Las Vegas Holiday 2007

Las Vegas Holiday

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At 1400 we took the Deuce bus (nice and cold a/c!) up the strip to Fashion Show Mall (FSM) and we spent an hour or so there looking around. IME bought herself some nice runners at Timberland for $55 ($100+ in Canada!) but we could not find the Time is Everything clock themed shop that was there last year. Must have gone bust.

Flavor's Buffet at Harrah's Las Vegas
At 1530 took the Deuce up to the Sahara to exchange our half price ticket voucher for show tickets. Had a look at the Sahara $10 buffet, but it is a very low end buffet with no seafood so we decided to pass. Called Flavors buffet at Harrah’s to ask if they had crab and seafood, which they confirmed they had, so we cabbed it over to Harrah’s for dinner. Got to Harrah’s around 1700 and joined the short line for the Flavors buffet. This would be the first time trying this buffet, and we had a $5/person discount coupon from our funbook which reduced the price to about $42 for both of us. Overall, we were again very pleased with the meal. The crab legs were streamed instead cold, and a bit on the smaller side, but still very good. The bonus was they had peel and eat crayfish, which we had not seen elsewhere in a Vegas buffet. They also had several peeled shrimp types, several cold seafood salads, a basic sushi selection (not great .. lots of rice), but again, they had an excellent Gelato bar in the desert section. The cakes were also nice. I enjoyed the rice crispy squares, mini éclairs, custard pudding, and the service was good. IME thought the decor was very nice, simple and pleasant, and we both agreed both Flavors and Rio’s Carnival World buffet from the night before were almost at the same quality level of Spice Market.

At 1945 we cabbed it back to the Sahara (via the freeway due to heavy traffic on the strip) and it cost $14 including tip. Before the show we played a WOF 5 cent machine and quickly turned $10 into $50. At 2100 we were seated for the Trent Carlini show in the front row, so our VIP seats really were the best seats in the house! The show started at 2115 and went until 2230, about 75 minutes. We both very much enjoyed the show but thought it could have gone a bit longer. The show consisted of Trent, two back up girls, and eight musicians. Trent is excellent, and our only complaint is that we would have liked to see more! Trent did several costume changes covering early Elvis, Jail House Rock Elvis, Aloha Elvis, GI Elvis, 1968 Elvis and early 70s Elvis. IME thought Trent promoted himself too much at the expense of playing Elvis. But it was still a good performance. Again, now that we have seen this show we don’t need to see it again.

After the show we played craps at the Sahara and broke even after 20 minutes of play. This was my first craps game and more of a learning experience for me. IME learned the basics of craps at the Monte Carlo last year.

At 2330 we cabbed it back to the Flamingo from the Sahara and played some slots before calling it a night shortly after midnight. Our gambling purse still had about $250 in it.

DAY 4) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27 2007
This was my birthday and IME made special plans for the day, that were kept as a surprise. She told me we need to wake at 0515 am to be ready for a bus pick up at 0615 am. The King Airlines bus was there at 0615 sharp and IME broke the news that we would be doing an aerial tour to the Grand Canyon, with a bus tour of the Canyon and lunch, before flying back to Vegas, and the trip would take eight hours hotel to hotel. The shuttle bus dropped us at King’s office at McCarren for passenger check-in, which took about an hour. Around 0745 the shuttle bus took us to Henderson Airport, a ten minute drive south of McCarren, where the pilots and planes were waiting for us and the other passengers on the apron. After a safety briefing by our excellent and very professional pilot Dan, we joined a family of three from Texas on our 6-seat Cessna 207T for the 55 minute flight to Grand Canyon West Airport, departing Henderson Airport at 0836. The flight was fantastic! For better visibility we kept the windows open, which also kept the plane cool. We had amazing views of Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, and of course the Grand Canyon. It was the experience of a life time and is highly recommended!

Upon arrival at Grand Canyon Airport West, buses took us first to the newly opened Skywalk. It cost about $22 per person and was well worth it. They don’t allow cameras as they want to take your photos and sell you the photos for $15. (Personal effects and cameras have to be stored in lockers for $1.) This was the only negative part of the Skywalk. That’s very cheap on their part, and we think it is very stingy of them. But they say their no cameras rule is for security reasons. The real reason is so they can make more money from the tourists. Needless to say, walking on the glass floored Skywalk 2000 feet over the Grand Canyon was truly amazing! Definitely recommended, and would do it again! Then took the bus to Guano Point where we had lunch (included in the tour) and went on a small hike out to the edge of the Point, for fantastics view of the Canyon. The lunch consisted of roasted chicken, pulled pork, corn on the cob, corn bread, and soda from the soda fountain. It was quite satisfying and tasty. This really was an amazing experience that we both thoroughly enjoyed. Oh, we recommend bringing a good pair or running shoes or walking shoes to the Grand Canyon, as walking on the trails is not ideal with sandals or flip-flops. To stay cool in the desert it is best to wear white clothing to reflect the intense heat.

The family from Texas on our plane missed the flight back, and our pilot waited an extra 30 minutes for them. Apparently they got delayed with their helicopter ride and did not communicate with the pilots. We recommend that you are back in time for the scheduled flight back to Vegas, as the time budget for taking the buses between the Skywalk and Guano Point and helicopter tours is entirely at your own discretion. Consequently, IME and I had the whole Cessna to ourselves and had a private flight back to Vegas, which was a really fantastic bonus! What a memorable birthday… one I will remember as long as I live! Thank you IME for the superb and amazing gift! Our flight back to Vegas took 37 minutes and we had more sight seeing of course, and we tipped Dan $15 for his great service during the flights. When we arrived at Henderson Airport the bus was waiting for us on the ramp at 1440, and we were back at the hotel by 1500. We cleaned up in the room as we got rather dusty in the Canyon (lots of red dust) and were ready to roll at 1520.

Big Elvis at Bill's Saloon and Gambling Hall
Went back to Bill’s and lost about $20 on BJ and took in the free Big Elvis show at the saloon in Bill’s. Peter Vallee (aka "Big Elvis") puts on a fantastic show, and the for the price you can’t beat it! Big Elvis has a great charisma, good sense of humour, he’s a superb entertainer, and he knows a lot about the King. I really enjoyed the show and the audience loved him too. Big Elvis has lost about 200 pounds in the last year, and he’d down to 400+ pounds, so see him while he can still call himself “Big Elvis” ..! Big Elvis plays Bill’s five days a week between 1500 and 1830. While we were watching the show, my sister M called from the shuttle bus to advise us that she had arrived safely from Toronto, and was on her way to the Flamingo.

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