October 15 through November 7, 2023
We stayed in one place for four weeks! Yes, that's rare for us, but it's not something we can usually pull off. We have a lot of this country to see, and we want to avoid the snow. That means we don't get to stay too long in one spot. We have been enjoying our winters in the southwest, doing big loops through places that are only snow free in the summer months. We'll stay longer in places in the winter months.
It was starting to get chilly during our stay in Richfield, Utah, and it felt like we barely escaped before it got snowy. In Las Vegas, it was nice and warm. We had a wonderful spot at the end of a row right next to the big clubhouse. The Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort had its ups and downs, but overall we liked it.
- Pros: it was a quick trip to get to anywhere we wanted to go. It was down the street from great restaurants and grocery stores. We could see the Strip from our door, including the Sphere and the big light from the Luxor.
- Cons: it was in the middle of the madness. We were at the intersection of an interstate and a highway, and under the inbound flight path for the nearby airport. It was noisy all the time, and bright from the casino's sign next door.
We had to keep our trailer in a storage lot at the back of the resort. That made things a little complicated (especially when the trailer next to us put their slides out and left town), but we made it work. The resort was really nice, but we preferred our 2022 trip to Boulder City down the road.
We had a few things planned in and around the Strip, so it was nice to be so close to it. Our first adventure was to The Venetian Hotel, one of our favorites in the area. This time, we ate in St. Mark's Square and we'd definitely do that again -- it was a fun experience. This time, we decided to pay for a gondola all to ourselves and we did a little ride with a fun gondolier. His name was Pepe, and he was a lot of fun.
The Sphere hadn't been open long, and we were obsessed. We weren't U2 fans, so we weren't going to a U2 concert there. The only other opportunity would be for The Sphere Experience, and tickets were very reasonable. Parking at The Palazzo was right in the middle of our locations for the day, so we did that. The Experience was very, very cool and we were thrilled we got to do it. There are some great overviews of it on the Internet (like this one) so we'll point you to those for more info. If you're in Vegas, this is a must-see experience.
Our main event was the Iliza Shlesinger show, the Hard Feelings tour. We decided to pull out all the stops and we were just a few rows up and dead center, with the Meet and Greet Package after the show. We laughed our asses off! She's one of our favorites. We probably wouldn't spring for the Meet and Greet again, but we'd see her live again.
We ate a fancy dinner in the Wynn hotel first, followed by the show and lakeside seats for cocktails and dessert. The Lake of Dreams is a small, shallow, manmade lake at the hotel. There is a big mountain with big trees that blocks the hotel from views of the street and the Fashion Mall, and on the other side of the mountain is the lake and the hotel. We had a table right next to the water so we could watch the short shows. They randomize the shows with downtime between them. It was chilly out, so there weren't many people outside. It was a really nice time.
We also decided to do the High Roller Observation Wheel, a huge Ferris Wheel near the Strip. Each car holds up to 40 people, but when we went our car only had 12 people. It is very, very high in the air when you're at the top. You can see really far in all directions. We especially loved that we could see The Sphere. On our way back home, we detoured to take the road around The Sphere so we could see it one more time. We're obsessed!
One place we found is now a favorite: The LINQ Promenade. It's an outdoor strip of shops and restaurants under the High Roller that feels removed and hidden from the busy Strip. We sat in a bar with live music and watched people. It was a great time.
We are trying to not purchase those event photos you collect. Yes, we bought the extra photos at the gondola ride and the High Roller. We even said "let's not even stop by to look at our photos" as we got off the High Roller, and still we bought all of them. It's hard not to do it, at least for us.
We found some great restaurants (notably, the Great Greek Mediterranean Grill and Sawa Sushi) and had a fun time in Vegas. Still, we were ready to move on when our four weeks were up. Off to California!
