We left at 7am for the drive to Las Vegas, 350 miles or so. A fairly uneventful drive apart from a little fun with a Mercedes SUV. The lady driver decided to try and pass on the inside every chance she got, but there was never quite enough room. With a little help from a BMW it was possible to keep her in her place at the back of the line. After about 50 miles of fun we finaly let her pass and she zoomed into the distance. The funny thing is we passed her 30 mins later, stopped at the side of the road with two cop cars.

We had decided that before going into Vegas, since check-in wasn't until 3pm, that we would head up to Hoover Dam. It was very crowded along the road - but we stopped and parked in one of the garages. First impression I suppose were the dam's enormity, the size of it was really amazing. As we walked around - the heat was baking us. It had to be in the 100's. There were tourists from all over - stopping to take snapshots of the dam.

We did walk the entire length of the dam but the heat was very draining and of course there are just so many pictures you can take of a dam. In addition, the museum was closed due to the events of September 11th.

As we headed back towards Las Vegas we stopped off at a scenic overlook and snapped a few photos of the lake there.

With that we got back to the a/c and headed back for town. As we came into town we could see the Stratosphere and a few of the other really tall hotels and buildings. I watched the strip with anticipation and excitement. Upon entering town - I was a bit on the disappointed side. Not that the hotels were not bold but rather so much hype for what was there - when in the end it was basically hotel row - with stylish funky designs.

Eventually we reached our destination, the Luxor. We hopped out for the short hike to the back side of the hotel. Once you actually got to the hotel property and you were walking the concourse- you still had about a block before you were actually inside the hotel. All this in 100 degree temperatures. For this very reason we decided to leave the luggage in the car for the time being and just go inside, check-in, and check out the hotel. The line to check-in wasn't that long - but it was slow. Eventually, we were checked in with our complimentary booklet of goodies and rooms that were reasonable and what we had requested.

The architecture was very imaginative - there were pyramid rooms going up the inside wall of the pyramid. Guests could come out of their rooms and look down - on an angle. And the entrance to the hotel was pretty neat too - with a sphinx, guards and columns.

We decided to check out our rooms and then fetch the luggage and then have a quick little rest. The rooms were quite spacious and the closets generous. The bathrooms were probably my favorite part - the shower was separate from the tub and the tub was huge! I spent several evenings in there relaxing after a long day of walking. Our view wasn't the best, since we were in the back tower, and was slightly obstructed by the front tower building. But nevermind - we never did that much looking outside anyways. So our four days plus in Vegas had started.

We unpacked and after a quick shower it was out for our first look at Las Vegas and some food. We went out and had a walk around the hotel - then stopped off at La Salsa for a drink, umm, yum, margaritas. Good for the soul and belly and head! From there we ventured back down to the food court, which was pretty quiet and had something easy and quick.

We started with the Excalibur, NY NY, MGM, Tropicana and finishing at Mandalay Bay. It was just a quick look around with the full on sightseeing starting tomorrow. We were able to see all the hotels lit up for the evening.

Our first stop allowed us to catch part of the show that the Excalibur holds every night - the battle between Merlin and the dragon.

At the MGM we were able to see their lion habitat - of course they were sleeping but it was still neat.

After having a quick look around we stepped outside and walked along the front of the MGM past all their terrific waterfalls and over to the Tropicana and the Mandalay Bay. We then headed back to the luxor for a quick snack and then to bed.