Todd's birthday was on Sunday so to celebrate his birthday he wanted to go the Cleveland Browns football game...in Las Vegas. Last Wednesday we drove to the John Glenn Columbus International Airport to catch our early morning Thursday flight. As always, I got my window seat and enjoyed watching the sunrise above the clouds.
Our flight wasn't direct. We stopped in Minneapolis-St. Paul to connect to Las Vegas. Did you know that SPAM is made in Austin, Minnesota, a town about 100 miles south of Minneapolis? SPAM was a staple in the last two years of Todd's college diet when he lived in off-campus housing.
Hello, Las Vegas! As we walked to the terminal, we could hear the ding, ding, ding of the gambling machines.
The Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix was going on while we were there. Lots of people came in to watch the four days of racing that was right in the center of town. Thank heavens our hotel was away from the race route as it was impossible to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. Our hotel was right on the monorail route so we bought a 4-day pass to get around and did a lot of walking, too.
So much art in all the hotels. This was one of my favorite pieces, "Tulips" by Jeff Koons. Many years ago when my daughter lived in New York City, she and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Jeff Koons had an exhibit on the Met's rooftop. His art is large in scale and is fun, colorful, and happy.
One of the days we went to the Mob Museum which is in Old Las Vegas. The Mob Museum really gave an understanding of organized crime's history and impact on American society. Walking around Old las Vegas was so different from the casinos on The Strip - the newer, glitzier part of town. Its Mid-Century architecture has been preserved. I really enjoyed this section of town and wished we could have spent more time exploring.
This breathtaking glass sculpture is Fiori di Como, created by Dale Chihuly, and it adorns the ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel's lobby. As its placard says, "Completed in 1998, this masterpiece is renowned not only for its staggering beauty and complexity but also for being the largest glass sculpture ever made, embodying Chihuly's distinctive style and unparalleled craftsmanship in the realm of blown glass art."
Here we are at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Both teams came to this game with a 2-8 record. Not a lot on the line except the glory of a win and the Browns did give Todd a 24-10 win for his birthday.
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