Sep 4-9, 2011 Last updated: 9/11/11 2:00pm PT
Mandalay Bay
MGM Grand
Home to the lion habitat. The habitat is supposed to be sound proof, so the casino noise won’t bother the animals.
Mirage
Outside the Mirage at night is the volcano show. There are lights that attempt to make sprays of water look like lava. There are big blasts of fire, which are so large you can feel the heat, even when not standing at the front. It looks much better after dark and when you stand farther away.
New York, New York
We didn’t take the time to ride the roller coaster. The line was long and I’m getting old.
Paris
A much smaller Eiffel Tower than the real one.
Planet Hollywood
Rio
One morning we walked to the Rio. It is quite a ways off the strip, but we needed the exercise to work off the buffets. Two pictures below are of us waiting for the shuttle bus to take us back to the strip. It wasn’t too hot when we walked here, but it was getting hot by the time we left, so we took the shuttle. We saw Penn & Teller’s show here. It was great, very funny and will leave you wondering how they did their tricks. One trick was the standard putting a woman in a box and cutting her in half. Then they showed you how the trick is done. Then they cut her in half and there was blood and guts everywhere. After the show Penn & Teller came out to the lobby for pictures and autographs.
Stratosphere
At the north end of the strip is the Stratosphere. At 1,149 ft (350.2 m), it is almost twice as tall as Seattle’s Space Needle.
Treasure Island
I thought that there was a pirate show in front of the Treasure Island. You know, two ships filled with pirates shooting at each other. Well, in modern Vegas, one ship has shirtless men battling another ship with scantily clad women, both sides singing and dancing. Very lame.
Tropicana
Most casinos smelled like cigarette smoke. The Tropicana smells like coconuts.
Venetian
We stayed at the Venetian. It was very nice. Our room had a sunken living room, an enormous bathroom and the curtains opened by remote control. One day, while we were laying around escaping the heat, there was a knock on the door. We figured it was housekeeping to clean the room. Nope. It was a guy who wanted to paint the room! Are you kidding me? He said they like to do touch up painting so the rooms always look fresh. I told him we were there til Friday and the room looks great already.
