my road to travel…the road “more” traveled

The Spectacular Lake Las Vegas

No other city can match Las Vegas when it comes to unforgettable wedding venues.  Las Vegas is such a popular wedding destination, in fact, that in 2006 one in every 20 US weddings occurred there.  Las Vegas weddings are big business, and one of the reasons for their popularity is that it is just so easy for couples to marry there!  Any couple on a tight schedule can simply head for Las Vegas, plunk down around $60 for a marriage license at the Clark County Marriage License Bureau (forget about the blood tests or the waiting period) and, if time is really short, tie the knot at a drive-through chapel.

The vast majority of couples choosing to marry in Las Vegas, however, spend a lot more time planning their ceremonies.  Most of the hotels and wedding chapels in Las Vegas offer some terrific wedding packages which cover everything beginning with a limousine ride to the Marriage License Bureau.  The price of a Las Vegas wedding ceremony can range from as little as $500 to well into five figures.

One of Las Vegas’ trademarks is its “anything goes” approach, which applies to weddings as well as everything else.  Specialty weddings in Las Vegas range from glamorous to funky, with every conceivable variation in between.  If you and your intended love the great outdoors, there are plenty of spectacular wedding venues around Red Rock Canyon with its dramatic red sandstone cliffs.  Sunset is a favorite time of day for Red Rock Canyon weddings.

If you prefer a more traditional romantic wedding, you won’t find anything better than exchanging your vows in a gondola gliding across waters of Lake Las Vegas, with up to a dozen of your family and friends.  For a more old-fashioned romance, why not plan your wedding ceremony at the Venetian Hotel where you can again be married in a gondola, this time sailing along the Hotel’s canals with your singing gondolier!

For the daredevil couple, nothing has quite the appeal as a wedding at Las Vegas’ Stratosphere.  The Stratosphere’s Roller Coaster is located on a platform 1100 feet above the Las Vegas strip.  You and your beloved exchange vows while whizzing along at 30 mph!

Finally, if you’re entering into the matrimonial state with the idea that only this guy is the limit when it comes to your happiness, why not have your ceremony performed in a helicopter soaring above the strip.

We’ve mentioned just a handful of the dazzling and unforgettable wedding possibilities in Las Vegas.  You’ll have no trouble finding a hotel or chapel wedding planner who can explain the different packages available.  You can also be certain that no matter how unusual a request you have for custom wedding in Las Vegas, there will be someone ready to fulfill it to the smallest detail!

Shop till you drop at the Las Vegas Outlet Center

Maybe you are a jet-setter, and think nothing of hopping across Europe in a weekend to hit the shopping Meccas in Venice, Paris, and Rome.  Maybe you even throw in an extra couple of days to hop across the Atlantic and give New York your attention.  If, however, you’re like most of us, the only way you will ever experience what it’s like to shop in the world’s most unusual cities is to visit what may be the most unusual of them all, Las Vegas.

Limiting your jet travel to flying in and out of McCarran Airport will still let you browse the delightful shops of Venice at the Grand Canal Shoppesof the Venetian Hotel.  Stay in Italy and browse among the gods of Olympus at the Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops, before heading across Flamingo Boulevard to the elegant retail experience at Via Bellagio. 

From there, you can stroll across the Strip and directly into the sunny streets of Le Boulevardat Paris Las Vegas (the only place in the US where you can buy Lenotre chocolates), which will put you within a stone’s throw not only of Monte Carlo, but of New York, New York!  Vegas shopping may be fabulous, but it’s got nothing on Las Vegas geography! 

You don’t, however, have to pass through a casino every time you need to feed your shopping monkey.  Bypass the one-armed bandits completely by heading across the street from Treasure Island to the 250+ shops and restaurants of the Fashion Show Mall, where Macy’s, Saks, and Nordstrom’s await. 

If you want to save some of your money for other Las Vegas pursuits, you can limit your shopping expenditures by taking advantage of the bargains at the Las Vegas Outlet Center.  You’ll find all the top fashion brands, including Coach, Nine West, and Off Saks 5th Avenue.  Off the Strip in downtown Las Vegas (great if you’re staying at Fremont Street) is the Las Vegas Premium Outlets shopping center with more than 150 discount stores! 

