Above is the entrance to the Sanctuary Hotel where we stayed in Scottsdale, Arizona. \240The hotel is nestled in a valley just below Camelback Mountain (which isn’t really a mountain but a big rock hill).

Beautiful desert landscaping

The heated pool

All little bungalows tucked right into landscape.

Everything is very natural

Camelback Mountain

The desert can be beautiful

Main building

Our room (Room 202)

Snazzy bathtub

View from our room

View from our room

The view from outside our front door

Patti gets artsy

View through a screen

We went hiking in the desert at McDowell Sonoran Preserve

One of Patti’s best pics

This is a Saguaro Cactus

The saguaro is a cactus species which can grow to be over 40 feet tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona.Wikipedia

Another species of cactus.

More desert

On Friday evening we went to a cocktail party at the house of one of my fellow Board members at her beautiful home in Scottsdale. \240The pictures below are of her home.

Me and Katherine in her awesome wine cellar

Beautiful artwork throughout

Indoor outdoor living

Nice dining room

Very nice outdoor space with pool

Nice place to have a drink

Before we left Scottsdale for Las Vegas, we took a walk through the neighborhood near the hotel. \240Below are pictures of two of the homes we saw nestled in the mountains.

Scottsdale home (probably someone’s vacation home)

See how this home blends right into the environment

Next it was off to the Bellagio in Vegas to meet Mike and Joan.

The Bellagio

Famous blown glass graces the lobby ceiling

A full blown Christmas display was set up in the arboretum of the hotel. \240The pictures below are of this.

Whimsy

Love the bears

Relaxing

Having fun

You think they went a little overboard?

Snow Queen

We had a late lunch at a cute little French restaurant in the Paris Hotel.

A little Paris in Vegas

We had French onion soup - what else?

It’s now Sunday morning and Patti and I just got back from a 5 mile walk. \240We stopped by the Wynn Hotel and saw some more cool decorations.

Wynn

Inside the Wynn

Inside the Wynn

More pics later. \240It is time to head down to the casino and try to win some money. \240Bye from your hopefully lucky chronicler.

Tape Face is actually Sam Wills (born 28 August 1978), \240a New Zealand prop comic, busker, clown, and mime residing in London. He performs under the name The Boy With Tape On His Face and, more recently, as Tape Face. He won the show America’s Got Talent in 2016. Obviously, he does not speak during his 70 minute show. \240He communicates with his facial expressions, body movements and hand gestures.

Forbes magazine wrote that Tape Face revives silent film acting, using his facial expressions and body movements to captivate his audience: "His simplicity creates a complexity which results in a lot of laughter."

Patti and I were skeptical but the show was great. \240Tape Face brings audience members up on stage to help him perform various skits and it is hilarious. \240Believe it or not, he actually communicates so well, you forget he’s not speaking. \240Here we are below with the performer after the show.

Both Sunday and Monday, Patti and I managed to get a 5 mile walk in despite the fact that it was cold. \240How? We went from casino to casino along the Vegas Strip and walked inside. \240They are all huge and all interesting. \240Some highlights are below.

We walked through the Flamingo and then took a tour of the outside park.

We hiked through the Gran Canal shops which are located in the Venetian.

We visited shopping areas.

We walked through casinos. \240I even played the Ellen Degeneris video game where I got to choose my own avatar. \240By the way, I won $150.00 - yea me.

We walked across the Sands Avenue Bridge which runs over Sands Avenue.

Our favorite walking spot was The Forum Shops at Caesars (also known as simply The Forum). \240This is a major 636,000-square-foot shopping mall connected to Caesars Palace. \240Measured in terms of sales per square foot, it is the highest grossing mall in the United States. At 6:00 AM, it was empty and a great place to walk. \240One day we logged over 2 miles in the Forum Shops alone.

On Monday afternoon, we had an appointment to visit the private terrace outside of the Louis Vuitton store at the Bellagio at 5:00 PM. \240Joan had arranged it so we could stop in before dinner. \240The terrace is directly adjacent to the lagoon where the famous Bellagio fountain show takes place. \240We enjoyed wine, the show and some shopping.

Patti on the Louis Vuitton terrace with the fountains in the background.

Mike and Joan enjoying the show.

Then it was off to dinner at Spago, Wolfgang Puck’s famous restaurant. \240We had a great table on a heated outside patio - again with a great view of the fountains.

Mike and I had a pasta dish with truffles and lobster. \240They served with a cone to keep the dish infused with the truffle.

As you can see, it was a pretty amazing setting for a great meal.

After dinner, we headed down to Fremont Street which is the center of the old Las Vegas Strip. \240This area is seeing a renewal thanks to the amazing canopy that has been erected over the entire length of the street.

We headed to the D Casino where we had tickets to a show called “Friends the Musical Parady”. \240A show based on the TV show, Friends.

The D Hotel is interesting. \240It was originally the Sundance Hotel and was owned by Moe Dalitz. \240Dalitz also owned the Stardust and Fremont casinos. Dalitz was an organized crime figure and ultimately lost the casino when he was convicted of skimming off the top. The casino was bought by Don Barron, the only African American casino owner in Vegas.

The show was so-so but Patti delighted in getting every joke the cast told. \240Obviously, she has more than a few episodes of Friends. \240However, the whole experience was great fun. \240

One thing I failed to mention. Earlier in the day, I had placed a bet on the Philadelphia Eagles who were playing Washington on MOnday NIght Football. \240I was nervous because the Eagles were giving up 6 points. \240So, after the show, we found our way to the sports bar at the D Casino to watch the game. \240The Eagles were up 17 points when we first caught a glimpse but they managed to almost squander the game. \240They finally pulled it out by 10 points and I went home a winner once again.

We woke early Tuesday morning to a beautiful sunrise. We left for the airport with thoughts of Tape Face, Louis Vuitton, the beautiful Christmas, the winning \240Eagles, Spago and good times with Mike and Joan . \240

Until next time, be well. \240Sincerely, your faithful Chronicler.