Viva Las Vegas!

 Last Sunday, Emily and I flew from Boston's Logan Airport to Las Vegas. Deb had flown from Boston to Palm Springs and she and my Mom flew from Palm Springs to Las Vegas. That was the beginning of our Sunday to Thursday Las Vegas Girls' Vacation! Deb had arranged for two rooms at the Circa hotel and a scooter for Mom. She also made a reservation for a poolside cabana and Emily made reservations for us to see Piff the Magic Dragon.

Below is the "ceiling" on Freemont Street just outside of our hotel. It really is open air but the photovoltaic cells give the illusion of a ceiling. The blur at the top is a brave soul ziplining. They seemed to zip in packs of four but this guy was a little slower so I managed to catch him. They go really fast!  It was 111 F. when we arrived but the temperature went down on successive days.

Our hotel was really super cooled so when we went outside there was a big contrast. We went to other casinos to go to their restaurant or to just sight see.

Below is the view from our room on the 25th floor. If you look to the right of the space needle, you can see a gold hotel. It looks shorter than the Hilton hotel to its left, ha ha. Yes, there is a giant T on the top.

This is the view from the 50th floor at the Circa. It's from their Legacy Lounge -- they don't even let you onto that elevator unless you have a reservation. We had a lovely drink and I tried to not look like a hick on my way to ladies' room. Passing the bar I noticed the selection of very expensive cigars in their own glassed in humidor. There were a couple of guys smoking cigars at the bar but their ventilation system was so good that we didn't smell the smoke over in our nook of comfy chairs and tables.

And the view at night from our room.

This is the Mega Bar at the Circa. I think there were 50 seats (I didn't actually count). At one point, I was playing the poker machines there and the bartender just kept giving me vodka and soda. They were really weak, luckily, but refreshing!

The art below is possibly the most photographed in Las Vegas. The bums are particularly shiny from all of the people patting them. Guys love to be photographed ... well you know how.

Outdoors on Fremont Street, there is an hourly evening show with very loud music. Each day there is a different artist (or maybe it's different every hour, I forget). This featured Katy Perry's music.

And here we are in the cabana at the Stadium Pool which sported air conditioning, paddle fan, wide screen TV, and a myriad of towels, water, and eating utensils. We ordered a sumptuous breakfast burrito from our server, Andrea. Her 'uniform' was a very skimpy bikini. Luckily, the bar area where she got the drinks was air conditioned even though it was outside. Oh, and there was a live DJ overseeing the music. That's when I gratefully took ear plugs from Deb.

 

My babies at the Stadium Pool.

Our server, Andrea is on her way to replenish drinks.

We were SO happy to not be on these seats in the full sun!

Throw in some wonderful meals and a smattering of gambling and there you have it! IMy first, and probably last, time at roulette, I won six in a row! It was Deb's money but she insisted on sharing in the winnings with Emily and me. It was fun.

*********************************************************************************

On June 18th, the Jones Library finally broke ground for their expansion and renovation project. It has been ten years in the making. Below is the Jones' mascot, Sammy. He is named after Samuel Minot Jones, the Library's first donor.