| Page Views: 1,604 Last Visit to Las Vegas: March, 2009 | What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! by joiwatani - last update: Jun 21, 2009 |
Great for family vacation | New Las Vegas Logo Tower before the Strip 2009 |
We go to Las Vegas at least once a year. This year, we will probably go twice because we have to go back to attend a wedding!
Everytime we go, there are new buildings that sprouted!
This time (March 2009), we saw the new Trump Tower. It looks like, Donald Trump imitated the golden color of the Mandalay Bay...There is also the M Hotel and the new M Shopping Mall. My children loved to check out their local Indian Jewelry Store!
Last year, it was still under construction. Now, there are so many stores inside the mall. And there are more constructions going on like the roads. I think they are expanding again...
We love to visit Las Vegas. We have been here many times, sometimes twice a year. It's not because we are gamblers but it's because we visit my father-in-law who lives in the nearby town of Henderson, about 15 minutes drive from the Las Vegas' Strip.
You wonder how this desert town transformed into a famous attraction in the United States? It is truly the capital of entertainment!
If you have a lot of time in Las Vegas, make sure to side trip to the Grand Canyon! It is worth it!
Las Vegas is very famous for its magnificent hotels and casinos. It is also well-known for its spectacular neon lights, fun and exciting strip clubs, magic shows and hundreds of concerts.
A lot of visitors come here to get married. You can even get married here in a minute - no questions asked. You can also get married on a drive through! There are so many wedding chapels and wedding planners in Las Vegas. You can get married as Elvis Presley or you can get married as an Egyptian King. They have every attire that you can think of in Vegas! As long as you have the money, your money talks!
There are also many shopping stores here, too - from the most exquisite jewelry store to the most expensive purse outlet. Your eyes will feast on a lot of beautiful things to see in Las Vegas.
This town is also very famous for its restaurants. They have the best chefs coming to Las Vegas!
If you wanted to live like a King or a Queen for one day, you can do it. Let your money talks! Stay at the five star hotel's presidential suite and have all your whims and desires fulfilled!
On our preivous visit, we side-tripped to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam because we wanted to get out from the Strip. Our visit coincided with the the All-American Basketbal Team conference and the Strip looked like a zoo with wild party animals at night. This year, the All American Basketball Team went to Phoenix and we saw them there again! And no matter what, this always cause traffic. They have so many fans following them, that's why. We ended up doing our Phoenix VT meeting in Peoria, Arizona...
The place was over-crowded with the All-American basketball fans. The place was noisy and the crowd, uncontrollable! Las Vegas was totally turned into a horrendous town with lots of drank people on the streets. The traffic was outrageous! We were in the bus on the strip for about 2 hours! (I wrote a formal letter of complaint to the hotel where we were staying (Circus Circus) because of the noises. We were had a hard time going to sleep or being awaken every hour by noises! Up to this date, I have not receive any response yet. I read from the newspaper the very next day, that the city will never allow this kind of conference again!)
The other year, we side trip to Black Diamond. |
| Lake Mead on a different route March 2009 |
|  | Lake Mead Journal Entry March 2009 -Since we drove to Las Vegas last March 2009, we opted to take a more scenic route this time. The lake is prettier to look at on top of the hill . The residential area is beautiful, with an array of multi-million dollar view houses! We stopped our car on a designated Scenic View spot on the road and took some pictures of Lake Mead! It was a very beautiful day...We had to look-out and be more alert because the scenic view spot is dangerous and there are cars zooming down the curve...
Journal of February 2007 - After three days of walking back and forth on the Las Vegas Strip, and going to all the places and shows you could possibly think, my children were all excited to go to Lake Mead for a change. Although the weather was still hot as usual, the drive in an air conditioned rental car was very nice.
The drive to Lake Mead is about 45 minutes. We packed our lunches and lots of bottled water in a cooler before we head to Lake Mead. We passed a lot of Joshua trees. These were beautiful cacti that were scattered on our way to Lake Mead. I was told that it takes hundreds of years to grow a mature 12-foot tree! These trees are remnants of the Dinosaur days!
There is a new construction going on - the old road going to Lake Mead is still there and the new road being built is more direct. Moreover, the road being constructed is more scenic than the old road since it is along the lake. Before reaching the lake, we have to pass to toll booth and had to pay $15.00!
The road trip was worth it once we got to Lake Mead!
Here are the places, events and shows we did:
Watching the pirates show at the Mirage
Watching the Cirque de Soleil's "Mystere" at the Treasure Island
Watching the Magic shows in Aladdin
Watching the Fall of the Atlantis at the Caesar's Palace
Watching the night fountain at Bellagio Hotel
Watching the eruption of the volcano at the Mirage Hotel
Taking the Death Rides at the Stratosphere Hotel
Taking the children's rides at the Circus Circus Hotel
Eating gelato ice cream at the Venetian Hotel
Swimming at Circus Circus
Going to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino
Checking out Sphinx and pharaosh and the Museum of Tutankhamum at Luxor Hotel
Watching the children's show at Excalibur
Watching the waterfalls at the Wynn's Hotel
Watching the gondolas at Venetian Hotel |
| Picture of my children at the Hoover Dam 3/2009 |
| | Hoover Dam The drive to Hoover Dam is about an hour from downtown Las Vegas. There was a lot of construction going on over there because they are building some bridges over the dam and they are detouring most of the cars. I brought the children there to see where all the lights of Las Vegas are coming from.
There is a place where you can watch a movie about the history of Hoover dam - how it was built and how many people's lives were sacrificed in building it. The movie was very informative. It was also a good lesson for my children to appreciate the engineers and the laborers of the dam. We appreciate and thank them - for us to enjoy and appreciate the electricity, the neon lights and the water generated by the dam in Las Vegas and other neighboring towns. |
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| Pros: | "A place to come back each year!" | | Cons: | "It gets too hot in the summer!" | | In A Nutshell: | "Las Vegas is a place where we visit every year!" |
joiwatani's Las Vegas Travel Tips
 joiwatani's Las Vegas Travelogues | | | | Title [Click to view] | Travel Year | Pictures | | The Luxor Hotel | February, 2007 |  15 | | The Mandalay Bay | February, 2007 | 4 | | Bellagio Hotel | February, 2007 | 8 | | The Artwork of Dale Chihuly at Belagio Hotel | March, 2009 | 8 | | The Coca Cola Store in Las Vegas | March, 2009 | 8 | | Mandalay Bay Hotel, Part I 2009 | March, 2009 | 8 | | Mandalay Bay Hotel, Part II, 2009 | March, 2009 | 8 | | Mandalay Bay Hotel, Part III, 2009 | March, 2009 | 6 | | Luxor Hotel, Part I, 2009 | March, 2009 | 8 | | Luxor Hotel, Part II, 2009 | March, 2009 | 8 |
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 Comments for joiwatani about Las Vegas | | | | |
TheTravelSlut Sun Jul 19, 2009 13:38 UTC
Great tips and pics! Ann, T.S. :-) | jumpingnorman Tue Jul 7, 2009 04:29 UTC
Hey Jo! You are top 5 in Vegas...good job! I love the big Lady Bug! Norman :) | csordila Mon Jun 22, 2009 12:37 UTC
Wherever in the world I see a double decker, I immediately think of London, but in Las Vegas I have never seen any, unfortunately. Usefull transportation tips. Best. L. | Yaqui Fri Apr 17, 2009 23:38 UTC
Las Vegas is fun! Some people think it is all about the gambling, yet there is so many other things to do even with the family. We come here often and always find something new. Nice page! |
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