We parked in the giant parking garage at the Stratosphere Hotel. Once we walked in we were delighted. Although it was a casino like all the other casinos in Vegas it was nicer and smelled better than Arizona Charlie’s. After standing in line because everybody was checking in at the same time we were assigned a room and up the tower we went. The Stratosphere is the hotel on the strip that is designed after the one in Seattle and it is tallest building on the strip. The room was nice but we were not here to veg out in the room. Besides the rooms in Vegas, at least the rooms in our price range are not accommodating and try to get you to go into the casino and the shops. For example there is no fridge or even a coffee maker. They want you to buy food and get coffee at the local Starbucks found in each of the casinos and on the street corners. We decided to walk down the strip and pick up our reserved Cirque del Soleil tickets. We had to walk to Treasure Island, which did not look very far, but it turned out to be two miles away. So rather than hiking in Zion or at any of the parks we hiked around Vegas.

This is Our hotel by daylight with the allure and hopes of an oasis and winnings -

During the day we saw the strip up close and slowly. Although, with out the bright lights some of the allure was gone from the scene. In daylight the strip seemed cleaner and less sketchy. The detail in some of the buildings was unbelievable. I enjoyed just walking around and looking at the different buildings and the surrounding statues and shops. Once in Treasure Island we walked around this casino playing a bit and breaking even. We made our way to the ticket booth and redeemed our front row center tickets that we were both excited about. We then decided to hike back to our hotel and get ready for the night in Sin City. But first we went to the top of the hotel tower of the stratosphere where the pool is. It felt like Key West. We were on a roof and there were surrounding walls that were painted with beach scenes and bright blue sky with white puffy clouds. Although it was a decent day this painted scenery made it appear to be a beach perfect day. Since we were in Vegas there was, of course, a DJ and a bar. But it was easy to shut this out and relax. We immediately sank into the Jacuzzi. I sat right on a jet and closed my eyes loving it. Brad hung in there for a while but was too hot and got out to catch a little sun poolside. I must admit it was rather hot. I had to get out and take a dip in the pool to cool off. I am really glad we took advantage of the pool and Jacuzzi. This was the first time we have been in a pool this summer. Once my skin was wrinkly we headed back to the room to get ready for our evening out. We decided to walk down the strip and look for the perfect place to eat. We ended up at a restaurant in Treasure Island. It was a sort of Mexican American fusion bar. We then hung around the Casino until the doors opened at 9 p.m. for our show. As I mentioned we had the best seats in the house. Actually all the seats were probably decent but we were right in the action and a few of the performers made eye contact with both Brad and I. The show opened up with a comedic act from a gentleman dressed as a mad scientist. From here the action began interrupted with comedic relief along the way. At first I was resistant to the cheesy comedy but then I began to appreciate it as good old humor. It nicely broke up the intensity of the acrobats, gymnasts and dancers making the show as a whole more well rounded. It is hard to pick a favorite part of a show like this where everything is different and amazing in nits own regard. There were so many aspects and characters that I loved. There was an awesome gymnast who for some reason reminded Brad and I both of Lundy. He spun a huge metal cube frame on his feet while performing on the rings while simultaneously hanging from the ceiling. He was super intense and stared me in the eye as he approached the audience for a few seconds. I could not look away because he was so intense. He then spun this crazy giant cube frame on the palm of his hand and the lights made it look like a techno light show cube. This was only the first acrobatic act. There were many awesome things to follow including two men who with incredible strength were able to balance on each other forming strange shapes. At one point one of the men was balancing in a one handed handstand on the others head. The man who was standing was able to go from standing to sitting to lying down while slowly moving the other man from his head to his hands to his feet. This is impossible to explain and is something that simply must be seen to understand. Most of the show is that way. There was a segment where people hopped up poles and another where they used a sort of seesaw to do incredible jumps and tumbles. From this seesaw they would tumble landing on the shoulders of someone who was one someone’s shoulders – Yikes. There was a remarkable trapeze show. We were especially lucky to be in the front and center for this because we could recline a bot and lean back and we were just able to look up and see the entire trapeze circle where six people were swinging to a sort of swinging dance. The stage moved up and down and was able to spin so this added depth and together with a fog machine allowed a convenient way for cast changes. There were bird and cat like creature acrobats and a ballet dancer with the most perfect form. She was so graceful when she danced that I could have just watched her all evening and been satisfied. There were crazy costumes including stilts on both the arms and the legs. So very much was packed into this show that I would be typing all day and night to fit it all in and still I would be unable to do the show justice. I am a fan and if ever I have the opportunity to attend any Cirque Del Soleil production I will be more than happy to do so. I was mystified and would have sat through the same show time and time again. I can see why the tickets are so expensive and how the show often times sell out. The picture of us is in front of the giant snail that concluded the evenings show.

