The Road to 30

So, in October I turned 29.  That means only one more year until the big 3-0! I've decided that for the next year I am going to do one thing a month that I have never done before. I am not exactly sure what or how this is going to go, but you get to come along on the ride!

November was vacationing in Las Vegas!

Nielsen's Frozen Custard

The last night we were in Las Vegas, we went to watch our friends daughter in her HS play, The Pajama Games. It was very cute & she did a wonderful job! Afterward they took us to a great frozen custard place, Nielsen's.

Ethel M. Chocolates and Botanical Cactus Garden

Did you know that you can take a free short tour of the Ethel M. Chocolates plant and Botanical Catus Garden in Las Vegas? They'll even give you some free chocolate at the end!

Botanical Cactus Garden

Store at the end of the tour

Wetlands Park

Did you know that there is a Wetlands Park in Las Vegas? Neither did we! Did you know that you can visit for FREE?  How cool is that?

Mr P and I spend a morning walking around the park & checking out the habitat. It was a nice change in pace (from the craziness of the city). If you are in Vegas, you should check it out!

Mr P provides me with some shade

Silliness in the Wetlands

Welcome to Las Vegas

More Las Vegas Strip

We found the accessible Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada sign! The sun was glaring off the buildings behind!!

 

Las Vegas Temple at Night

 

Las Vegas Temple / Hoover Dam

This morning Mr P and I enjoyed attending services at the Las Vegas, Nevada Temple. For more information on why Latter-day Saints have temples, visit here and here.

Next we headed up to Boulder City & Hoover Dam.

The new Memorial Bridge

I remember driving over Hoover Dam at night when I was a kid, but didn't really remember just how BIG it is. What an amazing feat for those who were involved in it's construction.

We took the do it yourself walking tour, listened to some of the history of the dam & had fun spotting what must have been some huge fish!

We drove back into Boulder City & decided to explore & see how close we could get to some of the huge houses up the mountains. I don't know why anyone needs houses that big, but more power to them!

Back over the mountain & into the Valley.

Tonight we came back to our friends home & ate dinner with them, while periodically checking updates on the election.

Fremont Street & The Strip at Night

Today was a LONG day! First, Mr P and I headed over to Fremont Street (Old Downtown), which they are currently trying to 'bring back'. The sights were cool, big casinos, a dome of lights (we were there during the day, but the dome shown in the picture lights up at night), zip-lining down the street is available.  There are lots of small restaurants and lots of souvenir type stores. There are a couple of stages along the street, for concerts/events held. I believe that on Friday nights they have free concerts.

Dome over Fremont Street (lights up at night)

We decided to try one more casino buffet, and chose The Golden Nugget. $12.99 per person. Honestly, not worth it.  The Station Casino was much better, with significantly more choices. 

Beautiful Ceiling in the Golden Nugget Lobby

Draw backs: outside of the updated Fremont Street venue, the surrounding areas are a little rough. We ended up paying $2 an hour to park at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino garage, because we didn't want to leave our friends car out on the street. (If you come to town to gamble & get your parking ticket validated in a casino, the Golden Nugget will give you the first 3 hours of parking free). Other than casinos & souvenir shops, there isn't a whole lot going on.

After Fremont Street Mr P and I went back to The District for some shopping. We picked up a couple of Christmas presents.

Tonight we decided to go back to The Strip so we could check out the night time lights & The Bellagio fountain show.  We've heard negative things about being on the strip at night, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. Maybe this was because we went on a weekday night??

First, let me say that the inside of Cesars Palace is really cool.  The spiral stair case, the statues, all very well done & a great attraction.

The Bellagio, well, it was gorgeous inside! The lights, the art piece that is the ceiling in the lobby, etc. Just fantastic.

The fountain/light show in front of The Bellagio was incredible.  We stayed for 2 performances of it, and were not sorry. As a matter of fact, we want to share the best of the two with you!

What a great night!