April 26, 2009 - Las Vegas

Vegas is becoming an annual trip for us. This was the first time that we went in April. Temperatures were prefect in the low 80s during the day and no jacket required in the evenings. We stayed at the Flamingo again. I especially enjoy there floor to ceiling windows covering the entire length of the exterior wall. The rooms are fine. One downside is the noisy toilet that runs on a hydraulic canister of some kind. Also, the Flamingo doesn’t provide free internet anywhere – it’s $14 per day. Head to the Venetian Food Court for free wireless access.

On our first day, we discovered the Planet Hollywood Spice Market buffet. It was in the moderate price range for buffets on the strip, but quickly became our favorite buffet. Foods that I’d recommend (there’s lots more to choose from than this list) include:
· Alaska King Crab legs
· Tempura shrimp
· Prime rib
· Tandoori beef kabob
· Meat balls
· Asparagus
· Italian bread
· Mushroom ragout
· Stuffed tomatoes
· Middle eastern rice
· Stirfry broccoli & veggies

The desserts are almost endless as well. My favorites included:
· Bread pudding
· Crème Brule
· Made to order crepes cooked in brandy (the best is blueberry)
· M&Ms and cotton candy for an après desert

For our first full day, we walked for miles checking out familiar places. The Jean Philippe Patisserie had proscuito paninis and palmiers again, so they were back in our good books – delicious. That evening we went to the Beatles Love performance at the Mirage. It was our second time and it was truly amazing and well worth the second visit.

Our second day turned out to be an adventure. I’d allowed time to visit Death Valley, but finding a rental car turned out to be a challenge. We wandered about with our GPS but couldn’t find a car for under $120 per day, which seemed outrageous. Finally we stumbled on to an independent rental company and we were off.

Death Valley was intriguing to me, but not of much interest to Viki. See my write up and pics at www.takethatvacation.com/Destinations/DeathValley.asp  We came in from the east side off of US95. After surviving a 20-minute delay for construction and 10 miles of gravel chips without a broken windshield, we arrived at the park. Our first experience was a climb to the 5,000 foot level to Dantes View. It was a cool temperature and the altitude made walking noticeably strained. The view over Death Valley was great, even though it was windy resulting in dust obscuring the views somewhat. From there we descended to the valley floor, stopping at Zambraske Point along the way. This area was where borax was mined and carried out hundreds of miles by 20 mule teams. I still remember the 20 mule team borax ads from my childhood. At Furnace Creek on the valley floor, we wandered through the Furnace Creek Hotel. It was intriguing, with thick concrete walls and a tunnel from the basement that led to the visitor parking. The hotel was very cool in temperature despite the 90 degree April weather. Unfortunately there was no place to have an hors d’oeuvre and look out over the pool at the valley. The other accommodation at Furnace Creek was at the Ranch nearby. There were also several campgrounds indicated, but I fail to understand why anyone would camp here at any time of year.

From the visitor center, I extended the trip by heading north to the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells. We then headed back toward Las Vegas, skipping out on Scotty’s Castle. We returned to Vegas by driving the entire length of the valley southward. Just south of Furnace Creek at Badwater was my favorite part of the Death Valley experience. Badwater is an area where the salt lake evaporation area touches right up against the bordering mountain chain that marks the valley’s eastern edge. You can see the salt crystals forming in small pools and you can walk out on the salt flat. When you look back at the mountains, there is a sea level marker looming far above you and you get the sensation of being 240 feet underneath the sea. The most striking feature of Badwater is the silence though. There is nothing around to make a sound except the sound of your own steps and breathing. It’s the quietest experience I’ve ever had and it drew me to want to stay.

While we were in Furnace Creek, I noticed that the front left tire on the rental car was low, so I filled it up. Luckily, it held the rest of the day. It caused some anxious moments as we traveled the 75 miles south from Furnace Creek with no services, no side roads, no houses, no people and only 3 cars coming our way in those 75 miles. I thought I might be reliving a childhood experience of sleeping by the roadside in Death Valley. Viki was pleased that we kept right on traveling. Taking the valley route south was scenic and much better than US95, though it did take a little longer. By the time we were done, we had traveled for 8 hours and put 400 miles on the rental car. Luckily the Planet Hollywood buffet was ready for us on our return.

Our 3rd day in Vegas was very relaxed. We made it to the Bellagio Fountains for the 3:00 pm start which includes our favorite – Time to Say Goodbye with Andrea Bochelli and Sara Brightman. That evening we went to the Donny and Marie show at the Flamingo. This show was excellent. Highlights included Marie calling fellow in a T-shirt and ball cap up on stage, where she thanked him for dressing up and made him sing Patsy Cline’s Crazy with her. He sang “feeling you” instead of “feeling blue” and couldn’t keep a melody. It was hilarious. I also enjoyed the joking and teasing that Donny & Marie did with each other. A big surprise was how well Marie sounded in her opera song, which Donny gagged at. I’d seen Donny and Marie in the 80s at a hockey arena in Nanaimo and this show was much better. I do recall that Donny climbed up and down over seats through the crowd in Nanaimo and he hasn’t changed his enthusiasm for the crowd in all those years. He made several trips into the crowd, climbing over table tops and booths to move about. It reminded me that though people’s bodies change and fade, our personalities and spirit hold true.

On the fourth day, we headed back on Westjet. I can’t say enough about this company. Courteous service, flights that are on time and direct flights from Victoria to Vegas now. I particularly found the head attendant charming. She reminded passengers that if the oxygen masks dropped, that they should put theirs on first and then help small children, boyfriends and husbands. She also warned us that on arrival luggage in the overhead bins might be excited to see us.

I’m continually amazed at how much I enjoy Las Vegas. It’s become a special part of our lives.