Rock Climbing Wall

Las Vegas Area Destinations

Now that you have visited all of the casinos, you probably think that you have seen all that Las Vegas has to offer. Wrong! Las Vegas is so much more than casinos. We have many recreational hot spots within a short drive. Do you like hiking, rock climbing, boating, swimming, golfing, shopping or skiing. Believe it or not you can do all of these and still have the evenings to catch a show, have a first class meal, or play your favorite game.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA) is located approximately 20 miles west of downtown Las Vegas and offers miles of trails and some excellent rock climbing. Access is convenient for everyone with a one way loop road winding through the area. Many interesting areas are a short hike from the main road. Calico Hills, the main red sandstone feature, has an overlook area right on the side of the road. This is a BLM administered site and Federal Park Fees apply.

Another beautiful park filled with natural canyons and the amazing detail of red sandstone is Valley of Fire State Park. This park is located a short drive north on I-15. You can drive through the park and admire the scenery or take advantage of the trails. While the drive in itself is very scenic, the real attractions all are reached by hiking trails. Check with the park officials on which trails are best for you. If you drive through the park you can visit Overton and see the Indian Village replica and the northern Lake Mead Area.

Lake Mead Nation Recreation Area is the result of the Hoover Dam. Lake Mead offers a vast array for outdoor enthusiasts. Swimming, water skiing, and fishing are a wonderful way for you and your family to spend the day.  There are rental crafts available and if your budget allows you can rent a houseboat and spend your vacation on the lake. Trust me you will enjoy the experience. Jet skis are another popular way to enjoy the lake. I personally enjoy taking a smaller boat and just cruising across the lake. My favorite is the narrows area. Here the lake flows through a canyon area with the walls rising nearly vertical on both sides. If you are a diver you will find many areas to practice and play. With the water levels low because of the drought, many things that were long covered are now within the divers reach. Remember that this is a federally protected area. Do not take souvenirs from your dive. Wildlife in the area includes big horn sheep, deer and many others.

The Hoover Dam is a Great Depression era construction project that is simply awe inspiring to view. Walk through the visitor’s center, read the exhibits to see how the dam was constructed. It is a tribute to the men who risked their lives to build the dam. Take a tour of the dam itself, that’s right, walk through the inside of the dam. Before you leave make sure you take the time to look down the face of the dam to the Colorado River below.

Las Vegas is home to many golf courses including one former PGA tournament site and one current site. Soon another tournament site will be added approximately one hour north of Las Vegas. Prices range from the relatively inexpensive to the very expensive. Check with your hotel for a full list of all of the courses.

Shopping opportunities are all over the Las Vegas- Henderson area. Besides the shops at the casinos, you can find several malls in the valley and strip malls are located throughout. You could literally spend years shopping here.

For your next vacation remember Las Vegas has it all. Bright lights, fabulous food and entertainment, and everything an outdoor enthusiast could ask for. We’ll see you soon.

Great Non-Gambling Fun in Las Vegas

There are many fun things to do in Las Vegas that have nothing to do with gambling. So, if you don’t care to throw dice or drop quarters into slot machines, you can still have a terrific time in “Sin City”. An increasing number of tourists are seeing Vegas as more than a casino town and the revenue from non-gambling venues has been growing steadily over the past few years. Many casinos are investing their resources in amenities such as beautiful hotel rooms, amusement parks, luxury pools and spas, live entertainment shows, animal exhibits, upscale dining establishments and specialty stores for shoppers. In some facilities, these added attractions have taken over as the main draw. There is something for everyone in Las Vegas!

