Day 7 and 8 - Southwest Road Trip

On day 7 we woke up in Durango, Colorado and drove the whole day to Las Vegas. We drove out of snowy mountains and into the desert of Monument Valley.

We stopped at Four Corners where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico meet and ate Navajo Fry Bread. Our route wound through the border between Utah and Arizona, passing in and out of each state several times. We saw beautiful mesas and stone structures. It was such an amazingly beautiful drive. I can't believe how much the landscape can change from one place to another. We drove for about 10 hours, arriving in Las Vegas around 8 pm.

Our little Prius is so fantastic for this trip. We are getting great gas mileage! The gps navigation system is pretty cool. We have been able to program our destination in and have the computer tell us how to get there. It's saved us a lot of backtracking time and scratching our heads trying to figure out maps. The directions it gives are really clear.

Las Vegas was more fun that I could have imagined. The main strip is overwhelmingly big! It reminds me of Disneyworld Epcot Center because each casino hotel has a different theme. The first night we went to dinner at the Venetian. Boy that place is snooty and stinky but also incredibly beautiful! They have a canal running through it!



On Day 8 we got up pretty early and went downtown to the old Vegas strip to play Black Jack at the $5 tables. On the way there, we drove through some neat old neighborhoods. It's cool to see a residential side of Vegas! I also really liked seeing the old hotels that must have been where people stayed in the 1950's and 60's when downtown was THE spot.

Regarding Black Jack - I have to say, I totally get it! Now I understand why people love to gamble. It is way more fun that I thought it would be. I played a couple of hands but I am not that good at it. I mostly watched James play. It is so exciting when you win a round. I was good at telling James when to get up and walk away when his winning streak was over. We made a good team. When we left to come back to the hotel, we were up $125!

I love the old Vegas casinos downtown. They have a more relaxed quality and some of them are really old like the Golden Gate and the Golden Nugget. I find the history of Las Vegas really interesting.

In the evening we sent the kids off to see the Blue Man Group show and we went out for the best sushi we have ever had at Okada in the Wynn Hotel. Another thing I really wasn't prepared for is how much beautiful design there is in Vegas. The Wynn was my favorite with little areas of trees wrapped in Christmas lights and big white spheres hanging in them, big beautiful lanterns, rich colored mosaic flowers and metal vines running through screens. They also had a fine jewelry store there that had the most amazing selection of unique and vintage inspired jewelry.

After dinner we tried to get standby tickets to Love, The Beatles Cirque de Soliel show but we not able to. So, we walked to the Bellagio and watched the water fountain. They play songs and the jets shoot water in different directions, dancing along with the music. It's pretty spectacular. We watched for about four songs before surrendering to our sore feet and heading back to the hotel.

We are eating pretty good on this trip. My pants are getting tighter.

I heart Vegas!!