Sin City

Trip Dates: November 2009, May 2011, & May 2012

What blog would be complete without a post about Las Vegas?  I have been to Vegas on three separate occasions now.  The first time I was there was with my immediate, and some of my extended, family, as well as, Christine's immediate family.  There was a lot of people there (13!), which made it difficult to do everything because everybody seemed to be going in different directions all of the time, but it was still a great trip none the less.  Since it was my first time in the city I wanted to see all of the sights Vegas had to offer.  I can't tell you how many times I walked up and down the strip taking it all in.  It's kind of hard to comprehend Las Vegas until you're actually immersed in it.  The lights, the people, and the money, it's like no other city I've ever been to!  We stayed at Harrah's Hotel and Casino on this trip.  It is sandwiched between Imperial Palace and Casino Royale and right across the street from Caesar's Palace and The Mirage.  Location-wise it's tough to beat on the Strip as you're almost right in the middle of everything!  My extended family wound up staying at Luxor, which, unfortunately, was at the opposite end of the Strip.

Las Vegas, also known as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is located in the state of Nevada, in the United States of America.  It has a population of just under 600,000 people.  The famous Las Vegas Strip, which is a section of Las Vegas Boulevard, is 6.8km in length and is lined with hotels, casinos, restaurants, pubs, stores, and night clubs.

Harrah's Hotel and Casino

Harrah's Jester

Buck & Winnie inside Harrah's

Our hotel on the first trip

Harrah's is also home to Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill

Sarah and Jerry on the Strip

The Mirage volcano erupts every night on the hour

Dixon brothers outside Mirage

Treasure Island

There is also a nightly show at Treasure Island featuring the Sirens of TI

The Bellagio

The Capewell siblings outside Bellagio

Dad, Mom, Aunty Jo, and Uncle Gary

Sarah, Chris, and I

The famous Fountains of Bellagio show

Chris and I after the show

The Fountains of Bellagio

Paris Las Vegas

A replica of the Arc de Triomphe

Eiffel Tower replica

Caesar's Palace

The Strip

Capewell's doing a little light shopping!

I think this gorilla tried to steal Christine's purse!

Caesar's Palace and the Forum Shops

Caesar's Palace emblem

Statue of David outside Caesar's Palace

The Venus de Milo is also outside

Aunty Jo and Mom sitting on the Fountain of the Gods inside the Forum Shops

Fremont Street is basically the old strip in Las Vegas

It's home to older casinos such as 4 Queens...

...and the Golden Nugget

Kyle enjoying himself on Fremont Street

Dad and Kyle

Fremont Street

One of Fremont Street's nightly Viva Vision shows

Family picture on Fremont Street

Kyle and I with a Vegas Showgirl

Doing a little more shopping at the outdoor outlet mall

The Luxor Hotel.  This is where the rest of our group stayed.

This card is stuck in one of the glass doors at the entrance to Luxor.  It was part of a magic trick preformed by Criss Angel.  The card is still stuck in the glass today.  

We decided to go and see the Titanic Artifact Exhibition at Luxor

The Big Piece!  This 15-ton piece of the starboard hull of the Titanic is the largest piece of the ship to be recovered.

New York, New York

MGM Grand

The Mirage

The Luxor Sky Beam is the strongest beam of light in the world.  On a clear night the Sky Beam is visible up to 443km away by aircraft at cruising altitude, which is equivalent to a plane over Los Angeles!

Excalibur

Another view of the Strip

We ran into this gem inside the Flamingo Casino.  Priceless!

Sarah and Kyle's "engagement"!

The Venetian

A replica of the Rialto Bridge

Family picture in Harrah's on our last morning

The second time I visited Vegas was for Rob's bachelor party.  Yes, I know it is very cliché to go to Las Vegas for a stag, but when we were back in high school our closest group of friends agreed that the first one to take the plunge would have their bachelor party in Vegas.  Our Vegas bachelor party was very different from what you're used to seeing in movies like The Hangover, namely because none of us had that type of disposable income, but let's be honest, it was just a movie after all!  Needless to say we had a pretty great time and we definitely ended up with a few stories of our own, but you know what they say, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

This banner hangs in the airport

I stayed at the Imperial Palace during my second visit to Vegas

The rest of the guys stayed at Ballys.  They were all travelling from Regina together and they got a better package deal there than I could from Calgary.

The sun setting over the Strip as viewed from a room in Ballys

Ready to hit the town

About to watch The Mirage volcano

The Mirage volcano erupting

Rob and Tate at Carnaval Court

The Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas

Caesar's Palace

Enjoying lunch and some cold bevy's at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville

Me, Mike, and the bachelor himself

Andrew, Sean, Tate, and I

MGM Grand

The lion statue that stands outside the hotel and casino

Real lions inside the MGM Grand

Rob and Sean inside a limo and looking a little sun burnt!

The last time I was in Las Vegas was with Christine's family again.  We stayed at Harrah's and had a wonderful extended weekend.  Vegas is a nice to place to get away and enjoy yourself, but I can only handle it for three or four days at a time.  By then, I've had enough and need to get back home!  No matter how hard I try, Vegas always wins!

Sarah and Adam made some new friends along the Strip on our first night in town.  There were four of them and they were a riot!  This is Sarah with three of her new friends.

Sitting at Gilley's BBQ in Treasure Island

Out of all the people in Vegas, who do we run into on our second night?  You guessed it, the same crew from the previous night!

I wandered through the Wildlife Habitat, which is inside the Flamingo Hotel and Casino

Koy Fish in the pond

Taking a limo to Fremont Street

Rosemary and Jerry

The next time I wind up in Vegas I would really like to get outside the city for an afternoon and see the desert.  Doing some hiking or biking in the desert would be really neat and something I have never done before.  I would also like to take a day and go see the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam.  So many places to see and so many things to do, I guess I better get on it!