Viva Las Vegas!

My conference in Las Vegas was last week, so Stacy went along for the fun -- while I worked -- at least during the day! We stayed at Bally's, one of the older hotels but that's right in the middle of the strip -- next door to Paris and across the street from the Bellagio (fancy). After we checked in, we ate at Bill's Gamblin Hall and Saloon (across the street and next to the Flamingo). It was pretty good, and very reasonable (I had a BBQ burger). We had to check out the Bellagio, one of the newer hotels, which had a beautiful garden area they were re-working. On the lobby ceiling are 2,000 spectacular hand-blown glass flowers commissioned by world-renowned artist, Dale Chihuly. It's almost too beautiful to describe.

There are really quite a few things to do in Las Vegas that are free, and the water show at Bellagio is one of them. The water is choreographed to classic Las Vegas music and shoots up in the air and twists and turns, it's really beautiful. By the time we passed through Planet Hollywood and Paris (check out the Eiffel Tower behind us), I was exhausted, so I chilled out in the room while Stacy went to check out the casino at the hotel. You can't walk anywhere in Las Vegas without walking through a casino -- they've designed it that way!

We had early meetings on Tues. and got to hear Tony Hsieh, CEO with Zappos.com, on "Building A Brand That Matters"; and Nadira A. Hira, a writer with Fortune Magazine, on "The Wired Y-ers: Understanding the Social Networking Generation." Both of these were excellent -- Zappos concentrates on the "best customer experience" (giving their WOW experience) with free shipping and returns. As a "baby boomer," I've always found studying the different generationational characteristics following us boomers very enlightening. I've spent so much time thinking "why don't they just change and do it right," when I should be concentrating on the best way to communicate our message to them. Which is one of things we're doing now on our WEC website with videos and Twitter -- and I guess what I'm doing now with "blogging!" See, I do learn things at these conferences! I've really begun to enjoy the "social marketing" available through blogging, Facebook and Twitter.

That night we joined several from other Alabama co-ops to go down to the older "original" Las Vegas -- to Fremont Street where the Golden Nugget and Binion's is. They have the "canopy of light and sound" -- a several-block-long covered area where they have a laser light show each night. This area was a lot of fun with street artists and musicians. We had dinner at the Golden Nugget with Dianne and Jimmy Hale (Sand Mountain Electric Co-op).

On Wed., Stacy took a tour to the Grand Canyon. I passed on this -- I'm not too fond of heights, and they don't have railings on the Grand Canyon! Actually, the tour he signed up for was over-booked, and he got upgraded to a better package for the same price -- so he was thrilled. He boarded a plane with 17 Indians (from India), then took a helicopter into the Grand Canyon, took a boat ride up the Colorado River, flew on a helicopter out to the south rim, visited with some Native Americans -- and had the time of his life!

Meanwhile, I was doing my duty. We had the Spotlight on Excellence Luncheon that day where we received our awards -- four Awards of Excellence (first place in our classification) and one Award of Merit (2nd place). We were very excited and honored to have received these awards. One was Brad's for the Relay For Life photo (on the cover of May's Alabama Living Magazine), and the other 1st places were for our website, our E-Newsletter and our Total Communications Program. The 2nd place was for our Employee Newsletter. As a little perk during the luncheon, Janet and I got to have our photo taken with Elvis -- and then he left the building!

That night we all went to the "Don Arden Jubilee" show at Bally's -- a general Las Vegas style show. (We had a half-price coupon, nice!) The costumes and sets were georgeous. Afterwards, we ate at a cafe in Paris -- great special of steak medallions, and of course, creme brulle for dessert -- my very favorite!

Thurs. afternoon Stacy and I visited several of the hotels to get the Las Vegas experience! We found the monorail system to be the best way to get around faster -- and save our feet. My favorite was the Venetian with its Grand Canal winding throughout and gondola rides (no, they weren't free and we didn't do); St. Mark Square where we got a $5 bowl of glacee (Italian ice cream); were entertained by the Artiste del Arte, a musical presentation in the ancient Venetian style; and enjoyed a "living statue!" The musical star flirted with Stacy -- which thrilled him no end -- and he kissed her hand! After all that traveling around the world, we were so tired and sore that I talked Stacy into the "water massage" at our hotel. You just lie down in a machine sort of like a tanning bed, and the water pressure massages you from head to foot. Felt great for our tired bodies!

Thurs. night Stacy and I had tickets to Cirque du Soleil's Love at the Mirage. It was amazing -- done to the music of the Beatles. I can't say enough about the acrobatics and sets and costumes! Stacy even liked it! I hope some day to see another Cirque du Soleil! After the show, we watched the volcano show in front of the Mirage.

On Fri., we all took a tour sponsored by NRECA to Hoover Dam. It is huge -- and fascinating that it was built in five years in the 1930s. We got to go down to the generating plant and walk through rock tunnels hundreds of feet under the ground. Can't believe those transmission towers protruding from the rock faces at 45 degree angles. And to think it's original intent was water management and not power production -- that was just a by-product. They are in the process of building a bridge down from the dam that I would be afraid to drive over! If you ever have a chance to see it -- go!

So Las Vegas isn't just for gambling -- in fact you can find plenty to do without even hitting a slot machine. They just steal your money anyway! It was a fun trip -- and educational -- but it sure was good to get home and sleep in my own bed!