10th Anniversary "No Show!" - (Part 3- Las Vegas)

We got a basic hotel room at a place that I've stayed at a few times, Main Street Station.  It is a clean place with a comfy bed, and was the best deal on lodging yet.  I used a promotion and got a 3-night stay for $70 total.  We ended up paying an extra $10 one night so we could have wifi, but all in all, Mrs. Frugalista did it again.  Excuse me while I pat myself on the back.

Our hotel was right next to the famous Fremont Street, so I took Steve to go see that.  The coolest thing we saw was a pigeon.  Yeah, Fremont Street has lots of "stuff," but if you're not into gambling, alcohol, or shopping, there's not too much to see, in the daytime, anyway.  The street lights up at night, but we went in the daytime.

It ended up being cheaper to eat the breakfast buffet where we were staying rather than go to IHOP, so that's what we ended up doing 2 of the 3 mornings.

Everything from Blintzes and bacon to miso soup and rice for breakfast.

The next day we were off to Henderson where we toured the Ethyl M. Chocolate factory (free).  The M. in her name stands for Mars, as in M&M/Mars company.  They had some tasty goods!

There's Ms. Ethyl M. herself.

The wallpaper looked edible.

If only...

There is also a beautiful cactus garden at the chocolate factory.  It was, however a sweltering 120 degrees outside (I'm not exaggerating), so we didn't stay out there very long.  And for those of you with young ones planning a trip there, a word of advice: I probably would not bring little kids here unless they are strapped to you the whole time and the weather is cooler.  These cactuses are so cool, they look like playthings, but I don't have to tell you that you wouldn't want to climb on them.

Don't sit there, Steve!

Don't taste that, Steve!

You can't really tell, but that is a big impressive plant.

There's an alien cactus sneaking up behind you!

We also visited the Clark County Museum.  Again, it was hot.  But it was COOL!  At least to us.  They have a street of historic homes that represent different decades in Clark County.  It was like going through a parade of homes but intertwined with history.

This is a jail cell where criminals were put to be humiliated and contained until they could be taken to a prison.  In 120 degree weather, I think Id' prefer death to that.

The historic leaning outhouse of Clark County, or something like that.

A Caterpillar Tractor from back in the day.  Almost looks like a "moss-covered-three-handled-family-gredunza."

Here's one of the homes:

And some of the old TVs from that last 100 years:

Our last day in Vegas, we got to experience some of the opulance of the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace.  We stopped by the chocolate shop of the famous Payard (is that even how you spell his last name?), and although it was incredibly tempting to try one of his specialties, we saved our money for the pricey fine-dining buffet, Bacchanal.

Steve and Mr. Payard both look a little disgusted by the prices of this fine chocolate.

The gears of this clock is made of chocolate.

Such a lucious-looking place.

Dessert anyone?  These treats looked so pretty!  I'm not supposed to have chocolate, but all I want is just one bite of each please...

Yes, there is real gold leaf on some of those.

You can't walk through the Bellagio without looking up.  It is such a pretty sight.

And they have a botanical garden inside with whimsical scenes.

The ceiling in the main entrance

I had so many pictures of the expensive buffet that I gave it a slideshow of it's own.  I must say it was a wonderful experience and certainly memorable.  Compared to the other expensive buffet I had in Vegas a few years ago at the M Resort, I think that I prefer the M Resort (plus they're a little cheaper), but they're both truly delicious.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that we went to the Mormon Fort Museum/State Park that morning.  It was intriguing.

Okay, then we went to the strip, stopping off at Caesar's Palace and Bellagio.  I have to say, the forum shops are dumb for folks like us that shop at thrift stores and sport hand-me-downs on a regular basis.  But, the ambiance created by the architecture is pretty neat.

The ceilings were painted like the sky and the shop fronts were Old World Mediterranian.

Yes, this picture is taken indoors.

Had to show you some hideous footwear, but it'll be all the rage in suburbia soon, I'm sure.  So, look for camo and gold studded silliness at a shoe store near you in the next year or two.

Studded sneakers anyone?  They cost a fortune.

There was an indoor aquarium with cool stingrays and other fish.

The gelato looked yummy.  Stop licking your screen.

Then we were supposed to watch our first Vegas show, Ka by Cirque du Soleil, as the big finale to our anniversary- but one of the performers died the day before, so the show was cancelled.  It was really unfortunate for them, and quite uncommon for something like that to occur, God rest her soul.  Really too bad.

We did, however, have a lot of fun and we were exhausted from a week of sightseeing, so although our finale was a "no show," our ten year celebration was incredibly memorable!