Wednesday, June 24, 2009

TRIPPY

I feel so bad I haven't had time to share with you all about the amazing, perfect trip. There is so much to say and inadequate words to say it with. I'll try to sum it all up.

The plane ride out there was ridiculous. I have never been on a plane like this one. It was a party plane... literally! Southwest's birthday was June 18, so everyone on board was offered a free "spirit" of his or her choice. Naturally just about everyone took them up on their offer. Guess who talked their way into getting a second round on the house by rattling off a list of reasons including but not limited to it was my BIRTHDAY and Sunday was Father's Day (similar to the promotion running that day, fathers who showed a photo of their kids on Father's Day also got a free spirit). As soon as they started serving cocktails, people were up moving and talking and the plane was abuzz with excitement. It was pretty fun.

Slots at the airport, immediately after getting off the plane

We landed and I was ready to sprint to the strip. I was so excited! But in the time span of about an hour, excitement gave way to fatigue and I am embarrassed to admit the first night in Vegas was a quiet one. We saw the hotel and some of the amenities but were asleep pretty early. It was midnight by our internal clock, and we opted to get some good rest and hit the ground running in the morning.

That plan worked perfectly. We were dressed, fed and on the Strip at 8 am the next day. We took off sightseeing: New York New York, MGM, Paris, Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Planet Hollywood and more. We did some shopping at the Forum Shops at Caesar's, saw the fish tank and the stupid robot show about Atlantis, and then made our way back down the Strip to the Monte Carlo pool. We got some sun and then put our party duds on for a night on the town.
Chris v. Joe Louis at Caesars Palace

At a fountain outside the Bellagio (not to be confused with The Fountains outside the Bellagio)

Just off the monorail... ready to see some more!

First stop: the Venetian for Blue Man Group. It was pretty cool. I think I liked it more than Chris did. I don't know how to describe it accurately. They find interesting ways to make noise and messes. I laughed a lot.
Chris tries the pipes after Blue Man Group (while wearing a really great shirt).

Afterward, we explored more of the Venetian, including dinner at Canaletto in the square. I thought the Venetian was lovely. We didn't ride a gondola but we did see the canals and the lovely ceilings. We headed over to the Mirage to go to Jet. Dark, loud and packed, it was just what we were looking for. We stayed out pretty late, having a good time.
Dancing at Jet!

The next morning we had a cheap breakfast and saw some more of the hotels on our end of the Strip. The Luxor was not as exciting as I thought it'd be. Just kind of dark. Mandalay Bay on the other hand was stunning. A long time ago when we were first batting around the idea of going to Vegas, that's where we considered staying. Then everything fell through and that plan got scrapped and rates went up. Next time we go, if we could get a good deal again, that would be one of my top picks for a place to stay. It was so bright and spacious and airy. Next stop: MGM Lion Habitat, which was exciting because the lions started walking over our heads when we got in the tunnel. We looked around the M&M place and a few other stores before went back to the pool and hung out for a while before our Saturday night out and about.
High five for Peanut M&Ms!

So that's half the trip. I can't believe we got there a week ago tomorrow. That's weird. I will tell you about the second half of the trip tomorrow! I am really summarizing but don't let that fool you - everything was magical and memorable and wonderful. It was a great great trip!

1 comment:

  1. What did you like about the Blue Man group? I haven't seen it, and I can't quite figure out if I would like it or not. I guess I should just see it. It's like drumming and paint, right?

    ReplyDelete

Oh goody!

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