96X

Viva Las Vegas -James Steele

I have to admit I was a little scared going in, especially after talking to a few people. First you hear "a week is way to long, three days is all you really need", also heard "It's so hot out there you can barely breath." I hopped on the plane and was off on my first long vacation in ages. I had a total of about six or seven hours in the air which is never a comfortable feeling. I think most people, even if they fly a lot, still have a small part of their mind telling them that you could fall out of the sky. Luckily, my crazy head kept itself in check and next thing I knew we were in Vegas.

Let me first just say if you have never been before, all you really do as soon as you land for about the next 76 hours is just look around in awe and amazement. Everything is bigger in Vegas. We got our bags (GET MY BAGS!), got the cab, and headed to the Mirage right on the middle of the strip. Only took about ten minutes to check in, and headed up to our room. I had never seen a basic hotel room like this before. The furniture was up to date and modern, we had about a 180 degree view of the Vegas strip, plus the comfy bed and 50" LCD screen didn't hurt. I would recommend the Mirage to anyone who wants to escape for a few days, and doesn't want to drop a load of money on a hotel.

Thanks to Chaps suggestion, we went out to the Stratosphere Restaurant (resembles the Seattle Space Needle), and spins in a complete circle every eighty minutes. Wine, Steak, and an incredible view of the entire Las Vegas Valley is definitely one of those once in a lifetime experiences. On top of the massive Stratosphere they have a couple different rides. Both of which I decided not to go on. I'll ride the griffin all day long, but these things freaked me out. One of them drops you facing straight down and holds you over a hundred stories in the air. I'm almost certain that the bottle of wine I drank was talking to me and telling my future of getting sick on other tourists.

Another site to see out there isn't just Vegas. The Hoover Dam is about an hour away. There are many different tours you can take, ranging from forty dollars per person, to a $400 helicopter ride. Because I am in radio, I opted for the $40 small bus ride out to the Dam, which turned out to be all you really need. You get on a bus that arrives at your hotel with ten other people. A tour guide tells you the history of Vegas and the entire area. As you near the dam he stops off at the town which was built back in the late 1920's just for the workers. Then you are essentially set free for two hours to explore the dam, and they throw in tickets for the tour deep down in the mountain. Seeing this massive piece of man made concrete holding back the massive man made Lake Mead is a humbling experience. Back in the 1930's they built this wonder of the world in around five years. FIVE YEARS! Now a days, we can barely get a five mile stretch of highway done in that time.

If you do decide to go out to Vegas for the first time DO IT, there are great deals all over the place. I highly recommend the Mirage, and Sweet Tours to go see the Hoover Dam. Then just walk and explore...until you figure out that the hotels and casinos only look that close because they are the size of a small planet.

Well I need to get back to work, thanks for checking out the blog and the new website. Enjoy your week! I put some pictures from the vacation, check them out below:

P.S- It’s really hot in the desert

-James Steele
Facebook
Twitter