Hoover Dam and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!

February 23, 2012

 This morning was our big event of the trip, the Hoover Dam tour. I must say I thought it may be cheesy, but it wasn’t at all. Part of the deal for the groupon was a big tour bus would come and get us at the hotel, drive us there and back and feed us lunch. Not too shabby. It was nice looking out the window and just enjoying the ride. When we arrived I was blown away. The dam was incredible; I had never seen anything like it. First of all I didn’t know anything about Hoover Dam and the history of it. It was built during the great depression. They had a seven year plan to build the dam; they finished two years early and under budget. Pretty sure that is unheard of in today’s society something getting finished early and not over spending.  Just over 16000 men worked 363 days a year to complete the project, and were paid four dollars a day the equivalence of about one hundred dollars a day today. Considering there were no jobs at the time, this was a job that men travelled from all over to work at. Over six million tons of concrete was used to construct the 726 foot dam. I loved the tour and the great pictures we got.

  The buffet we had was delicious. Italian, Mexican and fresh sandwiches with lots of desserts to choose from. I had this delicious Banana bread cake that I need to get the recipe for. We then continued our journey to our last place to visit, the chocolate factory. I was disappointed Willy Wonka was not there and the umpa loompas weren’t working. The recession had taken a big hit on this factory so they only made chocolates in the morning and not afternoon. So we got to try a few samples and look at the crazy chocolate creations they had for us to see and buy.

  On the way home, Brett asked if I wanted to go to a show tonight. Without even hesitating I said I wanted to see Phantom of the Opera. I never thought in a million years I would get Brett to go to an opera with me. Frankly he was quite impressed and was blown away with the effects. Vegas always goes above and beyond anything that you would ever see. I LOVED Phantom of the Opera! My emotions were going crazy I can’t even describe how I felt.  Shivers were running up my spine because the overall opera was absolutely mind-blowing. The music was remarkable and I almost felt like I was a part of the show. The design of the Venetian theatre makes any show you go to worth a lot more. The acoustics and the fact that you can sit anywhere and it’s still a great spot. I wanted to go again and again. Phantom was superb, Christine phenomenal, the sets probably worth a million dollars, the effects had me almost jump out of my chair with the chandelier, and the vocals was truly astonishing. Thank you Brett for being the best husband in the world by putting up with an opera.