We just got back from a wonderful trip to Vegas and I have many photos to share. I thought having bought my new Microsoft Surface computer would make my life so much easier to download pictures and text … oh so not true. It could be me. I shall muddle through and share the experience with you, though.
The trip was wonderful as usual….it actually may have been our most wonderful trip yet. We went with two other couples and got along really well. It’s a balancing act when traveling with other people as I’ve found out in the past and this time it worked out well. The other two couples were easy going and up for anything as my husband and I are. People floated ideas and we usually agreed and went along with it. Gambling, dinner a show were on the itinerary and we all had input on where and when to do what.
We stayed at the Aria Hotel this time again which I love. We have stayed at the Bellagio Hotel before and I find I like the Aria better, it is more low key. The Bellagio is lovely, I think the atrium there where they usually have a theme which is based on the seasons is beautiful though the international crowds gawking can be a little daunting if you stay there. The flowers are lovely and how they decorate with them is just amazing.
They had a greenhouse set up with butterflies that was so wonderful. It seemed that Spring, renewal and butterflies were the theme of the season. Butterflies were also hanging overhead in the lobby of the Aria. I happen to love butterflies so I was in my element finding childlike rapture gazing upon them with my mouth open quite a few times, I’m sure.
We took a cab ride to “Old Vegas” on Fremont Street and visited all the old casinos like The Golden Nugget and Binion’s Steakhouse where they still keep the doors open while leaving the 
air conditioning on which is really nice…..it still has the old feel like when the old Rat Pack were there…..you could just imagine Sammy, Frank and Dean shooting dice , drinking and swearing!
We also saw all the old neon signs like the Pink Slipper that they have saved from the wrecking balls. They are still quite beautiful and colorful. I can just imagine myself sitting in that pink slipper waving to the crowds, wouldn’t that be something!
The Old Martini glass, The Old Vegas sign and The Big Old Cowboy were worth seeing. I loved them all. I was quite the shutter bug and don’t know if I was driving my friends nuts, but I just had to capture them all. They really scream “Old Vegas” to me. It was a great time of year to visit, the heat of the summer hasn’t hit so it was quite enjoyable to walk outside in just shirt sleeves.
We stopped and gambled everywhere. I was lucky enough to not lose my shirt. I thought since we were jumping around all day through all the old casinos it might be tough to keep even but I was luck enough to return to the Aria intact with what I started the day with….I consider that WINNING! I gambled all day, had fun and made great memories!
We visited the pool the next day for a “down” day…..I could only take so much stimulation, I was having trouble sleeping I was so hyper from all the noise, gambling and running. The pool was heated and we sat in the shade. It was a nice interlude from the hustle and bustle of ‘Vegas and with the trees surrounding it the pool is lovely and is quite an oasis in the desert.
We tried the Aria’s buffet which I highly recommend. The service was awesome. I love crab legs and they have both snow crab and King crab legs and they are cut in half so there is no muss, no fuss with cracking and serving. They are all you can eat, so let me tell you, I made a pig of myself. There are nice deserts, but I can’t tell you about them, because I left no room for them. My compadres partook and said they were good. My husband had the pork roast and said it was out-of-this world. The shrimp were wonderful, too. I was impressed with the seafood. It was not waterlogged like some buffet food is and it was cooked to perfection. The piece de resistance was an individual packaged real cloth washcloth the waitress gave us to clean up with after the meal that was lemon scented. It was so refreshing and such a nice touch. She even gave us an extra one to take with us! As I’ve stated, the Aria is really a very nice hotel!
So if you go to Vegas, I hope you have as good a time as we seem to every time we go. I’m going to wind it up here……I could go on for pages….there was more, Oh, so much more! But, I don’t think there was anything that needed to stay in Vegas…….at least not that I remember!
Evelyn Garone 5.1.13
The Oracle Of Ahwatukee . . . 