We traveled from Buffalo, NY to Las Vegas, NV on June 26, but it took us a while to get there. The flight to Newark Airport was delayed, which meant we would miss our connecting flight to Las Vegas. We were suppose to leave Buffalo at 4pm EDT and arrive in Vegas at 9pm PDT. But, we did not arrive until after 1:30am PDT. Orbitz was Great, they automatically re-booked us on a later flight and we did not have to do anything. We did not get to sleep until 3am PDT or 6am EDT.
So, what did we do the first morning in Las Vegas? We went shopping at Trader Joe’s and then had lunch in the Desert. We needed to stock up for Jessica’s cabin in the Petrified Forest. We drove to Red Rock Canyon, for a picnic lunch with the food we just bought. Our stop was Red Rock Spring, which really is not a real spring, but a ancient spring with no water. There are picnic tables and trails, so we spent a little time there hiking and photographing the area in the 106 degree heat.
While the Girls took a nap, I headed to the rooftop pool. The sun was so hot, I almost burned the soles of my feet walking from the lounge chair to the pool. That evening we explored the strip and Fremont Street. Our favorite Casino has been the Venetian, with the indoor shopping and canal. We walked along the streets of Venice and stopped into a couple of galleries and stores.
Leaving this Casino, we headed to the strip to try to see the Treasure Island show, but we got there as it was already underway and the crowds packed the street to fill every viewing area. We decided to head to the Mirage for the Volcano. We got there in plenty of time and had a great spot. The next stop was the Bellagio for the fountain show. The strip was packed with people, but we got there just as it started.
We drove to Rio and then to the Fremont experience. The Streets of Las Vegas were packed, but the Casinos were not. Rio has a great show in the Casino every hour and they toss beads to everyone, no skin was shown to get them. There was a band playing on Fremont street and Marge loved the artist who would carve a person’s face out of modeling clay. She’s still wondering how to harden it when it was done. We finished the evening watching the last light show on the ceiling of Fremont Street.
Las Vegas has gotten less family friendly, and added more and larger Casinos to the Strip since we last visited about seven years ago. We did not venture into any of the newer Casinos, because they looked Boxy and Theme-less. It still was an experience and a great first day of our trip.