Jankers

My sister Kelly, my Aunt Dee, me, and my cousin Doreen… four weary gamblers in search of a buffet

We stayed at the Signature at MGM Grand. The Signature is the three towers that you can’t really see over the top of the MGM Grand in the picture. It was a beautiful hotel, but a long walk to the casino, at least 10 or 15 minutes. That walk was nothing compared to all the walking we did. We visited several casinos… Paris, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and the Venetian, among others. We did the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. And we spent time looking at the Lion Habitat in the MGM Grand.

None of us were big winners. I think maybe Kelly came up even on the gambling. I definitely lost! Those slots can be addictive. All the lights and dinging. It puts people in a trance.
Here’s Aunt Dee and Doreen collecting their winnings after we finished the slots. Well, Aunt Dee collecting her winnings. I think Doreen was a loser like me.

And then Aunt Dee treated us to $1 jello treats!

My sister and I saw Jubilee at Bally’s. It was a traditional Vegas show… showgirls, singing, dancing, etc. At times it reminded me of a high school musical with outdated costumes from the 80′s, other times it reminded me of Cirque de Soliel with acrobatics. It moved quickly and kept us entertained. Afterward, we had a dinner at Olives in the Bellagio. It was amazing food and wine, and cool because we could see the fountains out the window of the restaurant. I love those fountains!

Here’s a picture of us with Bellagio in the background the day before we went there for dinner.

We spent part of a day visiting the Hoover Dam. That was pretty spectacular. We learned about how they built it, diverting the entire Colorado River. And they finished two years ahead of schedule! We were able cross the Dam and step into Arizona. Here’s Aunt Dee, half in Nevada and half in Arizona.

A picture of the Dam looking down (thanks for holding my feet Kelly!).

A really cool surprise was the light show in downtown Las Vegas. The screen is above the street (pedestrian only) and spans for a few blocks. Hourly at night they turn off the lights of the casinos and put on a great show of lights and music. If I can figure it out, I’ll post the video that I took of it too.

This trip is the first of several I have planned this year. I feel blessed to have people at home to care for Nora and Mike while I’m away, and to have people who want to travel with me! Keep your eyes peeled for Part 2 of Alicia’s Break from Reality, showing in just a few weeks!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 8:40 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.