Turn your shopping spree into a family outing by going to the Town Square, just south of Mandalay Bay on the Strip.  There’s a kiddie park with a carousel, tree house,  maze, and a movie theater in addition to the shops and restaurants. No matter what your shopping itch, Las Vegas  is the place to get it scratched!

Free things to do in Vegas!

When you hear the phrase “Las Vegas vacation,” you almost certainly will be thinking about expensive hotels and money-inhaling casinos.  But your Las Vegas vacation, surprisingly, can be very affordable as long as you take advantage of the city’s long list of free attractions.  There are, quite simply, far more free things to do in Las Vegas then you will probably have time to manage in a typical three or four-day stay.

Begin by heading for the MGM Grand, where the Lion Habitat awaits.  You’ll come within 1 1/2 inches of glass of being able to touch one of MGM’s 31 lions which appear in the Lion Habitat at any given time.  The lions are “on duty” in the habitat for six hours each day. They spend their off-hours and off-days at the MGM ranch located about 13 miles from the Hotel, where their care is overseen by an expert exotic animal trainer.  The trainer will also visit the habitat regularly, giving visitors educational presentations and playing or hand-feeding any lions that are willing to participate.  Most of the time, however, the lions sleep as they would in the wild, and that’s a lot (18 to 20 hours per day!) 

If you think the MGM lions are impressive (and they most definitely are!)  You’ll be completely blown away by the sights at the Neon Boneyard.  Sitting in a less than spectacular empty lot in the heart of downtown Las Vegas are more than 150 of the cast-aside neon signs and emblems which once adorned the Vegas strip.  From the two-ton Silver Slipper in the hat from the Tam-o-Shanter Motel to enormous chess pieces and individual neon letters from dozens of abandon signs, the Neon Boneyard is an evolving tribute to Las Vegas’ past. While serious efforts are being made to create a real museum to house these fascinating relics, right now you’ll have to see them as they are: neon diamonds in the rough!

If visiting the Neon Boneyard puts you in the mood for some live lights, music, and all around fun, you’re ready for the Fremont Street Experience.  While you have to leave the Strip and head downtown, the Fremont Street Experience is an absolute must.  Just ask the nearly 20,000,000 visitors who participate in it each year. The Fremont Street Light Show uses over 12 million LED modules spread out along a 500-yard canopy, flashing in time with music emitted by a 555,000 watt sound system to create the biggest open-air dance party in Las Vegas.  The canopy, which is actually the world’s largest video screen, flashes amazing pictures in more than 16 million color combinations.  There are currently 15 different shows, including ones inspired by auto racing and a journey to the bottom of the ocean!  The Fremont Street Experience also features live bands each night!

While a trip to Las Vegas may not seem like a trip to the Wild West, you shouldn’t forget that you are in the great state of Nevada.  You can get a taste of the old West at Sam’s Town’s free Sunset Stampede.  The Sunset Stampede takes place within the Mystic Falls Park inside Sam’s Town, and will treat you to a light show accompanied by the appearance of Wild West wildlife including a wolf, eagle, and bear. The Mystic Falls waters will dance to symphonic music for eight minutes, as you are swept back to the days of the pioneers.  While standing close to the action may result in your becoming a little waterlogged yourself, it’s well worth the risk. On those hot days, Mystic Falls Park can be a marvelous retreat with its dense foliage, sparkling stream, and waterfalls.  You can either stroll along the park’s walkways or simply relax on one of its many benches.

We’ve suggested only three of the many free things to in Las Vegas.  You‘ll have no trouble at all finding at least a dozen more once you arrive, so don’t deprive yourself of any of them!

