Teresa the Traveler
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  • Central America
    • Nicaragua >
      • Corn Islands in Nicaragua
      • Volcano Boarding in Nicaragua
    • Costa Rica >
      • Volcanic Mud Bath in Costa Rica
      • Costa Rica Eco-Adventure
  • North America
    • Canada >
      • North Pacific Cannery
      • Terrace Lava Beds
      • Center of the Universe at Vidette Lake
      • Gold Panning at Barkerville
      • Salmon Glacier
      • Niagra Falls
      • CN Tower
      • Calgary Stampede
    • United States >
      • Florida Everglades
      • Florida Keys
      • Disney World
      • Orlando Sea World
      • Kennedy Space Center
      • Grand Canyon
      • Hoover Dam
      • Las Vegas >
        • Vegas Pool Party
      • Hawaiian Island of Oahu >
        • Polynesian Cultural Center
        • Hanauma Bay
        • Pearl Harbour
        • Shark Cage Diving
        • Submarine Ride
        • Dole Plantation
      • Hawaiian Island of Maui >
        • Haleakalā Crater
        • Piiholo Ranch Ziplining
        • Turtle Town
      • Johnson Space Center
      • Disneyland
    • Mexico >
      • Cabo San Lucus
  • South America
    • Argentina >
      • Repel down a Waterfall
      • Boat Ride to Iguazu Falls
      • Evita Museum
      • Learn to Tango
      • Salinas Grandes Salt Flats
    • Bolivia >
      • Eduardo Avaroa National Park
      • Salar de Uyuni
      • La Paz Witch Market
    • Colombia >
      • Plaza de Toros Santamaria
      • Zipaquira Salt Cathedral
      • Guinea Pig Gambling
      • Mount Monserrate
    • Peru >
      • Climb Machu Picchu
      • Fly Over the Nasca Lines
      • Sand Dune Boarding in Huacachina
      • Mountain Biking down Chachani Volcano
      • Visit the Catacombs in Lima
      • Moray
      • Inca Salt Pans
  • Europe
    • England >
      • Big Ben and the Parliament
      • Buckingham Palace
      • Hyde Park
      • St. Margaret’s Cathedral
      • London Eye
      • London Dungeon
      • Tower of London
      • Tower Bridge
      • London Museums
      • Trafalgar Square
      • Stonehenge
      • Bath
    • France >
      • Eiffel Tower
      • Louvre Museum
      • Notre Dame Cathedral
      • Arc De Triomphe
      • Moulin Rouge
      • Sacre-Coeur Cathedral
      • Palace of the Popes
      • Les Pont St-Benezet
      • Les Grottes de Thouzon
      • Roman Aqueducts
      • Fontaine De Vaucluse
      • Antique Theatre in Orange
      • Monaco
      • Cannes Film Festival
      • Fort Royal State Prison
    • Germany >
      • The Reichstag
      • Brandenburg Gate
      • Jewish Memorial
      • Checkpoint Charlie/Berlin Wall
      • Museum Island
    • Greece >
      • Acropolis
      • Santorini
    • Hungary >
      • Vajdahunyad Castle
      • Buda Castle
      • Hero’s Square
      • Fisherman Bastion
    • Italy >
      • Venice
      • Sienna
      • Florence
      • Pisa
      • Pompeii
      • Trevi Fountain
      • Roman Forum
      • Pantheon
      • Vatican City
      • Roman Colosium
    • Poland >
      • Wieliczka Salt Mine (The Old Salt Mine)
      • Cracow's Main Market Square
      • Kazimierz: Cracow's Jewish Quarter
      • Wawel Hill
      • Schindler's Cracow Factory
      • Auschwitz and Birkenau
    • Romania >
      • Bran's Castle
      • Rasnov Fortress
      • Poenari - The Real Dracula's Castle
      • House of the People
      • Peleş Castle
    • Spain >
      • Party all Night in Ibiza
      • Sagrada Familia
      • Island of Formentera
      • Giants Parade
      • Watch the Castellers
  • Middle East
    • Egypt >
      • Giza Pyramids
      • Khan el-Khalili
      • Saqqara
      • Felucca Boat
      • Philae Temple
      • Magic Spring
      • Western Desert
      • Unfinished Obelisk
      • Abu Simbel
      • Cairo
      • Alexandria
      • Valley of the Kings
      • Hapshepsut Temple
      • Karnak Temple
    • Israel >
      • Oskar Schindler's Grave
      • Jaffa
      • 14 Stations of the Cross
      • The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
      • Western Wall
      • Manger Square
      • Dead Sea Scrolls
    • Jordan >
      • Dead Sea
      • Monestary in Petra
      • Wadi Rum
      • Bethany Beyond the Jordan
      • Ma'in Hot Spa
      • Mount Nebo
    • Lebanon >
      • Star Square
      • Pigeon Rock
    • Syria >
      • Citadel of Aleppo
      • Ummaayad Mosque of Aleppo
      • Grand Mosque of Damascus
      • Damascus Old City
      • Latakia
    • Turkey >
      • Shop at the Grand Baazar
      • Spice Market
      • Harem at Topkapi Palace
      • Blue Mosque
      • Ephesus
      • House of the Virgin Mary
      • Pamukkale
      • Love Valley
      • Derinkuyu Underground City
      • Selime Monastery
      • Ihlara Valley
      • Goreme Open Air Museum
      • Cappadocia Balloon Ride
      • Take a Turkish Bath
    • UAE >
      • Burj Dubai
      • Wild Wadi Water Park
      • Indoor Ski Hill
      • Al Arab Seven Star Hotel
      • Palm Islands
  • Caribbean
    • Dominican Republic >
      • Hoya Azul
      • Dune Buggy Tour
  • AFRICA
    • Tanzania >
      • Go on an African Safari
      • Explore Zanzibar
    • Kenya >
      • Visit an Elephant Orphanage
      • Kiss a Giraffe
      • Visit Nairobi National Park
    • Zimbabwe >
      • Walk with Lions
      • Explore Victoria Falls
  • Contact

