Dropping a few coins in a slot machine is just the beginning of the entertainment options that Las Vegas offers. They don't call this America's playground for nothing. Ride roller coasters, play some cards, watch a pirate battle unfold before your eyes, spy some dolphins, take a simulator ride through Egypt, bowl, shop, get married, swim and play.
The city is built on 40 hills, each providing a very different atmosphere. This was the setting for the 'Summer of Love' in Haight-Ashbury. There is the opulence of Knob Hill, where the wealthy built extravagant mansions in the 1870's, and the wealthy of California still live today. You can also enjoy the sights of Fisherman's Wharf popular with tourists and sea lions, full of shops, silly museums and family fun. Still a working wharf, its vendors sell thousands of tons of fish and shellfish. Sample delicious local seafood and take the ferry to Alcatraz Island, home of the world's most notorious prison. The Golden Gate Bridge must be walked over and an afternoon in Golden Gate Park is a delight. Sonoma and Napa wine valleys are slightly north with Carmel and Monterey 2 hours south down beautiful Highway One.