Las Vegas, NV

One can't drive across country and not stop in Vegas so we made a quick one day and two night pit stop. Family friends offered us a place to stay in Henderson and it was since to sleep in some one's home and not stay at another motel. There was only one thing that I really wanted to do which was visit the recently opened City Center on the Vegas Strip. On our way into the city we drove over the Hoover Dam and stopped to take in the view. Billy and I visited it a year ago October but never at night. The lights were beautiful but unfortunately our camera wasn't good enough to capture the real beauty.

We started out our morning with a tour of Ethel M's chocolate factory and cactus garden. Since it was President's Day there wasn't much production but there was free tasting!



Since Billy and I are architecture and construction geeks we wanted to see the crazy City Center clad and open. Lets just say it didn't disappoint. The Wynn, Bellagio, and New York New York are all great but the new hotels and shopping are modern marvels with elegant simplicity. We visited Aria and Vdera along with the City Center shops. Vdera was welcoming because they don't allow gambling so it was quiet and felt like peace off the strip. Aria did allow gambling but it seems the machines volume had been turned down a few notches. Many of the other condo buildings and hotels were clad but not open. Whether they are opening in the future we weren't sure.

After looking at the architecture we viewed the Chihuly Gallery.

After eating chocolate what better to do than shop. Billy was kind enough to go with me to the best quilt shop I have seen thus far on my trip. I spent over an hour at Quiltique and would drive nine hours back to Vegas for a visit. They cater to modern quilters with bright fabrics, new lines, and fun quilt kits.