I was, as usual, up too early. I facebooked and enjoyed the peace before waking Nick up to get moving. We had another busy day of vacation ahead of us!
We got moving and headed for our first stop, breakfast at Peppermill. Initially I had planned to rope drop breakfast here; they open at 7, but we got here closer to 7:20. That was fine though, they hadn’t filled up yet. I’d read that Peppermill is a bit of a Las Vegas institution, and I sort of liked the fact that they didn’t require (or even take) reservations, and the breakfast menu was solid.
Breakfast here was great! Mine involved eggs, chicken sausage, and a lemon cranberry muffin that was AMAZING! Nick's breakfast involved french toast and was also fantastic. The servings here were large and the restaurant filled up quickly. Service was extremely efficient and friendly. I'd eat at Peppermill again.
Once we were done breakfast, we hopped in the car (Peppermill was NOT a realistic walk from the hotel), and programmed the GPS to our next destination.
It was a relatively easy 30ish minute drive to Red Rock Canyon. Once there we switched drivers so that I could take pictures while Nick drove the scenic loop. The road here is curvy and hilly and he loved driving it. And I loved the views. We both did! We stopped at the bulk of the viewpoints. It was a beautiful way to spend a morning!
Fun facts: Red Rock Canyon requires timed entry passes from roughly October-May. It’s operated by the Bureau of Land Management, which is federal, so you can use your National Parks pass here, which, if you’re doing a trip like we did, is a given that you should have. When I got my timed entry pass, there was an option to present an interagency annual pass at the entrance. So I only had to pay the $2 processing fee, and then show my pass along with my printed (because there is HORRIFIC cell service in Red Rock Canyon) entry QR code at the entrance.
Once we’d completed the scenic loop, and I’d griped once more about the fact that the visitors center opens after the first timed entry passes, and the only entrance to it is from the start of the scenic loop and not the end (don’t these people know that if there's an ornament in the gift shop, I WILL buy it, and they’re missing out on financial support opportunities?!), we headed back toward Vegas.
Next stop? The Mob Museum. This was excellent. Actually it was slightly information overload. But it was extremely well done, and was not exclusive to Vegas. As New Englanders, we immediately recognized all things Whitey Bulger. And with a family friend that had been pretty high up in the Teamsters, there was plenty on Mr. Hoffa to keep me engaged too. This stop was mainly for Nick, but we both found it interesting and worthwhile. And if you’re not interested in mob history, there’s a bar in the basement that sells (and serves) moonshine that they make there. Yes, we brought home a couple minis.
After learning about mob history, we headed back to the Bellagio, where we tried the barcode in my MGM app to get into the parking garage. It worked! Phew! Now I could easily park over at the Mirage tonight, despite the issues I was having with my key in the parking garage. If you’re staying at an MGM property you have reciprocal parking privileges at other MGM properties, which was going to be very helpful.
We headed back to the room, changed shoes and then headed off in search of the Aria Express tram. This departs from the back of the Bellagio, which was about a million miles from our room. But, we got to see a whole nother part of the resort which was cool. The trams arrive every few minutes and are free. We didn’t have to wait long before we were in our own tram car that was big enough for a dance party. It was VERY clean, and a quick ride over to Park MGM, two stops away. And no, I have no idea how I caught Nick actually smiling in a picture.
Once we got to Park MGM, we made our way to Eataly. Eataly has both a sit down restaurant and an Italian food court. I’d heard good things about the one in Boston, but we hate Boston, so when I found out there was one in Vegas, I put it on the list. I was pretty excited to eat here. Once we arrived and Nick really realized what it was, he was excited too. We divided and conquered, with him getting ravioli from the pasta stall and me getting a prosciutto and mozzarella panini from the street food stall. Both were excellent, but I, hands down, had the better lunch (which I failed to take a picture of). I’d definitely eat at an Eataly again!
Park MGM was right by the M&M store and the Hershey store, so we paid a visit to both, along with a couple other stores. Nick got himself some milkshake in the Hershey store and we found some candies to find online for less money and enjoyed the photo opps. We hadn’t yet made it this far down the Strip.
Once we were done shopping, we headed back to the tram and made our way back to the Bellagio. Nick headed back to the room for a nap, and I did some picture taking around the resort. This really is a beautiful place when you get away from the casino.
Picture taking complete, I headed back to the room to relax for a bit before it was time to get ready for the evening. It was our last night in Vegas, so we were doing sort of a fancy night out. Like…I put on a dress…
Once ready, we hopped in the car and drove over to Mirage. Their parking garage is not nearly as high tech as the one at the Bellagio, but we got in with the app barcode and found a parking spot despite the lack of Disney Springs style empty space green lights that the Bellagio has, so all was good. We parked and then walked over to Capital Grille for dinner, about a block away. Nick’s work friends who go to Vegas regularly had told him about this place, and the previously mentioned family friend who knows his food regularly eats at a Capital Grille on the east coast, so we had high hopes for this one.
We were seated at a great table, with a view of the north (I think) part of the Strip. Our server was excellent. I had a margarita, Nick had a spin on an old fashioned, I think. I had the citrus glazed salmon and he had a filet. We split a side of au gratin potatoes. The potatoes were not nearly cheesy enough, or at least, didn’t use anything that we considered to be a real cheese flavor, but my salmon and his filet were both excellent. Then we split a coconut cream pie for dessert., which was amazing It was an excellent meal, and basically the chain version of the steakhouse we’ve been to with my dad here in NH, which is not a bad thing at all.
Once dinner was complete, we walked back to the Mirage. Since I was wearing a dress, I was wearing dressy sandals, which never work out well for me. While I was adult enough to not look in the restaurant at the bottom of my foot, I’d already figured out that in the block walk from Mirage to Capital Grille, the heat (ok, the sweat) hadn’t worked out well with the smooth footbed and I’d formed a blister under one of my feet. While walking back to Mirage, I could feel it pop. While this meant instant relief, it also meant a wet sandal. YUCK. And more importantly…it meant a blister right before the outdoorsy part of the trip began. CRAP.
We made it back to the Mirage, which, for kind of a bland building, had a really fun front. And by that I mean I liked the palm trees and the dolphin statues!
We found our way to the theater and got ready for the Beatles: Love Cirque du Soleil show. I enjoy Beatles music so I was pretty excited about this. Nick was mostly along for the ride!
And a ride it was! We had great seats! Obviously, I loved the music. The storyline is a bit…lacking…and as with anything involving that era the costuming was a bit of a mind*&!@, but overall, it was a good show. The acrobatic stunts were wild, and the performers were really talented. I enjoyed it. Not enough to see it again, but I’m glad I went. Nick appreciated the talent, but I’m pretty sure he was not thrilled I dragged him to that one.
Once the show ended, we found our way back to the car and went back to the hotel. After a shower, I enjoyed one more evening of watching the fountains, before crashing hard for the night. Have I mentioned the Bellagio had a really comfortable bed and really outstanding blackout curtains?
If the gift shop is at the beginning of the scenic LOOP, wouldn't it also be at the end of the loop?
ReplyDeleteYou would think so, but it's a one way and more of an open loop rather than a closed loop
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