Popular Shows in Las Vegas
Casinos are just as acclaimed for their shows as they are for gambling. There is a wide variety of entertainment from the famous dancing shows featuring feathered and fringed chorus girls to many other categories. For headliner shows, there is Celine Dion at Caesar’s Palace and for some doo-wop, The Platters, Drifters and Coasters at the Sahara. Comedy shows abound with The Riviera comedy Club and the Improv at Harrah’s. Tribute shows are always fun and often nostalgic. You can take in American Superstars at the Stratoshere, Barbra and Frank at the Riviera and Legends in concert at Imperial Palace. Magic shows entertain young and old alike. Check out The World’s Greatest magic Show at the Greek Isles Hotel and Casino, Lance Burton for family fun at the Monte Carlo and Dirk Arthur at Tropicana with his white Bengal tiger and leopards. If production shows are your favorite, you are in luck. Ongoing shows include Cirque du Soliel for astonishing acrobatics at MGM Grand, Mama Mia at Mandalay Bay and Phantom of the Opera at Venetian. If you enjoy adult shows, there are numerous ones to attend, such as the renowned Chippendales at Rio, and hypnosis with Dr. Scott Lewis at Le Bistro Theater. You can even watch the longest running TV game show in history with The Price Is Right at Jubilee! Theater. For every man, woman and child, there is a great show to enjoy in Las Vegas. Tickets and reservations are available for advance purchase on many websites.

Restaurants and Buffets
Las Vegas has quickly become one of the most sensational restaurant cities in the world. New restaurants are opening almost on a daily basis. Nowhere can tourists dine so lavishly for so little as at the abundant buffets, which began in the early 1940’s at the original El Rancho Vegas Hotel. Their Midnight Chuck Wagon Buffet was invented as a way to keep customers in the hotel for the second show. What followed were other hotels offering the same. Next came breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets. Some hotels offer champagne brunches on weekends featuring all the bubbly a person can drink. Many of the top chefs in the world have opened restaurants in Vegas. While the casinos and hotels feature varied and exotic cuisines, don’t forget to check out the local restaurants as well.

Family Fun
There are plenty of family friendly venues in Las Vegas. The Lied Children’s Museum is a hands-on, interactive museum close to downtown. There are many lessons to be learned here about science, humanities and the arts. Another destination popular with children is Circus Circus with the Circus Acts and Adventuredome Theme Park. For hours of fun, ride the rollercoaster and other rides, play a game of miniature golf or challenge yourself with the many arcade games. The Gameworks Arcade at the Showcase Mall next to the MGM Grand has the tallest indoor rock-climbing wall in the country and a movie theater. Ride the rollercoaster, play laser tag or enjoy racing Daytona style at the Coney Island Emporium at New York/New York Resort and Casino. Two more places to thrill the kids are the old western town on Bonnie Springs Old Nevada 16 miles west of Las Vegas and the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay.

Outdoor Activities
If you enjoy hiking, golf, horseback riding, hot air balloon riding, or just lounging by a pool, Las Vegas has plenty to offer. Grand Canyon National Park and the Red Rock National Conservation Area are a short drive away. There are also the pirate battles at Treasure Island, the volcano at the Mirage and the fountains of the Bellagio.

Specialty Shopping
If outlets are your favorite, visit the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas for designer clothing. Caesar’s Palace has the Forum Shops or Appian Way Shops. The Venetian features the Grand Canal Shoppes and don’t miss the Bellagio’s Via Bellagio. For more specialty shops and restaurants, visit the Desert Passage. If you prefer a mall environment, check out the Boulevard Mall.

Relax at a Spa
Las Vegas, along with the surrounding areas, boasts over thirty spas. These spas are as varied as the casinos and hotels around them. Choose from Shiatsu or Swedish massage, herbal baths, aromatherapy, reflexology or creme brulee body wraps. Relax in the many whirlpools, saunas or steam rooms. Manicures, champagne facials, pedicures, customized scrubs and hair styling are offered at the numerous salons. Do you want advice on fitness, nutrition or health? Some hotels offer trained personal trainers. Some of the most popular spas include Mandalay Bay’s Spa Mandalay, The Spa at the Palms, the Venetian’s Canyon Ranch Spa, Rio Spa, Elemis Spa at the Aladdin and the Spa Bellagio.

