Viva Las Vegas 2012

I know this blog is about a month behind but I haven’t a lot of time since returning to Churchill it seems that despite bear season being over and the town settling down the next few months that I am still busy. If possible as a little side note if anyone can explain to me why this is that would be great because I sure as heck don’t understand it.

Anyways getting back to why I am actually writing this blog is because at the end of November after completing my first and probably last bear season in Churchill (depending on the next few months of course) three friends and I met in Calgary and headed off to Las Vegas for the first time. I remember to when I couldn’t wait to go to Las Vegas as soon as I turned 21! Well fast forward 4 years and I am finally going and trust me it was well worth the wait.

So our trip began with a frantic meet up at the Calgary International Airport where Bea, Ashley and Siobhan were all waiting for me to arrive so that I could check it, however easier said then done because the self check-in wouldn’t accept my brand new passport so I had to go to the counter (thankfully there wasn’t a line-up).  From there we headed to customs filled out the necessary paperwork and awaited the dreadful line-up, which wasn’t too bad considering. We all prepared ourselves to make the line move quicker by taking off shoes, belts, and things that could beep before going through the full body scan. After going through American customs to which I didn’t even receive a stamp! Ashley was the only one lucky enough to get one, brand new passport and I got nothing…How Rude!

Once finally making it to the other side we arrived at our gate only to find out that our flight had been delayed by an hour. Well the anticipation was suddenly brought down a few notches as we sat and waited.


However time flew by quickly and we were soon boarding out direct 2.5 hr flight to Las Vegas. The flight seemed to take forever but I think it was because we were all so excited to finally be going after weeks of waiting. Siobhan and I sat together while Bea and Ashley took the seats behind us, it was a full flight with everyone cheering once we were finally on the move.

What is amazing is flying at night and arriving in Las Vegas because you can see the lights from a mile away and can see the strip and it is very distinctive and words cannot describe how beautiful it looked. Nerves were almost getting the best of me but also the sudden change in temperature but the good news is I was able to remain calm and not get sick, I got the dizzies for a few moments but once we landed I was fine.  Either way I didn’t care because the day had finally arrived that I officially in Las Vegas after years of wanting to come here I was finally there!  and with amazing friends as well!!

Once off the plane we gathered our luggage then proceeded to our ShowTime shuttle service which was going to take us to our hotel. Leaving the airport we could see the strip I think we were all in awe and just so excited to be there.

Our hotel the Imperial Palace was under construction on the outside during our stay but that didn’t matter because as we made our way through the hotel and into the check-in line you didn’t even notice what was going on in the background of the building. While waiting in line we had  live entertainment, Shaina Twain and Garth Brooks sang a few songs. I mean they weren’t the real ones but still sounded decent, probably as close to the real thing as I’ll get. The line was slow moving, coming from a small town I am defiantly not use to the massive long lineups that Las Vegas has at every hotel, people are always coming and going.  Finally though we checked –in and made out way to the room. Once in we dropped our bags literally where they landed and headed onto the strip. At this point we were all s tarving and needed food so we headed to the Flamingo which had a decent food court, of course the easiest and quickest thing to grab was pizza and holy moly the size of American pizza was like twice the size you’d get back home. But by the time it was already passed 1am so we ate the pizza without caring about the size, Siobhan and I shared a beer which we were able to drink out on the streets! From there we headed back to the hotel and went straight to bed which was between 2-3am. We decided it was best to go to sleep and get up at a decent time and not waste a day.

Day 2- After waking up around 0730 we were out the door by 0830 and off to find a place for breakfast before taking on our first full day in Vegas. We found a Denny’s not too far from our hotel and decided to eat there since we had to wait for Planet Hollywood to open before being able to get our Vegas Power passes. 



Yes I took a picture of Sly Stallone + I found the ever
famous Rocky shorts given to Rocky by Apollo Creed!

After breakfast before heading to Planet Hollywood we stopped in a few shops and hotels to check things out and of course we stopped to take photos.

 

 

  Our first big stop was at “The Mirage” and it was here that we headed into Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden, and Dolphin Habitat.  But of course before that there is always time for goofy pictures, especially when in Vegas.

 

The Dolphin habitat was amazing plus we got to see giant kitty's. We spent some time watching the dolphin trainers and actually got really close to the dolphines. Once we headed to see the kitty's (tigers) we go to see something that was just sick but aslo funny (check out the video) we had a good time making fun of the poor tiger.

 

 

From there we headed down the strip to the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino to enjoy the Madame Tussauds Las Vegas Wax Museum Experience. Here we got to see many famous faces from Will Smith to Elton John- Former Presidents Kennedy and Lincoln  and even Elvis himself.  I was most excited to not only see the former Presidents but  to finally see George Clooney!    



 

 

After our celebrity fix we headed back to the hotel to drop off our bags and relax before heading to Margaritaville for dinner. The food and drinks here were amazing and I think it was learnt here that we should probably split meals because of the enormous portion size it’s enough to feed two people if not three!

