Viva Las Vegas

Last week I spent four fun packed days in Las Vegas with some friends from High School and what a great time we had.  Now I am not one for gambling....I mean I did play the slots...but I remember the early days of marriage when $20 was all we had in the checkbook for the rest of the week so I kind of have a hard time wrapping my head around throwing money away.    I set my limit of what I am willing to go home without and then I was done.  Gambling aside there was far too many other things to do.  I knew we should have stayed another day!   I went for the 'mini reunion' and was pleasantly surprised by all there was to do besides the casinos.

Inside the hotel lobby

Out front of my hotel - Paris Las Vegas

Our early morning flight was good.  The pilot pointed out the Mississippi River and we saw the Grand Canyon from the air.  On the ground we met up with a classmate who now lives in Arizona.    We saw a couple of shows, we walked the strip, we were guests in the Diamond Lounge, we ogled and ah'd at the opulence of the casinos, saw the light show on Fremont Street and saw some scantily clad folks and sights for sure.

More of my hotel entrance

The Bellagio waiting for the fountain show.

The Paris Las Vegas across the street from the Bellagio

The Venetian and The Flamingo.......they may look close but the Venetian is about a 30 minute walk from where we were.

When at full force the sound was incredible.   It was like the whoosh you hear when fireworks go up as the high water was sent up......even higher than above.

View from top of the Eiffel Tower of my hotel below

Another view of the city below the Eiffel Tower

Classmate Darlene and I went to the Hoover Dam, took a boat ride on Lake Mead and a bus tour of local homes and gardens. We want to go back to kayak on the lake, to zip line on Fremont Street, to see some more shows, see the Grand Canyon, and more.   There really is so much to do there.

Above, the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

Yes, I did the tourist thing.....one foot in Nevada and one foot in Arizona.    They removed the state line that was painted across the roadway on the bridge as seen in the Selma Hayak movie "Fools Rush In".....seems it was creating traffic jams will people stopping for photo ops.

Inside the Hoover Dam generator room.

By pass pipes that are so large they had to be built onsite.  What an amazing engineering feat!

Approaching Lake Mead from our bus ride.

The white line is the high water mark from the snow melt in 1983.   That line is approximately 135 above the water level.

Approaching Black Canyon

The dam from Black Canyon

Such a hardy little bush......we were told to look for Mountain Goats feeding but we saw none.   Amazing anything can grow and thrive in this climate and terrain.

Leaving Black Canyon and heading back to the dock.

New York, New York Las Vegas

 Statue of Liberty made out of Twizzlers!

Fremont Street and oh the sites.......the casinos turn out their lights each hour for a laser light show displayed across the doomed cover over the street.

Bye bye Las Vegas......I think I will be back.

So not much stitching has been done the last two weeks.   I did take Miss Mary Mack from La-D-Da for the plane.  EZ-PZ right.....small, one color.  Well when you sit in the middle and you feel like a T-Rex with your arms all squeezed in....not as much progress as I thought I would be able to accomplish.      I've added the second "buttons" and start "All" since I got home and BAM......looking at this right now and singing the song.......I see I am short one line of "buttons".....time to frog I guess.    Geez, this piece is not proving to be as EZ-PZ as I thought it would be!

So back home and on my way to Thursday night stitching I had to pull over and take a photo of the beauty from where I live.     

Now time to regroup, clean house, winterize the deck and yard, finish fall decorating and head out again next week for a get away with a work mate.

Stay tuned for information on a Stitch-A-Long that I will be announcing before the end of the month.