Lizzybear
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2006
- Messages
- 2,955
Pre-trip
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
3rd October 2008
I really couldn't get over how huge just our hotel is, and to think those on the strip were even bigger was just mind-boggling (at this point we hadn't actually set foot on it yet!) The casino almost felt like another world.. No matter the time of day it was always busy with people drinking and gambling, like Friday night all the time! In some ways it was also a bit sad as many people were scarily engrossed and by the end of our stay we noticed a fair few who were there constantly. My great aunt would have loved this place, she loved betting on the horses and playing bingo and always seemed to get lucky with both.. At her local club she used to win so often that the other ladies wouldn't talk to her as they thought she was in cahoots with the caller *lol* Anyway, today was to be a bit more chilled before our two planned 'strip days' We had breakfast at The Egg and I which has since changed it's name to Egg Works which is a great little off-strip place, very popular with the locals apparently. I had eggs benedict and Steve had a cheese omelette, bill was $22. Next stop was Walmart to pick up some ranch mix to take home, a new holdall since the one i'd brought with us had split open in several places (that'll teach me to buy cheap luggage!) and Steve stocked up on Dickies stuff. A fair few dollars lighter we headed to the Hoover Dam around midday, parked up and paid the $11 each for the power plant tour which we both found really interesting (we're both really into this sort of thing though I think it's similar to Kennedy Space Center in that you'll either love it or hate it!)
When the tour was finished we looked around the exhibits (how the dam was built, how it's used today etc) then walked along the dam itself.
In the process of building a much needed extra bridge!
See those cars in the distance? They're why the extra bridge is much needed!!
The obligatory 'state line photo' (so can I say i've been to Arizona now?!)
We left at around 3:30pm and headed to Bahama Breeze for an early dinner. I had the breeze chicken with sweet potato mash (which seriously has to be one of the nicest meals i've ever had!) and Steve had the grilled vegetables on cuban bread sandwich with fries. We shared the goat's cheese starter (which, bizarrely, was served along with our mains!) and the chocolate mountain dessert (our first choice of key lime pie was sold out so maybe next time!) The bill was $65 and after dinner we headed back to the hotel and decided to go bowling. It was crazy cheap: 2 people, 2 games and shoe hire for less than $20.. It's something like £10 per person per game at home! It was 'cosmic' (glow) bowling which is always fun and i'd definitely recommend dropping by for a game if you're wanting something different/cheap to do in Vegas. After our second game I realised I had $1 in cash left from that day so I decided to play on a slot machine and won $3 which was enough, with some change from Steve, to buy a 3 scoop ice-cream to share (I know, high rollers right?!) I chose chocolate fudge brownie, cherry vanilla and butterfinger blast as the flavours and they were all yummy, huge scoops too! When we'd polished it off we headed back to the room and watched some TV before bed. Just a few notes about the hotel: I had booked with Expedia but ended up cancelling and rebooking nearer the time as they had some amazing rates, especially for weekend nights.. I think it averaged out at about £35 a night which was a bargain especially when you consider our room was newly refurbished. I know the off-strip location would put a lot of people off but they do have a 24 hour shuttle bus or it's a very cheap cab ride away from the strip if you don't have a car or don't want to drive so I think it's definitely an option for anyone wanting a good value but not TOO basic Las Vegas hotel.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
3rd October 2008
I really couldn't get over how huge just our hotel is, and to think those on the strip were even bigger was just mind-boggling (at this point we hadn't actually set foot on it yet!) The casino almost felt like another world.. No matter the time of day it was always busy with people drinking and gambling, like Friday night all the time! In some ways it was also a bit sad as many people were scarily engrossed and by the end of our stay we noticed a fair few who were there constantly. My great aunt would have loved this place, she loved betting on the horses and playing bingo and always seemed to get lucky with both.. At her local club she used to win so often that the other ladies wouldn't talk to her as they thought she was in cahoots with the caller *lol* Anyway, today was to be a bit more chilled before our two planned 'strip days' We had breakfast at The Egg and I which has since changed it's name to Egg Works which is a great little off-strip place, very popular with the locals apparently. I had eggs benedict and Steve had a cheese omelette, bill was $22. Next stop was Walmart to pick up some ranch mix to take home, a new holdall since the one i'd brought with us had split open in several places (that'll teach me to buy cheap luggage!) and Steve stocked up on Dickies stuff. A fair few dollars lighter we headed to the Hoover Dam around midday, parked up and paid the $11 each for the power plant tour which we both found really interesting (we're both really into this sort of thing though I think it's similar to Kennedy Space Center in that you'll either love it or hate it!)
When the tour was finished we looked around the exhibits (how the dam was built, how it's used today etc) then walked along the dam itself.
In the process of building a much needed extra bridge!
See those cars in the distance? They're why the extra bridge is much needed!!
The obligatory 'state line photo' (so can I say i've been to Arizona now?!)
We left at around 3:30pm and headed to Bahama Breeze for an early dinner. I had the breeze chicken with sweet potato mash (which seriously has to be one of the nicest meals i've ever had!) and Steve had the grilled vegetables on cuban bread sandwich with fries. We shared the goat's cheese starter (which, bizarrely, was served along with our mains!) and the chocolate mountain dessert (our first choice of key lime pie was sold out so maybe next time!) The bill was $65 and after dinner we headed back to the hotel and decided to go bowling. It was crazy cheap: 2 people, 2 games and shoe hire for less than $20.. It's something like £10 per person per game at home! It was 'cosmic' (glow) bowling which is always fun and i'd definitely recommend dropping by for a game if you're wanting something different/cheap to do in Vegas. After our second game I realised I had $1 in cash left from that day so I decided to play on a slot machine and won $3 which was enough, with some change from Steve, to buy a 3 scoop ice-cream to share (I know, high rollers right?!) I chose chocolate fudge brownie, cherry vanilla and butterfinger blast as the flavours and they were all yummy, huge scoops too! When we'd polished it off we headed back to the room and watched some TV before bed. Just a few notes about the hotel: I had booked with Expedia but ended up cancelling and rebooking nearer the time as they had some amazing rates, especially for weekend nights.. I think it averaged out at about £35 a night which was a bargain especially when you consider our room was newly refurbished. I know the off-strip location would put a lot of people off but they do have a 24 hour shuttle bus or it's a very cheap cab ride away from the strip if you don't have a car or don't want to drive so I think it's definitely an option for anyone wanting a good value but not TOO basic Las Vegas hotel.
