Amber's Best Life Journal

[Foxfiregrrl]

Ok, so when I said I would tell about my trip I really was thinking a brief one or two paragraphs about the highlights. Well, I started typing and you know how long winded I can be. Plus, the details actually came back to me a lot better than I had expected.

So, I haven't quite finished... I'm on day 6 of 8... but day 8 is just being sick and traveling home. I wanted to go ahead and post a couple of segments here though because my shoulders are hurting and I probably won't finish the rest until tomorrow.

Just to fill in those of you who may not know our story...

Our cast is:
Mom: 55 year old who is very sweet and has lived a VERY sheltered life
Dad: 56(on March 19th) year old kind of a redneck... actually brought a fishing pole to try to fish in Lake Mead
DH: 29 year old goes w/ the flow, loves his computer
Me: 29 years old...unsure how sin city, my parents, and I are going to mix

We had all sat around discussing trips we'd like to take around the time of our trip to Disney last year (which was mom, dad, MIL, Dh, & I) and Vegas was mentioned. DH & I were there for a day and a half back in 2004 when we took a driving tour out west. We liked it and had said we wanted to go back. Mom and dad said that their last trip through Vegas was about 30 or so years ago on their way back from California (where my dad was stationed in the Army) w/ my grandma. Anyway, this was kind of discussed in passing and DH & I said that we weren't looking to return anytime soon because we had been before and kind of wanted to go somewhere new.

Well, sometime in January my mom calls and says that she and dad booked a timeshare week in Las Vegas and have a two bedroom did we want to go w/ them. Dh and I thought about it for a whole week. I love to travel Anywhere so I was all about it... Dh was not so sure. But we decided what the heck we'd go!

So... on to the first installment....

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Day One - Sunday
Our flight there was fairly good most of the way except that all four of us were split up in different seat groupings. DH was sitting directly behind me and mom and dad were further forward in the plane. I had a very chatty older man on one side of me who was very nice when the turbulence started to get to me at the end of the flight. I Really thought I was gonna be sick for a few minutes there.
We got our rental car and checked into the timeshare. It was actually on the strip right next to CircusCircus. I had thought we were going to be a couple of blocks off the strip so that was a nice surprise. They had gotten a "two bedroom" which ended up being a one bedroom apartment style w/ a connecting door to a one bedroom studio style. They were both really nice though and it was kind of nice that DH & I ended up having our own place that we could lock and not worry about mom and dad. They took the apt., it had a jacuzi bath and full kitchen.

This is mom and dad in their part of the timeshare (basically standing in the door to our part). That's their bedroom on the left and bathroom on the right.

Once we got settled good we decided to walk up to the Stratosphere for dinner. We all had a steak and shrimp special that was ok. Then we signed up for the comp club and began the very low roller gambling. They had a special that if you earned 100 comp points before the next night at midnight you could get a free t-shirt, so we became determined to do so. We played various nickel and penny slots and some video poker (I think it was nickels). Told ya we were low rollers! DH & I did ok, but nothing to speak of. My dad did really good- like spent one or two dollars the whole night. My mom didn't really gamble this night because she forgot her I.D. and couldn't get the comp club. Dad earned his 100 points before we left but DH and I only had like 40 something each, so we decided to come back here tomorrow.

Day 2 - Monday
We drove down to Excalibur and parked so that we could explore the southern portion of the strip. We wandered through Excalibur and signed up for their club, which meant that my dad thought he needed to sit down at a slot machine. We talked him out of it and moved on. We caught the tram down to Mandalay Bay and wandered through the shops that link it with Luxor. There was a place called the Burger Bar that I had read about and DH & I wanted to try. We ended up there right at lunch time. They have things like Kobe Beef burgers (which DH was interested in) and a desert burger (which I was interested in). Mom and dad didn't want to spend that much money, so we split up for lunch. DH and I split the American Kobe burger and an order of buffalo skinny fries. Then we split the chocolate burger. I didn't notice any difference in the Kobe burger, but Dh said it was really good. The desert burger was a donut cut in half (bread), a slab of chocolate (burger), passion fruit (for the cheese), strawberry slices (tomato), and mint (lettuce- not thinking I had this left off). It was really neat and Yummy! Here it is:

We went through the Luxor and explored a bit. I ended up not touring the King Tut museum because I wasn't sure it would be worth $10 each and my parents were ahead of us in their touring of the hotels. I think if we had gone there on a later day in our trip I would have done it. On the first day I was not sure how many different things we would end up doing that cost money and was trying not to be Too frivolous. We went out front to see the sphinx from the road and met up w/ my parents.

That's them on the left and DH on the right.

ME! Then we walked over to NYNY. It is really themed out cool!

