It really is the city of sin

For the first time since we left Seattle i was able to sleep in today till about 8.30am. After breakfast we decided to check out Hoover Dam since it was only 30 miles away. When we got there to our (pleasant) surprise we found ourselves in Arizona State. I say "pleasant" because we were able to hit yet another state on our America Road Trip. The dam is pretty spectacular. On our way back to Vegas we thought we would stop at a helicopter tour place we had passed along the way to the dam. The sign had said $29...we thought that was pretty good for a ride. Turns out for a party of 2 or less, it is $35 each and the actual time in the air is 3 minutes!!!! 3 MINUTES!!!! WHAT A RIP OFF!!!! So we headed back to Vegas.

We went back to the hotel and took the monorail to the south end of the strip (our hotel is at the north end). We disembarked at the MGM grand hotel. I had been reading a brochure in the morning and had earmarked all the free shows and one of them was a lion exhibit at the MGM. It sounded cool....surrounded by glass on all sides with lions inside. It turned out to be 2 small cubs in a tiny glass enclosure! Another rip off! But the cubs were too cute. Then after a quick bite we headed to the M&M store for what we thought would be another fun filled 3D movie of the life of an M&M. Guess what - the exhibit was closed! Rip off #3....

Then we walked to Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay to see the hotels inside. Each one is more spectacular than the other. Excalibur is modeled to resemble King Arthurs court, Mandalay looks like a wealthy plantation in Burma and Luxor is of course, Egypt recreated. After our mandatory pm Starbucks break we took a bus to the Venetian. Easily our favorite - you really feel like you're in Venice complete with canals and gonodoliers. The street square scene with puppeteers and singers is fantastic! There was even an opera singer belting out from one of the terraced balconies above. What we noticed was that there is opulence and glitz all over the place but it is all very tastefully done. Some of the restaurants inside the MGM Grand are absolutely beautiful.

By then it was 6.30pm and we took the bus back to the hotel room. Right now we are watching the American Idol finale and after that plan to catch the pirates war show at Treasure Island. We have a pretty long day tomorrow so we don't want to over do it....

11.11pm - Just got back from the Sirens of TI show. It was sort of cheesy but still very enjoyable. We didn't have time to eat dinner before the show so we picked up a couple of deli sandwiches and ate them now...

I am totally exhausted and ready for my sleep. Oh, by the way, we didn't play a single slot machine or anything...now that's a sin!

More pics of Las Vegas

Travel tip - When in LV, get a daily bus pass. It will save you your money and your feet walking all along the strip