My husband and I spent a few days in Las Vegas this past week, my first true visit there, although Harry has been several times. Vegas provides an easy-to-reach getaway from Medford, as Allegiant Air provides direct, one-and-a-half-hour flights to McCarran Airport several times a week. Harry chose a flight/hotel package for us that made for a fairly inexpensive spring break trip, and the weather cooperated with sunny, 70-degree days.

Our shuttle from the airport to our hotel took us down the Strip, so I was able to get a good look at all the imposing, fanciful edifaces of the various hotel-casino complexes which line it. Most impressive is the recently opened (December 2009) CityCenter complex. Composed of several gleaming glass-and-steel high rises surrounding the Crystals retail and entertainment cluster (from the street, vaguely reminiscent in form of the Experience Music Project in Seattle — though not so colorful), it represents the largest, single privately funded development in U.S. history. MGM Mirage and Dubai World partnered in building the $11 billion, 76-acre multiuse development, and all I could wonder as I listened to the number-of-room statistics our driver relayed was how many of those were going to be empty until the economy recovers.

Las Vegas has certainly taken a major hit over the last two years; I caught a bit of a news story on the TV one evening that indicated that while the numbers have slowly started to creep up in the last few months, visitors and spending are still way down. While the casinos certainly weren’t bursting with players during the day (this was, after all, mid-week), there seemed to be lots of vacationers strolling Las Vegas Boulevard during the day, and the gaming tables were livelier at night when the numerous conventioneers got out of their seminars and had the chance to kick up their heels.

Although I spent a little time at the penny slots (yep, that’s me, a real high-roller), we enjoyed more time strolling the Strip, taking a ride up the Paris’ Eiffel Tower (good for a bird’s-eye view of the area), window shopping and cruising through the various venues. I have to say that I think my favorite is the Bellagio. The property is stunning, from those dancing fountains out front to the Dale Chihuly glass art installations and the landscaped grounds (gardens will get me, every time).

More Vegas observations, tomorrow.

— Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader