Well,  when in Vegas you can go along the Strip, down the strip, up the strip or you can go ‘up up and away’. Vegas is a flat place so to get up and see the place you have to get up. This can be in all sorts of ways. Tall hotels and attractions, helicopters and small aircraft.

We chose to go up a couple of ways to see things from above.

Allthego went for a balloon ride, Homealone was just not into this and stayed at the hotel. It meant a 4am rise, to be all over by 8am or so. It was just great drifting around to the east of the strip. Landing in a new ‘field’ of rock and dust behind the latest IKEA. Great views. We got up to 4000 ft above sea level, actually 1600 feet above the ground at Vegas. It is only where water is available that there is greenery. So the golf courses have green fairways and greens but the rough is just dust and rock.

Golf Green from the Balloon

Getting the gas going in the balloon!

Our two fellow balloonists over Vegas

Now, most of those in the basket were a bit younger that Allthego. But, Allthego knew the name of the 60s (or was it the 70s?) famous ballooning song. Our pilot thought no one would know it! UP, UP AND AWAY IN MY BEAUTIFUL BALLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON. He played it loud on some sort of gadget, transmitting it to the other two balloons up there in our group. The Fifth Dimension would have been thrilled!

Later in the day , it was up the High Roller to get a closer look at the Strip. This was a bit like being in a balloon. There is little sensation of movement. Takes around half an hour, rises to 550 feet so you get great views of the Vegas skyline.

At the top of the High Roller

Cheryl and Marie looking out of the High Roller

The Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel was the next site for going up. It looks over the Bellagio and the famous water fountains. It certainly goes up and is a great look over the city. They provide you with an I Pad that shows the skyline of Paris from each angle. So you can pretend you are in Paris. Mitchell and I didn’t do this, just happy we were in Vegas!

Eiffel Tower

Bellagio water fountains looking down from the Eiffel Tower

From the Eiffel Tower

By this time Mitchell had joined us from Houston: Peter, Cheryl and family from Queanbyan, as well as Stuart and Marie. They had arrived for Homealone’s 60 th celebrations. Not sure where these were to beheld  but they certainly weren’t to be up!