Nevada Adventure: Vacation Recap

And that's a wrap, everybody.

Can't believe my long weekend in Las Vegas has officially come to an end! Time always flies too quickly when you're having fun... And who doesn't have fun in Las Vegas?!

It was definitely a blast. Four whirlwind days of action, adventure, sight-seeing... and plenty of eating.

It all started off when I landed Thursday night from New York City. I met my mom at the airport and we headed to our hotel, the Bellagio, together. See my hotel review here on our Lifestyle section too if you're interested in learning more! #HighlyRecommended

No, it's not Paris... But it's close! The Paris Hotel, Las Vegas — the view directly across from the entranceway of our hotel, the Bellagio

It was a rather chill night that first evening, seeing as we both touched down around 10pm or so. Promptly after checking in, though, we both decided to walk the line a bit and visit the Bellagio's famous gelateria adjacent to the shopping corridor off the casino, and what a sound choice that was. #GelatoIsAlwaysAGoodIdea ;-)

The next day, we headed out of our hotel to visit all of the sites along the Strip. I'd been to Las Vegas thrice before with my grandparents (twice) and for a film premiere (once), so we had seen most of the major hotels and exciting destinations, but there were a few newcomers, namely The Aria and The Cosmopolitan, with which I had yet to acquaint myself, because the last time I was here was about five years ago and they both opened more recently.

We headed to the Wynn, always a favorite of mine, to say hello to this venerable destination and take in the sites and sounds that make it so remarkable. I think the Wynn — and certainly its sister property the Encore, for that matter — may be the most dazzling and whimsical hotels in all of Las Vegas. And that's really say something.

The entire lobby was decked out with natural artwork. An indoor garden freckled with luminescent light bulbs. An entire rotating carousel of horses, glittering with reflective mirrors. A huge hot air balloon anchored amongst foliage to the gleaming marble floor. All of this and more was created almost exclusively out of multicolored floral arrangements. Flowers! How impressive is that?

Inside the Wynn... Natural artwork around every corner!

Next up, time to head back to the hotel. We had quite the evening ahead of us, so some organization and prep was in order.

As of 3pm, we were all ready. For... Get this... An aerial excursion like no other!

My mom had surprised me and set up a sunset helicopter tour that would depart from the Las Vegas Strip and take us, all by chopper, for a nearly one hour journey hundreds (if not more) feet over the Nevada desert and mountain ranges... heading all the way to...

The Grand Canyon!

That's right. We set sail in a chopper to one of the world's most ancient and impressive natural wonders, ready to land deep in the heart of the Grand Canyon to explore and take photos, and for four transportive, care-free hours, left the glitz and glamor of the Strip behind us.

It was a remarkable journey. It all started as a vehicle that resembled a bus on the outside but a swanky limousine on the inside picked us up at the hotel. It deposited us at the nearby airport, where the helicopter was waiting patiently for my mom and me and a few other passengers who were also on our tour.

Fastidiously strapped into our seats, we took off from the landing strip, we shot directly upward as the blades of the chopper started to revolve, and our pilot streamed the theme song to James Bond (my favorite spy thriller movie series) through the massive headphones cupping our ears. If I didn't know better, we might have been agents of espionage ourselves, or at the very least, high profile diplomatic attachés boarding our equally stylish and high profile ride.

The flight took us over the Hoover Dam, the Colorado River, a new bridge that had been built just a few years ago, and so many other amazing sites. We saw mountains, valleys, jagged rocks and crystalline turquoise lakes, huge manmade megaliths, and the vast expanse of the sandy desert all spreading out underneath us.

After a joyful helicopter ride with a few fellow passengers, we touched down far inside one of the terraced valleys of the Canyon, with rock walls rising and enclosing our helicopter landing zone in all directions. We were penned in amongst the power of nature, and it was incredible.

It goes without saying that, as you might imagine, we had no cell signal there. So even though I wanted to call a few family members and let them know what we were up to at that exact moment — chillin' in the Canyon! — that unfortunately wasn't a possibility.

So that left me with just one thing to do: Take photos! If you happen to follow me on Instagram, you know that photography is my latest obsession. I've really gotten into it in the past year and am having a blast with both my iPhone and a Nikon DSLR camera I recently purchased and am still doing my best to learn about.

