Part II-The Strip

We stayed at the Stratosphere. It was really nice. It was located on the very north end of the strip away from the mass of the sights, but a good location to get in and out of every day. The bottom floor was the casino and restaraunts; the second floor was a shopping mall and restaraunts. There was enough there to do that it wasn't necessary to leave the hotel for anything. But of course, we did.

The top of the tower was 109 stories. There was an observation deck where you could view the whole city. There were glass walls so that you could see out if you were claustrophobic and there was an outside area for the brave. There were also three (3) thrill rides at the top of the 109th floor. I did not desire to try any of the three. It was absolutely amazing from the top though. The view was beautiful. All you could see were lights, lights, and more lights.

All of the hotels were so massive, so classy, so unbelievable to me. There were different attractions at them all. I'm sure you couldn't pick a hotel that was not amazing on the strip of Las Vegas. A few of my favorites that I would stay at if I had the chance to go back would be: New York-New York, Bellagio, Paris, Ceasar's Palace, Rio, the Venetian, and the Luxor, just to name a couple.

The night life was very busy. There were people up and down the strip everywhere. We took a bus called "The Duece" to the strip. It was a good deal on fare, it just took forever to get anywhere because the two-story bus stopped on command. If you wanted off all you had to do was push the stop button and the bus would stop. The loading and unloading was unbelievable all in itself. But you could walk forever and not get to where you wanted to be so the bus was almost a necessity for us.

We went to the Fredmont Street Experience one night. It is in the old part of town. The new part has almost taken over so they had to do something fantastic to attract the tourists. The have a covered street (probably many of our streets) and they do a light show every hour with a different theme. It is really something to see.

What is Vegas without showgirls??? We didn't see any shows, but who had time?? There is so much to do and see.

This guy, Carl "Safe Sax" Ferris, was playing his sax in the middle of Fremont Street. He was really good. We stopped and listened to a couple of his songs.

This was at Caesar's Palace. The sculptures were remarkable. My photos at night didn't turn out very well. They were really blurry. But these at dusk were just fine. It seems that just Caesar's Palace itself would have taken up about three of our city blocks.

This was at the Mirage. I think this was the only place we saw grass except at the golf courses. I was oblivious to the fact that we were literally in the desert. I couldn't get over it. I guess I thought all of Las Vegas was like it was on the strip.

This next one is at the Bellagio. I think this was the highlight of the strip for me. They have a water show every fifteen minutes. There is music (all kinds) playing outside through speakers. Thousands of people gather round this hotel to watch the water show.

It is amazing to watch these fountains and lights dance to the music. It is very synchronized and very impressive.

This particular show was to Faith Hill's "This Kiss."

I think I could have stood there all night and watched the water show. Or better yet, maybe next time we could get a room at the Bellagio with a window facing the water show. I would stay up all night.....