Welcome to PART 1 of this Las Vegas, Nevada Trip Report series! If you haven’t read my introduction to this trip report series, you can find it here. That introduction just goes over why I chose to go to Las Vegas and what went into planning the trip. This is the first actual installment of the series that will focus on our day exploring the Las Vegas Strip, so I hope you enjoy it!
Let’s end the small intro here and just get right to the report!
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Follow the Grey Paved Road
Our journey to Vegas started in Los Angeles on Friday the 21st of March. We decided to break up the trip to Vegas by driving in two segments, with us sleeping in Barstow after driving about 40% of the way to Vegas. We did this so that we weren’t exhausted for our full day in Vegas on Saturday.
The drive to Barstow took us through the Angeles National Forest. It was a really pretty drive full of mountain views. It took us about 2-2 ½ hours to get through the forest and end up in Barstow. It was a fun drive, and we got to the motel at around 8pm. We planned to wake up at 5am to get back on the road at 6am, so once we arrived at the motel we changed into our PJs and went to sleep.
We woke up bright and early the next day and then continued our drive to Vegas. I will say, the drive to Vegas is…kind of boring. Aside from Angeles National Forest, there isn’t that much to see other than open desert. Some of it was pretty, but most of it was rather dull and repetitive.
So we followed the Grey-paved road in front of us until we got to the California – Nevada border. Right at the border were some casinos and hotels that honestly looked abandoned. I doubt anyone actually stays in these hotels. We took a pit stop here on our way back to LA and it was a ghost town. Granted we went back on a Monday, but still.
After crossing the border, we exited the freeway to head to our first major tourist attraction of the day: Seven Magic Mountains.
Magic Mountains (That Aren’t Six Flags)
As we drove closer to Seven Magic Mountains, we could see the colorful stacks of boulders rising up from the desert. It honestly looked kind of small and underwhelming from afar, but once we got closer and the beauty of these boulders came into view, I was able to appreciate them a lot more.
The Seven Magic Mountains are a public art work made by Ugo Rondinone. Envisioned to be a critique of Las Vegas, the artwork consists of locally sourced boulders painted different fluorescent colors and stacked one on top of the other. The totems all stand between 30 and 35 feet tall and are supposed to evoke the art of meditative rock balancing.
I didn’t realize how enormous these rocks were until we were standing right beside them. They were huge! My favorite of the totems had to be the one that was made up of monotone colors. I thought this was a nice little roadside attraction that you should definitely see on the way to Vegas if you have time to spare.
I snapped a couple of photos of the mountains, got a few photos of myself in front of the boulders, and then we made our way back to our car so that we could head out of the plain desert and into the main area of Vegas: the world-famous Strip. But first, we’re going to stop at a pretty iconic place in Vegas: the Las Vegas sign.
The Most Touristy Photo of All
After driving for about 20 minutes, the Strip started to come into view. It materialized in front of me like a mirage, and suddenly I got incredibly excited. I had always wanted to visit this city and I was finally here. It all felt so surreal. I was counting my lucky stars at that moment that I finally made it to one of my top bucket list cities.
We didn’t go down the Strip yet, however, as there was one place I wanted to visit before we explored the Strip. We made our way to the south side of the Strip and pulled into the parking lot of the Vegas sign! It’s crazy that this sign has its own parking lot, but that’s a testament to how iconic this sign is. Designed by Western Neon designer Betty Willis, the sign was made for an estimated $4000 and was installed in 1959.
When we arrived at the sign, the parking lot was almost full. But we were lucky that a car was pulling out just as we were pulling in. We then walked to the back of the line for the sign. It honestly didn’t take that long to reach the sign as I thought it would. We got our photos after waiting about 15 minutes in line. When we left, however, the line to take a photos with the sign was even longer than when we first lined up.
We then got back into our car and headed to our next destination for the day.
A Massive Arcade
Our next destination was the Pinball Hall of Fame. Located inside a huge warehouse, the Pinball Hall of Fame is a non-profit, hands-on museum that is fully staffed by volunteers. It’s located a one-minute drive from the Las Vegas sign and is free to enter (although you’ll have to shell out some money to play on the pinball machines).
