Sigo Journeys-- Where to Next?

Perhaps the Las Vegas wedding industry achieved its peak operational efficiency between 9 p.m. and midnight of August 26, 1965, an otherwise unremarkable Thursday that happened to be, by presidential order, the last day on which anyone could improve his draft status merely by getting married.
~ Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion

Las Vegas was a destination wedding location for my friends Kayla and Milton. It was a nice excuse to get away, especially falling on Labor Day weekend. We love Vegas for all it has to offer (E enjoys the gambling more than I do). It is always nice to savor a wonderful meal and see a Broadway show, all while enjoying the dynamic surroundings.

Sat, 9/1: We arrived in Vegas in the morning and headed to Red Rock Canyon. Red Rock is located just a few miles west of Las Vegas and encompasses 197,000 acres within the Mojave Desert.

The Red Rock area was located under a deep ocean basin during the Paleozoic Era 600 million years ago. The decaying ocean and marine life formed sediments up to 9,000 feet thick at the seafloor. This sediment eventually formed into limestone.

It was an amazing sight. The drive is a one-way loop road that is 13 miles long. It was a great way to get a glimpse of history right outside the Las Vegas Strip.

After getting 90 minute massages at the local Massage Envy (I love that franchise!), we drove towards the Strip. The Flamingo hotel just upgraded some floors to include the new GO room. It is a truly decadent room that was decorated in the colors of hot pink and brown (think of Neopolitan ice cream.) The bathroom even had a in-mirror TV where we could watch television while showering! Our room overlooked the Bellagio fountains and we were able to get a wonderful view of the water show, especially at night.

Always in the mood for a good steak, we heard about a Las Vegas favorite: The Steakhouse. It has been voted Best Steakhouse for many years. We were thinking it would be located on the Strip in a new, upscale resort. Surprisingly, it is in Circus Circus. Our overall experience at the Steakhouse was wonderful. We were happy that we made reservations, because the place was packed with what appeared to be locals. What a great find.

We had 8 PM show tickets to "The Producers." Tony Danza would be taking on the role of Max Bialystock. The show was shortened slightly for the Las Vegas stage, but it was definitely not noticeable, and we enjoyed the show. It was definitely not a show that showcased the performers' voices like "Phantom," but the plot line was clever. I could take or leave Tony Danza as Max. Unlike when we saw "Chicago" in London, where Brooke Shields played Roxie Hart. Her voice was great, and rivaled some of the other performers.

Sun, 9/2
E has never had an In-N-Out burger, so I decided to initiate him into the club. We had tried to go once when we were in Arizona, but the one chance we got to head out there, the place was closed! So we trekked out again to try our chances. In-N-Out's "thing" is that nothing is ever frozen (neither the patties or fries) and everything is prepared fresh. E agreed that it was a great burger. For me, it brought back some great memories from when I was at Andersen. It was definitely worth the trip!

The wedding was held at Caesar's Palace, with the reception at Joe's. The ceremony was beautiful and we were so happy for our friends. I shed some tear several times during the night.

Mon, 9/3
It was our last day in Vegas and we just wanted to veg. We enjoyed our dinner so much last night, that we decided to head back there for another round! We enjoyed some of their famous stone crab claws! Afterwards, we partook in some gaming before heading home...