Cruise Ship Entertainment – How to Get the Best and Forget the Rest

Pimp Up My Entertainment, Baby…

How to get the best seats in the showroom

How to avoid the sleepers

How to learn something (info-tainment)

Arranging private shows

How to get the best seats in the showroom –

Saving seats in the showroom is technically disallowed by the cruise lines – but people do it anyway. This is not a problem for experienced cruisers since we know that the saved seats are not likely to be the most desirable ones anyway. Intuitively, one would think that you would want to be right down front. Not so. The most desirable seats are in the balcony or near the back of the main floor. Why? First, you can sneak out without making a scene if the show is a real sleeper – something you’ll definitely want to do right after the third chorus of “My Way”. Secondly, the people down front are not only trapped for the duration – they are Comedian Fodder. No one looks forward to being the butt of the comic’s jokes – or to being the sucker who surrenders his wedding ring to the Magician – only to have it wrapped in a marked up dollar bill prior to being stuffed into a lemon. So, unless you are a ham to the point of masochism, best to avoid the first ten rows.

How to avoid the sleepers –

We wish we had a rock solid “works every time” formula for you here – but we don’t. Determining what constitutes good entertainment is such a subjective interpretation – so relevant to one’s taste, mood and cultural background – you’ll just have to follow the above advice on “best seats” to sample the various shows. You can always head off to the Dirty Dancing Contest in the disco if the first fifteen minutes of a show fails to wind your watch.

How to learn something (info-tainment) –

Higher Education, here we come! More and more lines are offering on board classes in venues that rival the most prestigious ivy league institutions. Cruise passengers can gobble up all the Brain Food they can eat – on such subjects as Culinary Arts, Wine Tasting, Investment Strategies, Ecology, Video Production, Computer Literacy (evidently there are computers out there that can’t read or write) and so on. Some of these courses are free. Some have a cover charge.

Arranging private shows –

Hey, guys, I’d love to tell you that show girls from the chorus line can be hired to come to your cabin for a private lap dances. But, alas, it just isn’t so.

First of all the cruise line wouldn’t allow it. Secondly, the audience would most likely be limited to single passengers only. Otherwise, you’d have to have a very, very understanding spouse.

But here’s a thought. Given the continuous roll out of new, outrageous and previously un-conceived-of activities like the zip line, climbing walls, specialty shops and themed night clubs – how long do you think it will be before some enterprising young cruise line entrepreneur will build a ship with a “Gentleman’s Club” on board?

All it takes is a Scotch or two to bring the possibilities clearly into focus. The club would be complete with strobe lights, techno music and a stripper’s pole – and located right next to the ship’s chapel. Close proximity of these two seemingly conflicting venues would be a boon for two reasons:

A. It would facilitate the instant rehabilitation of club customers suddenly overcome with guilt. Full and immediate absolution would be possible before the spouse arrives on the scene.

B. All night participants in bachelor or bachelorette parties the night before a shipboard wedding would literally be able to crawl over to the next day’s ceremony on hands and knees, should that prove necessary.

Sadly, it could be years before we see such a classy shipboard innovation. The interim solution – an on board Stripper Pole Rental service. Newlyweds would be offered a weekly rate…Senior Citizens a special discounted hourly rate. These easily portable units could be delivered to the cabin, setup then later retrieved by highly discreet room stewards.

Currently, the closest thing to “private shows” is what goes down at your dining room table every evening. These spectacles are courtesy of very talented wait staff – a waiter or bus-person with a bag full of close-up magic tricks, a comedian, etc. – as discussed in the Pimp My Dining Experience article.

Additionally, themed groups traveling together often arrange for private meetings, speeches and/or performances by their leader or Pied Piper during the cruise. (see “Simon Cowell School of Charm Cruise” on the Pimp My Cruise Fare article) Meeting facilities are usually provided to groups free of charge.

And, lastly – if you know someone who knows someone who has a brother-in-law who works for the cruise line – you may be able to arrange for private tours of the galley, engine room and/or navigation bridge.

If all else fails – see if you can get a staff member to invite you down to the crew bar. What’s that like, you ask? Well, do you remember the inter-galactic night club scene from the Star Wars movie?