Our 12th anniversary was a repeat trip to Vegas.
We started out on the Clipper to Seattle and then flew direct to Vegas,
passing over St Helens and Mt Hood. The first night we stayed at
the Sahara and went to see the Drifters, Platters and Coaster for a
second time. The Drifters and Louis Lymon were the highlight.
We also visited our favorite eating place, Jean
Philippe Patisserie and the fountains at the Bellagio, which felt like
home to us.
On
the second day, we rented a car and headed out to the Valley of Fire and
then on to Zion, where we spent the night in a cabin in the park.
I hadn't been there since I was 12, but it seemed much the same - people
talking quietly under the shady trees in the valley surrounded by steep
cliffs. We hiked up the Virgin River until the trail ran out in
the water. On the second day we hiked up to about the same spot on
Walter's Wiggles where my family turned back when I was a child.
My fear of heights wouldn't let me go any farther. I recalled that
the switchbacks were dust trails when I was a kid but now they are
paved. I also remember how scared I was that Teresa might fall and
how relieved I was when my mother decided we should turn back.
Teresa remembers Dad yelling at her and thinking maybe it was dangerous
after all.
The
third day we drove on to Bryce. I was very surprised by this park,
as I expected to drive through it, but instead you are on a high plateau
over 7,000 feet and you always look down into the hoodoos. At the
south end of the plateau, the elevation is over 9,000 feet. We
found the park staff unfriendly - at 3:30 they had no rooms ready, no
lunch service, no dinner service. We discovered Ruby's Inn in the
town of Bryce nearby and had some great food there, along with most of
the tourists visiting the park from around the world. Menus were
posted in German, French and Chinese and the smorgasbords ran for all 3
meals. In the morning we walked through Red Canyon and enjoyed
this more than Bryce. Talking with a couple, they indicated the
walk down into Bryce was even better and not difficult, so we returned
to Bryce and walked down to the Queen's Garden. I'm glad I
returned, but I still found the smaller Red Canyon much more
intimate. Later that day we drove over a pass of 9,900 feet where
there was lots of snow. Temperatures at the peak were 59 F and two
hours later we were back on the valley floor with temperatures of 104
F. That night we stayed at Binions in the old downtown of
Vegas. Quite a different world with a Mardi Gras atmosphere
and people passing out on the street from drinking. We went
to see Jay Leno that night at the Mirage.
The
fourth day in Vegas was amazing and basically all one location - the
Bellagio. We had paid extra to ensure a view of the fountains this
time and they had upgraded us for free to a suite, but it didn't have a
fountain view. When I declined the free offer, they gave us a
suite with a fountain view. We had 1,020 square feet with 4 remote
TVs and 3 bathrooms, plus private VIP access to the elevators. It
was a blast and we even had them set up a table in our room so we could
have dinner and watch the fountains. I had a Bellagio mixed
grilled which included veal tenderloin, grilled lamb and fillet
mignon. A carafe of coffee and cheese cake completed things
perfectly. What a fabulous anniversary!
