Headed out to Vegas with a small group (3 minis, 4 people) at 1pm Wednesday. The drive up was pretty during the day but isolated rain storms made it hectic at times. Also road construction in Wickenburg delayed us by 30mins. Furthermore driving over the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge was a disappointment. The sides of the bridge seemed to be taller then Atori. So I couldn't tell how high I was nor see the dam below. I'm very happy that I got to experience driving on the dam last year. Our little group arrived at the host hotel (Palace Station) a little after 7pm, got checked in then the four of us had dinner at Food Express Chinese Restaurant.
Palace Station
Our room
the bathroom
Day 2 (5.19.11) Viva Las Vegas
Decided not to go on the Oatman drive, my roommates and I wanted to sleep in, plus we just came from AZ and non of us wanted to circle back and re-drive the route we just came from. Instead we joined two other of our friends and started working on one of the poker run scavenger hunt. Amanda who roomed with my sister and I hadn't been to Vegas before and this was a good opportunity for her to see some of the city.
Our first question brought us to KMC Las Vegas, to answer a question about a picture behind the counter. What should have been a quick in and out didn't quite turn out that way. Instead I ended up buying a sprint boost and getting it installed on Atori. Money worth spent. The second question brought us to the Pawn Stars, pawn shop. My parents happen to be a fan of this show so we spent some time there looking around and taking pictures. The third stop brought us to a Mormon church to answer a question that was displayed on a plaque outside. After finding the answer our group headed over to Fremont Street for the fourth question. This question brought us to the 4 Queens Casino which had a "win a mini" at 1cent slot machines. The fifth question was how many waterfalls can be seen from the Bugsy Siegel's memorial at the Flamingo Las Vegas. The Flamingo really has some beautiful outdoor gardens and I really enjoyed the koi pound. After such a busy morning we decided it was time for a late lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. After lunch we headed over to the Bellagio to see the gardens and watch the fountains.
That night an AMVIV event dinner was held at Hofbrauhaus, a big German beer hall/restaurant. Sis and I both got potato soup. Good food, loud music, drunk people dancing, and a guy wearing a weeding gown,..good times. After dinner 6 of us headed over to MGM for the 9:30 showing of Cirque du Soleil, Ka. The show was breathtaking in all aspects and our seats were close-enough that some of the performers where above and behind us. Seeing the show was one of the many highlights of the trip. I can't even begin to say which part was my favorite, the whole show was just amazing.
Pawn Stars, pawn shop
The Mormon church plaque
Win a Mini @ 4 Queens Casino
waterfalls seen from Bugsy Siegel's memorial
sis @ Bugsy Siegel's memorial
more of the gardens
Cheeseburger in Paradise (sis's lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville)
Bellagio
Fountains of Bellagio
Elvis Dog
Hofbrauhaus
potato soup
sis and I after seeing Ka
back at the hotel, view from my room
Day 3 (5.20.11) Time for a Drive
Sis and I headed out on the morning run over to Pahrump, NV for a spin on the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. It was so exciting getting Atori out on a race track...even if there was 40+ other minis on the track with me and a mini three cars ahead of me was going so slow that everyone else got backed up behind them. After the race the main group slip into two, one group headed onto death valley and the other group (the one I picked) headed over to a local winery for lunch at Pahrump Valley Winery. Lunch was really good but the stop here was a-little long for my liking. On the drive back to Vegas the group made a detour on 159 for a quick view of the red rocks and then headed back to the hotel.
Dinner was at Bahama Breeze with friends. I'm sure the food was good but I didn't have much of an appetite that night. After everyone got done eating we all headed back to Palace Station to get ready for the Strip Cruise drive. I find the strip cruise drive to be very hectic and tiresome but at lest this year I got to drive with a nice group of minis plus I didn't get stopped at any of the lights alone. After the drive was over sis and I headed to Fremont Street with three other minis. Fremont Street is so entertaining at night, I got to see impersonators, pirates, freaks galore, half naked girls dressed as angles, and one guy dressed as a Spartan....
morning view
on the track
Pahrump Valley Winery
my lunch
red rocks
sis dinner at Bahama Breeze
Strip Cruise drive
Fremont Street
Day 4 (5-21-11) Doomsday
It was predicted that the world was going to end on May 21st. I didn't believe this theory which is a good thing since the day came and went. Anyways back to my vacation wright-up....
My roommates and I had breakfast at the Palace Station Grand Cafe then spent the morning finishing our poker run scavenger hunt. The last stops had us visiting the Welcome To Vegas Sign, making a quick stop at the Tropicana, and visiting a shopping center. We turned in our sheet before the 2pm deadline, I didn't pick a good hand of cards. Oh well it was still fun.
Sis and I headed back to the strip with three other friends. We took the hotel shuttle so I didn't have to worry about driving. Our first stop was walking around Treasure Island. I love the pirate theme. Then we headed over to The Venetian and had lunch at the food court, sis and I got chinese, good but nothing special. After eating we walked around the building then took a ride on the outside gondolas. The gondola ride was so much fun plus while we were waiting in line we got to watch some bikini-clad drunken girls get taken off the property by security, the things you see in Vegas.
After the gondola ride we took the shuttle back to the hotel, took a few hours to relax in our hotel room then headed off to the AMVIV Saturday-night Social Party. It was nice seeing everyone but I didn't have to much fun. Sis and I didn't stay to long, after staying for an hour or so we took a taxi with two of our friends back to Treasure Island to watch the pirate show. We spent a few hours at the bar talking and enjoying the evening, a perfect end to such a wonderful vacation.
my breakfast
AMVIV message board
my poker hand (or whatever you call it)
Treasure Island
The Venetian
the mini social party
drinks at Treasure Island
Day 5 (5-22-11) Back on the Road
Headed back home with ten other minis at 9am Sunday morning. Made it back into Phoenix around 3:30pm just in time to stop at my cousins 30th birthday party.