The photos were fantastic — and I've got the Grand Canyon entirely to thank for that. Being there reminded me of being in Sedona, Arizona — a remote yet enchanting town perched amongst crimson red rock mountains and noted for its energies and restful, relaxing vibes that it naturally gives off. Some say it is even crowned by a Vortex that marks a festering of energetic powers, but that's open to debate. :-) I say it's just a super cool place!

Our Ride

Inside the Grand Canyon

After about 90 minutes exploring the Canyon and eating snacks, it was time to head back to base camp — in this case, the Las Vegas Strip — and cross this world wonder off our bucket lists. I loved every second and very much hope to visit again soon, but at that very moment the sun was setting, and all we could think about was dinner.

So, we strapped in — this time, seated right next to the pilot in the front seats of our chopper — and prepared to set sail via the friendly skies back to the airport just about ten minutes from the Bellagio Hotel. Our journey home was equally as stimulating and eye-opening as the journey outbound to the Canyon, and I don't think I've ever quite seen views from such an interesting perspective before. When you're on a plane, you can wave good-bye to a city you're flying out of as you take off, and you can wave hello to your final destination as you descend on the approach, but you really see everything from a particular angle or incline and don't have a chance to study the views for very long.

When you're standing on a high floor of a building, you can start to guess what the view from a helicopter might be like, but multiply that by an ever higher altitude in your mind's eye and you're getting closer. But then imagine seeing that very same view change right before your eyes, moving and twisting and morphing as you cruise over the surface of the ground at an angle parallel to the earth. It's a really unique experience, and if you've never been on a helicopter before, I highly recommend trying it one day.

It wasn't actually my first helicopter experience, though. My mom and I had taken a helicopter excursion two years prior back in 2013, over the frozen terrain of Alaska and into a glacier where we got to go dog-sledding for an hour or so over the crisp, puffy, white flakes of snow. In July! Snow... In July??? Yes! Snow... in July!

So the juxtaposition of the frosted, wintry, mountainous landscape of Alaska during the summer two years ago, versus the dry, arid, desert terrain of Nevada and Arizona during the summer this year, was very fascinating.

After our helicopter tour came to an end, we headed back to our hotel to prepare for another exciting treat. The arrival of a great friend!

My super close and awesome friend Robin, whom I've known for about eight years since I was twelve, was flying in that night to come spend forty-eight hours of fun with us. She lives in Los Angeles so her flight from sunny California to equally sunny Nevada was a quick one, but she landed late Friday night and was ready for all that Las Vegas had in store.

We hung out for a few hours before going to sleep, ready to rest and recharge for everything we had lined up for the weekend. And, I have to tell you, it was one of the best night's sleep I've had in a while. The combination of hours aboard a flying machine (the helicopter in question), exploring the Grand Canyon, walking to the Wynn, and surviving the hot desert sun really can sap your energy! So the ultra comfortable and plush Bellagio bed was a welcome treat at the end of the day.

Come the next morning, we were refreshed and ready to go. After a quick breakfast and an iced cappuccino from the famous Jean-Phillippe Chocolate Shop with its volcanic lava flow of chocolate, traversing every tier of its signature glass chocolate fountain, we headed out to check out the Las Vegas Strip once again, stopping at nearly every hotel and shopping outpost along the way as Robin and my mom checked out all that the stores had to offer, and I kept busy by photographing the Strip as though I was its designated photographer.

We ended up once again at the Wynn, where — get this! — there was yet another surprise waiting to unfold. My great friend Krystal Joy Brown, an incredibly talented actress, singer, and writer, happened to be in Las Vegas for the weekend as well — what a fantastic coincidence! — and had seen one of my many Instagram posts about twenty-four hours prior. Lucky for me, she got in touch and we coordinated a fun plan to catch up since the last time we had gotten together was back home in NYC.

Now, let me take a quick detour for just a moment. Krystal deserves a MAJOR shout-out! We first got to know each other after I had seen one of her beyond spectacular performances in the hit Broadway musical MOTOWN last year, in which she played the starring role of Diana Ross, and became fast friends. She is absolutely one of the most talented people I know, not to mention a fun and awesome friend, so it was such a highlight to get to see her during my time away in Las Vegas.

In fact, not only did we stop off for a delicious lunch poolside at the Wynn Hotel restaurant BOTERO, named for the famous artist, but we spent almost six hours chatting, catching up, exploring Wynn and Encore, trying our best to find our way to the hotel exit (which isn't easy!), and then visiting the pool deck back at Bellagio. Such a fun afternoon!

