Las Vegas Vacation 2010

"The night before I left Las Vegas I walked out in the desert to look at the moon. There was a jeweled city on the horizon, spires rising in the night, but the jewels were diadems of electric and the spires were the neon of signs ten stories high." - Norman Mailer

Charles and I have not been to Las Vegas together since we were married here almost eight years ago at the Chapelle du Paradis at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. Charles has returned several times over the years with his poker buddies, but I have not made a return trip until now.

(Click any set of photos to view a larger version)


Our vacation started on Sunday, with an early morning flight to Las Vegas from Orlando, arriving just after 11:00am local time. We checked into the luxurious Wynn Resort and were absolutely thrilled to find that our room on the 39th floor included an entire wall of windows facing a large cluster of hotels in the foreground (Palazzo, Treasure Island, The Rio, The Palms, and Trump), with an absolutely breathtaking view of the city lights and majestic mountains beyond. It’s really the best view one could hope for, in my humble opinion. We can see the sunset, the twinkling lights of many a neon sign, and the Treasure Island pirate show each night (including fireworks). By day, the city dims and the mountain ranges take their rightful place at center stage.


The Wynn is absolutely as gorgeous and unforgettable as the view. I didn’t study the website too carefully before we got here because I wanted to be surprised, and it was so worth the wait! I can’t put my finger on a particular theme, but I’d have to describe it as the Las Vegas version of an enchanted garden. Glittering tile mosaics portray curling ferns and burst with brightly colored flowers; curtains and carpets feature paisley and bold stripes, and around every corner there are over-the-top live floral arrangements of purple and lime green orchids accented with fuchsia roses. My inner drag queen couldn’t be more pleased with our choice of accommodations.

I’ll briefly say this about the hotel room itself: incredibly comfortable bed, plush robes, fragrant lemongrass toiletries, and an oversized soaking tub (which was my official first stop in Las Vegas). Lord, when I die—please put me up in this hotel room for eternity. Amen.


Onto the action! On Sunday, after unpacking and relaxing for a bit, we grabbed a bite to eat at the deli in the hotel (and by this I mean, we spent $30+ for two sandwiches, drinks, and a cupcake… ouch) and explored a little. When dinnertime rolled around, we ordered room service and turned in early, as we had to be up at 4:00am for our excursion the next day.

This brings me to Monday’s big adventure—a trip to the Grand Canyon! It’s something I’ve always wanted to see, but I have to admit that after all of the horror stories I’ve heard about turbulent flights and the motion sickness they cause, I was dreading the flight just as much as I was looking forward to the destination. We dosed up on Dramamine an hour before the flight, so it would have PLENTY of time to take effect, and prayed for a smooth and safe ride.

After being shuttled to the Boulder City airport, we boarded a tiny plane along with 10 other people bound for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We were warned of possible inclement weather, which fortunately ended up staying away. After climbing aboard (and I do mean climbing—first squeezing through a tiny doorway and crawling through a tiny aisle, then wedging yourself into an even tinier seat), we donned our headphones to listen to a narrative of the landmarks over which we were flying as well as a soaring soundtrack of classical tunes.

We passed over Boulder City, the Hoover Dam, and the Colorado River before glimpsing our ultimate destination—the Grand Canyon. Man, is that one BIG hole in the ground. It’s as incredible as I’ve always imagined it would be. The pictures speak for themselves, so I’ll just touch on a few highlights of our tour.

We were met at the airfield by a delightful and… uhh… “special” lady named Gigi, who turned out to be our guide. She was intensely passionate about her job as a Grand Canyon tour guide. One would have to be, in order to live two hours away from the nearest actual town. There is a settlement in the Grand Canyon area for people who work there year-round, but there are no major medical facilities, stores, or entertainment of which to speak. Once a month, Gigi drives to Flagstaff to visit the doctor or dentist, see a movie, and do ALL of her shopping. She had a peculiar way of communicating with those on the tour who didn’t speak fluent English, which was to speak much louder, and only in nouns and verbs (which silently cracked me and Charles up).

