Lost Wages, NV.

Viva Las Vegas!! Well, maybe not so much. I'm not much of a gambler, just doesn't do anything for me. To me, Vegas is one of those places that everyone should see/experience at least once. K and I used to go up there almost every year for a weekend just to check out the new casinos. That tailed off many years ago and we couldn't recall the last time we actually stayed there. One thing was certain, at least 50% of The Strip had changed since our last visit, old iconic casinos demolished, new cityscapes erected. Bigger, badder, more expensive than ever before.

We made this trip to meet up with our Tallahassee friends who were in town for a martial arts conference. It was great hanging out with them, but after two days I was ready to get out of town.

We saw the Blue Man Group many years ago when they were at the Luxor, great show.

New York, New York view as we checked in to the Monte Carlo.

Not a bad view from our room on floor 22.

I'm pretty sure this was a dirt lot just starting construction during our last visit!!

Our group at the iconic welcome sign, now an attraction all on its own.

Clowning around.

Didn't know this tidbit of information.

Had to get our chocolate fix in at the M&M's store.

Kyle Busch's car.

Psychedelic!!

I've always thought they did a nice job with the NY NY casino.

Overcast skies were welcome.

Jelly Belly version.

Twizzlers!!

Milk chocolate!!

That's a lot of chocolate & peanut butter!!

One of the few spots that look the same.

BFFs

Ice columns in the mall.

Palm trees in Paris!

Enjoying the fountain show at the Bellagio.

The Strip at night.

The next day I took the others off-Strip for some sightseeing over at the Hoover Dam. It's quite the engineering marvel. The new-ish O-Callaghan-Tillman Memorial bridge provides a unique perspective to the traditional views of the dam. As is typical, it's windy down in Boulder Canyon - hold on to your hat!!

Lake Mead well below the high water mark.

A little 'breezy'.

Awesome view from the bridge.

We tried to get a tour, but there was over a two hour wait!!

Standing at the apex of the arch.

Tribute to the cliff scaling workers near the visitor center.

Looking down Boulder Canyon.

On the Arizona side.

We made our way back to the neon drag strip for the rest of the day. I had more fun watching the others gamble a bit than playing myself. Of course that would have been a bit different if I had won at least a cent. Nothing. Zero. That's my biggest gripe with gambling, I don't mind 'losing' a few bucks, I consider it entertainment. But not a single cent? It would be a little more enjoyable if it was a slow decline to zero, but no. Took a matter of minutes to go through my allowance. That blows. Thanks Vegas, next time I'll just give some money to the panhandlers outside. Better yet, I won't gamble at all - my bike is tagging along next visit and I'm hitting Bootleg Canyon and the Cowboy trails!!

Our friends stayed here: The Palazzo, nice joint.

Shiny guns.

Full tourist mode.

Sun setting on our 2 day getaway.

Aside from my gambling rant, it really was a fun trip. It's always good to see our friends from Tallahassee. Six hours later, we were back home with a full weekend ahead of us. Good times.