2nd of 4, 4th of July visits in honor of America 250. Sadly, the restaurant my parents & I ate at…read moreon July 4, 2019 in Henderson is out of business. My parents lived in Phoenix until 2021 before they moved to Lancaster, PA to be closer to their only kid, me. I had a wedding in Vegas on Saturday, July 6, 2019. I flew into Phoenix on night of June 30, spent 3 full days in my hometown, and then my dad drove us on July 4, and I flew out July 9. I had been to Vegas over a dozen times over the years, mainly in 90's & 2000's while living in Phoenix. Since living in the DC area, 2011-present, I visited 3 times, December 2013, July 2019 (wedding), & November 2019 (another wedding). I had been to the Welcome to Vegas sign a couple of times. When I was a kid in 1995 on my first trip to Vegas, we stayed at the Stardust Hotel. But Vegas has changed a lot since then, a lot of places from the old days. Stardust closed in 2006, and Frontier next door closed in 2007. New fancier hotels or other things take over. Funny thing speaking of America 250, Stardust opened on July 2, 1958, just in time for 4th of July that year. Welcome to Vegas sign is a must visit photo op when visiting. I've been there a few of the times. It's a must visit to try to get out there both day & night. At night the sign lights up. Day it's a different vibe, but both are cool times to visit. There's just enough parking between the north & southbound lanes of Las Vegas Blvd., where the sign is located. You may have to wait a little bit to get your photo in front as there could be a line of people waiting to get a selfie or photo. One year after the Stardust hotel opened, the Welcome to Vegas sign opened in 1959. It's always been considered the southern edge of the Vegas strip. Further south, you have McCarren International Airport runway very close to Las Vegas Blvd. and in the 50's was mainly just open desert but has been developed with shopping centers, etc. Hacienda Hotel was the southern most casino, just north of the Welcome to Vegas sign, from 1958 to 1996, and the much fancier Mandalay Bay Hotel opened its place in 1999. The interesting thing is that much of the Vegas Strip is in unincorporated Clark County and not actually in the City of Las Vegas. You aren't technically in Vegas proper for another 4 miles at Sahara Ave., at the far northern part of the Strip where Sahara Hotel is (southside still unincorporated) and north is where The Strat (Stratosphere) is actually in City of Las Vegas. But this Welcome to Vegas sign is a promotional sign and not an official city limits sign. On July 4, 2019, my parents & I took some photos of the Vegas sign that day. Likewise, got night pics from Vegas trip in November 2019. Overall, highly recommend a visit to Vegas sign both day & night.

What's up: Despite visiting Vegas several times before, I have never done the tourist thing and…read moregotten a picture with the Las Vegas sign. Since I'll be staying at a hotel nearby, I made it my goal to go to the sign. Parking: They have a small parking lot where cars can safely park in the between the northbound and southbound lanes of S Las Vegas Blvd. Environment: Since I was staying nearby, I made going to the Sign part of my early morning run. The streets were well maintained and before you know it, you're at the sign. Did you know? The sign is part of the National Register of Historic Places; there's an informational placard that proves historical information about it. The place can get busy later in the day when the crowds come, but luckily, there weren't too many people in the early morning. I got my pic and continued on. Yay/Nay/Meh: Yay. It's the touristy thing to do and I just had to do it at least once. One more thing I got checked off my list, woohoo!

Even though I have visited the Las Vegas Strip many times, I still stop to look at the well known…read morechocolate fountain located in the Bellagio! I ended up stopping by on a early Tuesday morning around 6:00 A.M after visiting and looking at the Summer exhibit for the Bellagio Conservatory which is the Paradise Nature's Most Beautiful Creations for Summer 2026! Inside the Bellagio Patisserie, there is an amazing 27 foot tall chocolate fountain which was listed in the Guinness Book World Records for being the world's largest chocolate fountain! It is amazing watching all the chocolate flowing in such a beautiful pattern! You do not have to make reservations or purchase tickets. Just visit the Bellagio and spend a couple of minutes admiring this unique form of edible art! It is extremely captivating to look at and it is easy to understand why it became one of the iconic views of the Las Vegas Strip! If you are visiting for your first time or taking visitors from other locations through town, it is just one of those classic Vegas attractions that will not get old! If you are going to visit the Bellagio, I would recommend stopping by the chocolate fountain. It is a nice little hidden treasure!

You'll miss it without Yelpers! The chocolate fountain is a feature near a shop that will indulge…read moreyour sweet tooth. Don't go out of your way to find it, but if you're staying as Caesar's Palace, keep your eye out. It sits quietly in a corner where most of us pass it by.

