Exploring Las Vegas

Our trip to Las Vegas began focused on running the ½ marathon. Once that was over we were able to take in the sights of this ever changing city.  I hadn’t been there in many years and it was the first time for everyone else, so ultimately it was like experiencing  a new place.  I imagine it is like that for most people unless they go there every year.  We spent the day after the race walking to all the casinos and hotels and soaking up all the sights on the strip.  We were lucky enough to see them lit up even more than they normally are,  due to Christmas displays everywhere. 

The amount of good restaurants Las Vegas has to offer it was difficult to choose where to have dinner.   We settled on Fiamma at MGM Grand one night and the buffet at the Wynn on the other.  Our post race dinner ended up as a combination of McDonalds and Subway so we really wanted to enjoy a couple relaxing dinners out the other nights.   I think our choices ended up perfect.  Fiamma is an Italian restaurant reasonably priced yet a nice menu and long wine list.  We took our time through dinner to enjoy both the food and atmosphere.  Since Vegas is known for their buffets we felt it should be a must do eating event.  Since we missed lunch the one day we managed to spend a late afternoon and early evening at the Wynn buffet.  Having lunch and dinner at the same sitting was a treat as well as a challenge.   Because it was post race (2 days later) we felt it was ok to eat more food.  :-) We spent over 2 hours of slow and well planned eating.   They offered crab legs, turkey, sushi, curry, mashed potatoes, burgers, pizza, salad, and so much more. The dessert bar was beautiful which was like an array of petit four like creations. 

Since we spent so much time exploring the strip we took the time on our last night to walk around downtown Las Vegas.  What is a trip if you don’t go to see some of the older casinos that are still standing.  Although there are some new additions such as the roof and zip lining down the middle of the street you can still feel the essence of old Las Vegas.  It is a must do especially if you recall any of the old movies featuring this part of town.  I thought it was a perfect end to the trip. - P

Hoover Dam

As you have read in the last couple posts P and I, along with her husband M and my sister A, spent a long weekend in Vegas for the half marathon.  We stayed the extra days to see some sights and wander through town since three out of four of us had never been there. By far the most massive engineering marvel we witnessed was the Hoover Dam.  If they say a picture is worth a thousand words, actually seeing it for yourself would be worth multiples more.  It was a short trip from The Strip in a Pink Jeep, and it was well worth it. We got to relax and take in the high desert scenery on the way out there and back.  We were a little early for the Hoover Dam Tour to start, so our tour guide took us to the new bridge that overlooks the Dam and crosses the river first.  It was an amazing view from so high up.  The tour started with a video on the background and statistics of the construction of the Hoover Dam.  

We then boarded an elevator that took us down to the power plan area.  The scale and power generated was impressive. Then, they let us explore the surface of the dam and take pictures.  The Dam is built across the Colorado River, which divides Nevada and Arizona.  This was my first trip to either state, but the best part of walking across the Dam was the fact when we crossed borders we were in two different time zones (AZ does observe daylight savings time) at the same time.  


Going to see the Hoover Dam from Vegas was definitely worth the short trip! -A

Running The Strip At Night

It’s been a week and a half since completing the Rock n Roll Marathon Las Vegas ½ marathon. What a weekend, what a race.  My husband, A, A’s sister, and me scheduled this race back in June.  Due to logistics we planned this one out extra early.  The race was sold out at 44,000 participants and was a night race.  We were truly hoping for some PR’s as this was a flat course.   Because the corrals were rather unorganized and people of all levels were scattered throughout the corrals we had to zigzag through the sea of walkers and slower runners throughout the entire race.  Aside from being a little disappointed in our finish times, we were pretty happy about the opportunity to run at night along the Las Vegas strip and through downtown.  From what I heard it is the only time aside from New Year’s Eve that they close down the strip.  The race was loaded with onlookers cheering everyone on and looking at some of the crazy outfits people wore was entertainment enough to get me to the finish line happy and still full of energy.   I can’t wait  to plan our next ½. - P