After dinner we continued our stroll down the strip and decided what a better way to add to the evening then to head off to Paris and so to Paris we went!  With our Power Pass we had free entrance to check out the Eiffel Tower so away we went. We took an elevator ride up to the top and although I had been to the real Eiffel Tower this one was a close second. The view from the top was amazing! You see both the south and north end of the strip and beyond. From here we were also fortunate to see our first and not last viewing of the Bellagio fountain show.

Afterwards we decided to head to the Bellagio to catch another viewing of the fountains and wow was it amazing! Although they played the Titanic song by Celion Dion the fountains were still good…even the little one that tried its hardest to keep up to the bigger fountains. Poor thing I think we enjoyed making fun of it. We slowly continued our down the strip to our hotel but not before stopping in “Rome” and checking out Caesars Palace.

 

Now you’d think that being in Vegas would automatically assume that we’d be out all night…not the case to which I was thankful for because I would rather get up early and check out the sights rather than spending all night out drinking. I am sure if I return to Vegas there will be time for that.

Day 3- THUGS day out

 

Today the THUGS were taking on sin city and it all started around 9am with a bus ride to the south end of the strip. WE stopped at a doughnut shop for coffee before heading to Mandalay Bay to see the Shark Reef. It was so cool seeing the various different sharks and other fishes they have there. I touched a stingray! It felt kind of slimy but was still neat. Before leaving here we obtained Lincoln the landshark…a figure which would be in many photos.

 

We walked along the connected path towards the Excalibur Hotel and amongst out wandering around we ran into a few Chippendales dressed as Santa’s helpers well of course we had to get a few photos taken and my favorite was the one that is now plastered on my fridge! Would almost make a perfect Christmas card but I’ll save it.

 

Today was all about photos especially since we were representing THUGS and in Vegas they have photo opportunities everywhere people always trying to get you to buy their prints and well although we did buy a few we also go to enjoy trying a few other things like making a mini movie. We decided not to purchase the movie but had a good time making it at the Luxor plus the one guy was really energetic and fun. From there we headed off to New York New York which was probably one of my favorite hotels.

The atmosphere and design of it was awesome. Nothing like almost walking along the real New York skyline only to realize that you are actually still in Nevada but still you can forget about that for a moment or two before moving on, which is what we did and found the Nine Fine Irishmen Restaurant where we enjoyed a little snack and of course a drink which couldn’t be enjoyed without our new found THUGS mascot Lincoln the landshark!

 

So approximately named after one of the greatest Presidents Abraham Lincoln.

 

  MGM was our next stop as we wanted to check out the CSI Exhibit.  Supervisor Gil Grissom would be evaluating us on our performance throughout our entire investigation, so once we were all geared up and ready to go and headed out to our first crime scene. Step by step we examined the evidence, talked to witnesses, and put all the pieces together before finally making an arrest. Another awesome thing to the MGM was the fact that I found a CBS store and found a Mark Harmon mug!

From there our next adventure was to the M&M Store. 3 or 4 floors I don’t remember but it was huge and very busy. I bought a few things from there walking away with spending about $50 which I thought was pretty good. The Coke store was right across the way and so we checked it out too but it had some creepy guy dressed as an overly skinny polar bear. I think they should come to Churchill and see what a real polar bear looks like.

Later in the evening after once again dropping off our bags we headed back to the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino to take a ride on the gondolas. The gentlemen we had was awesome he even sang us a few songs originally done by Elvis through the tunnel.

After our ride he headed to the balcony because the guy had mentioned something about a winter parade and from the balcony was the best view. It was awesome and lasted about 40min or so, it was probably very similar to something you’d seen in Venice. 






Once the parade was over we boarded the bus and headed up the strip to the Stratosphere Hotel. With our power pass we once again have free access to going to the top..I think Vegas has this thing about wanting people to go to very high locations. Bea and I were the only ones who went up and the view was amazing.

 

We met a guy to which we didn’t catch his name but at the end of the day we decided to call him William Wallace. He was Irish and it only dawned on us once wet met back up with Ash and Siobhan that William Wallace is a Scottish name. Anyways not the point, he was good looking and super nice to talk too, he was crazy enough to go on one or more of the rides.  The view was spectacular as well; it’s defiantly a little different compared to looking from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planet Hollywood was next on our list of stops for dinner, Siobhan and I shared a 22oz drink which was amazing and gave a decent buzz.

 The food was good too and I got to place my hands inside those Chuck Norris and Harrison Ford had left behind. Bea and Ash decided to head back to the room while Siobhan and I headed back down to the Bellagio to catch the fountains again. We caught the final show to which they played the American National Anthem.

Day 4- Today was suppose to be a fun-filled shopping day, however we woke up to a surprise marathon happening in Vegas and more importantly down the strip. This was probably the worst day  we had in Vegas just because all the transportation was moved around and things were closed different pathways blocked off it was a mad house.  We had planned to go to the south end mall after having breakfast at Ihop but ended up wasting an hour or so because the bus system had decided to stop early so in the end we ended up taking a taxi. Our last full day in Vegas and it was already falling apart. We finally arrived at the mall and I wasn’t in the shopping mood anymore, despite it being an outlet mall I didn’t see too much that was worth buying.

