West Lakes to West Coast

12 Dec 2013

Twenty members plus six friends of the West Lakes Combined Probus Club in SA met at thhe very early hour of 4.30am to fly to Melbourne then on to Los Angeles and through to Las Vegas.

Our coach picked us up and took us to the Flamingo Hotel situated right in the middle of the strip, which was to be our home for the next seven days and yes it does have live flamingos in the beautiful gardens which surround the hotel. 

After unpacking we began to explore the hotel, then the strip, with jaws dropping at the sight of hotel after hotel offering amazing sights and sounds.

Each one is themed in a different way and each one is set on several acres of land with the grounds landscaped to match the hotel theme. 

This is like Disneyland for adults and just when you think you can't be surprised any more – you are. 

At night you can sit halfway up the 'Eiffel Tower' at the Paris Hotel in their dining room and watch the dancing water display straight across the road at the Bellagio Hotel.  

You can stroll down the strip and watch the battle of the pirates with one ship sinking at the end of the display and next door a volcano erupts and lava flows down into the water.  The Venetian Hotel has a canal running through it and you can take a gondola ride which ends at 'St Marks Square'. 

As it was Fall in America, the hotels had wonderful displays featuring autumn colours of flowers, fruit and vegetables and the garden displays were amazing – even a working waterwheel and talking trees.

Then of course there were the shows. We managed to see Cirque du Solei O and Love, Elton John in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Human Nature at The Venetian, plus a wonderful old style burlesque show at Ballys. 

We also had a day at the Grand Canyon and there are photos to prove it with people showing the whites of their eyes as they stand on the glass skywalk high above the canyon. Some flew over the rim in helicopters and landed at the bottom for lunch.

We flew back to LA and boarded our cruise ship the Sapphire Princess. Ports of call were San Francisco, (riding trolley cars and eating at Fisherman's Wharf), Santa Barbara, (beautiful harbour and lovely homes), San Diego (tying up next to the aircraft carrier Midway which is now a museum and restaurant) and Ensenada in Mexico – a complete contrast to all the other ports.

Past President Peter Bunyard organised our tour with the help of his lovely wife Joy and we all owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude for this unforgettable holiday.