Thanksgiving in Las Vegas

Thanksgiving and the celebration of my 22nd Birthday were part of the festivities of my week off work in Las Vegas. My favorite part of downtown is the Fountain Show at the Bellagio. The shows are synchronized to music.

My Thoughts on Las Vegas

There's much more to do in Las Vegas than gamble. The entire city, on the strip and off, is littered with casinos. And, for your convenience, there are even slot machines in the grocery stores and gas stations. However, I stand by my opening statement that there are other entertainment options in this city. My favorite part of going down "the strip" (main downtown Vegas) is touring the different hotels. The hotels are themed and extremely extravagent. One hotel has a botanical garden inside and another hotel has live lions on display. Just the other day I went to a Shark Reef within a hotel.

"In Las Vegas, smoking is a fact of life." -Las Vegas Tourist Guide

Smoking is a huge part of Las Vegas. If you don't like breathing in filthy air, Las Vegas is probably not for you. Honestly, you can avoid the smoke for the most part if you steer clear of the casinos, but the air is not the cleanest (and the streets aren't either).

Outside of Las Vegas, I intend to visit Lake Mead/ Hoover Dam. There are also some gorgeous national parks anywhere from 1-3 hours outside of downtown. Southern Utah provides a beautiful escape from the chaos of Las Vegas.

For those of you who did not already know, I am spending Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. I have about a week off and I am excited to relax and do some extra sight-seeing. In case anyone wants to take an impulsive trip to Las Vegas, I have two extra beds in my hotel room. :)

Hotels

"Never lose a chance of saying a kind word."
"Dream--then do!"
"Let the past drift away with the waters."

The above quotations were compliments of the shampoo bottles in my hotel. Who would have thought that they'd start putting inspirational sayings on those?

One of the common questions I get on the road is, "What is it like living out of hotels?" (This is usually asked with a contorted and slightly pained expression). Actually, I love trying out all of these hotels. Each time we move to a new hotel I get excited all over again. It's like being on a bunch of mini vacations--there's always a new adventure.

I promise I'm not paid to advertise, but my co-worker and I are faithful guests at the Holiday Inn Chain Hotels. Out of that chain, the StayBridge Suites are always my first choice. The StayBridge has apartment style room with a lobby that is designed in a more residential, rather than business, fashion. Right now, however, I am in a Holiday Inn Select which is extremely nice as well.

My Favorite Hotels Have A...
+Private balcony off each room
+Grand piano in the lobby
+Bowl of fresh fruit in the lobby
+24 hour pool and fitness room
+Beach within a half mile

Snapshot

Picture this. We pull up to a local radio station and find a place to park our 27 foot vehicle outside the station. As we walk up to the studio, the door is flung open, a myriad of introductions are exchanged, and suddenly the entire crew is racing out the door and down the stairs like little children on Christmas morning. Within seconds, the radio station starts broadcasting their morning show from inside the WM.

Not all DJ drops, or stops at radio stations are as picture-perfect as this one, but I thought you'd enjoy this snapshot of a media day.

HD Challenge

This week is the official "Challenge" or competition between our teams. Spread across the country, there are six Mobiles and a team of two in each Mobile. Usually, we follow a tentative schedule of events set by our boss. This week we are responsible for scheduling all of our events. The team with the best events wins the Challenge.

Jeff & I set up events at a retirement home, a couple of hospitals, an outdoor mall, as well as an amusement park. Today we interviewed with 8+ media outlets across Bakersfield. Though we pitch our story to many different people, my favorite are the editors at small-town newspapers. We have a busy, but fun week ahead of us!