Honeymoon in Vegas Day 7

We took the car back this morning & they were willing to drop us of at the end of the strip (Mandalay Bay). (Which happened to be just where we wanted to go.) We hadn't been to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay yet. Having just been to the aquarium at the Wharf in San Francisco & not very impressed, we were not sure what to expect at Shark Reef. It was awesome!

First of all they hand you your little "magic wand" to that tells you all about any exhibit you want to know more about. OK, it's not magic & I don't know why they call it a wand. It's more like a cell phone. You dial the number of the exhibit & it tells you about the animal or whatever the exhibit is. If you want more details, you press the # and get more. It's like having your own guide. It even has numbers that talk to you about the divers, what they are doing & why. I think there was even mention of the food & the method that is use for feeding.

They have the little tide pools where you can touch the rays & crabs, etc. That wasn't new & Fisherman's Wharf & the Monterey Bay aquarium have more creatures to interact with, but interesting just the same. They have a great jellyfish tank too, it made me dizzy, like a kaleidoscope.

The final area is a huge tank with sharks & sea turtles, lots of other fish & a barracuda. The sharks & turtles were fun to watch. The setting is that you are in a sunken ship. There are glass windows for you to look out of in the walls, the floor & the ceiling. It was quite impressive.

We meandered back to Cesar’s Palace to catch the shuttle before the dinner hours. We stopped at the MGM Grand for a final look at the lions.

We also stopped in at Treasure Island since we hadn’t been there yet. They had an amazing custom chopper for viewing.

And we may have stopped and other hotels as we went. This was a pretty awesome honeymoon!

Honeymoon in Vegas Day 6

Yesterday we debated if we should go to Red Rock Canyon or back to the Hoover Dam & the Hoover Dam won. We asked the concierge to reserve a car at Enterprise either way. (I love Enterprise! It was like $30 for the day & we were upgraded.)

Enterprise came to pick us up at 8:30a. We were off to the Dam by 9:00a. The Hoover Dam tour was very interesting. They have begun tours that start to go back into the Dam. Since 9-11 they had stopped those tours. Now with the new construction & new road they may open the tours even more. Yes this photo looks like it's upside down, but this is a picture from a vent inside the dam looking up. Our tour ended & we actually came out of the tower you see in this photo. The covered area on the left is the look out area for the pedestrians/tourists. You get some jealous looks when you come out of a secure tour right into a crown of tourists. Well they can do the tour too, just fork out a few bucks:-)

We had a good time. The tour & looking around & getting there took all morning. We had packed a lunch in the car. So we ate a late lunch on PB&J sitting in the back of the Crusier in the parking lot looking over the dam.


We headed back to Las Vegas & stopped at the Disney Outlet Store down the street from the hotel. It was a lot of walking & standing around all day. We picked up some take-out & went back to the hotel to crash.

Honeymoon in Vegas Day 5

We took the early shuttle to the strip again today. We hopped on the train & got as close to the convention center as possible then walked to Vegas Indoor Skydiving
Here is what we did there.


After that we walked to Circus Circus for a Craps lesson. We redeemed our free buffet around lunch & wandered around the midway for quite a while. Mostly we spent our quarters on ski ball, arcade games, pin ball & air hockey. They are way more fun that slots. At least you know you will lose that money.

We meandered down to the Tropicana by dinner time to cash in our show tickets. We went to Les Folies Bergere at the Tropicana. I really wanted to see a "Las Vegas Show", but I was not impressed. I mean, I was impressed by the individuals in the show, but not so much with the show in its entirety. And I'll admit it, I don't get why you would have topless women on stage if they aren't dancing provocatively. There is an early show & a late show. It's the exact same show except the later one has a lot of topless women (not all of them). I'm afraid I fail to see the point.

Honeymoon in Vegan Day 4

We headed to the strip on the first shuttle this morning. We watched Obama's inauguration speech at the Riviera. Then we went on our second sales presentation of the week. We got some show tickets & a free buffet out of it.

