Las Vegas - Sept 2017

Grand Canyon

For our final 'escape the heat weekend' we decided to have a mostly retro weekend in Las Vegas.  The main event was the Life is Beautiful Festival that Keith wanted to attend as his company had a booth set up to sign up potential customers for the property they are building.  We decided to stay at the Golden Nugget because it was close to the festival, we had not stayed in that area and wanted to explore it more and it's one of the few remaining old casinos around.  Thankfully, the rooms were recently upgraded!!  We both arrived on Friday - Keith earlier in the day and worked in the area, Shawna in the early evening (flying in from Hartford) just in time to meet up for dinner.

Golden Nugget

It was an action packed weekend where we did the following activities:

• Michael Jackson One - We went to this show, put on by Cirque du Soleil at the Mandalay Bay, on Friday night.  The music and acrobatics were great!

• Walk - We walked from our hotel, along the strip, down to Caesar's Palace.  Great way to get some exercise and see all of the hotels.

• Life is Beautiful Festival - Fun festival with a mix of food, music and art.  Many of the festival goers were much younger and dressed like they were going to a rave!  We tried several different foods - lamb schwarma, cornish pasty, tacos, grilled cheese/brisket sandwich and a Scotch egg - and had a few beers!  We also watched a 'b-boy' dance off, viewed an art display in an old hotel where different rooms were decorated with uber modern art (we were not the target audience), watched a comedy show and listened to Cage the Elephant (also not the target audience).  

• Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour with Papillon - Shawna bought this as a Xmas gift for Keith so we finally got to cash it in.  It was amazing - great views!  We even upgraded to get seats in the front so that we could see more which was also worth it!  Only downside is that we had to wait a while before and after the flight.  The company picked us up at the hotel and after we picked up other passengers, they drove us to the airport which is located in Boulder City.  After checking in and watching a security video, we then boarded our helicopter.  There were four other people plus the pilot with us.  The flight took about 35 minutes each way, flying over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and of course the Grand Canyon.  We landed in the Grand Canyon on a plateau where we had about 30 minutes to walk around, take pictures and eat a picnic lunch (sandwich, fruit, chips) along with champagne.  The flight back was not as scenic but still quite cool!

• Mob Museum - We had a few hours to kill before Shawna had to go to the airport so we did the audio tour of this museum.  It was interesting but not as informative as we had hoped.

We also enjoyed some good food and drinks at the following restaurants/bars:

• Aureole - Great restaurant located in Mandalay Bay.  We chose it so that we could easily get to the show afterward.  We started off with mojitos and then shared a bottle of viognier, meatballs for an appetizer, rack of lamb with mushrooms for an entree and a glass of rose for dessert!
• Oak and Ivy - One of the bars in Container Park.  Had a beer here.
• Therapy - Had an early dinner here before we left for the airport.  Cool interior.  Shared brussel sprouts, chicken meatballs, chorizo empanadas and tuna tartare - very tasty!

On Sunday evening, Shawna flew home to AZ while Keith stayed a few more days to work in Vegas. It was a great weekend!