October 21, 2009
Las Vegas, NV
Last night we went to the MGM Grand on The Strip for the evening. Back in August, I'd purchased tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show Kà online. As is our custom when we go to shows like this, we made reservations for a restaurant in the same hotel to avoid travel complications.
So, we drove over to the hotel with no traffic issues and parked in the garage. I was a little worried about clearance since we have the roof pod on, but the 8' 8" sign at the entrance made us comfortable. I'd picked Craftsteak for dinner, since we've tried some of the other restaurants in the MGM Grand before and like to try new things. We decided to try their Wagyu beef steaks, the domestic version of Japan's famed Kobe Beef. While good, neither of us found it to live up to the hype, so lesson learned there. We did pair it with a very good Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2001 vintage - on the recommendation from the sommelier (yes, guys do ask for assistance at times).
We were stuffed (overly so, actually) as we walked across the casino to the Kà Theater, and only had a short wait before they opened for seating. Since I had ordered the tickets so far in advance and done so through the "Cirque Club", we had seats in the first row center. The show was very good, perhaps a little more focused on dance and storytelling than most of the other Cirque shows that feature acrobatics. The seats were very good as well, although some of the aerial action took place over and behind our heads; the best seats are probably about 10 rows back. The seats did have embedded speakers in the headrests, though, so that made for a very good auditory experience.
It was after midnight when we got home, but we still walked the pups before bedtime. All in all a very good evening.
Today was the day for getting up late and taking an afternoon nap. In between, we did some prep work for Friday afternoon. On Thursday night, Geri's daughter, Pat, arrives from Connecticut for a few days of vacation with her husband, Al, and their friends, Mike and Lynn. On Friday, the guys are going to the U2 concert at UNLV and the gals are going to Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity burlesque show. We'll have everyone over here for kicked-up Philly Cheesesteaks in the afternoon, coupled with a bottle or two of the California Pinot Noir we collected, I'm sure. So, we have the whole beef tenderloin (I did mention kicked-up Cheesesteaks?) trimmed up, onions are carmelized, peppers are sauteed, and mushrooms are braised. With aged provolone and truffle oil, we should have a winner.
I also finished up a task that's been on my list all summer: writing up and posting online reviews of all the various RV parks we stayed at this year. Since I rely on these reviews as part of selecting parks where we stay, it's only fair that I submit my perspective for others. Since we stayed at about 20 different parks, this took up a good bit of the day, but I'm happy it's done.
2 comments:
Hi George, I would love to read your rv park reviews. Where might I find them? You chose the very best route from Buellton to Las Vegas, one we locals always use to avoid L.A. traffic. Interesting that you noted the 4-lane highway on Rte. 126 through Santa Paula to the 5 and the 14. Hwy 126 used to be known as Dead Man's Alley due to the number of fatal accidents on it. It was only two dangerous lanes at that time. We were all relieved that the road was widened some years ago.
Best wishes, Bonnie Barber in Santa Ynez
I add my reviews to http://www.rvparkreviews.com/ (clever name, eh?), and I use the site to get information when deciding where to stay. There's no easy way to read just one contributor's reviews, but you can link to my post on Flying Flags (http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/California/Buellton.html#CGID291) and there's a link to our other posts.
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