I was in Vegas for a couple days on a business trip. We stayed at The Mirage. I have to say I'd give a mixed review to anyone that asked. The public bathrooms smell like coconut (nice), everything costs extra - the sauna, movies, etc. (not so nice), the in-room soap is oatmeal soap (nice), it's way too crowded (not so nice), the volcano is cool (nice), and they have an awesome aquarium in the lobby (nice). In fact, they don't even have HBO or anything because they want you to purchase your movies at a way too inflated cost. The light bulbs in my bathroom were burnt out during my stay (not so nice), the pool wasn't open due to renovation (not so nice), and even if it had been open, you would've had to walk through the mall and crowds of people in your swimsuit just to get to the pool (not so nice). Also missing were the little touchs that most other hotels have, such as a free copy of USA Today in the morning, or a bathrobe, or your hotel bill slipped under your door on the morning that you're checking out. The lack of the latter affected me because when I didn't see my bill under the door, I went down to the lobby to get a copy of my bill but took one look at the crowds waiting in line and said 'forget it'. All-in-all, I don't think it's that great of a hotel.

I did walk 'the strip' one night and watched the water fountain show at Bellagio. They were playing some awesome Pavarotti, and the fountain coreography was stunning. It could've lasted longer, in my opinion, but it was very nice. The crappy part about walking up and down the street is that these stupid people keep trying to shove porno cards/booklets into your hand every 20 or 30 feet, despite the fact that there are several signs posted on fences and such stating that it's illegal to distribute handbills. As a consequence, there are thousands of cards littering the ground all up and down the strip, as well as stuck in fences, on garbage canisters, on the pedestrian overpasses, etc.

Films we've recently viewed: Piglet's Big Movie, Space Cowboys (Clint Eastwood, James Garner, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland), Whatever It Takes, and "Finding Faith in Christ" (the free DVD that came with the Ensign this month).