Town Square Park is centrally located in Town Square Las Vegas. This area is an outside mall and…read moreentertainment destination relatively close to the Las Vegas Strip. Town Square Park is great for families! It has a water section such as splash pads, climbing areas and fixtures, trampolines, and so much more! There is shaded areas where you can sit at too inside the park area! The park is super clean too! It can get relatively busy though. When my family and I stopped by on a Thursday evening, the park was super busy! There are a lot of events and venues at the park area! There are events such as movie nights, farmers markets, free Yoga classes, and so much more! During the holidays, you'll see holiday celebration and parades! The majority of these events at this venue are free!! I remember the old park when there was a huge maze and a tree house! The newly renovated park is a lot different and unique compared to how it was previously. Both park designs are great though! The Town Square Park is a great place to stop and relax! We ended up getting a Funnel Cake with some ice cream and ate it next to the Town Square Park!

Town Square Park is a nice addition to the mall. It's located in the middle of Town Square by the…read moreconcierge and several food establishments. This is a great playground for kids and family, and there's bench seating around the park. The atmosphere is laid back and relaxing. Every month, they offer an array of activities, fitness, and entertainment. On Wednesdays from September 4 through October 9 is The Miss Fairy G Kid's Show, it's a lovely story telling from 11am to 12pm. The show is magically entertaining and Miss Fairy G delights children with her message of kindness and well-being, which is so amazing! There's also free movies every Friday at sundown from September 6 to October 11. The 2024 movie lineup is family-friendly and includes Disney's Wish, Trolls, Migration, Kung Fu Panda 4, Paw Patrol, and Elemental. They even have concerts and performances by local artists, fashion shows, and upcoming special events, such as the 2024 Wine Walk and Town Scary Halloween Party. This is a great open space to gather with friends, family, and kids. The environment is nice and very welcoming!

While in Vegas, people are typically drawn to the bright lights of the casinos. Gambling and live…read moreentertainment are synonymous with Las Vegas. However, there are other options to explore on Las Vegas Blvd. While driving around Vegas, we stumbled across The Pinball Hall of Fame. The sign is quite large and it almost looks like the building is straight out of the 80s. The parking lot is large, the signage can't be missed, and the building sits far back on the property. As soon as you reach for the door, you are overwhelmed by the sounds of pinball machines and video games pinging loudly. If you grew up in the 70s or 80s, this place will bring back memories. This is a combination of an arcade and a museum. Toward the back of the building is where you'll take a step back in time. There is a section that showcases the first pinball machines and the people that invented various models of pinball machines in the 1930s. They were much smaller in size, but the model has always been the same, it's a flat object that can be played either sitting or standing. As you explore around the building, you'll see modern pinball machines as well as machines from the 60s and 70s. They're all grouped together, so all of the classic machines are all in one row. Modern machines placed in the center of the room. They also have video games. Many are current games that you'd find at your local arcade. Some are classic games that were popular in the 80s. There were several games from the initial launch of Sega and Nintendo platforms. I walked past a Ms Pac Man game that displayed the Atari game, Dig Dug instead. So, sometimes the games didn't match what was labeled on the console. Nevertheless, it was still pretty awesome! Pinball Hall of Fame was something that I never expected to come across. I had never heard of this place, and I was pleasantly surprised with our overall experience. This brought back a lot of memories from when I played video games with friends when we were kids. If we come back to Vegas again, we will definitely spend more time at Pinball Hall of Fame.

If you want to see classic pinball machines, this is definitely a spot worth walking through. They…read morehave machines going back more than 50 years, and seeing them all in one place is amazing. A lot of them are still operating, which is impressive. Unfortunately, the experience is dragged down by the behavior of some of the older staff members running the facility. One person in particular, Tim, acted out of line toward me, and I watched him behave the same way toward children. I shut it down when he tried to come at me, but it's clear he has a real problem -- and he's not the only one. Several reviews mention kids being spoken to rudely, even with foul language, and that's unacceptable. This needs to stop. I'm forwarding my concerns to the mayor and the city manager's office, and I think others should do the same. And honestly, do yourself a favor: don't spend money there. As long as people keep supporting the place financially, this behavior will continue.

We booked Detours of the west for a private guided tour of Valley of Fire for a small group of us…read morefrom Miami. They were profesional, courteous, and friendly. We were picked up by Rachel and Fred, the guide and driver respectively at the hotel. The Mercedes' streamer was clean and super comfortable. We arrived at the first site: Beehives. Rachel explained how the Mormon settlers had named the rock formations as it reminded them of beehives. Rachel let us meander and tak the obligatory pics. Then we went to the pictographs of Atl Rock. These pictographs were carved centuries before by the area's indigenous peoples. Without a Rosetta Stone their meaning is lost to posterity. We then did a hike: Wow. Rachel tolerated the Gen Xers making the obligatory references to Star Wars' Tatooine. She made sure we had plenty of water--and the poor sole--lugged additional water for the group. She was considerate of heat stroke and dryness and had us seek cover in natural shade. Fred was considerate and had the a/c turned on about 15 minutes before our arrival to ensure a cool van. We drove to the visitors center and had a prearranged lunch that Detours had picked for us and which we had prepaid for. Amazing. I can only say good things about Rachel and the driver. Bathrooms are very badly maintained at the park. I would say, nauseating. In addition, there is no where to buy food or water other than at the visitors center and the choices there are paltry.

