Day 2

I started day 2 with breakfast at NYNY - bagel and coffee.
I'm a googler at heart, so during my down night, I googled ways to get around, cheap places to eat and all of the casino maps. Those are really helpful when you're trying to find the connector to a tram or other hotel. There are signs, but a general idea of your direction is helpful.
I walked over to the MGM Park and took the free tram to the Bellagio. The main highlight there is the Conservatory. At this time it celebrates Japanese Spring. It is small but very colorful and creative. The Bellagio was modern and posh. All of the displays were very detailed and artistic. Huge hotel with expensive, high end shops. Then I went to Caesars Palace and the foru
I went over to the Flamingo to see the Flamingo habitat and catch the monorail ($5/trip) to the SLS.
If I come back, I'll try to stay at the Flamingo. The pool looked great and it's central to most things on the strip. The LINQ promenade is one one side and Paris is on the other. And there's a monorail station. All pluses.
The SLS was fine. I had to walk from there to the Stratosphere. I had bought a Groupon for the 3-course lunch at the Top of the World restaurant. It's 840 ft high and revolves. It was a very nice lunch and I was fascinated with the views. All mountains. I would stay at the Stratosphere if it weren't in a dodgy part of town. There's a lot to do there.
After lunch I walked back to the SLS and took the monorail back to the MGM Grand and walked back to the Excalibur for some room time.

m shops. Caesars Palace is what you'd expect. Marble, architecture, sculptures. The forum had some great fountains. One of them was an aquarium.

Day 1 afternoon II

After eating lunch, I went exploring again, this time to New York, New York and across the street to the MGM Grand and through some of the shops in that center. I love New York, New York. If I did this trip again, I wouldn't stay so far south of the strip, but I loved all of the little shops and cafes in NYNY. It's easy to get to from both the Excalibur and MGM Grand and it's right next door to the MGM Park, which has a free tram to the Aria and the Bellagio.
Excalibur has a walkway connection to Luxor and then to Mandalay Bay and a tram to both, but you're going South, away from the action of the strip.
The exploring was fun. The M&M shop was interesting, expensive and crowded.
Lots of people.
I came back and took a nap before the Tournament of Kings, which was pretty intense. Some of the online reviews said they enjoyed the twist in the story. I was waiting for the twist, like the son turned out to be working with the bad guy, but no twist like that. Just a story. Intense and exciting. Real horsemen and we'll choreographed fights, but no twist. It was a fun night and good dinner, eaten with your hands.
After the show, I took pity on my poor feet and stayed in. Didn't hear anything from the neighbors and slept like a baby.

Day 1 afternoon

After my post-breakfast excursions, it was time for the pool. It was easy to find and you need your room key to get in. They had towels down there. Lots of people, lots of kids, beautiful weather. The water was just a bit too cold for me, but the hot tub was nice. I sat down next to a nice lady and chatted with her for awhile. She gave some suggestions and comes here twice a year from Colorado Springs. I took a nap in the sun and headed back to the room when I felt hungry.
I finished my breakfast quesadilla and ate some of the crepe.

Night time entertainment

There's a dueling piano bar in New York New York and I'm sitting outside with my Nathan's chili cheese dog with my poor little feet propped up. So happy. This is the life!

Day 1, morning

It's been a big day. I got to bed about 4 here time, which puts me up for more than 24 hours, minus the nap I took on the plane. I'm going to look for a travel pillow, though I know the children will take it.
There are alot of children here, making their parents miserable. I can't imagine bringing mine ;) I am enjoying being by myself. I get to just wander around, looking at stuff. It's been great.
There are no in-room coffee makers, which is really sad.
There are lots of places to buy $5 coffee, which I did, but I wasn't happy about it.
There is a food court upstairs in the Excalibur, complete with Cinnabon and Krispy Kreme. I ended up with Schlotskys breakfast quesadilla, which was good and big enough to make lunch too.
After that, I just wondered around.
Excalibur is connected to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay through walkways, shops and a monorail tram. I experienced all of those this am. There's a Guiness store at Mandalay Shoppes, which is really interesting to me. You can drink and walk around here, which is different.
Also in Mandalay Bay itself is a crepe shop. I got the Paris, which has apples and Carmel and yes, it was as good as it sounded. I haven't been able to publish on my phone with pics, but I'll add some later on.

Quickly

It's been a long day. I'm waiting for the Tournament of Kings to begin and I'm starving. It's all food you have to eat with your hands. Hopefully it's yummy!

To Las Vegas, I go!

My income tax refund was nice. And I'm turning 40 this year. And I didn't want to mess with split holidays with the girls, so I booked a trip. I picked Vegas because I haven't been. It seems like something you can do as a starter trip for the weekend. So I did it.
I'm staying at the Excalibur. I prepaid for alot of stuff, so I should be able to just concentrate on going when I'm there.
I'm leaving Thursday night, writing this from the airport. My flight has been delayed but that's fine.
My plan is to Uber to the LINQ high roller, which I prebought tickets for, and ride that. It's a 30-minute Ferris Wheel ride that overlooks the city. I really wanted to see that at night. Then I'm going to walk to the Paris hotel. I found a neat little bar inside with sangria flights that sound good. My plan is to eat there then ride the Paris Eiffel tower elevator ride, which I also prebought tickets for.
Once I saw that my flight was delayed, I tried to cancel or change the dates, but I couldn't, so it's going to be a late night. That's ok. As long as they hold my room for me.
Tomorrow I plan to sleep late and eat brunch at the hotel, then spend the day at the pool. Tomorrow night I'm going to the Tournament of Kings, which is a mideval feast complete with jousting and such. Cant wait!

Arrived!

To my room, 324 am. Housekeeping still working on it. In the royal tower instead of the resort. Not sure if that's a bonus or not. Hopeful. Royal sounds better than resort. 10280 steps today. Up over 24 hours because lv is 2 hours behind. I gained time. But I'm feeling it now. Just want to strip and sleep. No alarm.

Las Vegas Easter Trip

My flight has been delayed a few times. We're supposed to leave at 9:55 now. It's 820. We'll see! Still excited. I'm here. I'm ready!