A memorable holiday

                                                

Outside the Paris hotel, Las Vegas

 

I have had some fantastic holidays over the years, one of which was to  Las Vegas  in 2001 and it was so good.

I have since been to Vegas on two further occasions but the first time I went, my husband David and I were with a family group. This made it really special. Grown up children rarely want to tag along with parents but we were going to a wedding so we all were there. There were lots of friends in the group and it was an amazing time.

Beautiful day in Las Vegas

Helen & Richard in ‘Slots a fun’

It was a two destination holiday, Las Vegas first, then a move to Los Angeles where we visited various theme parks.

In Vegas, we toured all the fantastic hotels along ‘The Strip’. Each had its own ‘Wow’ factor and I loved it.

The heat was amazing. It was late April and early May and one day it touched 100 degrees. Strangely on the following day, the temperature dipped to 68 degrees and it was so windy and we watched in amazement as a huge tumble weed rolled across the road in the wind, halting the traffic for minutes.  We had seen it so many times in cowboy films and there it was before our eyes.  It was this same windy day that we had a helicopter trip at night over the strip.  Helicopters fair better in windy conditions by all accounts and it was quite an experience.

The day after this we had a flight in a light aircraft to the Grand Canyon over the Hoover dam. Great stuff!  The sun shone as we looked into the Grand Canyon and it snowed, just flurries but it was strange to witness it.

Our transportation to the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Some in our party were travel sick on the little plane and it was commented  ‘Trust us to get the 12yr old pilot’.  I’m sure he must have been in his late 20’s but he was slight and blond and would have needed his ID everywhere he went to prove his age.

In Vegas, we also visited Freemont street at night and were duly were amazed by the Freemont Street experience which is a pedestrian mall with its $70 million light canopy covering two blocks.

Freemont Street by day

While down town, we had a meal at the Hotel California which was filled with Hawaiians eating spider crabs.

We played the slots and drank complimentary bottles of Bud. We ate in many different hotels, enjoyed the entertainment and people watched all holiday.

Then on to Los Angeles.

We visited Disney and Universal Studios and had a tour which took us on Rodeo Drive and to the Chinese theatre where all the ‘Stars’ have stars on the pavement and where they have left their hand prints in cement for posterity.

Knotts Berry Farm was the first theme park we visited and I remember in particular looking up into the sky where a plane had made a smiley face with its trail. There was loads to see and do here. What a good day out!

Disney was good too and although we we all adult we loved it.

Universal studios was really fantastic. The Indiana Jones ride in particular sticks in my memory but nothing in all the holiday disappointed us.

Two weeks were gone in a flash and sadly time to come home.

We vowed to return to Las Vegas and we did, twice. Don’t know if that was the last time.

I have just renewed my passport so who knows!