So I’ve been trying to plan our vacation for a month or so and finally we had some time to figure out exactly what we wanted to do and make some bookings. We are going to spend a week out West in the Desert. I can’t wait, as I’ve never been further West than Pittsburgh. We’re both working Labor Day, so on the next day, Sep 8, we’re going to fly out to Phoenix. We’ll spend a day and a half touring the city and area there and then have a head start as we make the drive to the Grand Canyon. After the Grand Canyon (and a brief stop at the Hoover Dam), we continue driving and stay in Las Vegas from late Thursday to Tuesday Morning. This gives us a nice four days in Vegas. We’re all booked and ready to go!
On the Sports end of things, I’ll be checking out two stadiums and was hoping for a third which is still a possibility. Chase Field will be #71 and my 7th MLB stadium as we’ll be there for the Sep. 9 game vs the Dodgers. Then in Vegas, Sam Boyd Stadium is the destination for the UNLV-Oregon State game Saturday Night. I was hoping the Las Vegas 51s would make the playoffs as we could see a playoff baseball game at Cashman Field that week, but they have no chance to get in (and really haven’t all season with Sacramento way ahead in the standings). The other alternative is Orleans Arena. Now this is purely coincidental, I swear, but after much deliberation, we are going to be staying in the Orleans Hotel & Casino. We really love what we saw with the hotel and there is a ton of fantastic reviews, the price is excellent too, the only downfall is not being on the strip, but we have a rental car . So anyway, the 9,000 seat arena hosts the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL) and some college basketball events and is also located in the casino. There are no events currently scheduled, but I’ll at least check out the arena and see if I can get some peaks inside. I am definitely excited for those two games and to see a couple of nice venues.
Those are the plans, in the meantime, the next stadium trip is Citi Field to see the NY Mets. That is tentative, but hoping it should work out. Tonight is the induction of Bruce Smith and Ralph Wilson to the Hall of Fame. Also looking forward to checking out the Bills tomorrow in the Hall of Fame game, mainly to see how the OL is gelling together.
Stadium and Arena Visits 