January 23, 2008

Hello!

I am going to be catching up on our trip now,
the Holidays set me back a bit!

After that crazy drive through Jerome, AZ we
were hungry! So we stopped to eat at the Road
Kill Cafe in Seligman, AZ. It is on Historic Rte
66, which used to be the main road going
east/west in the US, and has sooo much history.
The Road Kill Cafe has a very strange menu....I
had Run Down Cow, which was a hamburger. There is
a picture here of the outside of the Cafe,
complete with tumbleweeds under the truck? It was
sooo windy, the tumbleweeds were blowing all over
the road! A couple of times they blew right in
front of the windshield, completely blocking my
view of the road.

We tried to drive to Hoover Dam, because it is
a great thing to see, but the road was closed to
trucks and RV's because of construction! So we
had to go to Kingman, AZ and then to Boulder
City, Nevada, where we spent the night.

On Sunday, Dec 2, we drove into Las Vegas,
Nevada. We got stuck in a traffic jam on the
way - I think there was a big accident. It took
us 2 hours to go 2.5 miles....then we got off the
Interstate and went right onto "the Strip". The
strip is 6 lanes wide in some places and usually
full of traffic! Eeeeek! How come I keep driving
in the cities?

Anyway, we were there (on the strip) because
there are several campgrounds in Vegas, but only
one on the strip, and it is a KOA at the
hotel Circus Circus.

At the hotel Circus Circus there are live
circus acts that you can watch all day long. You
can see clowns, acrobats, trapeze artists,
tightrope walkers and lots more for free! Of
course you have to sit and wait for each act to
appear - and it often takes an hour between acts,
so mostly people watch one or two acts and then
go on to something else.

While we were in Las Vegas we went to some
shows that were in town - we went to the NY NY
Hotel and saw a Cirque de Soleil show, Zumanity.
It is advertised as being the ultimate Cirque
show....emphasizing human behavior, sensuality,
etc. Well, I have to tell you that I was a bit
disappointed. Cirque de Soleil is known for
showcasing some of the best circus type acts in
the world - and they have several wonderful shows
in Vegas, 5 I think. Zumanity was superb circus
acts, done in the nude, or the women topless -
and, frankly, I could really care less about the
clothing, but the in-between banter was banal at
best - and it could have been so well
done.....the funny thing is that it is a show
sold out for weeks in advance, probably because
of the "sensual" nature of the show....and we
lucked into tickets, but the reviewers are now
saying it is over the top. Live and learn, I
recommend KA if you go to Vegas and want to see
the Cirque!

The NY NY hotel has a roller coaster that goes
all the way through the hotel, and outside to
make a loop, then back into the lobby!
That is very cool!

The next night we went to the Wynn Hotel and
saw a show called Spamalot, which was a spoof of
Monty Python's Holy Grail, it was a good time,
well done. We didnt have dinner that night until
10 pm - but in Las Vegas all the buffets are open
late!

We went the next day to a Japanese restaurant
called Hyankumi at Caesars Palace Hotel. They
serve in the teppanyaki style. The chef(s) at
your table cutting the shrimp, vegetables and
steak in front of you. If the table is big enough
there are two chefs, and they cook right at your
table. When a piece of steak or brocolli is done
they take their knife and flip the food right
through the air and onto your plate! Sometimes
they ask you if you can catch it in your mouth! I
couldnt catch any food flipped through the air,
but I bet Allie could!

Anyway, Vegas is full of things to see and do -
there were water fountains that play with
classical music, moving statues that tell the
story of Ancient Rome, and then there were the
"extreme rides" at the Stratosphere Hotel.

We went to the Stratosphere late at night. The
Stratosphere is a building like the Needle in
Seattle, Washington - really tall with a
needle-like top that you can ride elevators up
into. So, we were about 50 stories up in the
air and then we found out that there were 3
amusemant park-type rides at the very top! Well,
since we both like roller coasters we were
curious!

We bought tickets to all three rides without
looking. The first one was like a rocket ship -
you were strapped into seats, and then you shot
up in the air to the top of the needle! Down
again, then up again! I knew what kind of ride
it was so I was pretty OK with it all. Ken had
never been on a ride like that before, so he was
screaming out loud when we shot up in the air
the first time, and he said he kept his eyes
closed!

The second ride was like a roller coaster - you
got into 2-person seats that were set up like a
train, one car behind another, and on a track.
What I didnt know was that the train track went
out over the edge of the building 15 feet - and
50+ stories in the air!!!! I screamed on that
ride and Ken was just joyfully yelling
"whoooooppppiiiieeee" !!!!

So then we had to decide if we were really
brave enough to get on the third ride.....and we
decided yes! We still did not know what it
looked like! Well we got on, it was a series of 2
person seats in a circle - and it fit 16 people,
but there were only 4 of us on the ride. So, it
sort of looked like a spider. I knew after
sitting down in the seat that it was a ride that
opens out - the seats are on the end of arms that
spread out open wide and then spin around. I
love that ride on the ground! The problem was
that we were not on the ground!

And, yes, the ride opened up into the spinning
spider over the edge of the building! Ken kept
his eyes open the whole time! He said it was
really cool to watch all the lights from Las
Vegas! I had to close my eyes. It was a bit much
thinking about being that far up... (-:

When we were done, we both thought it was
really fun, but wished we had seen what it was
before we went!

So here are some pictures of Allie and me at
the campground. Allie had to get a new feathered
boa and sunglasses to wear. If you look at the
tall, tall building behind us, you will see the
Stratosphere, which is the one with the rides
on the top!

We got sunglasses for all the kids for the
Holidays at Circus Circus! You will see those
pictures soon!

Love from,

Mindy, Ken and Allie!!!!