What Happens In Vegas......ends up in the blog.

Today, the Kingston Trio was all about Vegas. We arrived last night and walked around a bit. I fell in love! The last time I came to Vegas was 30 years ago, and to say that things have changed would be stating the obvious. Everything has changed. Everything. Yes, the casinos are still full of folks hoping to strike it rich, but those casinos are so much more than what I remember, and each one seems to be more spectacular than the one before. Last night we ate amazing Mexican food at The Fashion Show, and then walked as far as The Venetian before heading back to the hotel for rest. There were tons of people out and about, but it was not overwhelming, and most people were respectful of each other. You cross the street on the Strip by overhead walkways that you reach by either stairs, elevators, or escalators, and I am here for that. It was so nice to be able to cross safely, and not to have to walk up a bunch of steps in order to do so.

This morning I was up early as usual (I can't believe I can say that now), and headed down to the pool floor to enjoy a nice breeze as I did my devotion, and watched a bit of a show on my iPad. 

Anthony and I then had a presentation to sit through because Mr. Kingston will find a deal, and doing Vegas on the cheaper side was worth the 120-minute presentation.  I am a pro now at keeping my mouth shut and looking disinterested.  We had planned to drive to Valley of Fire National Park, but I will be honest.  I am tired of red rocks.  I  know it is beautiful because I have seen photos, but the thought of being in the hot sun, and I mean HOT sun was too much to bear, so we went to eat at Peppermill which was AMAZING and iconic and then came back to the hotel to take a nap.  I know I mentioned in yesterday's blog that the heat is different here, and it is not humid, but it is very hot heat during the day.  Every person we talked to this morning told us to make good use of Uber and Lyft because it was just too hot to try to walk to different places and the places are always farther away than they appear to be.  Best advice we got all day.

After our naps and a change of clothes for Kira and me, we headed to Caeser's Palace to walk around a bit, and then off to find ourselves something to eat.  We chose Italian at Battista's Hole in the Wall, and it was the cutest place with the most adorable accordion player we have ever seen.  He asked us where we were from and immediately played and sang us a song about Alabama.  Thankfully it was not that one by Lynyrd Skynyrd.  The food was good, but the ambiance was better, and the cappuccino at the end was a very nice touch and tasted more like hot chocolate than coffee which was a huge plus for me because the coffee gene passed over me and landed on Kira.

When we came out of the restaurant, it was dark, and Vegas came alive.  People were everywhere, and we all seemed to have the same destination in mind.  The water show in front of the Bellagio.  It was every bit as Vegas as I thought it would be, and I don't regret one bit standing with the masses to watch.

We left there and got an Uber to Old Vegas and the Fremont Street Experience, which immediately became my favorite part of this day hands down.  If you are a people watcher, this place is for you, and as crowded as it was, I never saw a fight break out, or anyone acting disrespectful towards anyone else.  The overhead canopy brought everything to life, and it was loud, gaudy, weird and wonderful.  It was the perfect end to a pretty great day.

We definitely want to return to Vegas when we have a little more time.  It certainly is not the Vegas I remember.  It is so much more, and I love it!