Vegas Alive and Buzzing With Christmas Themes....

We arrived in Las Vegas two days back; enjoyed a couple of nights on the town before our late morning flight back for home today (Thursday).

Rolling away from our pre-storage site in Moabi Regional Park.

We chose to cover the motorcycle while away.  It will keep the dust and sun off our winter ride.  Our secure lock up compound was only a couple of minutes away.  Before long we were backed in, leveled and locked up.  Off we drove.

Heading north on Highway 95 - California

Traffic was light and we made good time towards the city of sin. The highway improved exponentially once we crossed into Nevada.  The route went from bumpy and undulated to smooth and level.

We rolled into Las Vegas and headed on I-215 towards Las Vegas Boulevard; the main strip housing casino after casino after casino.  It took little time to get checked in and settled before we left for several hours of walking the strip while choosing a place to have dinner.

New York, New York Casino and Resort in the background.

Walking over the pedestrian overpasses offers some good views for photography.  But we both noticed the high volume of street people begging for money.  That was the story of our visit.  We could not walk anywhere without seeing homeless folks asking for money.  One rough looking fella's sign simply said, "...why lie, I need beer."  

A few new areas were open, following construction.

The area around the old Imperial Palace - now called The LingQ - had been under construction last year.  Now open, it offers a few new eateries and activities to take in. 

Christmas themes have taken precedent in and around most casinos and resort hotels.

Jeanette and I walked, walked and walked. Had we had a pedometer with us, we likely would have clocked better than 20 miles in two days.....cause it sure feels that way this morning.  We may need to replace our running shoes....and quite possibly our hips and knees too.  Seriously though, to take in the Christmas flavour was more than worthwhile. 

And Vegas does know how to decorate for Christmas.

The Christmas theme seems to change the feel of this town.  People look happy.  Shoppers are relaxed (surprisingly so) and the casinos are not busy.  Even walking the strip was easy.  With far less tourists, moving around and about was smooth.  Bonus for us!

Photo taken from The Venetian - looking out towards Las Vegas Boulevard.

We watched the glass X-mas tree, above, for several minutes as it changed colours.  Awesome display.

The Statue of Liberty was lit up and gazing over the strip.

Not far from the Hard Rock Casino/Hotel is the secure parking lot that will store our truck while we are back home.  We walked the long blocks to confirm that our reservation was OK.  The lady who greeted us was on top of our file and we were issued the dash pass and she also gave us the airport shuttle tags for our free transport to and from the airport.  That done, we headed back for the strip and more walking, walking, walking.

Nice casino and resort.

We enjoyed hanging out at the Hard Rock Casino/Resort.  The music memorabilia alone is enough of a draw.  We saw guitars, other musical instruments, clothing, gold records and even motorcycles that belonged to rock'n rollers such as The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Carlos Santana and so, so many more.  

Back on the strip.

Our second day was focused on taking in the Christmas sites inside many resorts.  Topping off our list was the fabulous display at The Bellagio.

The place was swarming with holiday shoppers.

The Bellagio does  Christmas like few others.  This place turns magical - almost Disney like.  The millions of fresh cut flowers offers a scent that made us want to just sit there forever.  Nice!

 The gardeners and artists work together to create these wonderful displays.

 

The Paris Casino/Resort

There is so much to take in, around the Christmas holidays, that makes being in Las Vegas more than worthwhile for those, like us, who aren't casino gamblers.  For gamblers, well, the festive spirit is carried over into casinos.  Some casinos even offer up some Christmas type drinks.

Shot from the Bellagio looking toward Caesar's Palace and Bally's

Caesar's Palace also offers real ice skating for northerners who could face winter withdrawal.

I could not help myself - I had to take this photo.

So, we leave Las Vegas today and look forward to being home with our famiy for the Christmas holidays.  Our time was enjoyed walking the strip and taking in the sights and sounds of Christmas.  Having walked mile after mile has offered us the opportunity to not feel any guilt whatsoever when we enjoy those wonderful Christmas meals ahead.

Thanks for dropping in.