We spent some more time on the strip & get to the MGM Grand to watch KA'

Honeymoon in Vegas Day 3

Today we went on a Self-guided tour to the Grand Canyon. We were picked up at the hotel & dropped off at Hertz where we got directions & our H2.

The tour took us out of Nevada, over the Hoover Dam, through the Joshua Tree Forest & to the West Rim. It was a really fun trip. We'll have to come back again to see all the stuff we missed. There was an option in the tour to stay at the West Rim at the Hualapai (wä'lə-pī') Lodge & make it a two day trip. I think that's the way to see everything & experience all the things available to you. But we weren't prepared to pay that much this time. Next time we'll be prepared.

The directions were really easy to follow. They even had a short detour to view some big horn sheep (or was it mountain goats?). Anyway, we didn't see them, but we took the detour just in case they were there. It was just a minute or two off the main road, so why not take the chance? We stopped for an hour or so to walk over the Hoover Dam & take pictures. We decided we might do the tour another day. The most interesting thing to see at the moment is the construction going on. They are building a bridge for the new road that will bypass the dam. No more 15mph road with tourist crosswalks just to get from Nevada to Arizona.

The Joshua Tree Forrest was different. I've never really seen a Joshua tree. Idaho does have a lot of Yucca plants which are related. They look so soft, but Ax's beautiful bald head proved that they are quite the opposite.

You make a turn onto a well maintained dirt road to get to the West Rim. There was still snow in the shady areas of the mountains even though it was jacket weather that day. It was so odd driving up the mountain. There was very little traffic. It was a peaceful drive but when we got to the check in area, there were lots of people in helicopters & cars, just lots of activity.

The West Rim Welcome Center was the hub of all you can do in the area. The Hualapai run it all. There is a big gift shop & ticketing area. We already paid for our trip we were just picking up the tickets. This is also the Air Terminal for the helicopter rides, etc. There was plenty to see from this place without going any farther, the people, the stuff for sale, the helicopters & buses coming & going & the view of the mountains & canyon walls in the distance.

We had our choice of three locations to eat. The first stop was 5 miles away, called Eagle Point. This is where the glass Skywalk bridge is located. They are still working on the building's construction or remodeling, but the skywalk is in use. Cameras are not allowed & you go through security to do this. (Make sure you leave your pocket knives in the car.) Ax had his ticket to go onto the Skywalk. He says he's not sure it's worth the money or not. I am of the opinion that if you really want to look down 5000 feet or so, it's safer to be on the Skywalk than to inch closer & closer to the edge of the canyon wall for a peek. I'm OK not looking down 5000 feet...ever!

Eagle point is named for the eagle shape that exists in the wall of the canyon. Kind of a "Warshak thing". Eagle Point also has some examples of different types of teepees & huts the Hualapai used at one time. And the Hualapai are all around to answer questions.

We waited till the second stop, Guano Point, to eat a late lunch. Eagle Point had Chinese food & we just ate Chinese yesterday. Guano Point had BBQ pork, cornbread, veggies, spiced apples, etc. We ate at a picnic table with an amazing view.

The ravens were plentiful, but not nearly as intimidating as Yellowstone's ravens. They must get a lot of scraps from people in the busy season. Guano Point had the best view. We took our best pictures there. The view as soon as you get off the bus is awesome, but if you climb to the top it's just extraordinary.

They explain that Guano point is where the Hualapai once gathered bat guano for use in women’s makeup mostly. But once a plane flew through the canyon & cut the wires on their machine, that put an end to the Hualapai's guano business. They never restrung the lines because of the increase in air traffic. It would just happen again.

Out last stop was the ranch. The sun was getting ready to go down so the animals were being returned to the stable & brushed down. This occupied the cowboys so there were no more lasso or quick draw lessons. There were, however, some photo opportunities in the jail, on the gallows, the saloon & the undertaker's. We went into the Dance Hall to find another gift shop & a cowboy still doin' card tricks. Ax knew a couple of the tricks, but he was pretty impressed just the same.

