Vegas Trip 2015

I know that this is my third trip to Vegas so you'd think there would be not much new - but Vegas is always changing, and there is much to see and do that you never get everything in during one trip.  But this time we made a list of a few of the things to check off the "must do" list that we wish we had done before.  I know I have still not done all there is to do but I really feel we've know done most of the quintessential "must do".  

Last trip our goal was to try and hit every casino on the strip - and we did hit every single one except Treasure Island and Stratosphere.  So this year the list included going to the top of the Stratosphere...I will say it was a bit of a let down.  I imagined a better view of the strip - and maybe it would have been more impressive at night but eh, it was just OK.  Not worth the $20 per person they charge.  Thankfully we had discount from Jeff's work to lower it to $13.50  - but even at that price I'd only bother to go either at night or if you want to ride one of their insane rides up there (no thank you!).  We did this on St. Patrick's Day because we wanted to avoid all the 20 somethings anywhere near Irish events.

See what I mean? View ws meh.

A second on the "must do" was ride the roller coaster at New York New York.  This was another let down - and I'm getting the two disappointments out of the way because the rest of the trip was amazing.  First off let me give you a tip...Take our your earrings before riding.  This ride makes your head bounce violently back and forth on the shoulder straps so it was hard to enjoy a ride while having little daggers dig into my head.  That said, I had heard it went "through the casino" - yeah no, the last 10 feet goes through a small section.  I mean - as coasters go it was great with the giant drops, corkscrews and upside down loops but nothing cooler than your typical Six Flags.  And I think I've finally become too old at 37 for roller coasters.

Now for the cool things - Hoover Dam trip.  We decided our first full day there we would rent a car and drive the 45 minutes to the Hoover Dam.  It's only $10 for parking and you do not have to pay extra for a tour to walk all over the dam.  If we wanted to learn more about the dam and go inside we could have paid more - but we really just wanted to see this man made wonder.  And it's breathtaking.  In my mind totally worth the time.  We spent about 45 minutes walking the entire damn and snapping photos.  I don't know how much farther away the grand Canyon was but I kind of wish we had added that while we had the car since we were done with the dam by 10:30am.  Oh, and that was the perfect time to leave because just them several bus tours had shown up.  Rent the car at 8:30, get out there by 9:30 and you have the place almost to yourself.

Then we drove back towards Vegas and then 15 minutes past it to the start of Red Rock Canyon.  We were only on the edge of it and it was beautiful.  If I wasn't starving for lunch we would have driven deeper in.  But even at the edge of this unplanned excursion - look how pretty!  We even climbed a huge foothill for 15 min to get a better view.

View of the road leading in

Looking into the canyon 

We went to the Minus 5 Ice bar again which was fun, but we had two free entries because of the online game "My Vegas"  which makes it worth the price of booze ($10 per drink).  The last Activity we did was the High Roller Observation Wheel.  Do yourself a favor and pay the extra $5 to enjoy cocktails in the bar car.  This is probably amazing at night as well but the views of the strip during the day were also so great during the 30 min ride.  I would have really loved to have gone when the bellagio fountains were going off.  Next time we'll do this after sunset for a change.

Finally - aside from all the gambling and activities we had planned - we had certain meals mapped out as well.  As an adult sadly the part I look forward to most is not having to cook or clean for days on end.  So I wanted good eats!  The best meal of my life was in 2013 last trip to Vegas so we repeated it - everything the same - at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Caesar's.  Some might say why not try a different meal.  Because it's THAT GOOD people!  We also got our burger on at Fatburger (requirement when in Vegas) and tried In and Out Burger for the first time.  No need for debate - Fatburger wins hands down.  We did breakfast at both Mon Ami Gabi in Paris (OMG was that delicious!  Apple Cinnamon Waffle and date encrusted bacon) and at Guy Fieri's Kitchen at the Linq (Good but waaay too much food -Brioche French Toast and pepper bacon).  And the last night our friend Skippy was in town and treated us to possibly the most expensive meal of my life at Ruth Chris Steakhouse in Harrah's.  (I had blue crab crab cakes while the boys had steak).  The rest of the time we looked for the old cafe's or coffee diners that used to be affordable ways to eat in Vegas only to learn they're basically gone.  We ate at Mirage's Pantry twice and each time was great food but $50 for two? Really?  There was a little cafe in Flamingo we had breakfast at one day but even that for two breakfast sandwiches and drinks was still over $35.  Good lord.  I'm fearful of seeing our credit card bill for simply eating in Vegas.

Last Day meeting up with Skippy at 6pm for drinks and dinner

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All in all it was a fabulous vacation with Jeff and I just getting away from it all.  Yes, we will probably be back within the next three years.  And I'm sure we'll come up with more "must do's" but for now, I feel we've done Vegas right.