Finally, Saturday night came to an end on a culinary high note. Once again (for the third or fourth time this trip if I haven't lost count yet), my mom, Robin, and I found ourself back at the Wynn, this time with a hard-to-get reservation at its signature flagship steakhouse, SW, aptly named for its namesake initial holder, Steve Wynn — the developer of the hotel. His impact on the Las Vegas Strip is impossible to fully capture in words alone — it has to be seen to be fully appreciated — but safe to say the Strip would look nothing like it does today without his influence. He is a true visionary who has built some of the most remarkable crown jewels of Las Vegas history.

SW, in keeping with Wynn's penchant for excellence, did not disappoint. In fact, it was stellar — one of my favorite dining experiences in Las Vegas, or maybe anywhere, by far! Every thirty minutes, the nearby lake, called the Lake of Dreams, suddenly awoke, with its massive waterfall and garden enclosure full of wildlife turning into a stage for a light show or performance of some sort. From giant electronic frogs that sang songs to slithering snakes to electronic light shows, each half hour was marked by some sort of spectacle, which provided an air of whimsy and drama to the high class dining experience. Very fun and different!

The food at SW was delicious, too. Robin ordered a tender and flavorful New York Strip steak (yum!), my mom opted for the Yellowtail Ceviche, and I ordered the Lamb Chops. Every bite was fantastic, giving us just enough fuel to hit up our next stop on the itinerary: the High Roller.

If you haven't seen it before, the High Roller is one of Las Vegas's new landmarks. It's a giant, round observation wheel even larger than the London Eye. With a summit of up to 550 feet, it provides thirty minutes of unadulterated views of Las Vegas from every angle, as passengers board giant spherical pods and traverse the circumference of the wheel.

The High Roller, Las Vegas' Very Own Massive Observation Wheel at The Linq

Stepping onboard, I couldn't help feeling as though we were harkening back to twenty-four hours or so prior when we stepped onto our helicopter at the airport. This trip was all about moving vehicles, it seemed, and none of them fell short!

Seeing the Las Vegas Strip from that height was mind-blowing. Although we had also had the chance to see it on the return leg of our Grand Canyon helicopter excursion, having flown over Las Vegas Boulevard and the towering hotels below, that was quick as we set course for the landing zone back near the Strip.

This was entirely different. This time, the sun had set, the hotels' lights had fully come to light, and we were moving along the circumference of this observation wheel in our pods at a glacial pace, giving us plenty of time to admire every view and really give them justice.

Such as the view of our very hotel, the Bellagio! The hotel's facade is crowned by a massive lake that comes to life every night with a massive waterworks performance, involving fountains that shoot water jets into the sky higher than I've ever seen before. To witness it all from within our glass-enclosed pod hundreds of feet above the Strip was even more thrilling, and really conveyed the power of the jets themselves and the mechanical achievements that must have gone into them.

And so came the end to our third evening in Las Vegas. A day of hotels, friends, observation wheel journeys, restaurants, water shows, you name it! An unforgettable one for sure.

Sunday — today — has marked our last day of this amazing weekend getaway. After five years, it's been so great to finally visit Las Vegas once again, and I'm already planning a return trip — much sooner than five years from now, for that matter! It's such a fun party place full of activities and opportunities, whether or not they entail a casino, and it was great to spend this weekend with so many close friends. Including two more we got to see today! Our friends Lisa Foiles, who starred on Nickelodeon's All That and now is burning up the TV and online charts as host of her very own show for UFC, and her husband Sean who is a really talented producer for MGM Hotels, stopped by to visit as well. What a cool way to cap off our Las Vegas getaway!

Check out a fun more fun photos from the weekend, taken at the Wynn and Venetian and many others. Each hotel has something to offer, each day had something unique, and every person who comes here to this desert oasis leaves with more than just memories that "stay in Vegas," as the famous adage goes. I think they leave with a memory of something that will stay with them for a very long time, and I'm delighted to report that I can say the same.

Alright, well I've managed to cram in this blog post just in time as I'm sitting at the gate at the airport waiting for the flight crew to announce Boarding at any moment now. So, signing off, big thanks for checking out this super long post (sorry for rambling!), and hope to see you one of these days on the Strip ;-)...

—Reed