This may turn out to be lengthy (as I have a tendency to drone on and on), so if you need to take a 7th Inning stretch or make popcorn, that's okay.
Destination was The Eastside Cannery because this is where The Vogues were appearing. The original Vogues were friends of mine from my nightclub days in Pittsburgh. They had several hits from the mid-60's. Two of the originals are with the group, Hugh & Bill.
My Mapquest got me to The Cannery without any problem. It's not quite a year old, or so I was told, and I'd never spent much time in Henderson. Boulder, yes, but not here. Easy check-in, the room was nice, (I took photos & a video) then I went down to get a feel for the place, like I always do. I gambled a little bit, penny slots, wasn't winning and I figured, "Oh, well, par for the course, for me." Then it was time to dress for an early dinner at CARVE.
A highlight of the trip was meeting JMT. Joe's knowledge of Las Vegas is outstanding. So is his memory. He remembered what my chicken dish was and I've forgotten it. It was excellent though. The service was great, or I think it was. We were about the only people in there that early, so we had practically the whole wait staff at our beck and call.
Then we checked out the rooftop disco, which wasn't really rocking yet. So we sat outside for a while. this was an achievement in itself because I suffer from acrophobia. (I took videos) and yakked about Las Vegas. Did I say Joe's knowledge of Las Vegas is . . .oh yeah. The setting sun was beautiful but when the buildings started to light up, it was gorgeous! All that glitz gets me every time. We agreed to meet for breakfast at the Flamingo and the Margaritaville cafe--to people watch.
I got to Flamingo early, after following great directions from JMT. A friend of mine was to join us and she was late in arriving. The food was good but the staff was terrific, acting as if they didn't mind at all that I sat at their table for 2 1/2 hours, sipping decaf and taking movies. My friend told me, "You know, Joe's knowledge of Las Vegas is amazing!" Thank you Joe!
INTERMISSION
I bought a salad in the deli back at the Cannery for a late lunch. Then it was down to Marilyn's to wait to be first in line for the show. The show was really good. I told Bill afterward that he sounded like he did 35 years ago when he sang Magic Town. So I hung around until 10 pm and then I went across town to Arizona Charlie's to meet my friend, Monica and to see and hear David van Such.
David van Such is phenomenal! He outdoes himself every time I hear him. If you've never heard him, do yourself a favor. I was telling a man sitting next to me at breakfast the next day about him and he said that he prefers rock and roll. I said I always did too but then I heard David. There were people doing the jitterbug, the boogaloo, ballroom dancing-everything to his music.
A few hours of sleep and then I was off to The Bellagio to meet Monica and to indulge in the buffet. I made a wrong turn or didn't make the right one and ended up on Fremont St. but I thought, "Oh well, I haven't seen this in a while" And I enjoyed the ride down the strip from that direction. I had told Monica 10 am because we could get the breakfast buffet price and then they start putting out the lunch while you're still eating, so it's a better deal for gluttons, but I hadn't figured on the holiday buffet price. Oh well, it was Bellagio!! And they had wonderful crab legs, shrimp and all the fantastic stuff I've come to know and love.
Then Monica had to go to work while I went in to the art gallery where they were showing Lichtenstein, Warhol and friends. (Not my favorite art style but I remembered the last time I'd seen Picasso and was disappointed that it wasn't Impressionists or Masters, but I'd enjoyed it and came away with a greater understanding and appreciation for something different. It was that way this time too. They do some wonderful showings there.
Then it was time for the conservatory, which was in full bloom, literally and with the Cahouily (sp?) glass flowers as well. I've never been there in the Springtime, so that was a special treat.
Reluctantly, I left and returned to my hotel. I was running out of tip money so I hit the machines to rack up some more white tickets. I had decided to see The Vogues again because my camcorder had quit on me and I had to get some film of them. And my middle daughter had instructed me to tell them that they were her introduction to live groups performing (since I always dragged my kids along on my escapades, some of them.) And I was going to have to go back to A.C.'s, as promised.
Vogues were great again. I talked to them afterward and got some photos & film. If I can figure out how to transport them to here I'll put up the one with me in the shot. Then it was back to A.C.'s. (This narrative is beginning to sound like the movie 29 Dresses.) I now had a fully charged camera and camcorder. I got there after the first set was over . I asked David if he'd already done, When a Man Loves a Woman,(my favorite) he said no, he was saving it for me. I asked him if he minded if I filmed him while he did it. He said it was ok. So I've got that on film and he sounds so good! He gave me a CD after his last set and picture this:
It's quarter to three
I'm on 95/93
Heading to Cannery
Hearing music David gave me
It's heaven . . .ly!

I loved every minute of this trip. I regret that I didn't have a chance to check out the Springs Preserve that Joe told me about. Next time. And I want to go to the haunted places also. There was so much going on because of the holiday--lots of groups in town. If I'd known that, I would have planned to stay longer. That way I could have seen Lena Prima too. Next time I'll research it more fully. I learn a lot from talking to the people sitting next to me at shows or working in the casinos. Or, when I'm flying, by talking to people. I've made a lot of friends that way. A lady at the show Saturday night turns out to do past-life regressions (an interest of mine) so next time I'm going to look her up.
Oh, and I always do valet parking, everywhere. It takes the hassle out of trying to find a place to park and the walk back to my car at 2:30 a.m. I learn things from those attendants too, like best routes, things to avoid, politics of the day, etc.
So it's Q&A time.

