Never Homevember 2019 - Las Vegas

Never Homevember Intro and Walt Disney World

Not spending weekends at home in November meant no Christmas decorating.   Full Christmas decorating is an 8-10 hour process and tear down slightly less.   This year we went with our 2’ prelit tree and 2 star showers on the lawn.   Cleanup will be easy.   

We decided to take the first flight out to Las Vegas since we didn’t really want to waste a portion of a day off from work at home.  We landed around 9am.  Our reason for taking this trip was to run some of the Rock & Roll races on The Strip at night and to spend time with friends Tom and Maggie (father and daughter).    

We were able to check into our room at The Linq early.  When we visited in May we thought the hotel was a good choice based on location, the number of eateries, a good beer selection at a couple bars, and they had the horse racing game where the horsies go around the track.  Our rate was pretty reasonable too for an event weekend.   Before heading to the race expo via Monorail we grabbed a burger at In-n-Out.   This was our second time at the chain and we still don’t understand what all the fuss is about.   Holly was thrilled to be doing the half instead of the full marathon this weekend, but out of habit she went to the wrong check-in tables.  Dave ended up getting Corral 1 for the 10K, which meant if he stayed in that corral race day he would likely be trampled.  

After dropping Expo stuff back in our room we made our way south towards Mandalay Bay with a few stops beforehand.  The monorail took us to MGM Grand, which we toured around a bit before crossing over to New York, New York.   We made our way to a little park that was home of the Hello Kitty Café.  This is basically a semi-permanent trailer/food truck selling snacks and coffee.   Some items are shaped like Hello Kitty characters.   

After snacking we got some walk-around beers at a nearby bar and headed towards Excalibur.   We enjoyed the continuity of theme throughout the casino (Sherwood Forest Bar and suits of armor lining an entryway).    The MGM casino monorail took us over to Mandalay Bay, which we thoroughly walked through.   We were disappointed to find the Shark Reef required admission and the pool had been closed (it’s a nice pool to look at).  We were hungry and decided to eat at Noodle Shop in the hotel.   We decided we’d eat a lot of Asian food this trip since the Asian restaurants in our town are awful.  Our final stop was at Luxor to take a look at their Egyptian theming.

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Our evening activity was Cirque to Soleil’s Beatles' Love.   We’ve never been to a Cirque show and figured having music we are familiar with would help us ease into the experience.   We were surprised that the show was more of a dance show vs. people hanging from the ceiling or balancing on each other.   We ran into Tom and Maggie after the show and we decided to meet up again in the morning for a trip to the Hoover Dam.  We went back to The Linq for dinner at Virgil’s BBQ before calling it a day.

***

Saturday morning we ate the most expensive Starbuck’s breakfast in Harrah’s (you thought airports were overpriced) before meeting Tom and Maggie at Mirage.   Tom rented a mini van to take us on the hour trip to The Hoover Dam.   We spent time walking around the dam, making every “dam” joke you could imagine, before taking one of the shorter tours offered by the Bureau of Reclamation.   Although the dam is big, it was actually smaller than we thought it would be.   It’s worth the trip to see the dam, but an added benefit is the beauty of the area.  There were some great desertscapes intermixed with the river and Lake Meade.   We stopped for lunch in Boulder City, a town created to house the builders of the dam.   The town was very cute, but our lunch location was lackluster.    On the way back to town we stopped in Henderson and enjoyed some beers at LoveLady Brewing. 

Back in Las Vegas we split up since Tom and Maggie were running the 5K race that evening.   We walked down to the Fashion Mall to visit the ABC Store – a Walgreen’s sized convenient store from Hawaii.   They have good snacks from Hawaii.   We stocked up on macadamia nuts, Hi-Chews, and Kona beer for the room.   We toured around our hotel area visiting Flamingo, Cromwell, and Caesar’s Palace.   We discovered a great craft cocktail bar in The Cromwell – Bound.  We ate dinner at Beijing Noodle No.9 and gambled a bit before calling it an evening.

***

Sunday: Race day. Afternoon/evening races are not our favorites since it is hard to judge what to eat and when. We had an early breakfast at the hotel and then tried to figure out how to kill time. We headed to The Venetian and just sat on the steps enjoying the sun and watching gondolas go by. Dave had to leave around 2pm for his race and Holly could walk to her start line a little later. Dave would start the 10K 45 minutes before Holly would start the half.

Dave’s 10K Comments

I had too much time to kill. I exited the Monorail at the Sahara (nice casino) and crossed through the casino with many other runners. A Plinko type machine caught my eye so I gave it $5. Our staging area was the fairgrounds, which is just a vacant lot when there’s no fair.  Many of us chose to soak up the sun on the artificial turf while waiting to corral up.   We had access to real bathrooms, a plus.     When it was time to get to the corrals I decided to go to the back of Corral 1 so I could avoid getting in the real runners’ way (I actually do not run but can walk fast).  Unfortunately we did not have a wave start as advertised so I ended up moving really fast to try to get to the side and out of the way.  Spacing on the course really didn’t open up until Mile 2.   I probably ended up with my fastest single miles ever in a race.  I ended up finishing at 1:22, better than expected.