 However in the end I did find a few tops and ended up buying a suitcase because all my stuff was not going to fit into my backpack on the way home. We spent about 2 hours shopping at the mall and before leaving we were finally able to figure out the detoured bus system and slowly made our way back to the strip. I ended up having to pull my suitcase all the way back to the strip and through herds of people, it was a piss off and by this time I was getting mad. Our entire day plan had changed because of the marathon we missed our chance at going to the Fine Arts Exhibit at the Bellagio but because we were running out of time especially if we wanted to make it to the Beatles Tribute show we had to skip it. Siobhan and I headed back to the hotel so we could drop off all of our bags and my giant suitcase before meeting back up with Bea and Ash in time for the show. Well because of the day we’d been having Siobhan and I decided to do a pit stop at Fat Tuesday and grab ourselves a nice slushy drink. We finally met the other two and proceeded to wait in line for the show to start.  I had a pretty good buzz going on which made the show even more enjoyable.

The Beatles Tribute band was amazing, they looked and sounded just like the Beatles. This was probably the best part of our day because it really made up for the shitty start to it. After the band to which we also got our photos taken with, we slowly made our way back to the hotel stepping in a few stores and refilling our drinks. Making our way up the strip we headed back to the Venetian of course to go to Walgreens but first we had to finally get our picture taken with Brett the Jester. Siobhan and I went running like little school girls towards him. After picking a few things up at Walgreens we were finally able to see the volcano show. From where we were standing we could feel the heat I could only imagine how warm it would be had we been closer.  In the end it wasn’t a horrible day I mean it started off on a bad note just because we had no idea there was a marathon going on. We had seen people out jogging in the morning but just thought they were crazy didn’t think it would be like Ironman. Nonetheless despite this little hiccup I still like Vegas and so far have enjoyed myself very much.

 

Day 4- Today was our last day in Vegas and because of it we were up early, packed and ready to go. By 0830 we were all out of the room and ready to check out, because our flight didn’t leave until the evening we checked our baggage and would pick them up before leaving. We once again headed to Denny’s for breakfast before going to the Bellagio to see the Monet Fine Art Exhibit. It was pretty cool, some of the pieces had so much detail and were given brief histories as to where, when, etc about the paintings.  We decided from there to catch the bus that was finally back to its proper schedule and head to “old Vegas” also known as Freemont Street.








 













It was interesting to see because you get an idea of how before Vegas was Vegas that it was still a popular gambling/city of sin. They had a few interesting shops and names for things, gave us a good laugh. 

And yes at the Golden Nuggest I have a "Dirty Dancing" slot machine to which I played. Life wouldn't be the same if I didn't. Plus how could I say no to that look! "Come here lover boy!"

 

Because we had time to kill and since we didn’t get a chance to do it the day before we caught the bus to the North Outlet mall which wasn’t very far plus we had picked up an all day pass for the bus so we figured might as well use it. At this mall we spent a bit of time, I didn’t buy anything but enjoyed looking around just because I was more familiar with the stores and they had good deals.

On the bus ride back I had a nice little nap before getting off at the Bellagio where we decided to have lunch/dinner at a little place called Serendipity’s before collecting our baggage. This place was cool and the drinks we had were huge!  It was a nice close to our final day in Vegas.

 By 8pm we were waiting at the airport for our plane to take us back to Calgary.

Arriving back in Calgary is somewhat of a blur to me probably due to the fact that I was so tired. I slept almost the entire way from Vegas to Calgary, quickly had to do my customs card of course with Bea’s help because I had no idea what I was doing. I estimated how much I was roughly brining back and at 1am I really don’t think they were checking too hard. From there we collected our baggage and did the long walk which felt like forever back into the arrivals area of the airport.  We said our good-byes before everyone departed, I was staying at the airport because I had a 6am flight back to Winnipeg. My brother was nice enough to come to the airport to drop off the bag I had left in Calgary before leaving and of course to give him the presents I had bought for the girls.

Thankfully I had my laptop to keep me occupied before being able to check in so I watched a few movies before checking in and going through security around 4am. I grabbed some Tim Hortons before hanging out at my departure gate and having a nap. When I woke up there were people all around me and it was almost time to board my plane to which once I boarded I went back to sleep.  I woke up just as we were arriving in Winnipeg.  As routine as it had become I collected bags, grabbed a taxi and headed for the train station where I would have to wait about 3 hours before being able to board.  Once I was settled and checked in at the train station I walked to the Fort Market and bought a few food items before heading back. By this time I was thinking that a definite walk to Walmart in Thompson was going to be necessary because holy crap was I tired of sitting and tired of traveling. 

But I am still happy that I finally made it to Las Vegas and I couldn’t have gone with a better group of friends. Where too next!!!