I decided it would be a good idea to journal our daily adventures on our Honeymoon.  We’re in Las Vegas staying at Mandalay Bay.  Today I recorded days 1-3, and plan to author entries daily for the rest of the trip, though I might net have handy access with which to upload/post them.  In-room ‘net access is $15/24 hours!

Day 1:

We flew out of Syracuse mostly on-schedule.  The flight to Detroit was uneventful.

Detroit has this incredibly "psychedelic disco tunnel" running under the runway between the two main terminals.  It’s pretty amazing!

We got to Vegas early, actually.  We caught an airport shuttle to our hotel (Mandalay Bay), checked in with a desk clerk named Kyle who has obviously worked here for quite some time.  Watching him operate the keyboard of his computer was a "show" in and of itself! 

We spent the next couple of hours exploring the casino.  It was Sunday night on the off season, so we had no trouble getting around, even though most everything was closed.  The place is AMAZING.  "Huge" just doesn’t even begin to describe it.  We would soon learn that "Opulent" is the best word to describe damn near everything on the strip.  We found a burger bar in the "mall" section of our hotel and had dinner.

Jet lagged, we return to our room at about 9:00 local time, midnight our time, and crash/fall asleep within half an hour.

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Day 2:

We awoke at about 5:00a and decided to explore the lower end of the strip on foot.  We had breakfast at McDonald’s across the street from the hotel.  We wandered through our hotel into the Luxor, which–along with Excalibur and MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay–are all owned by the same company.  The lobby of the Luxor is incredible!  I always thought the main pyramid would be full of rooms.  Turns out, the rooms are only along the edge.  The entire inside is hollow and houses the registration desk ,shops, a museum exhibit, bars, and all sorts of things.  The casino is in the basement.  We walked through Luxor, through Excalibur, and out onto the strip.  We wandered up the street making note of things we’d want to see later on when they were actually open; Bellagio fountains, the M&M store, Eiffel Tower at Paris, Las Vegas, etc. We got on the Monorail and took it all the way to the northern terminus and then rode it back down to the MGM Grand.  We crossed the street and caught the tram from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay, made our way back to our room, and had a bit of a rest.

While Amanda tried to nap, I registered with the Players Club and played a little bit of poker, registered for the 3:00 Hold ‘Em tournament, and returned to the room.  Amanda had been unable to sleep, so we went to the Shark Reef Aquarium and had lunch at the hotel’s buffet before my tournament.  I had fun, but did not do well in the tournament.  Amanda had a blast at the spa, getting an eyebrow waxing and a massage.  I joined her in our room where we enjoyed an evening in.

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Day 3:

We awoke at a more reasonable hour today.  Lamenting the availability of "cheap eats" that many people seem to talk about, we looked more closely at a deal we had seen at Excalibur.  $30/person, all you can eat, all day long.  It was true!  We bought it, got our bracelets, and had breakfast.  Then we did some shopping and looking around on the lower strip, booked a tour to Hoover Dam for tomorrow, went back to Excalibur for a snack, and then back to our room. 

We took a nap, went for lunch, saw the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor, and then saw Avatar at the UA Theatre just up the street.  We went back to the Excalibur for a light dinner, and retired to our room to watch "Lost".

And now a word about what I have labelled "Tourist Whores".  Around nearly every corner, even at booths in and obviously sanctioned by the hotels, are these annoying creatures.  They are to be avoided at any cost.  You can tell when you are being approached by one of these beasts by the dripping politeness of their mating call: "Will you be in Las Vegas tomorrow?"  The best way to counter their "attack" is with a terse (even rude) "no".  DO NOT BREAK STRIDE.  If they sense weakness they WILL flock to your location and surround you, pelting you with offers of comped hotel rooms and "free" shows.  GET AWAY, get away FAST!