Hard Rock. The nachos we had at a place called Tacos & Tequila (more upscale than the name implies) in the Luxor were some of the best I've ever had. We had one buffet - the Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan. This was the best buffet food I've ever seen, wonderful selections. There was a lemon meringue tart that I will remember forever there. We also managed to eat a little gelato-well make that a lot!! hmmm, can. not. resist.
We are not high roller gamblers. We started out feeding the slots and tired quickly of losing money. We were more content watching other people lose theirs. The promotional deal for flying our airlines were free show tickets. We saw Chris Angel as our freebie. He was a good showman. It was a good performance. I'm not full of superlatives on this one, maybe if this was the only show we saw I would rave more. But we saw Circ-de-Soleil Love. Our seats were beyond fantastic (and they were half off tickets). We saw the performers up close and personal. The Beatles are my generation, I can tell the timeline of my life to Beatles songs, so this was my show!! We were dazzled!! On a scale of 1-10 this was a high 11. I have seen one Circ-de-Soliel show before and even got to go backstage then and meet performers, But this, for me, was the top of the line, The guy next to me fell asleep (how I do not know), so it apparently doesn't float everyone's boat. We also spent a chunk of time with the dolphins at the Mirage. Part of this was Siegfired and Roy's Secret Garden with the lions, tigers who were all pretty much sleeping when we we walked past. But the dolphins were something else, they are so smart!! In another life I would have loved to be a trainer of smart fishies.
Our third day we took a Grand Canyon bus trip. This sounds like a giant yawn I'm sure to ride a bus for 5 !/2 hours there and back, but it was great. Our bus was a parade of nations. The people next to us were from Nepal. There were Australians, English, Canadians, Japanese, Scots. Italians,Swiss, and a sprinkling of Americans from across the country. The driver was fun. We watched three movies there and back along with the informational Grand Canyon and the Grand Canyon Skywalk films. I needed this time after all the walking, so I think I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. We ate a nice buffet at Williams, Arizona and saw parts of Route 66. The Canyon=breathtaking, gorgeous, and all the rest of the superlatives I can think of. We took a 3 mile hike and this is the second part of why I was glad I did not have kids with on this trip. I would have been a wreck because there are no fences!! Of course it didn't help that I picked up a book in the gift shop about all the deaths that have occurred in the canyon (a lot-so many it needed updates). My friend is fearless and was too close to the ledge a few times!! I still get chills.. Our hike started out sunny and then turned quickly into a downpour. The mist in the canyon was surreal. Even though I sound like a wimp, I would like to come back and do the mule trip down into the canyon.
We got back from the Canyon and promptly hailed a cab and headed to Fremont Street. I figure I can sleep when I'm dead. We're both grandmas but that didn't stop us. We had fun dancing in the street, seeing the street performers and people watching. We had lots of fun texting to our friends back home about "Grandmas Gone Wild". Of course we may have exaggerated it just a tad.
We saw one celebrity that we know of. Mr Dolce of Dolce and Gabbana fame. He walked out of the Chris Angel show directly behind me. (Chris Angel had made him stand up during the show, that's how I knew who he was). I wonder what he thought of my cute outfit from Kohls??? He smiled at me, his bodyguards did not. We saw lots of interesting outfits, and saw some eye averting ones. Poor young girls walking the strip in their 4-5 inch heels. My feet felt for theirs. We also saw a few wedding couples and my daughter (who is having a big expensive wedding next year) did not think much of the text pictures I sent her of ways to lessen expenses. Vegas is a very creative city in lots of ways.
I kind of thought of this trip as a little side trip. I have been saving to get to Paris and I really want to go to Spain in the next year or two. But for a "little side trip" I had a blast. I understand why Vegas is not for everyone. I wasn't even sure it was for me. But it was for me I found out, and I'm very happy I took my "little side trip". I will return, this time the side trip will be to Zion National Park-I got tons of recommends from people we met so I think this sounds like a place I need to check out. Today I plan to lie on my couch and recover, tomorrow back to reality (work!).
Aug 30th, 2013, 11:10 AM
#3
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That sounds like a fine first trip to Vegas. There are lots of nice trips to take from in addition to Grand Canyon and Zion like Death Valley,Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon or use it as a place to start for a loop through southern Utah.
Sep 2nd, 2013, 06:38 AM
#5
Original Poster
Thanks to those who read my little report. I am kind of embarrassed. I should not post when when I am drop dead tired. First we went to Cirque du Soleil. I need to work on my spelling. And Gordon Ramsey's newest Vegas restaurant is in Planet Hollywood and it is spelled BurGR. The Hell's Kitchen burger is really good and it's a nice little gourmet burger joint. Yum too for the onion rings. We did not have reservations but only waited about 10 minutes.
I thought of one tip that might be helpful to anyone who is staying on the strip and wants to go to the Fremont Street Experience. Tell the taxi driver you want to drive past the pawn shop (of Pawn Stars fame). It's not the route they usually take (or want to take) but it saves between $6-7. The shorter ride is much more interesting anyway, you see all the little wedding chapels.
emalloy, thanks, I'm taking your words into consideration. Southern Utah sounds so beautiful.
I thought of one tip that might be helpful to anyone who is staying on the strip and wants to go to the Fremont Street Experience. Tell the taxi driver you want to drive past the pawn shop (of Pawn Stars fame). It's not the route they usually take (or want to take) but it saves between $6-7. The shorter ride is much more interesting anyway, you see all the little wedding chapels.
emalloy, thanks, I'm taking your words into consideration. Southern Utah sounds so beautiful.
Nov 27th, 2013, 02:52 PM
#9
Original Poster
starrs, thanks. Funny, I was thinking about this trip today. I was reading the lounge and the thread about the word elderly. I need to plan more trips like this one, just a lot of fun.
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Sep 17th, 2014 02:51 AM