We headed back to the H2 & then back to Vegas as the sun set. Going through the Joshua Tree Forest was funny, because you can only see the silhouettes. I started seeing characters out of Dr Seuss books. (I think I saw Sam, some Sneetches or Whos & maybe a Lorax.)
When we got back to Vegas it was only dinner time but we were pooped. We ordered a pizza & watched some TV. It was a good day!

Honeymoon in Vegas Day 2

This morning I was able to get up before Ax & read a while. It seams like my only reading time I make is on vacation or on my lunch hour at work. It takes a long time to finish a book on about 30 minutes 4 times a week. It already feels like I'm on vacation missing work, but it's only Sunday. This is going to be a great vacation even if we do nothing else. Ax is sleeping in! He never does that. I'll have to bug him about sleeping the day away later:-) We don't have anything to do till 10:00am when the hotel shuttle takes folks on a daily grocery run.

Once Ax was awake he wrestled with the Internet in our hotel room. Here is a new trick we learned: Sometimes the router just isn't getting enough power from the outlet it's plugged into. Sometimes you just need to take it to another outlet or unplug other electronics from that outlet. This may save you an hour or so and a call to tech support.

We headed down to the concierge then to breakfast at the hotel's cafe. We booked LaCage tickets for tonight, KA tickets for Tuesday & a cheap car rental on Thursday. I really like Enterprise. When you need a car, "they pick you up." They were the only ones that would rent me a car before I was 24. And they don't have any problem with a non-driver renting a car for a driver. And they're still competitively priced on top of that. OK enough of my commercial...

At breakfast our service was poor. The girl at the counter all but rolled her eyes when we placed our order. Teens have such great customer service skills, don't they? We went grocery shopping after that so we won't have to look at her little expressionless face again this week. Yeah! It's really the little victories, it's it?

We managed to let ourselves get roped into our first sales presentation of the week. We didn't have any plans till the evening so we went to a "time share" presentation. We like it. It's a points system with no specific location or week of the year. They have lots of locations in the places we want to visit & contract with another "time share" company that has even more locations all over the world.

OK, now for the most interesting part of a slow day... After "system issues" at the sales presentation we managed to miss the last shuttle that we needed to catch to make it to The Riviera in time for LaCage. The hotel sprung for a cab for us. The cab driver was a hoot. He told us where the scarier parts of town were as we passed by & how may hundreds of thousands of points he had with Worldmark. It'd be nice to have the time to use that many points. On the way, there was an emergency with another cab. They have a system - green lights - I never noticed them before. So we were on the lookout for a cab with his green light on so that the cops could be called to surround it. OK, we didn't find it, but the driver was such a colorful story teller of what could happen or what has happened in the past, it was exciting enough just looking for the green light.

We managed to get hooked again at the Riviera when asking for directions. We set up a time to go to another “time share” presentation on Tuesday & we’d get dinner & a show out of it.


We didn't bring the camera with us to LaCage. We thought, what's the point, they probably won't allow cameras & we won't have anywhere to put it. But we didn't think about getting pictures after the show. Oh, well. Now we have a reason to go back. The show was hosted by "Joan Rivers." He does an awesome impersonation. He also changed gowns like 30 times during the show & looked great in everything. That's impressive enough. There were impersonators for Reba McIntyre & Celine Dion, Dolly Parton & Madonna, Cher, Diana Ross, Judy Garland & Bette Midler, Michael Jackson & 1 fat guy that did a spoof of Madonna & Tammy Wynette.

They were all good. I’m not exactly sure how Michael Jackson fits into a drag show, but he isn’t exactly a man is he? “Michael Jackson” had a small belly, that was distracting for me, but the act was right on. I think the audience wasn’t the right age because the applause wasn’t in the right spot for a Michael Jackson performance. A recreation of Michael's first moon walk should have brought the house down. But the applause didn’t start till the music changed in the montage.

