You guys are just great and I thank you for the comments about Vegas. They will be very helpful while I finish up the planning for the trip.
meleah: I hear you when you say how exhausted you are when you get home. I did a mock-up flight and hotel room reservation and the flight alone will KILL. Leaving from our local airport at 9:00 AM will get us to Vegas at 3:00 PM. That isn't too bad--and we only have to change planes twice. (Oy!) However, coming back, we leave at 8:30 AM and don't get home till 10:00 PM! That will be one very long day--ESPECIALLY our almost 6 hour layover in Madison, Wisconsin! I guess I will just have to actually GO to the travel agent and get this planned out for me. :)
Dazd: I definitely will send an email to Carmen--thanks for the link!
kristi: We DID hear about Fremont St--the good AND the bad. We plan on going to see the lights and then high-tail it back to the Strip! I almost decided we should stay at the Bellagio--cost be damned !--but it is a little too high end for us. We are simple people--McDonald's was a big night out just a few years ago--so I don't think we would feel very comfortable there. I'm leaning toward Treasure Island right now--a co-worker of the hubby stayed there recently--and the reviews on Trip Advisor have been good. People LOVE the MGM Grand on Trip Advisor, but I want to stay more in the middle of the Strip--MGM is too far out. We have been told that the pirate show is just not what it used to be--nothing I will be waiting to see, for sure.
While we WILL do some gambling in Vegas, it won't be a whole lot. We play slot machines and that's about it. I KNOW I could play Texas Hold-em, but I would NEVER try my luck at a big casino. NOBODY wants a newbie at a gaming table. :) What I want to do the most is sight-see and people watch--and the people watching is very much the best part of going somewhere like Las Vegas. Of course, we will be seeing Elton John in concert, but haven't decided where else we will go. Time will tell.
So, if anyone else has any advice, please add to the comments. They all are appreciated.
Thank You
