Feb 20 - arose early and packed. We managed to load 6 suitcases plus a carry-on or two in the trunk of that little Toyota Camry! Tom, Joan, Helen, Traci, and I headed for the airport and on to Las Vegas.
A terror alert siren was chirping LOUDLY as we tried to enter the main building from the car rental return area. We were in lock down. That was quite "alarming" and had our hearts pounding. Eventually the doors opened and we passed thru, but the screaming chirps were deafening and they didn't stop.
We finally exited the building and then could no longer hear that horrible screeching. The shuttle whisked us to the terminal, and soon we were on the plane..... waiting, waiting for take off. Seems one of the crew found a piece of the plane - somewhere, and they were frantically trying to figure out where it fell off of, and how critical it was to try to replace it.... They obviously didn't announce that. I guess they figured it out, cause soon we were off and flying.
Arrived in Las Vegas on this beautiful blue sky/clouds scattered afternoon.
The taxi drove us to the Paris where we were to spend the next few nights.
Vegas is constantly re-inventing itself... construction everywhere. Evidenced by the view out our 29th floor window.
It reminded me of that Travelocity commercial, but we DIDN'T have the noise.
Our first night, Joan got us tickets to ride the upper deck of a sight seeing bus. This is us viewing the sites of Vegas. Guess even Ross is BIG in Vegas. It was a chilly night and we bundled up against the crispy air.
We were soon warmed by none other than Elvis serenading us as we were driven up & down the strip and given the down-low of the happs in Vegas. We weren't aware of the cold air as we rocked and rolled while the music blasted to the crowds in the streets below.
Our charming impersonator told us stories about Elvis and sang the songs that made the "King" famous.
This young man was very friendly really seemed to be enjoying his job.
We found out he is 30 and has a 9 year old son who also impersonates Elvis and in May they are doing a duet Elvis act. That would be fun to catch.
The days passed. We saw LeReve at the Wynn which was a spectacular swimming, dancing and aerobatic trapeze extravaganza of unmatched energy and grace.
About 85 young men and women never stopped moving for that whole hour. It was beyond description. We all got up from our seats and commented about how our aches and pains no longer existed.
https://boxoffice.wynnlasvegas.com/shows_info.html
The days were beautiful and sunny
And on this day we strolled past Venice
heading to .....
ta da - Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
Pretty sure this is the Madame - herself. The last time I was in a wax museum, you were told over and over "Look, do not touch". This was quite the opposite experience. Props were sitting or hanging next to the celebrities, so that you could join in and pose with the famous and infamous.
And here is the clan at the museum, watching Traci pose with some handsome celeb- no doubt..............
It was a fun week and since we were celebrating Helen's 80th birthday, Gary and Denise, her son and daughter-in-law, joined Joan and Tom, her daughter and son-in-law and granddaughter Traci, and me daughter-in-law once removed in Vegas for the festivities.
No pictures of us gambling or eating all those fabulous meals, but we did all that and with great bravado. The buffet at the Wynn was probably the most spectacular, lavish and large. It was the finest and highest quality of any buffet I have experienced.
The whole trip was great. Thank you Tom and Joan for inviting me to join you all in this great celebration of Helen and her 80 years of life. It was a celebration of life and family for all of us.
Great time. Great family!
luv/jo
