Las Vegas - day 1

Two weeks ago we went to Las Vegas for the first time and we had a ball. I think we'll go back again, if only to do all the things we didn't get to on this trip. We flew out of Houston on Southwest and got the exit row, so good start = good trip, right?

We stayed at The Signature at MGM Grand. It was awesome! The Signature is a non-gaming hotel, and all non smoking. It's connected to MGM by tunnels you walk through that have a series of moving sidewalks to get you where you want to go. Quiet, comfortable, and we had everything we needed - fully stocked kitchen, lots of thick towels, June Jacobs spa collection shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion, two white bathrobes, mounds of pillows, luxurious bedding, helpful concierge, good housekeeping, valet parking...you name it, they can get it for you. Beautiful suite - granite counters, large showers (there are 2 bathrooms in the One Bedrm Suite - one off the living area and another off the bedroom) great appliances in the kitchen, large jetted tub in one bath, and wonderful storage - his & hers closets, room safe etc. Yes, we did have to walk a bit to get to MGM but the moving walkways helped and it was good not to have to walk in the heat. All parking was valet - if you called down, your car would be waiting when you stepped out the door. I am still stunned at how quiet our room was, and the king-size bed was perfection. With the Signature, you can use their pools or the MGM pools too, I think there were about 6 including the lazy river. We were in Tower One; I took video of our suite and if I can ever get it uploaded to youtube, I'll post it here. We got a free upgrade because of a birthday promotion. In the meantime, here's a few shots:

After we checked in and walked through MGM, we decided to wander out onto the strip and through the crowd. The heat hits you in the face like a brick oven, so we caught a bus (the Deuce) and rode down to The Mirage for dinner. Once we were on, it was cool enough, but we found out that the bus (really, all traffic on the strip) is just very slow going. After dinner we saw the volcano erupt at Mirage and the fountains at The Bellagio. Both were just OK, once is enough. We also shopped at The Forum Shoppes in Caesar's Palace. Even though I had seen pictures, it's hard to process how palatial it all is before being there. We walked back to our hotel....maybe not the smartest thing, since the guys who advertise porn line up on some of the sidewalks, and oh, have I mentioned how HOT it was?? In any case, we were pooped, but we made it back to the hotel and fell into bed. More to come.