They’ve got pinball machines from every era, from the earliest days of pinball machines to the present. The highlight for me was getting to play on the really old pinball machines that looked like they belonged in a 1950s diner. They also had modern pinball machines with themes like The Avengers and Spider-Man, and they even had ones themed to TV shows like Lost and 24.
After parking and waiting for them to open, we went inside the Pinball Hall of Fame at 10am. We exchanged some money for quarters and began playing. They apparently have over 700 pinball machines from different eras. I played some games on Star Wars, Marvel, and Indiana Jones themed machines. I also tried my hand on the old pinball machines, as well as on some of the other arcade games they had.
After playing games for about an hour, we then left so we could park our car at our hotel and explore the Strip.
Checking In (Sort Of)
For this trip we were staying at the Bellagio, which has always been my dream hotel to stay at in Vegas. Their fountain show is a legendary Vegas attraction, so I was glad we made the decision to stay here.
The Bellagio is built on the site that used to be home to Dunes Hotel and Casino. Steve Wynn and his company Mirage Resorts bought Dunes in the 1990s and began work to transform it into a new hotel and casino destination. It was announced in 1994 that the resort would be called Beau Rivage and would be a French themed resort. That idea was quickly replaced by a concept called Bellagio, based on the town of the same name located in Lake Como.
The hotel was designed by Jon Jerde and construction began on November 1st, 1995. It was built at a cost of $1.6 billion, making it the most expensive resort at the time. MGM owned the property until 2019 when Blackstone bought it from them. They still operate the property to this day, however, through a lease agreement.
It was a few hours before check in time, but the hotel offered free parking for guests so we decided to stash the car there while we walked up and down the Strip exploring the different hotels and casinos. We quickly got in line to enter the parking garage and parked on the second floor.
We then made our way out of the garage and into the lobby of the hotel. The lobby was absolutely gorgeous, and the casino was literally steps away from the lobby. It was grand, colorful, bright, and a little bit overwhelming (but in a good way). We then exited the hotel and I got my first look at the Strip.
And wow was it more gorgeous than I thought it was going to be! I understand why people think Vegas feels so “fake”. I admit, with all the places that cater to tourists, the Strip can feel a little artificial. But you can’t deny that it’s a visually stunning place.
Seeing the Eiffel Tower, the New York New York, the Luxor, and the other casinos and hotels all competing for your attention can be overwhelming, but a lot of Vegas is overwhelming. The best you can do is soak it all in and get immersed in the kitchiness of it all. That’s what I did, and I think doing that greatly enhanced my experience
The first stop in our tour of the Strip was the nearby Cosmopolitan, which was where we had our first drink of the trip!
I…Wanna Swing…from the Chandelier!
The Cosmopolitan is another hotel and casino owned by Blackstone but operated by MGM. Announced in 2004 with construction starting in 2007, The Cosmopolitan was built for an estimated $3.9 billion dollars. This made it the most expensive Strip hotel and casino built up to that point. Blackstone sold the operations of the resort to MGM in 2022.
Entering the Cosmopolitan, we immediately walked through the casino towards the escalators to get us to the bar. This was my first experience of a Vegas casino, and I immediately understood why some people can just disappear into the gambling of it all. Stories of people spending countless days and nights in casinos without ever seeing the sun suddenly made sense. It was exciting, being in that environment.
We then made our way to the third floor and entered the Chandelier bar. We were quickly brought to a table in the middle of the bar. There weren’t that many people in the bar (probably because it was midday). We then ordered our drinks, which came pretty quickly.
Now I have something to confess: while I took photos of every single drink, I cannot for the life of me remember the names of the drinks I got. I have a photo of it, however, so maybe one of you alcohol connoisseurs can help me remember what drink I got here.
After downing our drinks in about 30 minutes, we continued out of the Cosmopolitan and made our way to the New York New York.
The Roughest Coaster in New York
As we walked to the New York New York, we made our way past the Waldorf Astoria. Passing by its glamorous towers, we were soon on the grounds of the New York New York. Mimicking the Manhattan Skyline, the New York New York has recreations of famous New York City landmarks and buildings, including the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.
It used to be the tallest structure in the state of Nevada until the Wynn was completed in 2005. Construction started in 1995 and it was opened in 1997. A roller coaster called the Big Apple can be found on the outside of the facade. We headed to the New York New York specifically for the roller coaster.