Push Your Luck in Sin City

On August 30th 2009, I landed in Las Vegas for ten decadent days – what better way to celebrate my 40th year on the planet?  I was working in the Alberta Oil Sands at the time and we were nearing the end of the job – the push was on and the superintendent had discouraged us from taking time off.  But that didn’t stop me. Celebrating my birthday in Vegas was far more important than finishing a gas plant on time.  
     I requested a vacation form from my supervisor telling him about my plans. He watched me fill it out and when it came to the part that said reasons for request, he said “you are going to a wedding, right?”    I don’t usually lie but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do, so I wrote down “attending a wedding” and handed in my request.  Two weeks later I arrived at McCarran International Airport at around 4 pm. Ranked 15th is the world for passenger traffic, over 44 million people passed through their terminals in 2008.  In true Las Vegas fashion, the airport has around 1,300 slot machines to extract money from tourists. The first airport built on this site was called the Alamo Airport. It was established in 1942 by American aviator George Crockett – a descendant of frontiersman Davy Crockett.  You can’t get more American than that!
    The airport is expected to reach its maximum capacity of 53 million passengers and 625,000 aircraft movements around 2017.  Therefore, plans are being made for a relief airport called Ivanpah Valley Airport 30 miles southwest of McCarran.  Tentative plans have been make to start construction in 2010 and open the airport in 2017.
    I had visited Sin City once before in November of 1998, a month after the Bellagio had opened. A lot had changed since then and I couldn’t wait to check out all the new hotels and casinos.  But first I had to get off the airplane and collect my luggage. I was sitting next to a stereotypically nerdy middle-aged Chinese man carrying two cell phones, a camera and a laptop. As we were taxiing to the terminal one of his cell phones rang loudly.  The stewardess promptly marched over and informed me cell phones were not permitted until we were parked at the terminal.  I just happened to have my cell phone in my hand to check the time – just my luck!
    Finally the plane came to a halt.  The Chinese guy sprung out of his seat, hiked his pants up way too high, tightened his belt, grabbed all his electronics and made his way off the plane.  Aside from the fact that I didn’t hike my pants up way too high, I wasn’t much different. I grabbed my cell phone, laptop and bag full of camera equipment and walked off.  I boarded a shuttle that seemed to stop at every hotel on the strip before finally arriving at the Gold Coast hotel and Casino. When I checked into my room I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was.  It had a king sized bed, a table and two chairs, a vanity area and a bathtub. I was also on the 7th floor and had a (albeit far away) view of the Stratosphere and Trump Tower. And to top it off, I was able to reserve the room next door for my friend Carolyn who was due to arrive a few days later.  Oh yes, did I mention that my best friend Carolyn would be joining me on my birthday?
    I was settled in by 6:00 and decided to venture over to the strip to see what kind of trouble I could get into.  It was a 20-minute walk along Flamingo Drive to Vegas Boulevard also known as the strip, where most of Las Vegas’ large themed resort hotels are located. The Strip is a 3-4 mile section of Las Vegas Boulevard where 19 of the world’s 25 largest hotels (by room count) are located.
    El Rancho Las Vegas was the first hotel opened on the strip in 1941 with 63 rooms.  It was joined by Hotel Last Frontier in 1942, the Flamingo in 1946 and finally the 1,512 room International Hotel which at the time was the largest in the world. The El Rancho Vegas was destroyed by fire in 1960 while the Flamingo morphed into the mega resort it is today and the International became the modern day Las Vegas Hilton.

