We had a wonderful offer from Jeremy's Aunt who lives just a couple of hours away to come stay with the kids, so we took her up on it, and headed to Las Vegas!
I got to ride in an airplane for the first time in several years, and even got to sit in First Class, for the first time in my life. In fact, on two of our flights, we were in a plane that was just a month old.
And, I got a "first class" lunch (the salad and cookie were delicious....the pizza...eh, not so much).
Once we landed, we were instantly greeted by the some of popular sounds of the Las Vegas strip....slot machines in the airport. We went directly to our hotel, The Venetian, a large, beautiful hotel near the edge of The Strip.
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| The dome ceilings |
Decorated like you were walking the streets of Italy, it was a lovely, classy hotel that we thoroughly enjoyed. I'm still not sure if I saw everything...in fact, I know I didn't. I never made it to the pool deck.
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| A person posing as a sculpture |
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| Almost all of the hotels were decorated for Chinese New year |
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| From the entryway |
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| From the dining table |
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| Looking into the bedroom (those dividers closed....they were so cool.) |
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| I couldn't wait to crawl into that bed! haha |
We ate at a variety of restaurants, and I had my fair share of filet mignon for a while (although each one was delicious!)
At Table Ten, an Emeril restaurant, we had a fun sweet and peppery bacon appetizer, along with a delicious filet and sides.
The next night, we went to Hugo's Cellar at the Four Queens Hotel on the 'old strip' on Fermont Street. Apparently it is a "famous" restaurant. One of our serves had worked there nearly 30 years.
This was my favorite restaurant. They gave each lady a rose as we entered, and the atmosphere was interesting. A dark restaurant, with low ceilings...I felt as if a mob boss could walk in at any moment. They made us our own specialized table side salad, a small cleansing pallet treat, another yummy filet and we tried a Bananas Fosters for dessert, also made table side.
Our third night, we had what felt most like a true fine dining experience at Prime, which was at the Bellagio. From our table, we could watch the famous water fountain show every 15 minutes. This restaurant had amazing mac and cheese, gratin potatoes, and Jeremy even tried Buffalo Steak.
Finally, our fourth night, which was Valentine's, we did not have reservations, and most of the restaurants were full, so we ended up at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay. It was fun, but really loud with a live band performing just a few tables away. They finally played some oldies songs I knew and enjoyed.
It was certainly fun trying new restaurants and food!
When not in the convention we went out for, we spent time walking down the strip, in and out of hotels, and doing a little shopping.
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| Bruce Willis and I- old friends ;) |
Of course, my favorite store was the M&Ms store (even brought a bag home with me).
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| the wall of M&Ms...every color and flavor imaginable! I want one in my house! |
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| I really wanted this "bottle" of M&Ms |
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| Ceasar's Palace pool area |
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| The entryway of The Bellagio, again, celebrating Chinese New Year |
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| This was an uptown looking area...really modern |
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| New York New York, imitating the skyline of NYC |
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| The Luxor |
Several times we stopped to watch the fountains dance at The Bellagio,
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| Different angle during our daytime view |
we saw the volcano erupt at The Mirage,
walked through the pyramid and Egyptian theme of the Luxor,
checked out all of the sports bars and sports walls with monster screens, and of course walked through most of the casinos.
We did a little bit of gambling (and by a little bit, I mean...I think we lost $40 total...Vegas probably wasn't happy to have us there). We also enjoyed an evening on Fermont Street....apparently this is the old strip. They had a cool video graphic and song play every hour or so,
and some street performers.
I finally got to see some wedding chapels...and Elvis.
The highlight of our events though was probably going to the Cirque Du Solei "O" show. Wow! We had incredible seats, and even had the clowns come down our row, pre-show.
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| We were much closer than this picture was taken...we were row J....so, about halfway down this level, almost center. |
The grace and beauty of the synchronized swimming, diving, and contortionist blew us away. The stage would randomly transform from a dry floor, to a deep water, high dive pool. It was remarkable!
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| playing in the gift shop |
Our final day was sort of a free day. The convention was over, but it wasn't time to leave yet, so after a morning of conference calls for the guys, we headed out to Hoover Dam, just 45 minutes or so away. I went to Hoover Dam when I was about 6 years old. I remember staring that this huge wall, and didn't understand what is was. I was even more confused because I wasn't allowed to say the wall's name "dam", you know...because it's a bad word (I told you....I'm pretty sheltered...I still have a hard time saying it)
This time around, it was much more incredible. The stories of how the dam was built were interesting, and the innovation behind it makes it a modern engineering wonder. We took a little inside the dam tour which was quite interesting. OK, to be honest...our tour guide was really funny to watch. I think he was really nervous about forgetting someone. I've never seen someone count so intensely before!
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| Good thing Jeremy was there, that bridge may have fallen down without his help! |
We were even in two states at one time, but I don't have that photo yet.
Although we enjoyed our time together, it was still a business trip. There were stressful phone calls to make, fires to put out back home, convention floors to be walked and so forth, but it was also a really wonderful time away. Vegas wasn't that bad. I kind of think that if you aren't looking for trouble, you may not find it. I don't know...maybe that is naive as well. I wouldn't take my kids there...but I made it out alive with most of modesty still intact.
The kids had a wonderful time with their Aunt Lisa. They had amazing activities each day. I think that Lisa enjoyed getting to know them...but also caught a glimpse of the life of a homeschooling mamma...no rest for the weary, right (unless you are in Las Vegas and your husband is on a conference call, then you get to sleep in and read a book in peace!)
The kids had a mystery day where they had professional pictures taken, sent out Valentine's while also learning about the post office, went to an Amish restaurant and learned about them, and took a hike in Myakka state park. I'm so thankful they were in loving, safe, and fun hands. They were really happy for us to be home, but they were doing just fine as well.
It was a wonderful 5 day trip...but I'm ready for real life, french fries, morning tickles, and yes...even the occasional argument. Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible!