We entered the casino of the hotel looking for the arcade which was where the coaster was located. On the way we walked through the casino grounds, passing by what felt like a million slot machines. We found the escalators going to the arcade and soon were at the lobby of the coaster.
I should note that while my friend rode the coaster, I did not. I had been having back problems recently and didn’t want the coaster to aggravate it this early in the trip as it would have ruined the rest of our time in Vegas. From what I’ve seen of it, it looked pretty cool, although my friend did say that it was a rough ride.
Once my friend was done, we left the New York New York, but not before snapping a photo by the replica Brooklyn Bridge. We then crossed the Strip and made our way to the east side of the Strip.
A Stroll Through Paris
On our way to the Flamingo, we decided to pop into the Paris Hotel and Casino. Opened in 1999 by Caesars Entertainment, the hotel contains versions of iconic Paris landmarks similar to the New York New York, including the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre. We quickly entered the casino area of the hotel, looked around for a bit, then made our way out and towards the Flamingo.
As we were walking through the Paris casino, I started feeling like all these casinos were blending together. They all looked exactly the same, which I guess was to be expected. But I guess that adds to the haze some people experience when they’re in Vegas. When everything starts to blend together, it can create this illusion where time doesn’t exist and spaces overlap with one another.
After pondering on that, we exited the hotel and made our way up the Strip to the Flamingo.
Pink Feathers and a Mobster
After walking for five minutes from the Paris Hotel and Casino, we found ourselves in the casino of the Flamingo. Opened on December 26, 1946, the Flamingo was the first hotel and casino in Las Vegas to eschew the Wild West themes that the other hotels and casinos in Vegas had at the time and instead used a more upscale and modern design. Originally proposed and funded by Billy Wilkerson, famed mobster Bugsy Siegel took over the construction and ownership of the property. It was built at a cost of $6 million.
We went to the Flamingo to specifically see, well, the flamingos. In the center of the hotel is a garden that acts like a sort of mini zoo. We got to the garden and immediately to our left were some flamingos. There was even a baby flamingo among those that were there. The garden also had areas for turtles and fish. It was a cute little area, but we didn’t spend too much time there as we wanted to catch the 2:30pm fountain show at the Bellagio. So we quickly left and crossed the street to get to the west side of the Strip.
The Strongest Daiquiri in the World
Crossing the street we ended up at Caesars Palace. It’s worth noting that, as we were walking up and down the Strip, we passed many establishments offering Daiquiris. If you don’t know what a Daiquiri is, it’s an alcoholic drink from the Caribbean that has become a Las Vegas staple over the years. So when we passed by a stand located on the Caesars property that sold Daiquiris, we jumped at the chance to get one.
We ordered a mango daiquiri and watched what looked like 10 shots of alcohol being poured into it. It was then mixed with mango juice and was given to us in a very tall tumbler. I took one sip and almost gagged. It felt like gasoline was being poured down my throat. But once we were able to mix the alcohol with the juice, it ended up being ok.
While sipping on our drink, we quickly walked back to the Bellagio to catch the fountain show.
Luck Be A Lady Tonight
We arrived at the Bellagio 5 minutes before showtime. We walked to the middle area of the lagoon to stake out a spot. There weren’t that many people beside us, thankfully and we got a great spot right in the middle. This was one of the Las Vegas attractions I was most excited for. I know it’s just a fountain show, but I’m always so mesmerized by them. I adore World of Color at Disney California Adventure, and while this wasn’t going to be like that, I was still excited nevertheless.
We waited a couple of minutes then the fountain show started. I was happily surprised that the song they used for this show was Luck Be a Lady Tonight by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra is one of my all-time favorite artists so this was a pleasant surprise. The fountains themselves were stunning. There must have been over 200 of them, all synchronized to the music and almost dancing with it. It was so captivating, and I couldn’t resist getting a bid teary eyed. It was at this moment that I was just so thankful to be where I was right then and there.
The fountains crescendoed into this spectacular finale, and soon after the show ended. We then made our way back to the lobby of the Bellagio to check in. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes to check in, even though most of the counters were manned. It was odd that it took us this long, but we soon checked in and made our way to our room.
This is where I’ll end the trip report for now! In the next one, we’ll explore more of the Strip, watch a Cirque du Soleil show, and experience what was probably my favorite part of the entire trip.
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