VEGAS, BABY, VEGAS!

Jackson watching "The Hangover" on our way to Vegas

Since I am cheap and didn’t want to pay for internet access at Caesar's Palace, I will update about our entire trip to Las Vegas in one post. Here goes:

Thursday night we dropped off both dogs at their respective camps and headed to the airport. We had a short and enjoyable flight that evening. We got into Vegas and hailed a cab to the hotel. My Dad and Diana had already checked us in and met us at the taxi stand. Being checked in early doesn’t sound like much of a good deed unless you’ve been to Vegas and seen the check-in lines. The lines in Vegas are insane- not that we had to wait in any of them, but more on that later. Anyway, we marveled at the insanely gorgeous place that we’d be calling home for the next few days and then headed out to see some sights.

We went to the botanical garden at the Bellagio. They made the coolest scenes with flowers. The people watching in Vegas is top-notch. A lot of parents forget to teach their children (daughters) to wear clothing when in public. I will never understand this whole going out looking like you forgot the get dressed thing that women do. Moving on.

The botanical gardens

We were pretty tired that evening and called it a night at around 1 o’clock Vegas time. That’s beyond late for an old lady like me. Seriously. Friday morning we got up and met my Dad and Diana for breakfast. I think that getting to breakfast was half of the fun as we wondered through the Forum Shops en route. (If you’re not familiar with Vegas, the Forum shops is a super fancy mall that is just gorgeous! Vegas knows how to do shopping malls.) We went to a breakfast buffet at Harrah’s casino. We were greeted with a huge line for breakfast. My Dad looked at me and asked, “do you want to stand in line?” I shrugged, not wanting to be my typical difficult and impatient self. Then he continued with, “or do you want to come with us?!” As it turns out, they are members of this Diamond club that gets you privileges around the casinos. After that, we never waited in line. It was a pretty sweet gig and I loved the no waiting in line part. I’m also fairly certain that we got better service because of them which will also not cause me to complain. Anyway, back to breakfast. It was this grand buffet and we loved it. (Side note: we specifically asked if the french toast was made with cinnamon and we were assured that it was not. Then as I excitedly went to bite into it, I smelled the distinct stench of that wretched spice. It was a very near miss and one that I did not appreciate.)

The views from our room

Then we headed out to do my first round of gambling. I had been to Vegas before, but I was under 21 and could not gamble so this was my first crack at it. I won $5 and then lost all that I’d bet. Bummer. I did enjoy the slots, though. We went casino-hopping most of the morning. After getting spent on gambling (I’ve got NO luck), we headed back to Caesar’s to go to the pool. The pools at the hotel were nothing short of fabulous. I have never seen anything quite like the setup they had there. Complete with fountains, swim-up blackjack tables and waitresses to serve you. It was pretty awesome. It didn’t hurt that every single day it was well over 100 degrees so being at the pool felt great. (Side note: I DID wear sunscreen that I hand applied in Vegas. I’m not that ignorant.)

Me, with my head chopped off, gambling for the first time

Friday night we went to a dinner buffet at another hotel, Rio. It was slightly off “The Strip” so we took a taxi there. The taxi lines outside of our hotel were outrageous so it was nice to have the diamond card that allowed us to skip the lines and have a taxi right away. :) The buffet at Rio was e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t. We had a nice dinner and then headed over to the casinos. I won again on the slots. And then gave it back. I hate that. Jackson and I were able to play video poker for over an hour on one $20 bill. It was really fun and nice to have to make some decisions instead of just playing slots. We were bushed and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Saturday we woke up and headed to breakfast. We went to McDonald’s and felt like beggars compared to the morning before- ha! I showed Jackson the cool canals inside the Venetian hotel and then we placed our bets on the USA v. Ghana soccer match. We lost. BOO. I officially hated soccer again after that. We ate lunch at Margaritaville. That place was insane. There were people everywhere. The food was great, though. Then we met up with Dad and Diana. Jackson lost a bunch of money on blackjack and defeated, we headed back to the pool. $14 later we had more sunscreen and were ready to head out.

That night we went to see Jubilee. It was a Las Vegas showgirl kind of show that Dad and Diana got us tickets to see. They had some pretty awesome guys doing acrobatic acts that blew one’s mind. The stage changes and the costumes were definitely something to see. I also think that the 90-year-old lady next to me chanting “yummy” at all of the male dancers may have added something for me. Classic.

After the show we walked all the way New York, New York casino. Things look close in Vegas because of all of the big signs, but that is an illusion. It was a long walk down there in our sandals and the still sweltering desert night. It was worth it, though. We had just seen a special on the NY,NY casino the night before we left for Vegas that left us wanting to dine there. I was NY style pizza and Jackson had a big corned beef sandwich. Both were worth the walk down there. We played our $1 bet for Susie-per her request- and she did not win a thing. Better luck next time, Susie.

Me, playing Susie's $1 bet

On our way back to Caesar’s we saw the Bellagio’s fountain show. It is definitely something to see. I loved how the water seemed to dance with the music. Fun! We then wondered back to our hotel as we were exhausted.

Sunday morning, I woke up and searched out the Germany v. England soccer match. I know. I hate soccer. I still had a bet going and needed to know how I was doing. Thankfully, Germany beat England 4-1 and we won $40! Woo hoo! Then we met Dad and Diana for breakfast again. We ate a buffet in the Paris hotel. I loved the Paris hotel as it was very reminiscent of the city itself without the language barrier. I tried a crepe at the buffet and hated it. I did try it, though, and of that I was proud. Jackson and Diana went to the top of the Eiffel Tower- Las Vegas for some cool views of the strip. They even got to see a fountain show from above. My Dad and I played some slot machines were I won $68 and cried tears of pure joy. I cashed out immediately, happy to be less wounded by our gambling. (If you’re wondering, we lost about $150 all-in-all which is not too bad considering how much fun we had doing it!) I’m pretty sure that my tear over $68 lead my Dad to believe that I was nuts, but it was an exciting time.

The view of the Bellagio and our hotel, Caesar's, from the top of the "Eiffel Tower"

Jackson and I spent the rest of the day at the pool. It was so nice just to relax and read a book for fun by the pool. I had just forgotten how good things like that felt. I love not having homework to do, but I miss being in school. Weird. I know. We wrapped up our time in Vegas by hanging out with Dad and Diana for a bit and then headed to the airport. We got to eat at Moe’s Southwest Grill at the airport which was a real treat. It is one of the restaurants that we miss the most from our Indiana days. Our flight was delayed due to mechanical errors (always comforting when you’re sitting out on the runway), but we are en route to Denver now. Yes, I am blogging in advance on my laptop from the plane.

The lobby of some gorgeous hotel. I forget which one.

We had a really nice time and would like to once again thank my Dad and Diana for hosting us. It was a real treat! :)