More Vegas Memories

I've been home from Vegas for a week already! Fortunately, that's not nearly enough time to forget our adventures -- not that I could or want to!

Steph picked me up from work on Thursday, and on the way to get Candice, we saw a random sculpture garden on 90th South. They looked like solide metal, but then a buyer picked one up and walked away... so it must have been hollow.

We chose to fly to Vegas because none of us were excited about the idea of driving all the way. Besides, the last time I drove to Vegas it took 12 hours to get home! Lousy fires in Southern Utah last year... Anyhoo, no sooner had we stowed our carry-ons and belted into our seats, but Candice proudly handed Steph and I our activity books! She had made Steph a 2008 Election book, and printed a "I Heart the Hoff" book. They were hilarious! That Candice, she thinks of everything.

We were excited to reach Vegas, pick up our rental car, and check into the Excalibur -- my first time staying on the Las Vegas Strip! We ate a late dinner and went to bed somewhat earlyish, because we knew the next day would be a busy one.


Friday morning we slept in a bit and it felt good. Fortunately, we were all up and pretty much ready to go when the fire alarm went off. We looked confusedly at each other for a moment, then grabbed our purses and took the 5 flights of stairs to get outside, where we found just one other room had evacuated with us (and it looked like a couple of them hadn't gotten out of bed yet). We thought it odd that no one else was outside, so we checked with the information desk -- yeah, it was a drill they didn't announce beforehand. Grr. So, we went back to the room to grab a few more things, and ate breakfast at the Round Table breakfast buffet.

Then we headed to the Star Trek Experience! Hooray!! (See the post below entitled "They Beamed Me Up!" for more details).

We left the Star Trek Experience later than we should have, and were really rushed to change and then get to the Winn hotel in time for Cirque du Soleil's "Le Reve". We were in danger of missing it and having our tickets given away. Luckily, we made it with two minutes to spare. I must say I am very proud for all three of us for being as patient and calm as we were! The show itself was A-MAZ-ING!! They perform on a water-logged stage for the most part, and there were syncronized swimmers and acrobats that grabbed other acrobats out of the water, lifted them into the air and dropped them from crazy heights. It was awesome! I didn't get the story at all, but who cares when the delivery is that awesome?

After the show, we walked around the Winn which has the Minolo Blahnik store and Cartier and a bunch of those fancy designers I only hear about on the Oscar red carpet or New York's Fashion Week. It was so fun seeing Candice just light up at the Minolo Blahnik store. She never would have believed they'd even let us in the store. Well, not only did they not throw us out, the saleslady let her try on a pair and walk around in them! Hooray! I love seeing my friends so happy! Then we went to the Venetian for some delicious gelatto. I don't really know how gelatto is different than ice cream -- that's how middle-class I am. But it was yummy, and we were all glad to just sit and rest our feet for a few minutes.


Saturday we all wanted to see the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. Candice and I decided to be brave and actually TOUCH the stingrays! They were soft, and I had the feeling they might have been a little squishy, but I really didn't want to test that theory out. I marveled at the elegance of the jellyfish -- they really are hypnotic -- and I admit I was a little afraid of all the sharks. It was amazing to have them swim over me, along with all sorts of wacky little fish. At one point, I felt a little like I was living "Finding Nemo". We saw Dory-fish and turtles and sharks. Oh my!

After a quick trip to In-n-Out Burger, we stopped by the Coca-Cola Factory and tried a bunch of different soft drinks from around the world. Most were pretty bland, but I swear the one from Italy was liquid death! That's really the only way I can think to describe it. Oh, well, maybe it was black licorice that had fermented too long, or something. I tried twice just to make sure it was as horrible as I first thought and yeah, it was. Gross! We also stopped by the M&M Factory, but ended up only staying just long enough for a few more souvenirs.

Then we raced back to our hotel room, packed up, turned in our rental car, and said "Good-bye" to Las Vegas!


... Except Las Vegas didn't want to let us go.

Apparently, you have to check in with Delta at least 45 minutes before the flight. We arrived about 35 minutes early, so they wouldn't let us on. Say what?! It's not like the plane had LEFT! And we didn't even have to check-in any bags!! Not only was the news crummy, but the people behind the counter didn't even pretend to be nice about it. Can we say Customer Service training? Candice arranged for us to get on the next flight home... which was at 6:30am the next day... and would be $150 more EACH. Grrr. We were so tired already it never occured to any of us to rent a car and drive home. Steph booked a room for us that night, and we took a cab back to the hotel. The lady at the check-in desk felt sorry for us, so she gave us a discount. Thank you nice lady!!

So, what do three fun-loving gals do on an unexpected night in Las Vegas? You guessed it! Thunder Down Under was even in our same hotel!

Just kidding. We went to the Tournament of Kings jousting show instead, but there were a couple of questionably-dressed men in the show. We were seated in the Ireland section, so we cheered for our champion, even though he didn't win ANY of the events. Humph. The food was pretty good, though, when they let us eat it (seriously, who decided it was a good idea to make the audience sing, bang on the tables, and raise our mugs every twelve seconds during a dinner show? I don't get it). We had a good time cheering and being generally silly... I think we were getting tired. Well, not getting tired, we WERE. We went back to our room after the show and were all asleep by 9:30. So much for the night life!!

The next day we woke up at a scary hour like 4am, but we made it to our flight with plenty of time to spare! We made it home, and now I've been home a week. I'd post more photos, but I have pretty much already posted all I have! I need to get copies of Steph and Candice's shots. They have so many good ones!

Thanks again Candice and Steph for a brilliant time! You two are awesome travelling buddies!

(And still in my head I hear Monica Gellar shouting "Anni-VEGAS-ry! A-NEVADA-versary!")