News to me................

Hi Jessica, I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo which was shortlisted has been selected for inclusion in the newly released fourth edition of our Schmap Las Vegas Guide: Top of the World Restaurant www.schmap.com/lasvegas/toppicks_restaurants/p=33242/i=33242_1.jpg Thanks so much for letting us include your photo - please enjoy the guide! Best regards, Emma Williams, Managing Editor, Schmap Guides

*Our dinner at the Top of the World Restaurant in Las Vegas was most memorable, read more about that evening here at: Wayfaring.Wanderer: Thursday Evening in Las Vegas

Fremont Street

Overflowing with vintage charm the Fremont Street Experience was on happening place. Unfortunately for us we didn't end up there until our last night but we quickly realized that is was by far our most favorite scene as far as glitz and momentum were concerned. Where as with the strip things are a little more spread out even though every square inch of it is covered with buildings. The atmosphere was just so lively and comfortable you just assumed that you fit in. And truth be told we did! We hung out at the Fremont Casino for a couple hours and that is where I finally got up the nerve to play at a blackjack table. I kept getting in trouble for doing the wrong thing, haha. "Don't touch your cards with both hands!" and then I couldn't count fast enough when I was put on the spot, I was a real mess. I still had fun though either way - I lost $40.00 but at least I tried!

Now this right here was absolutely insane. The world's largest big screen coined Viva Vision! We didn't catch this one show which involves jets but the show we did see was really big and really loud. I mean I don't exactly know what to think about something like that. It was massive!

So this is really the end of our Las Vegas trip and as you can see we did a whole lot of really neat things. I've caught myself wishing on more than one occasion this week that we were all back there. But it's on to the next adventure! I don' t know exactly what or where that will be but as soon as I figure it out I bet you'll know. Just in case you haven't noticed I have a new Flickr account which I have started filling with pictures from our most recent trip some that were not posted here so check it out when you get the opportunity.

RED ROCKS

(Last) Friday mid-afternoon once we left The Venetian we dropped Sister off at the hotel and Jared, Cody & myself went to Red Rocks. It was another exceptionally windy day so what we did when we got to Red Rocks was drive the 13-mile one way loop. And we also went into the Visitor Center because of course I had to buy a postcard! Anyways, we did get out of the car a few times to take some photos but for most of the ride we stayed inside the vehicle to avoid

being wind-blown. It would have been great if we would have actually had time to explore and hike a trail at least but we got there too late. Despite that the scenery was unbelievable, what we were seeing seemed artificial almost. Like they were backdrops straight out of Hollywood and we were on a set or some sort.
It was extremely challenging to try and fit everything in, we were only there a short while. Not even long enough to get adjusted to the time change, really. We did as much as we could without overdoing it I think. Had we tried to do any more and I would have been an absolute wreck! But we knew our limits and that was a good thing. The pictures taken on the far side of the 13-mile loop didn't come out as well since there was an enormous cloud looming above the mountain range. It definitely rained on our try to catch the sunset parade. Man, you can't believe how windy it was out there! We basically just drove through but I'm still glad that I at least got to see it for myself even if it wasn't in the greatest of detail.

Fri(day) in Las Vegas

Where the streets are paved with water.............we decided to check out the VENETIAN on Friday morning. The moment you step through the door your senses are bombarded with the sheer grandeur of Venice brought to life right before your very eyes. From the hand-painted frescoed ceilings to the statuary placed throughout the hotel everything was marvelous. The Grand Canal Shoppes was were Cody and I took an authentic Gondola Ride complete with our own serenading Gondolier - and she had the most amazing voice. There were even performers in the square before, after and during our ride. The "living statutes" were kind of creepy but they will apparently do anything in Las Vegas to keep you entertained. The Venetian was definitely the most unique hotel we visited.
I hope that so far you have enjoyed hearing about our trip. I'm also in the process of uploading photos onto Flickr.

