Off the Path / Off the Wall, Las Vegas

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We were just walking to the north of the Strip. We wanted to get in to the Mandalay swimming pool as the children wanted to swim (they ended up going to Circus Circus Swimming pool) as they are getting too hot from walking. We asked from the attendant if he could allow us to get in. It looked so much fun and exciting inside as there were waves on the pool and some children were having a blast. The attendant said that since we were not residents of Mandalay Bay Hotel, we were not allowed to get in.

In frustration,we walked to the back of the hotel and found a beautiful garden with animals spouting water, water fountains and some tropical plants for shade.

We took some pictures and headed back to the south of the Strip to swim at the Circus Circus Swimming Pool!

For more information about Mandalay Bay Hotel, log on to their website.

www.mandalaybay.com

3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(877) 632-7800

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Not so much off the beaten path, but perhaps a little different. Coca Cola World Las Vegas (on the strip just a short distance from the MGM Grand, next door to M&Ms world) offer an experience called 'Tastes of the World'. For $7 you get two trays which contain 16 different drinks from around the globe (apparently each drink is only available in the country listed next to it)

Incase my pictures don't work too well here is a list of the drinks we tried-

1. Lilt - from UK
2. Kin Cider - from Israel
3. Stoney Ginger Beer - from South Africa
4. Inca Kola - from Peru
5. Vegitabeta - from Japan
6. Mezzo Mix - from Germany
7. Beverly - from Italy
8. Smart Apple - from China
9. Fanta Orange - from China
10. Smart Watermelon - from China
11. Fanta Passion fruit - from Argentina
12. Kinley Lemon - from Israel
13. Fanta Birch Beer - from USA
14. Krest Gingerale - from Israel
15. Fanta Kolita - from Costa Rica
16. Lift Apple - from Mexico

My personal favourite, probably because I am used to it, was Lilt from my home country, the UK. My least favourite was Beverly from Italy... it tasted like ear wax! URGH nasty!

I would say if you are planning on doing this, don't buy an 'experience' each, it will make you feel sick. Me and my boyfriend shared the 16 drinks and couldn't manage them all before we started to feel sick. Still, if you're in that area its a fun little experience!

This place is Ron Lee's factory, cafe, shop, collection, and offices. Ron Lee has made hundreds of sculptures for Disney, Warner Brothers, Magic Mountain, and other companies. There is a vast display of his work. There is also viewing glass, which you can see a step-by-step process of his sculptures being made (hand crafted). Of course, all of the viewing was free. I was able to meet Ron Lee and have him sign my book that he published. The hours of operation are as follows:

Monday - Friday (9am - 4pm)
(Cafe closes at 4pm)
Saturday (Closed)
Sunday (Closed)

The location is at:

330 Carousel Parkway
Henderson, NV 89014

Ron Lee's web site is well put together and informative.
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I'm sure it just refers to the car -- but in Las Vegas you're never sure! Be sure to click on the picture for the full effect:)
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One of the nice things is that all the large casinos on the strip have free parking in enormous garages. I must say you see some rather fancy cars there -- that's why this one caught my eye:)

Okay, we all have to go to the bathroom, right? Well, here are some that will make the experience not just a chore:

Paris: prettiest by far (handpainted flowers growing up the sinks). I even took pictures in this one!
Venetian: most impressive (dark wood and beautiful fixtures).
Caesars: most comfortable (nice couches).
Mandalay Bay: feel like you're at a resort in the South Pacific. Inside House of Blues, very colorful bathrooms featuring steel walls.
Bellagio: Nice little individual lamps in each stall. Purse hook was to the side, which is safest. Autoflush--yay!

I didn't really know what category to put this under so I put it here as people may not know about it. Television City at the MGM Grand is good for a little rest if you don't feel like lounging by the pool. You get taken into a room to watch a new tv show and you give your opinion (on computer) of what you thought of it. Your opinions are given to the bosses in tv land to determine whether the show is good enough to be aired. Its all anonymous so you can be as honest as you like. If you see a show you like then you can tell all your friends about it, if you see a show you didn't like then the experience is still something a bit different.

Television City is free to do and as a gesture, when you leave the viewing room, they give you some vouchers, a bumper sticker and a keyring.

UPDATE: The television show we saw when we went to TV City was 'Cane'. It has just begun being aired on UK tv station ITV 2!

What is it, and is it illegal? You know those guys who stand on Las Vegas Boulevard trying to hand out fliers for strip clubs and escort services? They're canvassers. After much fighting with the city council, the canvassers appear to have won the right to pass out information. Even though most people complain that the fliers cause litter and the canvassers get in the way of pedestrians, we've noticed that if you just keep walking, they aren't aggressive at all. Of course, you could always take a brochure; we just won't take responsibility for anything that happens after that.

Skip the pool during the middle of the day. It's too crowded and it's too hot!

Go around 6pm after most of the people leave and watch the pool lights come on while you soak in the hottub. Very nice indeed.

This is a picture of the Bellagio pool area at dusk (around 8pm) in June. We got down there around 6:30pm and spent our time going from the hottub to the pool and back until closing at 8pm.

When we arrived, there were 2 other women in the area but they soon left. For the last hour, we were the only ones and had the whole hottub to ourselves.

This is one of the best things they have ever built in Las Vegas: THE LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY!!!!! YEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Go there and do the Richard Petty driving experience.....wwwooohohoooooo

With 1,600 acres in the northeast portion of the Las Vegas Valley, the "Diamond in the Desert" has been deemed the most remarkable race complex in the world. Sports Illustrated called it the Racing Capital of the West.

With more than a dozen different venues at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, ranging from go-karts to NASCAR Nextel Cup at the 1.5-mile superspeedway, there's something for everyone at the complex

At first glance, it appears that someone has violated FCC regulations here, but even in Vegas, certain words are not to be aired. The letters on the sign stand for "French Connection U K" If you read something different, take your mind out of the gutter..