Day one and we check into the Venetian, our very (in Hayden’s words) “fancy hotel” and then hit the Strip to check it out by day and to let the boys get to know what was where! Back to the room for a quick refresh before a brisk 30 minute walk to the Hard Rock Hotel for our first Vegas show - Raiding the Rock Vault.
What a great show! Lots of former members of 70s and 80s bands, performing classic rock hits from across 4 decades and some absolutely amazing voices. Could easily go and watch it over and over as the energy was just phenomenal and the artists so talented.
Next day we left Hayden to his own devices (translation he slept all day), while Brendon and I cycled through the Valley of Fire - about 1 hour’s drive out of Vegas in what is touted as Nevada’s first State Park. Thankfully it is not affected by the partial government shutdown and we could ride our roadies to our heart’s content - or at least until our legs gave out - this is some seriously hilly country but for every muscle-screaming hill was the reward of picturesque and breath-taking vistas over every ride. If you’ve ever watched Transformers the movie, some scenes were filmed here and they were also the inspiration for Radiatir Springs in the Cars movie.
Brendon has been pretty crook the last few days so we took it easy in the park and didn’t get to see anywhere near as much as we wanted but again, it means we have something to aim for when we come back this way - with a bit more hiking involved.
Afternoon spent recovering before venturing to Downtown Vegas - the old strip where the original casinos all stood - Fremont Street. The Fremont Street Experience has rejuvenated downtown and offers 4 stages of live entertainment, Ziplines, casinos, and people-watching like nowhere else in the world.
Showed the boys the Heart Attack Grill, where they got the chance to watch a customer being paddled for not eating all of his dinner (I don’t think they really believed me until they saw it for themselves), played a bit of corn hole in a free fun park (more to come on corn hole when we introduce it to Oz) and rocked it in the street to a cool local band - Alter Ego, before our second show, Friends the Musical Parody.
Now I have sat through my fair share of shows, some good, some not so much. So when I tell you that after two songs and some really overacting, I was wondering how I would make it through the first act to interval. Thankfully after some really painful dialog, more overacting, really poor character acting and more singing, I turned to the boys and said “let’s go watch Alter Ego” and they didn’t even bat an eyelid. In fact they may well have breathed a sigh of relief as we left. My only comment is a Chandler Bing quote when Joey asked him what he thought of his show - “Awful, just awful, man”.
Day 3 in Vegas and we left the city to explore the West Rim of the Grand Canyon, including Eagle Rest, Guano Point and the Hualapai Ranch via the Hoover Dam and a Native American outpost store.
Another bucket list item ticked off. The Grand Canyon was originally called the Big Canyon but was renamed- as it should be - the grandeur of this place is indescribable. Photos cannot do justice to this place. The sheer size, the colours, the history, the indigenous peoples - it all just melds together to capture the imagination and draw you in.
Following that long day, Hayden and I left Brendon at the hotel for a rest and returned to Fremont Street for some more music and to take on the Slotzilla Zoomline - where we ziplined from 11 storeys high the length of the Fremont Street Experience - about 60 seconds of lining - superhero style. Pretty proud of Hayden who conquered his fear of heights to ride - a huge adrenaline rush that resulted in stupid grins on our faces for the rest of the night - final vegas night was a success.
Tomorrow it’s a new city for me as we discover San Francisco. Can’t wait - as long as we survive the two flights to get there - but more on that tomorrow!
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