Las Vegas BABY!!!

It's time for a summer vacation - to Las Vegas!!!! I was so excited that I could tag along. We had to drive 12 hours through a few different states before reaching our destination... Utah was the first.

We drove through Arizona but just a small corner of it so we were really only in this state for about an hour, maybe we'll be back someday to see the Grand Canyon!!!

Finally!!! We made it to Nevada, this meant that we were getting very close, at least we were in the right state!

It was a long and HOT drive, but we finally made it to Vegas. We spent the first night at a buffet - as everyone should do once arriving in Vegas hungry, and then we went swimming to cool ourselves.

The next day we drove the short way to the Hoover Dam. It's one of the most famous dams in the world and was built during America's Depression in the 1930's (which gave people much needed jobs at the time). It creates hyro-electricity for millions of people in the SouthWest United States.

On our way back to Las Vegas we stopped and ate at the yummy In-N-Out Burger. I don't know how they've managed it but they only sell hamburgers and cheeseburgers with fries and they continue to survive! It was super yummy though :)

That night we decided to visit Fremont Street. The casinos are lit to the tilt and it can be over-stimulating at times, but people watching can be the best.

The next day we headed WAY down the strip to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. This pawn shop is most famous from the TV show "Pawn Stars" and since we are all fans we thought it would be fun! We had to wait outside in a line (only for 10 minutes), but I can't believe we waited in line at a pawn shop!!

Once we made it inside the shop there were so many ridiculous things for sale it was unbelievable! Here is one example of an outrageous watch - $49,999!!!! and you can't even try it on to make sure it fits!

That evening we ate at another buffet (what did I tell you? When in Vegas, eat at buffets!) at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. Afterwards, we walked through their beautiful indoor botanical garden. It contains a few of the world's only sculpted olive trees (once they are sculpted they no longer produce fruit) and various types of flowers. It was amazing to walk through!

Along the Las Vegas Strip at night the casinos are lit up, as we exited the Bellagio we could see the Paris and the Planet Hollywood. The Paris contains a 1/3 sized replica of the Eiffel Tower. You can ride to the top for a mere $20 or you can dine in the restaurant (which I'm sure costs a pretty penny!).

Inside the Plant Hollywood there is a huge mall (it reminded me of the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai -with painted ceilings and very Arabic looking faux architecture) filled with brand name stores. It also contains the V Theater where we saw a kid show called "Poppovich's Comedy Pet Show" and a Beatles concert. I really enjoyed the pet show even though there were no monkeys :(

Since we were already standing outside the Bellagio Hotel we felt that we should watch a fountain show. It was beautiful, as all water shows are, but I have to say that being in Dubai has tainted my view of any fountain!

We had such a great time in Las Vegas. Even though temperatures were reaching heights of 110 degrees Fahrenheit I reminded myself that I could be in 120 degree temps in the UAE and smiled at my fortune! What a great place!!!