Vegas Revisited
I took a solo trip to Vegas in 2013 that resulted in me committing to a healthier lifestyle (you can read about it here). As luck would have it, an opportunity presented itself for me to return exactly three years later.
I had no intention of returning. For someone like me, who doesn’t gamble and rarely drinks, Vegas is sort of a ‘one and done’ kind of trip. It just so happened that Vegas was on my dad’s bucket list, and I agreed to serve as his travel agent/tour guide.
I booked the same hotel, and the same tour of the Grand Canyon, because I wanted to see how it felt to repeat my previous trip sixty pounds lighter.
Vacationing with my dad usually consists of one or two things that he wants to do, and the rest of the time he’s satisfied with just spending time with his family. So I was surprised when I called to see what that one or two things might be, and he ran down an entire list:
- A medieval dinner show
- See the rides at the top of “that there building ” AKA The Stratosphere hotel. He let me know in no uncertain terms that he had no intentions of riding any of them.
- A show (!)
- “Pawn Stars” World Famous Gold and Silver pawn shop
- Count’s Kustom’s, where they film the show Counting Cars
- The Grand Canyon
- The Neon Boneyard
- A little gambling, the casino wasn’t important, and
- A visit to “old Vegas” AKA Fremont Street
And with that, I went about planning our vacation.
One of the first things we did was eat at Earl of Sandwich. I love this place, and I happen to agree that they have “the World’s Greatest Hot Sandwiches.” We spent time looking around some of the other hotels, and later that evening took a boneyard tour. It’s a pretty neat way to spend about an hour, if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s basically a graveyard for old neon signs from Vegas’ hey day. I would recommend booking a tour near sunset, so you can see the signs in the daylight, and watch as some of them return to their original, illuminated appearance at night. As a side note, if you’d like to learn more, there’s an interesting documentary available on PBS called Restoration Neon.
Day 2 consisted of a hop on/hop off bus tour, courtesy of Groupon and Big Bus Tours. I’d recommend Big Bus Tours (if you can find a discounted ticket) because it allows you to get the lay of the land (while you rest your feet) if you’ve never been to Vegas before. This allowed us to swing by the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop to gauge the crowds.
It also allowed us to watch some idiot, I mean, brave soul, jump off the Stratosphere Hotel. And while I wasn’t able to capture that stupid, I mean, stunning moment on video, I was able to get this quick clip of the Insanity ride:
The day culminated in a show, Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere at TI (the hotel formerly known as Treasure Island, they’re “rebranding” to get away from their former “family friendly” image). This is the first Cirque show to be given a permanent home in Vegas, making it the oldest, and cheapest. But don’t let those adjectives fool you, it was very entertaining and included bits of comedy as well as feats of human strength that were amazing to watch.
Day 3 was the day I’d been looking forward to the most, the (re)visit to the Grand Canyon. But first, a quick stop at the Hoover Dam for a photo-op.
We also stopped in Seligman, Arizona, a little bitty town along historic Route 66, that served as inspiration for the Disney movie Cars.
Just like the first visit, the Grand Canyon tour did not disappoint. You can look at video, you look at pictures, and you can listen to people talk about it, but the Grand Canyon is one of those things you just have to see first hand and experience for yourself. That nearly three-mile hike around the rim was much easier this time around, and thankfully the weather was cooler. In fact, we reached one lookout point and the wind was so crisp it actually had a bit of a winter chill to it.
I really wanted to recreate this full body image, taken in March of 2013:
but me creeping around the edge of the canyon was making my dad real nervous, so I settled for this selfie instead, taken at the same spot at a little different angle. Ironically, this picture was taken exactly three years and one day after the one from 2013.
We spent the last day in “old Vegas,” where my dad got to gamble on the ‘looser’ slot machines in the classic casinos like Binion’s, Four Queens, and Golden Nugget. He ended up winning $140. My step mother and I visited The Downtown Container Park for some unique shopping, and I zip lined, Superman style, 114 feet in the air overlooking the crowd on Fremont street.
If you’re keeping track, the only things we didn’t do on that list were the medieval dinner and Count’s Kustoms. And my dad was completely ok with that.
And as for that evil, (non)Funhouse mirror from 2013, facing the bathtub in my room? I embraced it this time around.
I also revisited Basin. SEVERAL TIMES. I love this store. I bought a container of those bath bombs, and salts, and milk baths, and had me a nice soak every single night we were there.
I feel incredibly lucky (or blessed, however you choose to look at it) to have spent time with my family while retracing my steps to conquer something that was previously so physically challenging. It’s nice to be able to mix some good memories with family in with my mental, and physical, victory.
What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas,
Angela
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