Took a tour of the Hoover Dam with "Jimmy Vegas" and it was great!! Elevator to Generator Room was…read moredown, but he still made it an unforgettable and fun experience!

Impressive sculpture made up of 200 boats (canoes, kayaks, and more). It can be viewed from the…read morewalkway connecting Aria and Vdara, the best vantage point from the Vdara side, an easy stop for me on my way to a museum after having brunch at Aria this past Monday. The artist, Nancy Rubins, is known for clustering together collections of materials (airplane parts, appliances, mattresses) to create bigger structures. When I first looked at the Big Edge artwork, I thought it was covered in cobwebs, but what I was seeing were stainless steel structural wires which are a big part of what Rubins likes about this piece, an appreciation and understanding of physics (as she has worked alongside engineers in her creations).

How on earth do you get a good picture of this sculpture? It is located out in the middle of where…read morea few roads wind around it in the CityCenter Roundabout. I'm not sure there is a place to get out, park, and take a photo! The sculpture itself is kind of interesting. It was created by Nancy Rubins and was installed in 2009. It consists of more than 200 boats assembled into a flower cluster. These are full-sized massive boats. There are aluminum canoes, kayaks, rowboats, and sailboats in this art mass. They are held together with steel wire. If you want to see it, the best spot would be from a nearby hotel so you could look down on it. But, for the free option, you should just drive by slowly without angering other drivers, and snap a picture. I noticed Las Vegas drivers are short of patience and quick on the horn!

It's a...Giant Typewriter Eraser…read more So interesting to see a Giant Typewriter Eraser in several museums and gardens throughout the US. Interesting to also see one on a walkway in Las Vegas. Back in the day, the pink eraser wheel would erase typewriter mistakes. Then the blue brush would sweep away the pink crumbs. So interesting.

I love all the random public art in vegas. The streets are filled with all these status and unique…read morethings. This is the Giant Typewriter Eraser. I have no idea why it is here and no idea why this is a thing but it is there and it is cool to see.

This is an enclosed double-decker bus that is operated by RTC Transit. It runs from the Vegas strip…read moreall the way to the Airport. I took the bus from New Vegas (the Strip) to Old Vegas (Fremont Street). It is a very economical way to get up and down the strip. It costs $6 for 32hours or $8 for 24 hours. It is very affordable if you plan on going up and down the strip. Getting a pass was easy. I did it on my phone while I waited for the bus. It took me less than 5 minutes to do. You can use your pass on your phone, Apple watch, credit/debit card, or physical pass. I used my phone. If you are going to use that option, just make sure you have enough battery to last. I did not feel unsafe on my rides, but there was no police presence on board. They do, however, have video monitoring on the buses. Fortunately, I never needed to see the reaction time on any of my trips. The bus was relatively clean. And I will be the first to admit that there are some very interesting people who ride the bus. The buses are ADA-compliant and have wheelchair lifts. The route is pretty much straight and can easily be followed using your map application of choice. I enjoyed my rides on the Deuce. It got me where I needed to be and saved me tons of money. If you have a little time to get to where you are going and do not need a direct route. I would highly consider this transportation option.

A 24 hour senior pass cost $2.50, and the route map couldn't have been less complicated. Our first…read moredriver was very helpful in suggesting the right options for our pass purchase. Screens showing upcoming stops were streamlined, simple, and perfect for visitors. The public transit busses are wrapped with perforated vinyl ads on the sides, including windows, so this isn't a sightseeing bus (nor is it meant to be), but as a cheap, clean, simple way to get around, we found the RTC system to be wonderful. Some of the bus stops had actual benches, and others only had slanted metal strips about the shpae of a 2X4, to lean against. Not only are they less than useful as seats, if they're in the sun they can get very hot.

A pretty good sized sports book. There are plenty of comfy couches and arm chars. There are also…read morebar stools with tables for folks that want to grub while watching a game. Their drinks are delicious but pricey. I ordered a tequila with pineapple which came out to be $19. I thought since it was a fountain drink, it would a little cheaper. There are electrical outlets on the wall, underneath the screens. Some of the tables next to the arms chairs have charging ports so bring your cords. They don't sell food but there is a pub right across the way.

Cool spot to grab a drink, watch sports, and play machine poker. Mostly high end liquor available…read more Service was quick.