Thursday Evening in Las Vegas

"Top of the World" Restaurant

After a day in Mount Charleston we wanted to make sure that we got back to the hotel in time for our dinner reservations for the Top of the World Restaurant but things don't always turn out the way we expect now do they! The guys can definitely place full blame on me and Sister for making it 15 minutes late for our reservations. Either way no one made a big deal about it and the important thing is, we made it there. We even had to go through security to get into the restaurant, I mean how posh is that! When we first stepped foot into the restaurant we barely noticed the hostess trying to seat us because we were so awe-struck by the amazing view in front of our eyes. I think we were all floored upon walking into such an extraordinary sight. Sister and I couldn't get over the blanket of lights that covered the city, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. And just so you can see the entire city from every angle it rotated while we ate dinner - how cool is that! Instead of agonizing over the menu on dishes that I had never had we decided to have one of their sample menus. We were served four courses of pure bliss that was accompanied by wine that they had already chosen. The less decisions I have to make, the happier I am! Everything was sooooo delicious - I ate as slowly as I could to enjoy every last bite. Now forgive me for not being able to remember the exact name of what we had - 1st Course was a dish with Tuna, 2nd Course was roasted Lamb Chop with sautéed Sea Bass, 3rd Course was Kobe Beef Medallions with creamy lentil risotto, 4th Course was the Chocolate Crème brûlée. Everything was melt in you mouth good in my opinion although the view definitely overshadowed the food. The meal was hellaciously expensive but well worth the once in a lifetime opportunity to have dinner "On Top of the World", literally. It was an amazing night!* After dinner we were allowed to go up to the observation deck but it was so windy outside I could only stand out there for a minute or two. So, the pictures of lights were done be Jared since I couldn't hang. The picture of the actual Stratosphere was taken while I hung out the window on our way to the hotel from the famous Fremount Street but that was on Friday night.

Thurs(day) in Las Vegas

MOUNT CHARLESTON

The most magical place by far during our trip was definitely Mt. Charleston. Far different from the desert that surrounds the larger part of Las Vegas which is exactly why I felt that we should go there. At over 1,100 feet the weather was a lot cooler in Kyle's Canyon and the wind was kicking just the same although it didn't stop us from taking a short hike in the canyon anyway. It was well worth the small amount of discomfort for the sake of nature. I realized while there that I was considerably happier being outdoors and that the most favorite part of my Las Vegas trip was the outdoorsy aspect I enjoyed overall. During this time Sister stayed behind to lay by the pool which at first didn't sit well with me but then I also understand to each his own. She likes shopping and laying by the pool while I like hiking and taking pictures! But boy am I glad I didn't miss the opportunity to witness Mt. Charleston with my own eyes. Another tidbit of "news" is in my opinion the most bona fide souvenir that anyone could ever come home with after a vacation. You would never believe me if I didn't have the proof but good thing I'm all about maintaining records! So, after our hike up the Cathedral Rock trail and returning to the car we are descending the mountain but decide to stop off on the side of the road to take some photos of the Aspen's which were absolutely magnificent by the way and upon our exit of the trees I walked up to these two women parked next to us also taking photos. They were trying to take photos of us! Cody came out soon after I did and was also subjected to the burst of the shutter by the photographer. After talking with them for a minute we discovered that they were actually with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. And that they were in Kyle's Canyon to do a story about the Cathedral Rock trail since it will soon be closed to undergo major renovations for the next two years or so. Guess we got lucky, huh!Well, they took our information and said that maybe they would use one of our photos in the newspaper. Crazy right, the next day we stopped at the grocery store and I remembered about the article and reminded Cody to grab a paper. When he got back in the car we hurriedly shuffled through the pages and low and behold, I screamed nearly shattering Cody & Jared's eardrums, there he was "Leaping into Fall" Cody was IN the Las Vegas newspaper!!! I mean who goes on their vacation and ends up in the newspaper?!?! hahaha, it was awesome! Didn't I tell you........best memento ever! So, yeah Mt. Charleston was definitely a highlight of the trip although they were all pretty much highlights now that I think about it................Wait till' you see what we did that night!!! I may not post it today but I will do it tomorrow. I can't take anymore of this computer business!

I know you missed me!!!!!!!

