A Little Slice of Summer...

Summer is finally here.  Oh, how I yearned for summer back in March when the snow piled up and the frigid winds rattled the windows until I thought I would scream if nicer weather didn't show up soon.  I didn't know then that nice weather was a good two months away.  Here's a look at some of my favorite bits of this summer so far...

Lilacs are my favorite flower.  Here only for a few days each year, they then are just a memory.  I inhale their intoxicating scent each morning, wishing I could catch it in a bottle to sustain me the year through.

Love me some blue sky.  Clouds are fun and pretty, but blue sky is mesmerizing.

This little Goober looks innocent enough as he soaks up the morning rays.  He's secretly charging his solar batteries so he can drive Mama crazy later.

Every fine summer morning should involve some rough-housing in the sunshine.

My favorite place to be - my fluffy pillow with my favorite lavender case, my straw hat and a good read.

Our Columbine is taking off like crazy.

Our bachelor buttons are always the first to peep out.

Cosmos soon follow.

There's pleasure in waiting to see what will grow in the wildflower beds that Kyle plants.  It's a surprise!

Mostly I just love being home.

Viva, Las Vegas! Days 9 and 10 in Sin City...

Day 9


Thursday is our last full day in Vegas.  We've done most of the experiences we wanted to, and we're a little worn out.  Since we have an extra nice dinner planned, we spend the majority of the day just relaxing and looking forward to the evening.  We get dressed for dinner and take a few moments to be silly before we head out. 

The Stratosphere hotel, casino and tower are at the far end of the Strip and a little out of the way of the main action on the strip.  I had it on good authority from my dear friend Jerri that the Top of the World restaurant was definitely a place we should go, not only for the delicious food, but for the stunning views from the 800 foot tall tower where it sits.  

View of the Stratosphere from our helicopter earlier in the week.

The restaurant rotates 360 degrees ever 80 minutes, giving patrons a spectacular view of Las Vegas from every possible side.  When the hostess seats us, she warns us to remember that we are seated in section 5, for if we need to venture to the restroom, our seats will not be in the same place when we return.  Although it wasn't obvious, it was possible to tell we were rotating as we ate.  If we fixed our gaze on a certain point, we would sense the movement, but it was subtle.  Sometimes we were seated next to the kitchen and it was noisy, but soon we would have moved to a quieter part of the restaurant.  It was a very unique experience.  

View of the strip from our seats at Top of the World.

And the food.  TO DIE FOR.  Kyle's prime rib melted in his mouth and my Lobster and Prawn Alfredo was heavenly.  No room for dessert, so we sat drinking our coffee and soda and enjoying the view and our last night in Vegas.  After dinner we headed to the outdoor observation deck to take a few more photos of the view.  

Hard to capture the magic with my camera.

It was a superb evening and icing on the cake of a truly wonderful adventure together.  We had photos taken to commemorate the evening.  

Our last stop of the evening is at the tattoo shop, which you can read about here.  Then we went to bed to get some sleep before our last day in Vegas.


Day 10


It's been the vacation we hoped it would be, but we have one more place to do before we head home.  Some celebrities await at Madame Tussaud's.  

George and I finally marry.  Funny, most of the pics didn't turn out - wonder if Kyle orchestrated that.  

Shaq's just a touch taller than me.  And he's standing flat-footed.

The Simon Cowell scowl.

Mick!

Just for Jerri!

Leaving Las Vegas...but not before I meet Nick.

The only pic Kyle posed for.  Fuddy duddy.

Abe and I scratch out the Gettysburg Address.  

MT was fun, but nothing like the one I went to in London.  These statues were fairly old and very ragged after heaven knows how many photos they've been through.  But it was a fun way to pass the time before our flight left later that day.  We spent our last couple of hours shopping at the Canal Shops in the Venetian and then eating a final bite of lunch at Margaritaville before grabbing our checked luggage and heading for the airport.  


The flight home is perfect, and I get a final captivating view of the Strip, Lake Mead, and the canyon.  I contentedly sink into my seat, watching the magnificence pass below me.  I feel a sense of peace that is new for me.    

Viva, Las Vegas! Days 7 and 8 in Sin City...

Day 7 


Tuesday has no specific agenda, so we decide to go to the Mob Experience at the Tropicana.  As usual we didn't head out until afternoon, but the temperature was fairly pleasant.  We stopped into the Miracle Miles for an ice cream treat and then made our way to the gorgeous Tropicana.  

The Tropicana is on Tropicana Ave. across from Excalibur.

This is one of the two towers of rooms at the Tropicana.