You may not realize it, but Las Vegasdoes have its quieter side.  While most visitors to Las Vegas head there to escape from their otherwise too humdrum existences, you may find that your stay will be enhanced if you take a short break from the neon and noise.  So here are our suggestions for some quiet things to do in Las Vegas:

Visit Las Vegas

There is far more to the Bellagiothan its Dancing Waters and casino.  The Bellagio, with a lobby ceiling adorned by a Dale Chihuly sculpture containing two thousand brilliantly colored hand-blown glass flowers, is a magnet for art lovers.  Eating in the Bellagio’s Picasso restaurantis more than a gourmet dining experience; it will immerse you in the hotel’s collection of original Picassos! But the Bellagio’s most spectacular artistic displays are in the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, where past exhibitions have treated visitors to the works of Andy Warhol and Monet, as well as delicate Faberge cigarette cases and jeweled eggs.

There are few Vegas attractions as haunting as the Tropicana’s “Titanic:  The Artifact Exhibition,” a 25,000 square foot display of hundreds of items salvaged from the legendary ocean liner which sank almost a century ago.  The exhibit actually includes an enormous section of the ship itself, and a full-sized replica of its Grand Staircase.  You’ll be even more impressed with how cold the night of April 15, 1912 actually was for the passengers of the Titanic when you stand on the recreated Promenade Deck and experience the same freezing temperatures as they did!

If you brought the kids along on your Las Vegas vacation, they’ll love a few hours at the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum.  At 22,000 square feet, it’s one of the largest children’s museums in the US, with exhibits planned to appeal to “kids” from pre-school to high-school! Little ones can try on future careers by working as grocery store clerks or bank employees, or sample the life of a desert miner.  The more active ones will love the Toddler Tower with its enormous Jungle Gym.  Older kids can try acting in their own short stories, or get a taste of rough weather in a hurricane chamber with wind speeds of up to 70 MPH.

Finally, for a look at the place where Las Vegas began, you can visit the 180-acre Springs Preserve.  While the springs for which it is named dried up in 1962, the Preserve has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and provides gardens, hiking trails, and exhibits designed for both education and recreation. Las Vegas is where it is because water once flowed in this place!

Now matter what you are looking for, Las Vegasis definitely the one place where you can find it all.

Visit the Grand Canyon next time you in Vegas

Here’s a tip: when you visit Las Vegas, you get a trip to Nevada thrown in at no extra charge.  So in the unlikely event that you get your fill of the neon and noise during your Las Vegas vacation, why not simply branch out from the strip and treat your self to a few hours or days indulging in a side trip? 

If you’ve never been to Hershey, PA, America’s Chocolate Town, you can do just as well for yourself with a visit to the Ethel M (Mars Chocolates) chocolate factory just six miles from the bustle of the Strip.  M&Ms, Mars Bars, Three Musketeers, Snickers…they’re all here, and your can see them being made on a ten-minute tour, after which you’ll be treated to a small sample of the factory’s product.

If you want to venture away from Las Vegas and into the wilds of the great state of Nevada, you can see one of the manmade wonders of the world on a visit to Hoover Dam.  Without Hoover Dam, which took more than five thousand laborers working around the clock for five years to complete in the 1930s, Las Vegas would have remained a patch of desert sand.   The tours of the Dam will take you down more than five hundred feet into its innards, where the turbines are, and then let you step outside and see the face of the dam looming above you.

A far more gigantic ( thanks to the erosive powers of the Colorado River over millions of years) attraction is the Grand Canyon, where you can spend as little as an afternoon or as long as you like before returning to Las Vegas.  You can arrive at the Canyon via tour bus or helicopter, or rent a car and drive yourself.  A bus tour to the Canyon will include your lunch, a tour of the paved areas of the Park, and possibly a flight over the canyon. 

The Red Rock Canyon, while it lacks the scale of the Grand Canyon, is a short drive outside of Vegas and a great place for hiking or horseback riding.  The Red Rock resort has a great spa at which you can be pampered for a few hours.

If you vacation in Las Vegas when there is snow on the mountain tops, think about a skiing break at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort , in the Spring Mountains about 45 minutes northwest of the Strip.

The next time you head for Vegas, why not think a bit larger?  There are plenty of Las Vegas side trips just waiting to expand your horizons!