Off the Las Vegas Strip Dining Huge Shrimp, Steamed Clams & Oysters

Sometimes getting off the strip in Las Vegas you find some true gems. This was one of those outings.

We ate dinner at a fabulous restaurant; Briggs Oyster Co. at the Suncoast Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. I started with a Shrimp Cocktail. It had the biggest shrimp I have even eaten. Following that I had their clam chowder. It was thick and had a good amount of clams in it.  For the main course I had a Caesar shrimp salad. My mom had steamed clams, and a steak dinner.  Everything we had we loved.

We chose to eat at the bar as we could watch all the chefs cooking the meals. That alone was worth going. They had a bar of steaming/boiling pots that they cooked food in. We watched as they opened the oysters for oysters on the half shell. We also watched as they made the sushi rolls.

The service was outstanding. It was a fun night out with great food.

Great Resort on the Cancun Hotel Zone: Grand Oasis Sens – My Experience

Here is the review I promised of the hotel we chose in Cancun Mexico.

It was just a short ride from the airport. That is one of the upsides of staying near Cancun is that if you don’t have a long ride from the airport.

When you stay in the Sian Ka’an category you are treated us as VIP’s.

If you have a problem with your room be sure to ask the concierge or front desk to help you. Be articulate and tell them what they need to do to make you satisfied. Mostly be patient.

This is a quiet romantic relaxed hotel.  It’s sister resort the Grand Oasis Cancun which was much louder, crowded & busy.

It is good to know what atmosphere your looking for when you book a hotel. This trip we wanted an adult only quieter resort and the Sens fit it nicely.

Booking the Sian Ka’an Category has many advantages:

The have larger room. I would request one with a plunge pool & deck.

That the specialty reserved restaurants were included if you were Sian Ka’an.

Reserved beach beds with drink & lunch service.

The “Foam Party.” is one of our favorite activities but they only do it on Saturday.

We loved the choices of restaurants all of which were excellent with so many menu choices we couldn’t try it all in a week. Don’t miss out on the Black Hole, Benazuza Specialty restaurants. We also loved the Maki Taco & Hippie Chic along with a lot more.

We loved this resort built on different levels with  lots of stairs, amazing food, fun activities, great beach, large clean rooms, and a relaxed atmosphere.

The beach was good and they had lots of beach chairs.

There were so many restaurant choices, activities & shows. See my TripAdvisor review for all the details, reviews and tips.  My TripAdvisor Review

Exotic vacations need not be what you would normally think. Exotic vacations to me are ones where you have unique experiences or ones that are different, foreign to you or make you feel extra special. That opens up a lot of room for you to have an exotic vacation.

I have been to Venice a couple of times and it was defiantly a unique, different, foreign and memorable experience. I had never seen or experienced anything like it before. Some other exotic vacation experiences I can tell you about are Egypt, a Safari in Africa, canopying & the mud spa in Costa Rica, and even laying in the sun in Mexico.

Talking of Mexico I am preparing to go on my annual Riviera Maya Mexico vacation. This year we have chosen two different resorts. One of them the Secrets Silversands Resort. We chose this resort because we are looking for an exotic vacation. Exotic because it is supposed to be a classy high end luxury resort with a high level of service. I wanted to be spoiled this trip so we will see how this resort measures up to my hopes.

We are now staying in Playa del Carmen at the Real Playa Hotel and Beach Club. We are staying with hotel only. They offered us the all inclusive package at a reasonable rate but we wanted to go out and wander the 5th Ave tourist street and beach and eat there. This is an older hotel but the rooms are clean and near the beach. It is crazy with people for Spring Break and the Mexican Holiday as well. People everywhere. We walked to the beach and there were big concert stages set up but high walls around them so you had to pay to go in. The beach was very very crowded.

The worst was the partiers coming back during the night very drunk and very loud.

Guess what we found? A Fish Spa. I did this in Spain with my sister in law and friend. It was a great experience and my feet really were soft when I was done. It was so reasonable that I got dad to do it too. It was $21 for two people of $15 for one. Since it only cost  Gaylan $6 he decided to do it. People would stop and ask how it was. We were such good sales people that the spa manager kept giving us 5 more minutes. So instead of 15 mins. We go to stay for 45 mins. We got them 3 more sets of customers at least. It was great.People kept asking, “What does it feel like?” My answer is it it strange when you first put your feet in and all the little fish attack. It tingles almost like they are spot by spot numbing your feet. Once you get used to it you love it.

This town is really touristy. There is one street called 5th Ave. Norte. It is a walking only street with shops, restaurants, and bars for abt 30 blocks. We ate at a restaurant called “100% Natural Restaurant” We had fajitas and this fabulous green drink. It was cucumber, spearmint and lime.

Then we went shopping at the supermarket for snacks and breakfast food. At the bakery they give you a pizza pan and a pair of tongs. You pick out the pastries you want with your tongs and put them on the pizza pan. Then you take them to the counter and they wrap them individually in plastic and then place them in a paper bag with a price sticker on it. It was kind of cool.

We are loving having all these new experiences. I learned watching friends who always intended to experience new things and travel end up with health problems or as they got older their fears prevented them from trying new things. I am glad that we started traveling and having new and different experiences from the first when we were married even if it was a day trip somewhere.

We are going looking at condos and houses today but we think they will be too expensive on this side plus so far here we can’t see ourselves living in this area. Gaylan is a great driver and I navigate. It works out very well.

We loved the weather and the beach vacations we have taken to the Riviera Maya Mexico so much we decided to come back and look at a place to buy so that we can come for longer relaxing vacations. We have been looking online for weeks and talking with real estate agents from different areas of Mexico. We have decided to focus on Cancun, the Riviera Maya and on the beach areas outside of Merida Mexico.

Buying in a foreign country can sound exciting and scary. With all the shows like “International House Hunters” it can seem very glamorous as well.

We have learned that you need to learn the rules and laws involved before you set out so that you know the true costs and legal implications involved.

If you are buying near the beach (in the restricted zone) you can’t own the property. You will buy it in a trust through a bank called a “fideicomisos.” I also believe that you should always use a local attorney to check everything out on your behalf.

The first property that we are going to look at is a small boutique hotel/resort with a restaurant and bar. It is called Coco’s Cabanas. http://www.cocoscabanas.com Retire steps from the beach with a great income too. Sounds intriguing.

We are excited about this adventure. I will continue to blog about it.