“Celine Dion” was hilarious. The same guy returned as Reba MacIntyre. I’ve been to a concert of hers, he nailed it! “Cher” was awesome, I wish I had his body … No wait, I don’t want all his parts. He was funny too. The performance was great!. “Diana Ross” was the one I was in awe over. I’m still not completely convinced that he was lip-syncing. “Dolly” & “Madonna” were perfect with a sense of humor, too. That impersonator stands out the most in our minds because the last number he changes from gown to suit & takes off the makeup. It’s amazing what makeup can do. The man who played Bette Midler & Judy Garland was pretty good. But I’m afraid I was a little creeped out by his Judy Garland performance. He was doing a specific recording or performance of hers when she was older. She had a bit of a shake in her hand then, I think, & he was reproducing that. If not, he has gotten shaky & I’m still a little creeped out. It’s one thing to be a young & beautiful drag queen, but I just don’t feel the same way about an old drag queen. The show was great & the folks we met in the audience were funny too.

Honeymoon in Vegas Day 1

It's been several months since we got married. Since we had our share of adventures surrounding the wedding itself, we decided to put off the honeymoon till now. Thanks to my new in-laws we had our choice of honeymoon locations to choose from. We chose Las Vegas. This is my first time out of the airport in Vegas.

We took a relatively early flight so that we could fit in some sight-seeing time the day we arrived. The hotel check-in wasn't till 4:00pm but they let us check our bags for the day. The hotel had a shuttle every 90 minutes that went to The Strip. We were dropped off at Caesar's Palace which is close to the middle. We headed in the direction of the MGM Grand looking for M&M World.

Surprisingly, the casinos that caught our attention & were the hardest to pass rather than walking through were The Flamingo with Margaretville & Bill's. They both set right on the street & there isn't a bunch of stuff between you and the casino to distract you from entering. We were like bugs flying into the light except we were following the Cheeseburger in Paradise T-shirts, flashing lights & dinging slot machines.

We finally got to M&M World. It’s a much longer walk that you think. We had fun looking through all 4 floors of M&M junk. We even bought something. Did anyone else know there are about a million different M&M dispensers/candy dishes in the world? Well there are. I’m sure you can find one that will catch your fancy if you visit this place. If not, there are T-shirts, PJs, leather jackets, sheets, towels, Christmas ornaments, pillows, key chains, dishes, toys, office supplies and God knows what else.

One floor has a little self-guided tour with audio that explains how M&Ms are made. In fact you walk through the M&M making process as if you were the chocolate center. You stager through the revolving tube that adds the candy coating & then walk through some car wash brushes that polish you up. There are several photo opportunities with Green, Red, Yellow, Blue & Orange. You can also view dioramas of the various M&Ms in odd situations like on stage as the Beatles or staying after school to write lines on the black board ("I will not melt in your hand. I will not melt in your hand.")

The top floor is a theater in which a 3D movie of sorts is playing every 15 minutes or so. We watched I Lost My “M” in Vegas staring Red & Yellow.

On our way back to Caesar's Palace we walked through the Miracle Mile shops. We got back to the pick-up location at exactly 3:15p which was supposed to be the time they leave. Well the driver chose to leave a few minutes early. By the end of the week we discovered that this particular driver tended to leave early & he drove the wrong way through parking lots. It's hard to catch a shuttle at the exit when it leaves the parking lot through the entrance half a block away. The other two drivers understood how to use a watch & knew what those arrows in the parking lot meant. So, we had missed our shuttle, our feet were killing us & we now had an additional 90 minutes to kill. We ducked into the bar just inside, LA Salsa.

I don't usually do a lot of people watching because that just makes me dwell on how very many people are around me. Either the bar was cozy or I was so tired it wouldn't have mattered how big a crowd I was in & I was checking out the outfits some girls were wearing. I just have to say that if you really must wear a mini or even a micro mini skirt, which I don't recommend unless you’re selling "it", but they are still skirts. They are supposed to cover your butt. If it doesn't, why wear it at all?