Vegas

Vegas was an absolute blast and I can see this trip being an annual one for Mel and I. That being said, 3 to 4 nights is plenty in Sin City as after that it becomes a little boring and/or expensive.

We left Calgary bright and early on Sunday morning at 8:30am. We arrived in Las Vegas around 10:00am and were at the hotel about 30 minutes later. We couldn't obtain our room early so we checked our bags and crossed the street from our hotel, the Wynn, to the Fashion Outlet mall. Later in the afternoon we returned to check in and were pleasantly surprised to receive a room upgrade. It PAYS to be polite to staff.

After a quick cat nap, we explored the strip for a bit to find somewhere relatively inexpensive to eat. We arrived at the Cheesecake Factor in the Forum Mall and had a great meal. Later in the evening we took in the Sirens Pirate show in front of Treasure Island...talk about cheesy...but hey, it is Vegas!

Monday was spent mostly at the outlets off of Charleston shopping. Mel did really well as did I. I was desperate for some new work clothing...I have spent too much time updating my training wardrobe that everything else was starting to suffer! However, I did manage to snag a few deals on some running attire at the Nike Outlet and Adidas Outlet shops. Later in the evening, Mel and I grabbed some drinks from out outdoor vendor and wandered the strip for the evening taking in the sights and sounds...also checking out the various hotels. At one point, we found ourselves in front of the Bellagio watching the fountain shows...incredible!

Tuesday I woke with a bit of a hang over and was in dire need of something greasy to cure it. Can't remember what I ended up having but it was good. Today was mainly a pool day as we had a show to attend in the evening. We went to see the Cirque du Soleil show Ka at the MGM Grand. Absolutely awesome!

Wednesday was spent at the mall, pool, and the Half Price Tix line to snag some tickets to another Cirque show. We ended up seeing Mystere - also incredible. After wards we snagged a few drinks and made our way to the Bellagio to take in another fountain show. One of the highlights of the trip was listening to Frank Sinatra during a fountain show...amazing!

Thursday we had to check out by 1:00pm after which we checked our bags at the hotel and hung out in the mall for a bit for some last minute shopping. Caught the 8:30pm flight out of Vegas and were home in bed by 2:00am Calgary time.

Overall it was a really great trip. I was surprised how polite most people are down there. I mean, you do run into the occasionally obnoxious fart but they seemed to be far and few between. Both Mel and I were surprised with how many people had kids down there with them...anything from new born babies up to teenagers. Who takes their kids to the Vegas strip for vacation? And allows them to be out at midnight? Call me old fashion but I don't agree with it.

I managed to run a few mornings down there...both times I got out around 9:00am and the temps were 32 and 35 degrees respectively! I was fine for 15 minutes but after that I started to cook. I dunno how runners/triathletes train down there...they must all be out the door by 5:30am to get anything done sensibly.

I ran up through the north end of the strip which was kinda cool as it is the older part. I like to envision the "hay day" of the particular hotel and all the neat memories made there...sometimes I wonder if I was born in the wrong era...lol!

This past weekend I got out for a solid brick workout on Saturday followed by a nice and easy lsd run on Sunday morning. Running still doesn't feel great but I hoping with the extra workouts I have penciled in, that will change before Clearwater.