Day 10 Preview

Zion National Park = Amazingness

It had rained the night before so the virgin river was pumping pretty good. 

Followed up by a decadent grilled cheese (Havarti, braised short ribs, arugula, and pickled onions.) at the Grand Lux Cafe at The Venetian. Yummy. 

Geocaches: 4

Day 11 Preview

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. Check. 

Vegas. Blah.  It may be a dry heat but when the locals won't even go outside.... 

Geocaches: 5

Looking forward to home!!!!!!! 

Day 9 Preview

Farmers market with my family, a stroll through Chinatown, and a long wait at the airport. Eventually, 3 hours later Hello Vegas!

Sensory Overload

Vegas has come and gone. Let me say, for those who have never been, it is Complete Sensory Overload. From the minute you get there to the minute you leave, you are surrounded by slot machines. ding ding ding.

Here is a little snopsis of the trip, with a few of the pictoral highlights.

Thursday Night

We hit the town running. After class we took a quick decomression and then we hit the road. On the way down the road we stopped at the liquor store. We found out that Vegas is quite like New Orleans - you can drink anywehre on the streets - after all, it encourages you to spend more money in their town! The only stipulation is that you can't have an open beverage within 1000 feet of a liquor store.

Actually, we hit the monorail. There is a monorail running up and down the strip. We were at the northern most end of the strip, so we took full advantage of it. We went down to Ballys/Paris and got started. I had dinner in a fabulous little boulangerie (bakery). I was quite tempted to get some desert at the pattiserie (pasty shop end of the bakery). As we walked up the walkway I saw a creperie, which only made me more tempted. I love Nutella! Somehow I held out.

After exploring the Paris we crossed the street to hit the Bellagio. If you've never seen it, it is fabulous! It is the central casino in Ocean's Eleven. Whenever I see the fountains out front, I think of that movie. We caught a couple of the fountain displays set to music when comming and going. It is absolutely amazing - particularly the one set to Copeland's western theme. I could watch those shows all day long. Whiel at the "O" I saw two really cool, and very different things - a blackjack table where the minimum bet was $1,000 and a table where the game was "casino war" (as in the game where you try to get the highest card...).

Following the Bellagio we headed to Ceasar's Palace. We checked out the FOrum Shops at Ceasar's. Where else but Vegas do you get the oppertunity to go into Kate Spade, Armani Exchange, Chanel, etc.? While there we saw this crazy War of the Gods. It was hilarious, and fabulous.

The FAO Schwartz Roman Horse... Or is it a Trojan Horse?

At that point we decided to try our luck accross the street towards the Venetian. We were waylaid at the Casino Royale. Tim was lured in by the ads for $1 beers and margeritas. It was true - they really had $1 michelobs and margeritas. Always a nice treat considering that most bars were charging $5+ to get a beer. On our way out we were suckered into playing hte Zoltar machine for free. Zoltar gave me a buy one margerita get one free card. What a payout! After that wve been wantinge got back on our way. I've been wanting to see the Venetian for years after having seen specils on all of my educational TV channels. It was amazing to see the canal with gondaliers in the middle of the mall. I held out and didn't get a gondola ride. I'm holidng out for the real deal in the real Venice. About that time we started heading north. We stopped in at the new casion - the Pallazzo and started our long walk home. It was a bit cool, but the walk was good considering how much we ate and drank. PLus, after all of that smoke, I needed some fresh air.

Friday Night
At lunch we wandered up the tower. As part of our hotel package we were given free tickets up the top of the Stratosphere during the hours of 10-2. Obviously wehad to take advantage of that! It was an awesome view, but I can't say I understand the people who go up to the top of the Strat, 108 ft up, to get on amusment park rides. That is just plain old scary.

What a View!!!

After class we headed back down the strip. We did a quick run through the Casino Royale to get Tim a cheap beer (that name always makes me think of the James Bond Film). Then we went over to the Mirage. We got a yummy dinner at the buffet there. Totally great food, and a great price. They had food from all over the world, and Fresh Crab! They didn't have snow crab legs, they had full on Alaskan King Crab. And, the legs were sliced in half to make it easier to eat. How neat is that? While wandering the MIrage I found something i want to go back for - the Cirque de Soleil "Love" show - which is totally set to Beatles Music. How fun is that?!?!? We took the trolley over to Treasure Island, where we got to see the fight between the Sirens and the poor unfortunate pirates. Those guys had no idea what hit them. They didn't have a chance against those half naked singing girls.

We headed accross the street to the Pallazzo again since we didn't really check it out the night before. The Pallazzo is a brand new casino - it only opened up on January 1!! Most of the stores aren't even open yet. While there I stopped by the Jimmy Choo store - now I can say I've been. Too bad I can't say I've purchased yet:-( On our way in we saw the miss America contestants doing a photo shoot! Vegas Baby!! At that point we called it a night since we had an early call Saturday morning.




We hit the road on Saturday morning, catching the early flight home. Thank Goodness we were on American through Dallas. Atlanta got 4 inches of snow, so I would have gotten stuck and not made it home until Sunday or later!!! As it was, there was snow in Vicksburg. I hea the dogs had fun.

It was great to get back home and curl up on the couch wiht my babies. They had a great time with Aunt Ange, but they were also happy to have their mamma home. By the way, big thanks to Angela for watching the pups. I know she enjoyed every moment of it, but I really appreciate it.

Just a Note: I spent all of $1.25 gambling. I just didn't feel like spending the money after seeing how gaudy everything was. Plus, honestly, If I'm going to drop a thou - it better be on the house!

Elvis is in the house

Seriously, he is. What kind of casino doesn't have some sort of Elvis impersonator?

My trip here was slightly difficult. My flight left Regan Nat'l Airport at 3:55. It was crammed full - I was in zone 3 for seating. By the time I got on the plane, no one was sitting in my row, but there was no room for bags!! We made it to Atlanta in plent of time. I had about 45 minutes to get to the next plane. When I got there they were boarding. My only food option was Krystal (the White Castle of the South), so I passed. BIG Mistake. It was SNOWING in Atlanta! We got on our plane, and wound up waiting an hour for them to deice our plane. In the end we didn't get deiced. It had started raining hard enough that all of the snow got washed off. Luckily the flight wasn't full, so the seat next to me was empty and I could stretch out later on the flight.

The in flight movie was the Jane Austen Book Club. I read this book ages ago. I didn't like it. I don't remember why, but it never really piqued my interest. However, I watched the movie anyways. I NEVER like the movie more. I can't think of more than maybe one or two books that I've enjoyed the movie more. Occaisionally I enjoy it equally, but in a different way. Well, I hate to admit it, but I REALLy enjoyed this film. It may have just been because it was better than the alternative - working... But I really did like it. It may be because I had low expectations, and because I enjoy Jane Austen. It could be because I'm in a different place in my life. now I want to re-read the book. We also got to see The Game PLan with The Rock - HORRIBlE. That is all I will say.

We got into Vegas an hour after we were scheduled to arrive. Then it was a LOOONG wait for luggage. By the time I got to the hotel (with a 30 dollar cab ride) and checked in, it was about 10:30, and I STILL hadn't eaten dinner. THe best part - The fire alarm in the room next door was going off. It took about half an hour for security to come up and turn it off. I just called it a night. I'm staying at the stratosphere (http://www.stratospherehotel.com/) . IT is OK - not as posh as the palomar was. The big problem is that it is at the far north end of the strip. We are about to head out so that I can get some dinner and to do some sightseeing!