So, I lied. I'm sure that I would have liked you all to think that I am wild and crazy and that I got into all sorts of mischief on our most recent trip to Las Vegas but sorry to report that - no I did not! But we did have an awesome time. There were so many things to do and such a short amount of time to do it in. For the remainder of the week I will be posting pictures and details about what we did while in the city that never sleeps. I did my best not to drive everyone insane with an itinerary that outlined everything and everywhere I wanted to go. I soon realized that it was extremely impractical to try and do EVERYTHING on my list. I thought it best to take our time and not rush around so that it would actually feel like a vacation. Coordinating 4 people was a challenge since some were ready faster than others and ideals weren't always parallel when picking out things to do but it was okay anyway. Most of our downtime was spent at our hotel - THE TROPICANA. For the price we paid it proved to be more than what I initially expected. Their slogan is "The way Las Vegas was meant to be" because they are one of the oldest hotels still standing on the strip and from the outdated decor you can surely tell. But instead of that taking away it definitely added to the experience; I would highly recommend The Tropicana if any of you are thinking of heading to the Las Vegas Strip anytime soon. They didn't have a whole lot of gambling tables to offer but there were a butt load of slots to dump your money in. I'm sure you're all wondering whether I won or lost..............well, I pretty much just lost. What little bit I did actually gamble. It really just wasn't my thing I suppose but it was fun. I didn't get up the nerve to play blackjack until Friday night. As with Cody & Jared they preferred the blackjack tables to anything else. You do lose your money a lot slower that way as opposed to putting your money into the bottomless slots. Our hotel was really close to New York New York which was Sisters favorite place to hang out. She went there I can't even tell you how many times! It was a pretty neat place. I couldn't believe how massive these hotels were and how complicatedly decorated they all are I mean inside and out. I'm sure that I would be cringing for days had I actually known how much money all that stuff costs. You definitely feel pressure to buy, buy, buy but I resisted the temptation. Okay, I take that back - I bought more postcards than the average human being. And I would go so far as to say that I spent more money on postcards than I did on gambling, hahaha. I even thought at one point that maybe I should go to or start some sort of postcard anonymous. I did cut myself off and besides they aren't all for me. Maybe I'm going to send you one?!?!? Also across the street from our hotel was The Excalibur which was the most absurd thing you would ever lay your eyes on! We ventured there late Friday night in search of a $5 blackjack table but instead were left disappointed. So we only stayed there for a short amount of time before deciding that it was way past our bedtime. It was really hard to adjust to the time change in just four days so we would stay up late and wake up way too early which threw us way off! So to cover all four corners the other hotel across the way was the MGM Grand. Now this is one that for some reason we weren't all to interested to see what was inside so it went unexplored but here is a shot of it anyhow. And pretty much our first night was about feeling it all out, we walked as far as the Bellagio before turning back to head towards our end of the strip. We did however catch the fountain show in front of the Bellagio which was pretty cool. Let me tell you what the most exorbitant sight was ..........okay I know I should have taken a picture but I didn't............even the Walgreens and CVS had bright shining flashing showy Las Vegas lights! It was crazy! But we did finally get tired once the jet lag finally caught up to us and we went back to the hotel room for some shut eye. I know you can't wait to see what we did the next day can you, I can barely stand it myself. But bear with me - Cody and I both are experiencing some computer difficulties at the moment so I have faith that my computer can make it a little longer..............

And Away She Goes...........................

I found this while flipping through Cody's maxim magazine and it just reaffirmed my excitement for the upcoming adventure we will be facing. If you feel like it you should read it, it made me chuckle. It is not part of our normal routine to go out at night to "party" or what have you but by golly I am going to make my mission of having fun turn out to be a successful one if it kills me. I'm sure that it won't be too trying to have fun.......................So, officially we won't be back home until Sunday afternoon sometime so the Wayfaring.Wanderer blog will be inactive for a few days but believe me when we get back I will have more pictures than you can shake a stick at! I am equipped with 4 camera batteries so I don't have to worry about losing power and I have three 1 GB memory cards which with my camera will allow me to take about 350 pictures each card which should be plenty!! I can't wait to share the experience with everyone when I return - hope you all have a wonderful week!
VIVA LAS VEGAS!