This is one of my favorite resorts in Vegas to look at.  The clean white buildings remind me of white sand beaches and with the Palm trees it just seems very - well - tropical.  We wander around lost for awhile before we find the Mob Experience.  Like many Vegas attractions, photos are not allowed here.  The Mob Experience is a mix of history, interactive exhibits, special effects (think holograms) and artifacts.  

The creator of the Mob Experience got actual mob families to participate by contributing actual family and mob heirlooms.  Each person is given a mob name.  I was "Greasy Thumb" and Kyle was "The Plumber".  We also got to select a celebrity such as Tony Sirico to guide our tour.  We entered through a speakeasy, and from there we had decisions to make.  Would we pass along the money we were supposed to hand over, or keep it for ourselves?  Do we talk to the police or side with the mob? How will we handle the cheater in our casino?  Warn him or bury him in the desert?  Depending on our decisions, we have one of four final outcomes - and unfortunately, we happened to end up in jail.  

Vegas is expensive.  We had to rob a bank.

We were captured :(

Before our final fate was handed to us we were able to walk through several rooms of exhibits - a room each for mobsters including Sam Giancana (thought to be linked to the Kennedy assassination), Bugsy Segal (founder of the original Flamingo), Meyer Lanksy and more.  Correspondence, clothing, home movies, furniture and even Bugsy's car are among hundreds of artifacts that humanize these mobsters.  I saw them as husbands, fathers, and even businessmen.  It didn't glorify them, but it definitely depicts the humanity behind the tough exteriors.  

The Mob Experience is a bit pricey, but Kyle and I agreed it was worth it.  It's a nice mix of history, entertainment, technology and culture.  We ventured down the strip, again after dark, and saw a few more of the casinos lit up for the night. 

Planet Hollywood

One of the prettiest nighttime sites.  

We top the evening off with a stop at the PBR Grill and Bar to enjoy corn on the cob and pulled pork while we people-watch from our outdoor seats.  Another great day, but vacation is winding down!

Day 8

We were up late so we sleep late.  The only event planned for Wednesday is the Vegas Mob Tour, a tour hour guided tour around Vegas to see mob hangouts.  We watch movies until the tour.  It's not until 6pm, so we have some decent downtime.  When we get to the tour departure location we're early, so we take a photo or two. 

Because we just visited the Tropicana mob experience, we don't really learn much new at the Vegas Mob Tour.  In fact, I grew a little bored and annoyed at how much we were really just sitting in a hot bus listening to a guy talk.  There were two interesting sites on the tour.  The first was the jewelry store that was robbed and was inspiration for the robbery in the film Casino.  

Robbed on July 4th so the shots don't alarm anyone.

This was the house used in Casino.  This used to be considered one of the wealthier areas of Vegas and it was no small thing to live in this neighborhood.  Now these homes are sold to middle of the road folks while the rich move out to Lake Nevada resorts.  The owners were paid an atrocious sum of money to vacate the home and allow filming there.  

After the tour, and especially all this mob talk, we were in the mood for Italian food.  We had a wonderful dinner at Rao in Caesar's Palace.  We were going to top it off with dessert from the Cheesecake Factory, but our venture there coincided with the end of Celine Dion's nightly performance and we were nearly trampled to death by hungry show-goers.  We forewent cheesecake and ventured instead to view the Mirage volcano.  

Only one full day left in Vegas, and though we are having a wonderful time, we're both starting to look forward to sleeping in our own beds, seeing our babies and returning to a quieter pace of life.

Viva, Las Vegas! Days 5 and 6 in Sin City...

Day 5


Kyle is way into science and history, and I never pass up a chance to visit a museum, so on Sunday we ventured down Flamingo Road to the Atomic Testing Museum.  Although a fairly small museum, it held many interesting artifacts from the Cold War Era.

Flamingo Road runs into Howard Hughes Parkway.

Never dreamed there were so many products PROMOTING atomic energy

More atomic goodies.

Interesting odds and ends - such as worker badges.

A beam from the World Trade Center.  Not sure why this was on display other than a general theme of terrorism pervaded the museum.

Kyle - clearly affected by the radiation.

I didn't pretend to understand 90% of the science behind atomic war, but what I REALLY didn't understand is why there were so many cardboard cutouts of Vegas celebrities and what they had to do with Atomic Testing...If someone could explain that to me I would be extremely grateful.  Regardless, we took the opportunities to pose with the important people. 

Robbie Knievel?  And his connection to atomic energy would be....?