Thanks Vickie. I had a great time. That sunset view from the top of the Cannery was nice.

Did you ever get back to Carve? Did you get to attack the dessert cart?

What was the name of the CD you got from David? I have one called Sweet Sax.

Sorry you never made it to the Springs Preserve. It's good times. Just ask Monica.

Yes, J, the view is awesome!

You had to go and remind me of the dessert cart at Cannery, didn't you? No, I didn't make it in there. I did get a bear claw in the deli, only because Jennifer told me to. So it was dessert with my 1/2 a salad. (Good too!)

The CD David gave me is "For My Friends". It has Europa (a favorite) Watermelon Man, Peter Gunn, (the main reason he gave it to me. He played that Saturday night and I'd never heard him do it before.) The video I made of him is quite good. The one of The Vogues is too, although they sounded better Friday night. Bill told me he had a complaint. I thought he was going to say the smoke but he said the dry air was affecting his throat.

I'm sorry I didn't get to the Springs. I thought I was going to go back over this weekend but I have to call in for jury duty, so I won't be going. I'm jealous too because Monica said she's going to hear David at The Orleans. Next time I want to stay longer and plan better. And I will go to the Springs!

Vickie, you must have a cast iron stomach to sip Margaritaville coffee for 2 hours<g>.

That had to be thrilling to see & hear the Vogues again, and it sure sounds like I need to track down David van Such. LOL, I did share that heavenly feeling on my last trip - tooling around town with favorite music bouncing around between my ears.

We also share a fondness for the occasional Bellagio buffet, but if you love seafood, you might want to try the Mandalay Bay buffet some trip. It runs less than Bellagio, and it's seafood night every night there. Oh yeah, we also share a fondness for the Conservatory and Old Masters too.

Thanks stoking my withdrawal symptoms<g>!

Hey Daisy!
Next time you're going to be in Vegas let me know. I'll meet you and we can tool around town together. I have a variety of types of music ('cause I like it all) in my cd deck. In fact I've spent the last 2 days burning cd's of my vinyls, most of it Oldies from the 50's, 60's & 70's. I did some Louis Prima and The Vogues. Tell me what you like and I'll burn some. My kids got me a Crosley that burns from vinyls & cassettes but it doesn't make cassetts. That's all one of my cars (a classic) has.
Seafood at Mandalay, huh? Ok, it's on my list. I went to the Strat seafood buffet and it was ok. This was quite a while back. No lobster, but most of the places don't have that on the buffet. There is this place, Angel's in Orlando that has lobster (the little ones) & it is all you can eat. Wanna fly down to Orlando? But I haven't seen it around here or LV. The Nugget in Pahrump (surprise) had lobster claws and a pretty good seafood buffet. But last time I was there they'd done away with the claws.
I will try to save up an appetite (yeah, right!) for the dessert cart at The Cannery or Bellagio or Orleans or . . .

Boy did I murder Dale Chihuly's name!! He does the most beautiful glass flowers--huge flowers-and you can see them in Bellagio's lobby & conservatory. He did some for the winter Olympics in Salt Lake, 2002, too. 2002,

Vickie, this is too funny! I gave away a couple of my old vinyls recently, so that moved my vinyl-to-CD project up higher on my priority list<g>. I've looked at the Crossley units, but I'm using my old Audio-Technics turntable with moderate success. I can play music through my computer and save the WAV files on the computer, but I may need new software to "finalize" CDs to play elsewhere - or I may just need some new CD players<g>. Anyway, the funny part is that one thing I can do is record CDs to cassettes on some of my older equipment - so - send me an email, I think we can work this out to our mutual benefit.

Daisy-thank you for mentioning your old equipment. I have a CD/cassette player and I checked it out-it records disc to tape. Yippee!! Now I can make cassettes for my old car (which is a black Jag with a sun roof) We can go drag The Strip and play Oldies, C&W, whatever.

Vickie,
Thanks for the great report. It does sound like you had a great time, if only a little short on the time!
Yes JMT is quite knowledgeable on Vegas, but please, lets not give him too big a head! LOL
Vegas is a lot of different things to many people. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us all. No 2 trips are alike, and seeing vegas through others eyes is always a fun read.
My only suggestion is to bump up Lena on your "to-do" list, she really is a great person to chat with and the singing ain't to shabby either!
Thanks again for the wonderful report!
Lee-PA

Vickie, have you ever seen the art work of Grace Slick? Yes, from Jefferson Airplane. She might tour CA all the time. Anyway, she was here doing an art show when you were here. I do like some of her art work and I was a Jefferson Airplane fan in the old days.

She has a popular painting(s) of Alice In Wonderland shots with the faces of pop icons from the Airplane days.

Hey Joe, I hadn't seen any of her work but thanks to you for mentioning it, I checked it out. She's got some good stuff! Lots on Jimi Hendrix & Janis Joplin. I was a fan of Jefferson Airplane too. Grace Slick is quite a talent!