The Way I Am...: 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.