|
June 18-28, 2019 Vegas Vacation: (116 Photos) |
|
116. Leaving St. John's on a foggy day is a pretty common occurrence in June. Today Sandra and I are headed west for our annual getaway someplace warm, this year we are going back to sin city, Las Vegas!
115.
114. Our West Jet flight took us nonstop to Calgary for a couple hour layover where we cleared customs and grabbed a bite to eat before the final leg to Vegas.
113.
112. We arrived in Las Vegas around suppertime (or thereabouts) local time, grabbed our bags and headed to the Uber pick up zone for the ride downtown.
111. On this adventure we decided to get away from the strip and stay in downtown Vegas proper staying at the Plaza. This hotel is situated on Main Street right at the end of the Freemont Street Experience.
110. It would prove to be an excellent decision as unlike the strip, there's lots to see, do and eat with only a short walk. Everything on the strip is so big that it's always quite a hike to get anywhere, while visiting the strip is only a short bus ride away. Night time on Freemont street brings endless entertainment, bands, and people watching right at our doorstep. Great places to eat such as Main Street Station and Pizza Rock are only a block or two away.
109. Our first night in Vegas was pretty quiet with a game of bingo, checking out Freemont Street bands & shops and later back to our hotel. Our room was fantastic, the hotel had been recently refreshed and was up kept as good as any brand new structure.
108. Our first full day in town started with breakfast at the Brightside in our hotel. The food was fantastic, price decent and service amazing and included free coffee refills all day long.
107. Temps today were hot, nearing 40 degrees C, Vegas is also very dry so it's pretty comfortable and not sweaty/sticky heat. You have to stay hydrated so drinking lots of water is important during outside activities. Our first morning was spent poolside at the Plaza relaxing in loungers that are half submerged in the pool.
106.
105.
104.
103. Main Street Station is about a block away and is a great place to visit. It's decorated beautifully like an early 1900's train station and food there is absolutely amazing and fairly priced. We will be frequenting the Triple Seven restaurant and the buffet there on this trip.
102. Construction on the new Circa Resort (which sits on the site of the former Las Vegas Club) is well underway and is slated to be open sometime next year.
101.
100.
99.
98.
97. Freemont street is always packed, but the nightlife is next level. There are three separate stages all filled with great live bands. They are so far apart that they don't overlap or interrupt each other giving show goers a wide variety of entertainment just a quick walk up the street.
96.
95.
94.
93.
92. Freemont Street Experience is currently upgrading the already amazing overhead display with modern high definition LED panels. The difference between this new section and the old section below is spectacular. The new section is brighter and much clearer than the old.
91.
90.
89. This evening we decided to stop into White Castle to see if it lived up to the hype. Service was great for such a busy location but I have to say I wasn't a fan of the steam cooked mini burgers. They just seemed slimy and unpleasant compared to great burgers I've had elsewhere.
88. Thursday morning we hopped on the SDX bus (Strip Downtown Express) and headed down the strip to Fashion Show Mall. I wanted to check out Dick's Sporting Goods for some new Sea to Summit camping gear.
87.
86. In Vegas the SDX are the sleek double long buses (pictured above) that run from the South Outlets to the North Outlets. They connect points all along the strip and downtown but make only 1/3 the stops as the Deuce. The Deuce busses (also pictured - green - above) are double deckers that run from downtown and up the strip making all stops along the way. $20USD will get you a 3-day unlimited ride pass for all busses in the transit system.
85.
84. We made it to Dick's but I was disappointed to find very little of what I was looking for during this visit but the selection of other products including Under Armour and Yeti was amazing.
83.
82.
81. Leaving Fashion Show mall we headed south towards Treasure Island as we've never been there and we wanted to get a slot machine cash-out slip to add to our growing collection of cash-out vouchers from all the casinos.
80.
79.
78.
77. Leaving there we hopped back on the SDX and headed to the South Outlets for more retail therapy looking for some great deals on clothes.
76. That night we were back at the Plaza for a game of bingo which is fun and easy with the electronic machines. Plus you get free drinks while you play, the Bloody Mary's were awesome.
75. After Googling great pizza downtown we came across Pizza Rock which had great reviews. It's one block south opposite the third stage on Freemont Street and we were not disappointed.
74.
73.
72. Our Pizza Rock slices were stacked with toppings and still good and warm when we made it back to our hotel room. Highly recommended!
71. Friday morning was another scorcher so we spent the morning at the pool before getting ready to head to Planet Hollywood mid afternoon for the Rob Thomas concert in Zappos Theatre.
70. The timing of this trip was booked around this one night concert which is a part of Rob's Chipped Tooth North American Tour. It was cheaper to vacation in Vegas for a week to see this concert than it was to stay four days in Toronto for the same show!
69. We got to Planet Hollywood good and early so we could get something to eat, check out the casino and the Miracle Mile Shops.
68.
67. Ramsey Burger was super busy so we checkout out this sandwich shop, the Earl of Sandwich and we were very glad we did. Our sandwiches were absolutely amazing, it was hard to imagine that something as simple as a sandwich could taste so great!
66. After our snack it was time to find our seats at Zappos Theatre.
65.
64.
63. The concert was amazing, Rob performed a great mix of his own music as well as Matchbox 20 classics!
62.
61.
60. Saturday we headed to the North Outlets which was just a short bus ride away from Freemont Street. Unlike the South outlets which are totally indoors like a traditional mall, the South outlets have outdoor common areas. Overall we found the shopping experience and deals better here at the North Outlets.
59.
58.
Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith |
