Friday, May 9, 2014


It feels like a miracle!  With the help of Sarah, Ron and I actually took a vacation together in honor of our anniversary and Ron's birthday.  We haven't been alone on an overnight in almost 10 years!  This seemed like a well deserved time to start.  We decided on Vegas since we could do it fairly cheaply, and I was SO glad I decided to opt for the old Fremont area.  I had never really spent time there and have not been a fan of Vegas in my adult years, but I loved the area we stayed in.


The first night we went to The Mentalist at a theater in the Venetian.  This was the view from the balcony:



Only in Vegas would a giant pole dancer be a form of art lol. Then we went to India Origin for dinner.  OMG so good



Ron got some good Blackjack in that first night as well.  Up at least a couple hundred if I recall correctly.

We had a really nice corner suite at The Golden Nugget.  This was the view from our window:



Ah the classy Plaza.  Nothing says Vegas like Beef Booze and Broads.


This is the aquarium at the registration desk which is also part of The Chart House restaurant. Looks like a painting!



This is part of the pool where you can see the shark tank and the waterslide that goes through it.



We opted for an off strip spa experience.  It doesn't look much from the outside, but it was really cool inside and so much cheaper.  There were a bunch of different sauna types with different types of healing properties, like jade or salt caves, and then various temperatures of soaking pools as well.  It was really big!



Dinner that night was at Ottos, by Sarah's suggestion.  This is their famous braised pork shoulder.  It was fabulous.



Totally loved the Fremont experience light show.  The new Fremont reminds me of Venice without the beach!  Lots of cheap stuff to buy and street performers everywhere!



I even decided to do the zipline, and if you know me, that is a pretty big deal!



Last morning breakfast at Hash House a Go Go, feeling farm fresh lol.



These people do not mess around with food!



Since we had a late flight, we decided to go out to The Valley of Fire on the last day.



I always wanted to do one of these silly perspective shots.  This is my first attempt at one.



Atlatl Rock.  There are SO many petroglyphs all over the valley.




These old cabins were build by the Civilian Conservation Corps:



You used to be able to stay in these when you were on the road!  Now it is just a picnic area.

And a great spot for taking photos.



Petroglyphs behind the cabins:



My favorite shot of the day:



We were about to head back when we discovered the trailhead to Mouse Tank, which as it turned out was actually Petroglyph Canyon.  We were only going to look a little bit, but there was literally another wall of full of art around every corner!  It was amazing.  According to the sign at the beginning, this line of 4 figures represents the Snake Dance.



Like I said, literally walls full of glyphs!




From the valley straight to the airport.  Well to the rental car place first I guess.  A short but full trip!

Sunday, May 4, 2014