Hoover Dam and Las Vegas

We got on the road to Nevada on Saturday morning and made a stop at the Hoover Dam. I had no idea that it would be so big, and that there would be a complex of buildings -- I thought it would just be the dam itself. There were also some nice statues to see and placards to read. Who knew that a means for electricity and controlling the flow of water could be turned into a tourist attraction? We walked around to check it all out, but we didn't think paying for a guided tour was worth it. Again, I got to be in more than one state at once -- standing on the Arizona - Nevada state line. David had been to the Hoover Dam before and was most interested in having their footlong hot dog from the concession that he discovered last time -- it's appropriately called the "dam dog" and is huge. (There was no way I was eating a hot dog and fries for breakfast -- I had already eaten cereal at the hotel.) We then made the short drive to Las Vegas. Having a car there was helpful so we could see a hotel or two and then move the car because walking the entire strip would have been impossible. I wanted to start at the Paris because I love the decor and atmosphere there and, in all honesty, I was anxious to have an eclair from their patisserie that I had discovered there on my last visit. (Eclairs are my favorite pastry.) We did some gambling there, and David had a little bit of luck, which was a nice surprise. We went over to watch the Bellagio fountains and walked through the Miracle Mile shopping mall at the Planet Hollywood Hotel on the way to our car. We moved the car to The Palazzo garage because I had never seen it or the Wynn nearby. David lost his winnings and thensome at The Palazzo while I window shopped The Palazzo and The Venetian stores. I thought the Wynn was really pretty, and they had a beautiful area with trees and spheres of flowers hanging from the trees. (David was cracking up that I was more interested in the decor of places and the shopping than in gambling.) I hadn't had lunch yet and saw a sign for parmesan meatball sliders at a cafe and thought they sounded good. Unfortunately, there was barely a sliver of meatball in each roll, and my stomach didn't feel well soon after eating them. We decided to head to our hotel to check in. We booked Circus Circus because it was the most affordable option on the strip, and we were only going to be there for one night. A few people advised against our choice, but all we wanted was to sleep and shower. I have to say the front of the building was scary and could use a facelift and the clientele wasn't the same as the other hotels because of the theme park there, but we ended up getting a lovely room and were upgraded to a suite free of charge -- the room was bigger than my New York City apartment, and we could have invited fifty people over to have a dance party in the living room. We got ready for dinner and drove over to The Mirage. We had a reservation at Samba, which is a Brazilian churrascaria. They started us off with an interesting salad of romaine, chick peas, feta, and olives that they tossed table side and then brought creamed spinach, candied carrots, fried plantains, and black beans and rice to the table to serve ourselves. Waiters circulated with skewers of different grilled meats. David, the carnivore, was a very happy camper, but I thought some of the meats were dry and overcooked. Also, my stomach still wasn't right since lunch so maybe I just wasn't into it. We walked around The Mirage and then headed over to Caesars because I love the Roman theme there. (David had only been to the Wynn for serious poker playing the time he had been to Vegas previously so I wanted to make sure he saw some of the over-the-top hotels.) When we later got to the car, David suggested that we take a ride to downtown Vegas to check it out. It was pretty happening and crowded, and there was a band playing outside. I don't know if it's because I'm getting old, wasn't feeling well, or am just exhausted from days on end of traveling, but I was falling asleep while we were driving around (and it was only around 10 o'clock). You'd think that the energy of Vegas would have pepped me up, but it didn't. I was enamored with Vegas last time I went while on business soon after I graduated from college; I thought that all of the lights, the decor of the theme hotels, and the grand size of everything were fabulous, but I wasn't that into it this time and David predicts that it was the two years of living in Manhattan and seeing Times Square on a regular basis that made the novelty wear off for me. David's not a big fan of Vegas because it's all so fabricated and artificial and because people who can't afford it spend their money there when they shouldn't. Nevertheless, I thought it was an essential, although brief, stop on our road trip since we were in the area, and we made the most of it despite exhaustion and my poor lunch choice. We have crossed over into California and are now on our way to San Diego. We will be in CA for a whole week with lots of stops on the itinerary.

Oct 4, 2009

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