It was fun getting to see a part of The Strip I’d normally never go near:  The old wedding chapels, biker bars, run-down dispensaries, and urban decay.  Some bars near Fremont looked fun though and the casino lights on the way back were pretty.   I was hoping for a margarita to cross the finish with but the race barriers kept me from reaching the stand.  The light show at the finish was decent and course entertainment was adequate.   The process to go through the finish chute and cross streets to get back to the sidewalk was underwhelming.     I figured Holly was going to be coming to my area soon so I grabbed a beer from Sin City Brewing.   I videoed her running by before heading back to Linq for a shower.

Holly’s Half Marathon Comments

I was excited to run on the Vegas strip.  I wasn’t excited to start running at 4:45pm.   I usually eat very little before any race so I wasn’t sure what to do.  I had a big breakfast and then just had a Lunchable as a snack around 1 because I was starving.  It worked out well.   The start area was much more chaotic for me.  It took forever to get from the staging area to the corrals.  You had to funnel thousands of people into a small alleyway.  Not fun.   After I got to the start corral it was fine.  I enjoyed running up and down the strip and it was great to see old Vegas.   I’m glad I did the race.  It did kill the whole day though.   By the time I was done running and got through the finish and got a shower, it was probably 8:30.

Video from the Race – mostly from the 10K

After the race we were hoping to meet up with Tom and Maggie for dinner but someone ran into Maggie while running the half and she was icing down.   We had burgers and beers at Black Tap in the Venetian, played a few games, then went back to our hotel for drinks and some live music.     While it was fun to do the races, afternoon/evening races really kill the whole day.

***

Monday, time to head home.  We had a late-afternoon flight so there was still time to play.    Breakfast was in the hotel at Hash House a Go-Go.  We started the morning with mimosas and obscene amounts of food.   We left our luggage with bell services and played a few games.  We were down around $220 for the weekend and decided we should stop soon.  Holly wanted to try the Jurassic Park 3D machine so we gave it our last $30.   She ended up winning around $250!  Hot dog, back in black!  We played a few more games and maybe left the town $30 up.   

To celebrate we took a lift to China Town (nice area) and had drinks at The Golden Tiki.   This place was fantastic!   The good thing about going to tiki bars early is they tend to be empty.   The bartender was super friendly and told us about how the place was designed by former Disney Imagineers.   Many Disney references and props all around the bar.  They had two replica Tiki Room birds that had raunchy banter from time-to-time.   Back on The Strip we had one more Asian meal at Noodle Asia in the Venetian.  

Another fun weekend in the books!  Next stop, Jamaica.

Las Vegas and Utah - May 2019 - Las Vegas and Kolob Canyon

Las Vegas/Utah Trip Overview

Arches Part One | Arches Part Two

Canyonlands/Capitol Reef Part One
Capitol Reef Part Two and Grand Staircase-Escalante
Bryce Canyon
Zion National Park

The foundation for our Memorial Week vacation was built back in November when tickets went on sale for Barry Manilow's show at The Westgate in Las Vegas.  Holly has been a lifelong fan and wanted to be sure she saw him perform one more time now that he is 75.   What made it even better is we scored 2nd row-center seats.

Now all that was left was building a trip around the show.  We floated around ideas like Palm Springs and the nearby National Parks, extending time in Las Vegas and the surrounding area, but ended up landing on the Southern Utah National Parks to fill our week. 

First thing we asked ourselves was "Who are we?"  We enjoyed our time in National Parks over the last few years while Holly completed running a marathon in every state, but those were 1/2 day or one full day visits.   This was a full seven days that would come with a lot of windshield time.   Part of our rationale was let's get some more active touring out of the way while we still have mobility freedom.   Parks and hiking can be tough for some folks that can't get around so easily.   Also, we are pretty good at sitting on beaches and around hotel pools so we thought it was time to try something different.  If it sucked it was only one week out of our lives.    Believe us, we kept questioning our choices as time got closer and Dave was constantly evaluating alternatives with Vegas as the start/end point.  But we stuck with it and had an incredible trip.

The itinerary (colors indicate drive day and match the route drawn on the map):

Friday night - Sunday morning: Las Vegas

Sunday:  Drive to Moab, stop at Zion's Kolob Canyon on the way, visit Arches National Park

Monday: Arches NP - Morning on our own and afternoon 4x4 tour

Tuesday: Canyonlands NP (north portion only), Capitol Reef NP, night in Torrey in a Conestoga Wagon

Wednesday: Capitol Reef NP morning, scenic Route 12, Bryce Canyon NP

Thursday: Bryce Canyon NP

Friday: Zion NP

Saturday: Zion NP, horse ride

Sunday: Drive to Vegas and spend some time casino touring before the flight home

We picked the rental up from the Las Vegas airport (tip - the rental center is so far from the terminal so allow extra time) and drove directly to the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign.  This was Holly's first visit to Las Vegas so we wanted to make sure we got a few touristy things worked in.

