I have wanted to go to Las Vegas, NV, for a very long time, as long as I can remember.  For some reason, I just never got around to it.  Most everyone I know has been.  I even had a recent boyfriend promise to show me Las Vegas because he enjoyed visiting there so much himself.  That never happened.

So I finally got there on my own after meeting a new friend on AARP, who also wanted to go visit again, after seeing it many years ago.  She flew from Oregon, and I flew from New Mexico, and we met there at the Vegas airport shuttle area.  It all went well for two people taking a trip when neither had ever met before in person.  We had of course chatted by email and on the phone so I felt right at home with a new friend.

We stayed at the Tropicana, an older hotel, where we got a great deal on the room.  They were partially under construction, but the friendly people there and service made up for it being less than glitzy.  Everyone there was exceptionally nice. 

When we met one of the maintenance guys in the elevator, he greeted us and told us to contact him personally and let him know if anything was wrong with the room.  We told him about lights that wouldn’t turn on, and they were fixed when we returned.  Now that’s service.  It was like that for the entire visit.

When we arrived, we checked in and got ready to go out on the town because it was evening.  We wanted to see Fremont Steet and were hungry.  The bus ride was fun because the bus driver told jokes over the loudspeaker, while she gave us safety tips about Las Vegas traffic and how not to get run over during our visit, always good to know.

I think we were lucky to have gotten on her bus since she was the last “wanna-be” comedian we had as a bus driver.  The rest were struggling with English as a second language and were hard to understand over the loud speaker.  It was no problem though because there are digital images on screens where you can figure out easily when your stop is coming up.  This is nice technology that all buses should have it.

I was not impressed by the free Fremont Street Experience.  The show did not have any kind of story it seemed, just a lot of noise on the screens overhead.  We ate at McDonalds to save time, and left there, remembering the bus driver said we would have no problem finding our way back to the bus stop because we just needed to walk toward the big yellow lit up chicken. 

There was this large yellow chicken looking thing we walk toward, only to find it was actually an Aladdin-style lamp, when we got right up to it.  It made us wonder if we had actually found the right place until we discovered the bus stop was right there.  It sure did look like a chicken as we walked toward it.

We saw the Pirates Cove show as the bus went by and happened along as they had a big explosion.  It did make me want to jump in a ditch for cover, but I wanted to go back to see the show.  We couldn’t find time this trip.  It really looked like a fun free show out front where the pirate ship was docked I could see them dancing.

We had gotten free tickets to an adult hypnosis show at the Tropicana for that night.  I have a problem with hypnosis shows in general because I do hypnosis and no respectable hypnotist would ever make you cluck like a chicken.  It gives those of us doing healing hypnosis a bad rap.  But it was free, so I sat through it and wondered how this guy didn’t spend most of his time in court with law suites pending.

The next day we got up and saw quite a few hotels.  New York, New York had a band playing out front, which was actually very good.  The Venetian had Gondolas moving about the waterway throughout the hotel.  There were too many people in line to stop and wait for a ride. 

The Belagio was by far the most beautiful and elegant.  The conservatory was unique with its Panda Bear shaped bushes and flowers neatly groomed.  The mirrored horse in the lobby with the glass flowers patterned on the ceiling above was so colorful and inviting.  It was elegant and I could have stayed there for about $129 a night with a great offer that the players club sent me.

We saw two shows that night that were the best of the trip I think.  One was at the Tropicana, called Extreme Magic.  It had a guy moving large tigers around at will from cage to cage.  He had them on a leash when he opened the cage because these animals were from his habitat.  The animals were beautiful and loving toward him.  Not sure how he did the magic.  It was a great show.  I was amazed and felt privileged to be so close to such marvelous animals.

http://www.goldstar.com/events/las-vegas-nv/xtreme-magic-of-dirk-arthur.html

The other show was at the Variety Theater and called “The Mentalist.”  It was the guy who was the catalyst for the show that is now on television.  I guess he had another show on cable too.  He did some amazing tricks.  He chose a set of lotto type numbers before the show, and then got random people to throw those numbers in basketball nets.  He was a super psychic.  I got his DVD, hoping to understand more about how he did it all. 

http://www.mentalist.com/

The next day we took a break and rested before going to the Luxor Hotel to see the Spinx and the Mandalay Bay Hotel, both by free Tram and very close to the Tropicana.  We saw Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra impersonators that night and ate at a cafeteria since that was all we could find at the Riveria without walking farther.  The impersonators were good but not my kind of music so much.  I did enjoy their show.

The biggest problem I found about staying in Las Vegas was one I could not have anticipated.  I had been told repeatedly. by countless people, about how great all the buffets were and how reasonable they were in price.  I was told that there was no problem ever finding something to eat, and it was all very good.  I didn’t find that to be true at all anymore.

I am thinking that because of the economy and lesser numbers of people going to Vegas, the buffets have mostly shut down.  We had problems every day finding meals.  We even met people who were also looking for a buffet or a restaurant we could recommend.  We ate at restaurants and buffets and found both eatable but disappointing.  The best restaurant we ate at was a Mexican one we found under the giant Margarita in that picture next to the Variety Theater.

The elevators that crossed the streets worked at most places, which was great not having to take long flights of stairs to the crosswalks.  The outside escalators would work at times but not at others.  I walked a lot of stairs until I almost refused to do it unless I had to.

The internet was filled with discussions about the Trolley, which has been shut down for a long time we were told.  So don’t believe everything you read on the internet.  The Deuce (bus) was sufficient to get from place to place, but it took longer than any regular bus I’ve ever been on.  It stopped for long periods for no reason it would seem, not uploading or downloading or because of traffic.  I’m still not sure why it would stop except to keep the buses closer to being on time.

I only gambled and lost $32, so that was good.  I know I’m a lightweight.  I had fun doing it because there was a point that walking was getting to be a chore for both of us, so sitting for a spell was easier to do.  The blocks are very long from light to light and sometimes long to and from each bus stop.

I stayed for 3 nights at the Tropicana for about $30 a night for my portion because of a great discount found on the internet and a roommate, who paid half.  When we checked in, they gave each one free show ticket and one show at half price or 2 for one, and that was the big cat show of extreme magic.  We also got two shows at discounted and half price off the internet before getting there.

The Belagio is the most beautiful hotel I saw there, with a conservatory area or garden and an artistry of glass flowers on the ceiling in the lobby and a mirrored horse.  I could have gotten a room there for $129 a night with a discount.  That is where I will stay on my next visit.  They had Panda Bears cut out of the bushes in different settings, so neat. 

I didn't get to ride in the Gondolas at the Venetian because there were too many people in line.  It would have taken too long.  It was fun to watch them boating around.  That takes practice to be able to move those boats in the right direction.  You could tell by watching them.

The whole trip was an experience I am not likely to forget.  I am glad I went when I did because I got to see it but did get to go at a lesser cost.  If I go back, I will have to splurge a little and stay at the Belagio.  I became a member of their players club and will continue to get the hotel deals sent to me.

Videos on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/sprednhealnlite?v=app_2392950137&ref=profile

Photos on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153086&id=592577688&saved#!/album.php?aid=153086&id=592577688

I was able to upload videos and pictures on Facebook.  You only have to be a member and sign in to see them, which is free.  It is just too difficult to upload anything on AARP.  Maybe when the new site is up I can.