Although the holiday season has only just officially begun, it has been nonstop ever since coming back from China. We've been going back and forth between the Bay Area and Los Angeles looking for a location for business. There's been a lot of looking, waiting, negotiating, and waiting more, but we've narrowed it down to two spaces, one in Southern California and one in the Bay Area. We'll see which location gives us the go ahead later this week.
In the midst of getting a business set up, a quick trip to Vegas over Thanksgiving weekend was a much needed break. It was Daniele's first time in Las Vegas so he had a whirlwind tour including day trips to Red Rock Canyon and, my favorite, the Valley of Fire.
I highly recommend combining Las Vegas with Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire. They are both easy daytrips from Las Vegas, about half an hour to Red Rock Canyon from the strip and an hour drive to the Valley of Fire. Both places are greatly overshadowed by the Grand Canyon and Zion, but much easier to get to and just as beautiful.
Heading to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving is sort of a family tradition for us. We skipped last year since my brother John was around with his family and we had a traditional turkey dinner instead, but every year we've been to Las Vegas I notice I get less interested in the strip and enjoy downtown much better. Downtown always feels more relaxed and still holds a glimmer of Las Vegas during its heyday. The strip on the other hand feels more like Disneyland, attracting a lot of first timers to the city and guys/gals celebrating 21st birthdays, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and families. It's an odd mix of people, which can be good for people watching, but gets annoying fast. Downtown has gone through a revitalization in the past few years, which takes away some of the seedier element and replaces it was some trendy, but down to earth, places. Since I'm not really much of a gambler I usually only play slot machines when I feel an itch to gamble. I never like to play on the strip since my money seems to do nothing but disappear, but there is a cluster of slot machines in one of the downtown casinos (it's my secret which one) where I always win money.
Since it was Daniele's first time in Las Vegas we stayed on the strip, but we've all agreed, the next time around we're staying downtown.
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