Awesome Vegas Activities

1. Go indoor skydiving
2. Take in a Cirque de Soleil show
3. Go on a Hoover Dam/Grand Canyon tour
4. Have a drink at the Minus 30 Degrees ice bar at Mandalay Bay
5. Visit the memorial to gangster and founding father of Las Vegas Bugsy Segal at the flamingo
6. Slide through the Shark Tank and see the Hand of Faith gold nugget at the Golden Nugget
7. Go shopping at the fashion show mall
8. Check out the Titanic and Bodies Exhibitions at the Luxor Hotel
9. Go downtown and have the Freemont Street Experience  
10. Get your picture taken with a million dollars at Binions
11. Take in some free circus acts and go on some rides at the Adventuredome at Circus Circus
12. Get an amazing view of Las Vegas and ride the highest rides in the world at the Stratosphere
13. Enjoy a free opera show and ride in a gondola at San Marco Square in the Venetian
14. Get your picture taken in front of the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign
15. Visit the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace and see their famous animatronics show
16. Watch a fountain show and visit the botanical gardens at the Bellagio
17. See the Sexy Sirens show at Treasure Island
18. Take in the Tournament of the Kings dinner theatre at the Excalibur
19. Watch the volcano in front of the Mirage erupt
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Top Ten Crazy Las Vegas Facts

1.      Gamblers have a much higher chance of striking it rich on a slot machine at the casinos downtown than at the casinos on the strip
2.      Poker is best played on the strip because the locals usually play downtown and are great at beating the tourists
3.      It is cheaper to buy show tickets on the day of the show at a half price booth – coupon books are handed out for free and offer discounts on shows as
         well.
4.     On the way to Hoover Dam the houses all have air conditioners mounted on the roof rather than the ground.  They do this so snakes won’t slither into 
         them.
5.     It is a good idea to get a players card at the casino where you are gambling because you get perks and discounts on the buffet.
6.     A crumpled bill that won’t work in a monorail ticket machine will always work in a slot machine.
7.     Many of the hotels offer private cabanas for rent beside their pools.  These pricey private shelters offer luxuries such as a private bar, telephone, television    
        and lounge chairs.
8.     Many of the elite nightclubs do not provide free seating for their patrons rather they have booths available for bottle service only.  Customers are required    
         to buy a bottle (some clubs have a 2 bottle minimum) for around $400-500 to sit in the booths.
9.     Some people have claimed to see the apparition of Bugsy Siegel haunting the rose garden, wedding chapel area of the Flamingo Hotel.
10.   Most of the Las Vegas strip is actually located in Paradise Nevada, an unincorporated part of Clark Country.

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