Settling in at Cattail Cove State Park, Lake Havasu City, AZ

After a very fun time in the Las Vegas area, we left today and made our way to Lake Havasu, AZ. The drive was pleasant and easy and we got to the Cattail Cove State Park campground around 3PM this afternoon. We had reservations for site #53, which is very large and set off from the others so it is also quite private.

The only downside to this campsite is that it is extremely unlevel. So there we were again, putting the front wheels up on wood so they would not be off the ground when we raised the front end with the leveler jacks.

After much huffing and puffing, and more than a little cursing, we got the motor home situated. The camp host lent us some additional wood because we did not have enough. We will make a trip to the local Home Depot tomorrow to get more wood.

Anyway, this is a really nice campground and I would be happy to stay here again. Despite having to put the Dolphin up on blocks, site #53 is still the best. The campground is immaculate, nicely laid out, and sits on Lake Havasu.

Regarding the issue with the noisy and reluctant Power Gear leveler jacks: I did a little research on the manufacturer's website and discovered the jacks should be greased every 20-30 uses. Interesting... the printed Power Gear documentation that came with the motor home makes no mention of this!? Sure enough, when I scraped off the road grime around the leveler jack cylinders, I found a grease fitting on the bottom of each one. Guess I'll buy a grease gun tomorrow.

Showtime! Cirque du Soleil "O"

We returned to the Bellagio last night and easily found a parking spot in the Hotel's parking garage. After making our way to the ticket counter to pick up our show tickets, we had a couple hours to kill so we walked around the casino before settling in at the Baccarat Bar to people-watch and enjoy a couple drinks.

When the time came, we made our way to the theatre and settled in for the Cirque du Soleil "O" show, An aquatic masterpiece of surrealism and theatrical romance. I don't know what to say other than it met our every expectation! Despite our seats being not-so-great, we still became immersed in the show. It was marvelous! I did take some photos but they did not turn out very well; here are a few anyway:

After the show, we made our way to Paris LV, specifically to find La Creperie  - a friend had highly recommended this place. I ordered the Nutella crepe with nutella, banana, caramel sauce, candied hazelnuts and chantilly cream. Lynda ordered the Roasted Chicken crepe with rotisserie chicken, sun dried tomatoes, asparagus, basil pesto & shaved grana padano. They were both delicious!

Nutella

I couldn't believe we were eating all that at 10PM at night - yikes! We waddled our way back to the car and got back to base around 11:30PM.

And now we're leaving Nellis AFB to make our way to Lake Havasu in Arizona. Stay tuned!

Roasted Chicken

A Night on the Strip

We had a big time in Vegas last night! We started out by parking by the LINQ's High Roller ferris wheel around 5PM and going into the Hotel & Casino to have dinner at Hash House A Go Go. It was a bit confusing finding our way into the building, but we managed to do so without looking like total hicks. Hahaha!

Not sure what to say about Hash House A Go Go. On one hand, the food was excellent and the beer was cold but it was so LOUD in the restaurant we could not hear each other speak. It was like having dinner in a nightclub. Having read that the food portions where insanely large, we decided to share the Sage Fried Chicken and Bacon Waffles crowned with fried leeks and a maple reduction (we agreed on this using lip-reading, sign language, and menu pointing). Yep, the dinner serving was insanely large and very very good! If they would turn the $#% music down, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Ceasar's Palace - Somewhere in The Forum Shops

After dinner, we made our way over to Caesar's Palace. What a cool place! We went into The Forum Shops area and walked around... loved, loved, loved the painted ceiling and all the reproduction Roman statuary, etc. We also watched The Fall of Atlantis show, an animatronic display of fire, water and nine-foot-tall talking statues. It was kinda dated and the audio was pretty bad but, heck, it's free!

Back in the Casino area of Caesar's Palace, we put a $5 bill in one of the Penny slots and quickly realized we had ZERO clue about what we were doing. It took about 1 minute to lose the $5, but we had a good laugh over it.

Then, on to the Bellagio Fountains area to await
the display. By now it was around 8PM and dark. Lovely music and lovely fountains. We were a bit surprised, however, that the lights were not of various colors. Still, the Fountain display was beautiful.

We decided to go into the Bellagio and find out where to pick-up our "will call" tickets for Sunday's Cirque du Soleil show. Just as we were told by a friend, Dale Chihuly's glass sculpture blossoms that hangs from the lobby ceiling is gorgeous. And, Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens was featuring an amazing Japanese Garden - also something to see!!! My photos did not turn out very well, but here's one to you give some idea.

We left the Bellagio, bought passes for and boarded the Deuce (bus), and got off at the Venetian. We walked around inside this Hotel & Casino just to check out the beautiful decor. These Vegas Strip hotels are amazing! They are gorgeously decorated, and just about all of them have shops, restaurants, bars, big name shows, and (of course) casinos! I guess the idea is that you don't have to leave the Hotel for anything - it's all right there!

We re-boarded the Deuce and rode out to Fremont Street for the "Fremont Street Experience". Truthfully, we weren't that taken with this part of Vegas. It was past 10PM when we got there and the revelers had (apparently) been drinking for several hours so there was a lot of sloppy, somewhat belligerent behavior going on. We found a small Mediterranean cafe and ducked in for some hummus and a cold beer. The food was good, but one of the other customers (a scantily dressed woman of around 30) seemed to be looking for a brawl, so it was eyes down, drink your beer, and let's go! I'm definitely at a point in my life where this sort of foolishness is not entertaining.

All in all, we had a great time! The only thing I would do differently is go to Fremont Street much earlier, when the crowd is more sober and pleasant.

Later today, we will go back to the Bellagio in time to walk around and enjoy a couple drinks before the show.

Bellagio on left; Caesar's Palace on right

Paris LV

Bellagio Marquee for "O"