We originally booked The Paris Hotel but then realized for the same price we could stay next door (as next door as it gets in Vegas) at the Hilton Elara and earn major Hilton Honors points (and free parking).  It was attached to the mall shared by the Planet Hollywood Casino.   Disney fans will appreciate we had a Monorail view room facing south towards Mandalay Bay.  

Our first stop was Sin City Brewing's mall stand for a walkie.  We fought our way through the crowded Friday strip to the Bellagio Fountain show before grabbing a Lyft over to Fremont Street and old Las Vegas.  A free Blink 182 show was going to take place tonight in the center of the Fremont Experience so we did some quick casino touring and caught the early light show before playing a few games and having dinner at Lillie's Asian in The Golden Nugget.

We fought the Saturday morning breakfast crowds at Hash House a Go-Go in the Linq before heading over the The Venetian to tour the mall.  That turned into about an hour of gambling yielding near break-even returns.    Ubering out of The Venetian is a nightmare because of their setup so we don't suggest it.  Our car was taking us off-strip to Frankie's Tiki Room - a bar Dave has wanted to visit for over 8 years.   When we pulled up to the windowless building with an empty parking lot (at around noon) the driver offered to hang around while we checked it out.   It was open (24/7 as advertised) and it was a tiki bar dream (except for the smoke).  Dank, lots of wood carvings, hanging glass balls for lamps, an exotica music jukebox, and kitschy film clips on the TV.   As our time there went on the crowd started to build, keeping the lone employee/bartender occupied.   We ended up mail ordering a tiki mug and t-shirt from their website to save us room in the luggage.  Two drinks in meant it was time to find food. 

We caught a Lyft back towards our hotel and ended up at Cabo Wabo for lunch.   Not the most inspired choice but their was a seat available along the rail allowing us to watch all of humanity go by.  We spent a little time casino touring around Bellagio, Aria, and Cosmopolitan.  We found a good beer list at Holstein's in the Cosmopolitan.

We took the monorail over to The Westgate for the show.  We arrived early enough to browse the Barry Manilow shop, have a drink, and become less break-even on the slot machines.

Holly writes:

"When I heard Barry Manilow was going to start doing a residency in Vegas, I knew it was time for me to finally make the trip to Vegas.   Barry was one of the first concerts I saw and I have been a “Fanilow” ever since.   It has been a few years since I have seen him and I was really looking forward to the show.   Barry Manilow puts on an amazing show.   We splurged for great tickets and I was really excited to be sitting in the second row, dead center.    We got to the theater a bit early and I’m glad we did because they had a Copacabana bar with souvenir drinks.   I got the Made it through the Champagne drink, a clever parody of his hit “ I Made It Through the Rain”.   It came in a cool light up glass.   We made it to our seats and I couldn’t believe how close to the stage we were.  This was going to be good! 

Barry came out to start the show and I couldn’t believe how close I was to him.   I immediately started crying!    It was pretty embarrassing.   I was just so blown away that he was right there, my favorite performer.    He sang all the hits and he still sounds as good as ever.   He danced and moved around the stage just like always and he’s not a young man any longer, but you would never know it.    The big finale is Copacabana and it was amazing: show girls, the stage raised up so he could be up close to the people in the balcony, confetti, an amazing outfit on Barry, it was a true Vegas show experience.     I was still crying at the end and so thankful that I got to see him so close.   I now want to go back again!"

After the show we hopped on the Monorail to head back to Paris.  Before our dinner in the Eiffel Tower we spent some time gambling and enjoying the live band on the casino floor.   We got ourselves in the black enough to buy a 6-pack of craft beer.  Dinner at the Eiffel Tower was a little lack-luster.  We were dead center in the middle of the room and had to crane our necks to get some sort of view and the food should have been better for the price.   One thing we can tell you is their chef likes his salt.

***

The alarm went off early on Sunday.  We wanted to have some time in Arches National Park this day and expected about seven hours of driving.  Dave has always wanted to drive down one of those long desert roads with nothing in sight for miles - and he got his wish.  

It seemed every 40 miles or so the landscape changed. Within a couple of hours we passed through St. George, Utah and turned off to enter Kolob Canyon, the north section of Zion National Park.   It was bizarre because you did not expect to see such a dramatic change in the scenery taking a few turns up the mountain road.  We tried not to dilly on the short hike to the lookout but it was hard not to stop and take a few more photos.

Look for more pictures of Holly walking through nature in future posts.

The rest of the drive was uneventful.  We ended up in Moab around 4pm, checked-in to the hotel, then headed over to Arches.   We'll cover Arches/Moab in our next post.