I believe the plot, if there really were a plot, was that it was the fantasy world of a baby. The fact that there was a hint of a plot but that it was not drilled into your head over and over again made me like the show even more. Once it was over we both sat in the seat for a moment trying to soak it all in and wishing that there were more to come. But we were excited none the less because we were not done with the evening. We still needed to hit the strip and play a bit in Vegas. Although parts of Vegas a beautiful and the entire town has a since of charisma and charm, Vegas is a bit trashy. There were drunk people passed out on the street. One woman was mumbling against a wall with one show on. There were old women in tight skirts and an inch of make-up on their faces. There were men with beads shouting at women. This aside I really liked Vegas. And these weird things in a way added to the strange allure of the city so whatever. We walked around and Brad and I both are a bit cautious about gambling and wasting money in general. We were especially timid because we had already had some unexpected expenses and we have spent a little more money than we had hoped. So although we cut the amount we were going to gamble down we decided we were not going to let our misfortune get us down. I must say luck was not on our side this night. For Brad especially he did not even hit anything and he just sat and watched his stack of chips dwindle away. I on the other hand did hit a few times but I too watched as my chips dwindled. Luckily there was a cocktail waitress on hand to give us a couple free drinks. We did not stick around to keep playing or drinking because gambling is not as much fun when you just keep throwing money away. The good thing was we were both able to call it quits and headed up the tower to sleep.
Brad had been looking forward to a Las Vegas Buffet since we arrived in Vegas. Naturally for brunch we went to the Stratosphere buffet. Like any buffet visit we ate too much but we were glad to be full. When I was making the classic buffet ice cream desert with assorted toppings I could not help but to think of whenever my Dad would take us to a buffet when we were kids. We were always so excited about the ice cream that would come out of the machine at the pull of a lever. The sad part about this buffet is they did not have gummy bears as a topping. I remembered that these were our favorite toppings as kids and we would each take a pocketful home unknown to Dad. Or maybe he knew but he let us do it anyway. Well I had to get strawberry and chocolate chips as my topping instead. Brad went for the more civilized dessert of raspberry cheesecake. Of course I tried it and it was pretty good. Actually the best part of this buffet was the cantaloupe. They happened to have the most perfectly ripe and juicy cantaloupe. From here we decided to try our luck once more before leaving the bright lights in the distance. We traveled down the length of the strip back to MGM Grand and sat down at the roulette table. The very first time we both laid down the number just happened to be my very favorite number which meant that Brad and I both hit. I had two chips on that one number and two more on the line for that number and it’s neighbor. I won $150 this first time. At this point Brad and I both had a pretty decent stack of chips so we were immediately glad we played. Especially considering I only put in $20 dollars and had only lost $30 the night before. I was way up. I set the amount I put in to the side so regardless I would break even. From here I played a little more and went up and down hitting and not hitting. Brad did the same thing but he did not seem to be as lucky as I was. There came a time when we were both up so we made a good call and decided to cash in our winnings. The picture with me and the one little bitty chip is cool because that one chip is worth $100. We hung out in the casino for a little while longer while we enjoyed a complimentary drink. I had Champagne and Brad enjoyed his usual of Jack and Coke. Brad won a few hands of Black Jack – and I think he is now addicted to Black Jack. If we ever come back to Vegas I am sure we will spend more time playing Black Jack. And more time gambling in general. Brad was really cute when he played cards. Once he won a little bit he handed me some chips so he would not spend them. In this way we managed to stay ahead. Gambling lightly is fun as long as there are some ups and it is not just downs. But once I was out of sight temptation got the better of him. In this way he won a dollar while I was peeing. I went in the bathroom and he put a dollar in the slots. He pulled the lever once doubled his money and printed his winning ticket. Impulsive and responsible at the same time – now that is hard to do. I walked out of the bathroom and he had the most innocent smile, then I saw the printed ticket in his hand and burst into a laugh. We had already cashed out so I knew he had just done something in the time I was in the ladies room. He was so cute about his dollar win though that it was a really fun walk hand in hand back to the cashier to redeem his winnings. And although the slots are obviously a gyp, it is really fun to play them. Maybe it is the lights or the small chance of winning something for a small amount of money or the spinning things or the fact that you can pull down the lever. Whatever it is it makes you want to feed money into them. There seems to be no concept of time in Las Vegas so of course we lost track of the time. We decided that with our winnings we were going to treat ourselves to a hotel once we got to California. We had planned on backcountry camping in the desert of Joshua Tree National Park. We are both pretty tired of the desert and so we agreed a hotel was the perfect way to spend the extra money. The MGM Grand was home to a lion pride. Although it broke my heart to see these majestic creatures living in such small quarters with little privacy and no room to roam and be wild, I was thankful for the chance to see them so closely. One stood up and stretched and showed her muscles and brut strength and agility. It was beautiful. Before leaving town however I needed to go to M&M world where I tried to eat a live M&M guy – I blame the Champagne. We talked about taking pictures in front of a wedding chapel and posting them as a joke but decided that was in poor taste so we did not. Andy told us we should joking that Brittany Spears got married in Vegas thus it must be awesome and a good idea. We drove away from Sin City already discussing hopes to one day return with enough time and money to gamble without guilty feelings and to be able to see a few shows – for Cirque del Soleil remained the highlight of the visit.