We traveled around the state park by van, making several stops at various viewing platforms. Charles’ favorite part was the extremely aggressive squirrels. Although the warnings NOT to feed the squirrels are clear and very specific, based on their behavior I can see that this rule often goes ignored by many a park visitor. At our first stop, I was approached by one who walked right up to my camera lense! I actually had to back up to take the picture. At our second stop, as we were snacking on some breakfast treats, one squirrel snuck up beside Charles and attempted to snatch a yogurt RIGHT OUT OF HIS HAND! Tug of war between my husband and a squirrel over a strawberry-banana Yoplait… was I really seeing this?! After several more assaults by these thuggish vermin, Charles and I vacated their territory and moved on to strolling around the trails and leisurely taking photos.

Our final stop at the South Rim was at a lookout point and gift shop. There were three levels and several telescopes, through which one would hopefully catch a glimpse of the hauntingly graceful California condor soaring from cliff to cliff through the canyon. We were fortunate enough to observe one such flight. They’re not much to look at when perched (somewhat vulture-like in appearance), but once they stretch their massive wings and take flight, condors are instantly mesmerizing.

I can’t fail to mention one final quirky point of interest on our park tour— the Grand Canyon mule barn. Charles is a sucker for even the ugliest, smelliest, weirdest animals and I’m a sucker for a corny picture, so off we went. We only jumped out of the van as long as we could hold our noses to snap a few quick pics and give the hardest working employees at Grand Canyon National Park a few well deserved pats on the head. There’s a jackass joke in here somewhere, folks…


After a relaxing flight back to Las Vegas, we promptly grabbed some refreshments and collapsed in our hotel room, sleeping through the cannon fire at the pirate show across the street. I love blackout curtains.

After waking refreshed and excited about the Tuesday ahead, we dressed and headed out to see some sights. Our first stop was the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. I know what you’re thinking—one day in Las Vegas and you’re already at the pawn shop! No need to worry, we were actually visiting the shop because one of our very favorite TV shows ‘Pawn Stars’ is filmed there. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, it’s a unique pawn shop that deals in not only engagement rings and Rolexes, but in items of a historical nature as well. On the show, if someone brings in something to pawn or sell that is of special historical significance (weapons, currency, rare documents), is of a collectible nature (autographs, artwork, pop culture memorabilia), or is just plain WEIRD (glass sword, mini-motorcycles, hot air balloon), they call in experts to appraise, authenticate, and inform both buyer and seller about that item. It’s a neat show, I could go on about it, but you should just check it out for yourself.


For those who are familiar with the show, they just happened to be filming that day, so visitors had to wait in line outside the shop until they were finished. Fortunately, we timed it just right and were first in line. After about a 20 minute wait, we were allowed in to look around the shop. Unfortunately, ‘the guys’ had all left to continue filming elsewhere (except for Chumlee, who was signing autographs for children only), so we didn’t get to meet Rick, the Old Man, or Big Hoss. We did see Dana, one of the aforementioned experts who weigh in on historical artifacts and documents, as well as two of the security guards (both of whom are very good at their jobs and extremely entertaining) who appear on the show regularly. We got in, got out, and bought a t-shirt. The shop looks exactly like it does on TV and we really enjoyed the experience of seeing it in person.

After we left the pawn shop, we took the monorail to the south end of the strip for some lunch at the MGM Grand (somewhere along the way, I won $38.75 on slots) and what we thought was going to be a leisurely stroll to the famous ‘Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas’ sign. Wow, I can hardly recount a time in our marriage when we’ve been more wrong! It turned out to be a very frustrating walk, as the sidewalk that seems to lead to the sign (which is located in the median of Las Vegas Boulevard) doesn’t lead you to a crosswalk that gets you safely across the packed highway. We got all the way down to the sign, only to realize that the last crosswalk was two blocks back. Thousands upon thousands of tourists visit this sign every year; you’d think there would be an easier way to access it. After backtracking a bit, we finally made it to the sign and fought a small, inconsiderate crowd of people to get our prized snapshot. We trucked it back to the southernmost hotel on the strip, Mandalay Bay, and caught a cab back to the Wynn.

