Since we had eloped in Big Sur
last October, Kaleb's brother Jarrett and his fiancee Kate decided to follow suit...in Las Vegas! As our wedding gift, we got them airfare to Las Vegas from the East Coast and a week at
Marriott's Grand Chateau, where we've stayed at numerous times
in the past, conveniently located a block away from the Strip right across from Planet Hollywood. As it was their first time in Sin City, we joined Jarrett and Kate at the
beginning of the week to show them around town. All airfare was purchased with Southwest Rapid Rewards points (I had to transfer some
Chase Ultimate Rewards points as well) and I traded my Marriott timeshare week in Palm Springs to the one in Las Vegas.
We arranged our flights to arrive within an hour of each other. Kaleb and I arrived first, so we passed the time at the
Centurion Lounge in Concourse D.
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| yay...honey roasted peanuts! |
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| love the brownies in the lounge |
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We met Jarrett and Kate at their gate, then took a taxi to the Grand Chateau.
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| view from our 37th floor condo |
After checking in, we went out on foot northward on the Las Vegas Strip on a Saturday night.
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|
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| Bellagio conservatory's Year of the Goat display |
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| Roman statues during Chinese New Year? |
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| new outdoor mall in front of Bally's |
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With Jarrett and Kate feeling the effects of jet lag from the East Coast, we headed back to the hotel for some shut-eye.
Sunday morning, we headed down the south end of the Strip. While Jarrett and Kate were exploring the
Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, Kaleb and I grabbed a bite to eat at
Border Grill.
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| playing around with MGM photo kiosks |
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| MGM's Chinese New Year decor |
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| queso fundido |
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| chips and drinks |
It turned out that my sister-in-law Lisa was in Vegas for a conference, so we were able to meet her for an late lunch/early supper at
The Buffet at Aria just before she caught a flight home. Eating at a buffet is quintessential Vegas! We arrived just before brunch was ending so we were able to have both brunch and dinner items at brunch price.
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| mmm...dessert |
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| Buddha at the Aria |
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| double luck? |
Another Vegas must-do is to watch a show, so I had pre-purchased tickets for the 7pm showing of Cirque du Soleil's
Mystere at the Treasure Island hotel. We were walking from Aria when the cloudy sky decided to rain down; fortunately the worst of it happened just as we were making the turn into the Treasure Island from the Strip.
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| awaiting the show in damp clothes and hair |
We were lucky to have one of the performers pass by our row, yet not pull any of us down onto the stage (12-second video clip - click
here if you cannot see the preview below):
The three of them hadn't seen the show before and they all liked it very much. The last time I saw Mystere was over a decade ago; I could tell there were some changes but it was still entertaining and would recommend it for anyone new to watching Cirque du Soleil shows.
It was still raining when the show ended, so we waited in a long line for a taxi back to the hotel.
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| Vegas on a Monday morning |
Monday morning - marriage license time! This was the first time I had ever taken the
Deuce Bus downtown; I've always seen the buses drive up and down the Strip. Conveniently, there was a Deuce stop in front of the Planet Hollywood hotel. We bought $8 all-day passes from the vending machine there. There was also an "express" bus called the SDX that got you downtown quicker (picking up at
specific stops) but we didn't need to ride it.
We got off at the 4th and Las Vegas Blvd stop and found the
Marriage License Bureau. The signs inside are humorous, but I'm sure they are being serious. There wasn't much of a line when we arrived. There were a few brides planning to get married that day as they showed up wearing different styles of white dresses. There was also a sign telling couples to go around the corner of the building to find the clerk's office for ceremonies.
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| so cute! |
Afterwards, we walked to
Downtown Fremont Street in search of a old-style slot machine with an arm. Along the way, we indulged in alcoholic slushies, ice cream and being in the presence of $1M in cash.
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| found the one-armed bandit |
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| Lappert's green tea ice cream at "The Cal" |
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| you'd think it'd be a bigger pile |
We took the SDX bus back and got off at the Fashion Show Mall stop to visit the Venetian and Palazzo and grab some grub.
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| blue skies over "Venice" |
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| subtle Chinese New Year decor at Grand Canal Shoppes |
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We walked back to the Grand Chateau; Kaleb and I packed our things and all four of us got into a taxi to the airport as Jarrett was renting a car for the remainder of the week. Actually, we thought we had hailed a taxi at the attendant desk, but instead, the Grand Chateau private SUV showed up. I went back to the desk to ask about the car and he said that the SUV would only cost $25 to the airport, but I stuck to a taxi. In the end, it cost a total of $20 for the taxi ride and tip, but if you had a group larger than 4 with lots of luggage, the private car would be more comfortable.
We had been running pretty late for our flight, but it turned out our departure time was delayed so we took the tram to Concourse D to have dinner at the Centurion Lounge. The food selection is pretty constant so I didn't take any pictures, but refer to this
prior post if you want to see what we ate.
Congratulations to Jarrett and Kate, married in a helicopter above the Las Vegas Strip on March 3, 2015...super awesome!!!
The two enjoyed honeymooning the rest of the week around Vegas and its surroundings, including the
Neon Museum,
Red Rock Canyon and the
Valley of Fire.
My next destination...a weekend stay in Carmel to celebrate my friend Jennifer's 40th birthday! Stay tuned...
***
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