Here’s a few photos for you to enjoy from our recent trip to Vegas. Looking at these photos makes me long for that desert sunshine as we continue to labor under winter’s thrall here at home.
There’s not much to tell you about our trip really. It was actually pretty uneventful this time. After arriving in Vegas on Monday the 14th around 4PM, we picked up our rental car and headed into rush hour traffic out to our hotel which was way way way off the strip. Though it was beautiful (we stayed at Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa) and quiet, just as we’d hoped, it was one of the most strangely laid out places I’ve ever stayed in. While most places in Vegas don’t fail to direct you right where they want you to go with huge signs with the equivalent of “go here now” emblazoned on them, we found ourselves nearly constantly lost in this place. Not that it was astoundingly ginormous, just not laid out for the usual casino crowd. We wandered around for a good 10 minutes just looking for the registration desk which, it turned out, was erroneously located downstairs far away from both the parking garage (where we’d parked the rental) as well as the elevators and generally trafficked areas. We only found it after asking somebody where the heck it was. Then, it turned out, we were in a room on the 10th floor about as far as possible down the hallway from the elevators. We kept joking that we didn’t need to workout while we were there, just walk to our room! But all that aside, it was a really fab hotel. I’ve never stayed in a hotel with turn down service before! I guess that’s why they charge you a $21/day “resort fee” on top of the cost of the place ;)
Tuesday morning I slept in while R. Darling went running in the spa and then he brought us some Starbucks while we lazed around before going out. We made a short trip to the strip that afternoon (as you can see from the photos of the Forum Shops at Caesar’s in the slideshow). Just bought a couple things and then relaxed some more before dinner.
Wednesday, we slept in and then I spent the day with a photographer while R. Darling went running in Red Rock Canyon. That was an especially long day and all we had the energy for at the end of it, was getting some takeout burgers from the cafe in the hotel and crawling into bed.
Thursday, the 17th, was our last full day in Vegas and most of the photos in the slideshow are from this day. We slept in and then headed out to Red Rock Canyon for some sightseeing. There were so many desert flowers in bloom, and I’m sure if we’d come back the next week, there would have been acres of cactus blossoms to see. At one point, we climbed down into a canyon and sat there on the rocks soaking in the solitary scenery. It was as if we were entirely alone in the park, just the two of us and those gorgeous red cliffs. Truly amazing. After hiking around for a couple hours and taking tons of photos, we stopped for a ghetto Burger King lunch, relaxed a bit and then went down to the pool with our books for an hour or two.
The pool at Red Rock Casino is amazing. There are actually many different smaller pools off of the main pool as well as hot pools mixed in. So, if you’re like me, and you hate swimming in front of or with other people you don’t know, you can basically have a pool almost to yourself. Divine. They also have the most comfy loungers ever. The chaises have big fatty cushions on them and you will be led, when you arrive at the pool, to a location of your choice by a youthful cabana boy or girl who will also bring you a pair of lovely fluffy towels to sit on too. But we’re lame and we got hot and sleepy so after an hour or two we went back to our room and took a tasty nap. I love naps on vacation! Then, for our last meal (and since I didn’t have to worry about fitting into my swimsuit anymore) we indulged in the casino’s buffet. Yum.
And Friday morning, we headed home to the dreary northwest. All in all, it was a lovely and much needed vacation and I feel so lucky that we were able to indulge! Hope you enjoyed the photos!
