Friday, November 28, 2008

Las Vegas

Vegas was fun! We went with a couple we knew from my work (the girl is the one I worked with about a year and a half ago). We grabbed lunch at the Cracker Barrel on the way down, and the four of us talked all through the entire six-hour drive. We all got along so well, I really enjoyed both of their company. I was glad that our husbands got along so well, too. (I worry about that, I don't know why. I always just worry that everyone is having a good time). But it was fun.

We stayed at the NY-NY the first night. I think our room selection had been upgraded somehow, but we were fine with that because it was huge! And what was cool was that it was on a corner of the building, so two entire walls were covered with windows. And there was a column/pillar-thing too. It was neat. After we got there, we went out on the strip and played until about 2 a.m. I actually saw a real pole-dancer in one of the casinos. Also, I had forgotten to bring my ID with me, and got carded and kicked out of one of the bars. (We were only there for water, but they didn't want me there.) Anyway. It was pretty embarrassing, but I really didn't expect that I look like I'm that young. (Someday I'll be grateful for that, I'm sure). Anyway, we walked through some really cool looking casinos, Geoff played the tables a little bit and won $130. We also went to see the Bellagio water show, with the Andrea Bocelli/Sarah Brightman song.

The second day we went back out on the strip and shopped a little bit at the outdoor kiosks and the mile-long mall or whatever it's called. Our feet were aching and tired by about noon, so we went upstairs the coke store and did the 16 flavors of the world for 7 bucks. The four of us passed around the flavors of coke and decided which ones we liked. There was so much soda that we had a lot leftover, so Geoff mixed a bunch of them together and chugged. It was disgusting but we cheered him on. Then we went to a HUGE buffet at the Excalibur, which was yummy. We joked about getting tickets to the Thunder from Down Under, ha ha. We ended up not going to that one, but tried to find a show that all of us could enjoy and afford. We really couldn't find any shows that we wanted to pay $200 to see, so we ended up not going to one. Next time we go though, I'd like to plan a show in advance then we don't have to worry about it when we get down there. So since we weren't going to a show, we decided to blow a little cash on the roller coaster, which was way fun. I love roller coasters.

The rest of the night we just walked around the MGM Grand, which is where we stayed the second night. It was SO NICE!! The room was just incredibly nice. The covers were all soft and fluffy, and they have this green light that they shine up at the rooms from the outside, so you have this soft, calming green light coming through the windows, I loved that. We had some creepy pictures on the wall though, of girls from the movies from decades ago. So we thought even though we knew our hotel room wasn't haunted that we should do EVP. Yeah, we didn't catch anything. (It was kind of a joke anyway.) We walked around the shops they have on the main floor... HOLY CRAP. I was just amazed that people can live that way... they had all the expensive stores... Gucci, Dolce & Gabana, Armani, Cartier, etc. The shops went on forever and ever. We actually walked in one to look at the clothes and couldn't find even a single shirt for less than $250. It was neat to see it all though. Afterwards Geoff went to gamble a little and I walked around with Ashlee & Jared for awhile and went to the room and took a hot bath, which felt so good for my tired legs. (It seems like we walked so much our legs were always so tired).

The way home was probably one of the best parts of the trip, because we just took our time getting home. After we left the hotel we went to the Las Vegas temple and did a session. It had one of the most gorgeous rooms I've ever seen. Then we changed and drove to St. George, where we stopped and went shopping at the outlet malls. Then we went over to Neilson's Frozen Custard before hitting the road again. On the way home we talked for a long time then listened to a bunch of really loud hip/hop and pop, which I loved. The only thing about being on vacation is you can't surround yourself with the music you listen to and I sometimes miss that. So it was fun. We didn't get home until midnight Tuesday night. It was a way fun trip.




In front of the Bellagio

Cali all tired at the end of the night.

1 comment:

Jax said...

Oh, fun fun!!! I'm jealous; I do so love Vegas. Reading through your travelogue brought back good memories of our various trips there. We try to go at least a couple times a year. Let's see, a few thoughts . . .

* Tired legs--I hear that. It seems like that's the theme of walking the Strip. The space between each casino is sometimes crazy long.

* The Excalibur buffet is probably average but will do in a pinch. For an affordable one that is very well rated and that we've enjoyed many times, try the one at Planet Hollywood. (Spice Market, I think?) The one at TI (Treasure Island) is also very good and pretty reasonably priced.

* Thunder from Down Under. Ha! Man, if I had a nickel for every time I've joked about that with people, I'd be a nickelionaire! No seriously, whenever we go there my wife and whoever we're with gets so sick of my asking about whether or not I/they/we/he/she/it can go see "The Thunder." Cracks me up.

* About shows, I'll give you a little hint we learned after experience. Don't pay full price for hardly anything (except something you really, really want to see). Virtually no one "in the know" does, apparently. You go to the half-price ticket outlets throughout the Strip the day of the show and get them. You give up some ability to plan ahead due to the day-of aspect, but on our last trip we did this and saw, like, six shows and even exhibitions all for half off and in three days. The selection is pretty good as long as you go during the morning. They often have most of the good and well-known shows, including Cirque du Soleil. I think it's literally called "Half-price Tickets and Shows" or something. There's one in the big Coke bottle at the Coke store. Highly recommended.

* I second your thoughts about the ritzy clothing stores. How anyone lives that lifestyle, beyond a small group of wealthy people, is beyond me. I'm surprised they can make enough buying traffic to justify a store. Crazy stuff.