Due to some questionable areas we walked through to get to the museum, not to mention the fact that I was melting, we cheated and took a taxi back to the hotel.  Later we chilled out at Hard Rock Cafe.  I'd never been to one before.  It was fun to look at the memorabilia and our waiter was funny.  We browsed the gift shop, then we headed to bed earlier than usual.  We had a big day ahead of us!

Day 6

Kyle also loves anything aviation related, geology related and in general, is pretty mild in his wants and likes.  I wanted to do something special for him for our anniversary, so I decided to treat us to a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon.  I had never been to the Canyon, and though Kyle had, it had been quite some time and he had certainly never seen it from the air.  Neither of us had been in a helicopter before, so it would be a memorable and unique opportunity.  We flew the Canyon via Sundance Helicopter, one of the only tour companies to fly out of Vegas rather than nearby Boulder City.  The advantage was less time between hotel and departure and a view of the strip both coming and going.  They even picked us up in a limo!

Excited to ride in a limo AND heli all in one day.

Several levels of experiences are offered.  Some have better helicopters, others stop in the canyon for a picnic lunch and champagne (aka, a turkey sandwich and 20 minutes to snap pictures from the canyon).  I figured we didn't need all the bells and whistles.  Just a basic tour of the Grand Canyon.  So we loaded up in this little baby.  It held six plus the pilot - three in front, four in back.

Our friendly pilot posed for us, too.  

Once we were situated in the heli with our headphones on, we had a few moments to pose for pics before we were cleared for take-off.  It was SUPER loud without those headphones.  They played music for us as well as some narration of the tour.  We could also chat on a CB like system.

Waiting for the all-clear.

And then we were off! It was fun to see the strip from the air.  I was amazed at how spread out it all really was.  There was a little glare from the sun, but overall a great view.  

First up on the flight was Lake Las Vegas - the home to all the celebs, including Celine Dion who has a run at Cesar's Palace through the next year or so.  The private golf course is probably greener than any other place in Vegas. 

Next up, Hoover Dam.  You can't drive over it anymore, due to terrorism threats, but you can walk across it.

Lake Mead was just ahead.  A very pretty lake, but with few people on it.  Not much like the lakes in Wyoming that are covered in fishermen, boats, water-skiers and more.

All those little coves are popular hangouts for boaters who want to party.

Then there was the filming place for the ending of Thelma and Louis - you know, where they drive off the cliff at the end...

There were stunning views of all types of landscapes...

Former volcano.

And then the star of the show - the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River.  We were on the West end of the canyon.  We flew by the glass sky-walk that stretches out to the canyon.  I think I'd feel way less comfortable standing over the canyon than I did flying over it. 

I have a zillion more photos of the canyon if you are interested.  Just email me and I'll send you a link.  Of course on the way back we saw Lake Mead again.  The strip was beautiful at about 530 pm.  

Way far away - you can see the Luxor Pyramid on the left end of the strip.

Loved the way Mandalay Bay shone in the sun.

The Stratosphere - We'll eat there later in the week!

Overlooking Planet Hollywood and (I think) Treasure Island.

A view of our hotel from the air.

No!  He's not!  He's at the Atomic Testing Museum!

We landed back at the Vegas airport and had the limo driver drop us at Mandalay Bay.  We were exhilarated from our adventure and wanted to continue to explore, so we dropped by the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef.  I was a bit disappointed in how short the exhibit was, but it was unique.  The Denver Downtown Aquarium is far better, but it was cool to get to pet the stingrays again like I had in Denver.  Then Kyle and I goofed around in the gift shop. 

It was dark when we left Mandalay, and the strip lights were gorgeous.  Our walk back to the Flamingo was incredibly interesting what with all the crazy people out and about.  We decided to eat at Serendipity 3 outside Caesar's Palace.  It was one of my favorite places we ate, with it's unique huge and artful menu, view of the strip, and cozy ambiance.  

Loved this menu.  Wish I had a copy of it!

So content!

Kyle's obscene sandwich.  Please don't tell his bariatric surgeon.  I can almost hear his arteries clogging.

A pretty view of our hotel.

We are pooped by this time, but we decide to end our perfect day by gazing at the gorgeous Bellagio fountains.  One of my favorite Vegas experiences - and free.  The first set was to "Proud to Be an American" and the second was Elvis' "Viva, Las Vegas!" which was perfect.  The fountains are stunning, loud, and the mists from them felt so good on us after a long day in the desert heat.  

View from the Bellagio towards Caesar's Palace.

Bellagio

Our final picture of the day.

After all that, I slept like a baby!