Las Vegas

[Kristie]

So we went back up to Las Vegas this past weekend and stayed at Excalibur...

this time around (approx 6 months since we'd last been there), there were a heck of a lot more families (ie: kids) at excalibur than before... no longer was it just the ching of slot machines, it was also ablur with crying and kids running rampant etc...

Not a bad casino to stay at because the rooms are pretty nice and it's cheaper than the other casino's... but when you want to get away from the kids and "everyday life"... it may not be the place you want to stay...

don't get me wrong, i have nothing against kids.. but just saying.. if you want to get "away" stay elsewhere than circus circus and excalibur!

other than that, we went to the Paris buffet and again, it was incredible.. good food all around but you'll pay more for it...after all, the pars buffet is worth the extra $$...

overall, we really like the paris casino.. it has great ambiance, french speaking people (if you know french) and they have awesome lounge bands!! their rooms are a bit more expensive, but i've heard its not a bad place to stay...

we ate at the Treasure Island buffet for dinner one night as well, as altho it was cheaper, they had less of a selection and less flavor.. wasn't too pleased with them this time around..

We had breakfast/lunch at the excalibur buffet.. not bad for the price - better than TI believe it or not...

by now, we've pretty much tried all of the buffets along the 4 corners area of the strip.. so if you have any questions, let me know.

we drove up from PHX and of course, had to stop at the hoover dam...the high side of the dam is super super low... photos are at the bottom of the writeup...I have more than just the one, if you want to see more, let me know....it's amazing how low the water is!

other than that, we learned how to play craps this time and yes, you do win more if you bet more (like a $10 table vs a $5 table).. but you'll also lose quicker! haha overall, we actually came out ahead this trip... we paid for the trip and took some home!

My sister is hopefully coming out here in a few weeks (if we don't go overseas) and they definately want to hit vegas again.. at least we'll know where to take them!

Photos:
Hoover Dam (normal water level is at the top of the white line) - yes, that is a boat in the middle...
[img:a121d73dd3]http://www.fcapa.org/images/lasvegas2004/realistichoover.jpg[/img:a121d73dd3]

Doug and I in our room
[img:a121d73dd3]http://www.fcapa.org/images/lasvegas2004/hotelphoto.jpg[/img:a121d73dd3]

The Family (including Egmont the travel duck)...We got Egmont on our last trip in Brussels - to remind us to travel more often.. so we now take him with us and are creating an "Egmont the Travel Duck" website for his worldly travels
[img:a121d73dd3]http://www.fcapa.org/images/lasvegas2004/travelfamily.jpg[/img:a121d73dd3]

A photo I shot on the way back right outside of Kingman, AZ - layers in the rock shows that there was a major flood at some point because you can see the settlement buildup in the layers (I imagine there are a lot of fossils there).
[img:a121d73dd3]http://www.fcapa.org/images/lasvegas2004/bigflood.jpg[/img:a121d73dd3]