After a long afternoon in the dry desert heat, where I picked up a distinct pink glow on my cheeks and shoulders (ouch), we refreshed ourselves and got ready for a night on the town! We had plans for an “evening at the circus”—dinner at Le Cirque and a performance of Cirque du Soleil’s KA.

Dinner started with our seating in Le Cirque’s intimate and charming dining room under their signature billowing, shimmery tent-like fabric treatment on the ceiling. The white clothed table contrasted the bold-colored, whimsical monkey patterned china and the table was set with a glowing, domed candle next to a bud vase of brilliant sunburst roses and bear grass. Charles ordered champagne after a brief consultation with the sommelier, and we agreed that we could listen to him talk all night with his hypnotic French accent.

Charles and I both enjoyed a rich, creamy lobster bisque and delicate but flavorful sea bass for dinner, followed by a dessert that I won’t soon forget. The chef presented his selections for dessert, which was crème brulee for Charles and what I can only describe as a giant Ferrero Rocher candy (I have no idea what it was called since I didn’t actually order it) for me. It looked like a chocolate baseball on a plate, dotted only with edible 14k gold leaf, but the real magic came when the waiter poured searing hot chocolate sauce over the chocolate ball, melting the shell right before my eyes and revealing the hazelnut ice cream inside. It melted instantly into a delicious chocolate, hazelnut soup that was simply beyond decadent.

As if that weren’t enough, we also received a silver tray of five petit fours (raspberry tart, almond bark, blueberry almond bar, vanilla crème puff, lemon meringue pie) that looked like tiny, glimmering gems in a jewelry box. Each one was tastier than the last and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this dining experience. Le Cirque was kind enough to send us away with a parting gift in the form of a tiny gold box with two compartments, each containing a gourmet chocolate, which I have not yet sampled.


After our unbelievable dinner, we headed to the MGM Grand to see our third performance by Cirque du Soleil (we have seen ‘La Nouba’ in Orlando and saw ‘O’ in Las Vegas on our honeymoon, we have yet to see ‘Mystere’ but would like to someday). As with the other two shows we’ve seen, this one did not disappoint! There’s something unique about each ‘Cirque’ show that differentiates it from the others—KA is the only show that has an actual storyline instead of just a theme, and they also do incredible things with what they call the “360 degree stage.” It really is a marvel of artistry and engineering; you have to see it to appreciate it. The story plays out on a main stage that lifts and turns both vertically and horizontally, with the usual aerial, acrobatic splendor that all ‘Cirque’ shows offer, but using yet another platform. How they come up with this stuff, I’ll never know. I just feel privileged to have the opportunity to enjoy it.

After taking the monorail and a cab back to the hotel, we promptly crashed again after another busy day in Sin City. This morning I awoke to a splitting headache from the champagne (even though I only drink a glass or two, it always ruins me the next day) and the desire to jot down some thoughts in the peace and quiet of my hotel room, while taking in the stunning view from my bed for a little longer. Charles has gone to try his hand at poker while I have one more excursion planned; I’m venturing out for some lunch and a visit to the Wynn’s sister hotel next door, the Encore. Before I return, I’m hoping to take a few more pictures and give the slots one more chance to dole out the BIG win that I’m surely due!

This afternoon I’ll pack and head to the airport, and as my Las Vegas vacation draws to a close, I am counting my blessings for all that this few days has provided: quality time away with my husband, the thrill of being in this electric city, and the abundance of great memories that will surely outlast any tangible souvenir.
Special thanks to Charles for planning this amazing getaway and to my Mom and Buz for taking good care of Holly while we’re gone. Praise the Lord for providing safe travel and the opportunity to step away from the daily grind and regain an ounce of composure and sanity.


I may regret saying this, as it will likely cause my darling husband to fly into a giddy, travel-planning frenzy, but I hope it’s not another eight years before we return to Las Vegas!