Of the hotels for this day I think it had the best theming just for wandering through it. When we went before we stayed at Excalibur and I really enjoyed the theming - it just is nothing special to walk through, if that makes sense . We wandered around NYNY for awhile and then Mom, DH and I rode the Manhattan Express Rollercoaster (dad doesn't do rollercoasters). It was pretty good and even has a loop in it. It was pretty jerky though and I spent most of the ride trying to hold my head/neck in place so that I was not miserable for the rest of the week (I have neck trouble anyway). Then we went over to MGM Grand to see the lion Habitat. We had to wait a few minutes for them to bring the lions back out. By this time everyone was pretty beat, so after watching the lions we headed back to the car.
We went back to the room to chill for awhile. Then we went up to Sahara for dinner. We looked at their various restaurants, but if you joined the comp club the buffet was $6.99 per person. So we went and joined the comp club and had the buffet, after which my dad said he swore off buffets for the rest of the trip because he cannot eat one without stuffing himself miserable. Then we went back over to Stratosphere to get our gamble on and work on those comped t-shirts. Dh and I did pretty lousy again but enjoyed ourselves. I think my dad hit like $40 on the pennies. I finally got on one of the machines like he was using and did fairly well. Just before midnight my dad went to get his t-shirt and I thought I wasn't gonna make it to 100 points. Well, I checked my card and suddenly was over by 5 points! So I ran half drunkenly up to the comp counter. DH did not fair so well and did not hit 100 points. Oh, yeah... I have failed to mention that the cocktail waitresses at Stratosphere were pretty good. Even sitting at the penny slots they would come around very regularly and bring drinks. We always tipped $1 per drink so I'm sure that encouraged them a lot. Tonight we came back to where DH was playing after cashing in our comps - Dad ended up getting a hat & I got the T-shirt. We continued to play at the same spot for awhile and had one particular waitress who served us most of the evening. Well, it was getting kind of late and I could tell mom and dad were getting ready to go, so I told DH to wrap it up. He spent the last of his credits and was sitting waiting for the rest of us to spend ours. So, the waitress comes and asks if we want another (he ordered screwdrivers and I ordered sex on the beach - this would be our regular drinks all week) DH says nah, I'm out and waiting for them to be out. She says, ah,you've been here all night, I bet I can get back here before they run out of money. So he says well if you get back I'll take it. Sure nuff she makes it back around just before they finished up AND she brought us both doubles!! Those suckers were Strong! It was pretty cool too because some of the waitresses are REALLY slow, but there they definitely were not - I think they spoiled us a little too. Well, then we had to stumble back to the room.

Next up Day 3... but it is super late, so that will have to wait til tomorrow! Goodnight guys!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Day 3 - Tuesday
We slept in a bit today. We had tickets to Mystere tonight and did not want to overdo it too early on. We decided to start at Caesars Palace and the Forum shops, then see where the day took us. Well that place is HUGE! We spent a very long time on just one side of the shops. DH was wanting to really take our time because we blitzed so many hotels our first full day that he did not want to "run out of things to do". Anyway, for the most part on this trip we just window shopped because almost all the stores are pretty high class & super expensive, but it was fun. We saw the smaller fountain show, which was ok.

Then DH and I wandered into a chocolate shop called Vosges. Now I'm a MAJOR chocoholic so this was heaven. They had really funky chocolates where they combine chocolate w/ unusual ingredients like wasabi or chili peppers or lemon zest and peppercorn. I had actually read about them in Oprah's magazine although it took me a few minutes to figure that out. Anyway we started asking prices and determined that we would get a small sampler of the chocolate bars. Then I looked on the wall and saw that they had hot chocolate. So we sat at the little bar and each tried a different hot chocolate. I had the La Parisienne - dark chocolate + vanilla bean (seems like there was more to it, but that is what the website says) It was Delicious! DH had the Aztec Elixir - Ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + cornmeal + dark chocolate. His was really good too it had a really unique flavor. We were really enjoying our hot chocolate. The clerk was great too because she really left us alone to do our own thing but also gave us help when we needed it. Anyway she said that w/ the chocolates we had picked out and the hot chocolate, we were only $10 away from getting a free sample of truffles (4 in the box). The 5 pack of hot chocolate was $15 so we went for it. We got the La Parisienne because it was so sweet and yummy. So far we have eaten and really enjoyed our truffles, but have not gotten into the bars or hot chocolate yet. Anyway I really enjoyed that experience and purchase a lot!

Meanwhile my parents had stopped in some kitschy magnet store and found souvenirs for my sisters (bags/purses) and for co-workers (I think). We stopped off at Planet Hollywood for lunch. DH and I ended up splitting the L.A. Lasagna and each got a salad. We also ordered an appetizer for all of us to share. We primarily went here because when we went to Disney last year we had a coupon for PH and mom wanted to go REALLY bad. But we ran out of time and didn't end up going. Mom seemed pretty disappointed so I made sure we went this time. The food was pretty good, but the place is really not that special to me. Then, we went over to the other side of the shops and watched the other fountain show which has fire and thunder and such. It was a good bit better than the first one. Oh, yeah, they had an FAO Swartz there and it was HUGE and Awesome! They had a two story Trojan horse that you could actually go inside.

They had practically life sized stuffed Harry Potter creatures like Hedwig, Fluffy, and Buckbeak! And practically any other toy you could imagine! Oh, AND the life sized floor piano like in the movie BIG.

Well, after Caesars Palace we were once again worn out and decided to go back to the room for a break before dinner and the show. Either this day or the day before, DH and I went down and hit the hot tub during our break. It was really nice and relaxing. After the break we drove to Treasure Island and began looking for a good place to eat dinner. DH and I wanted to eat somewhere fancy, however my parents tend to be rather cheap when it comes to eating out. We just have different priorities about where to spend our vacation money. Anyway we looked around and decided to head over to the Venetian to look for a place.

It just so happens that it was time for the Sirens of TI show in front of Treasure Island... so of course we had to stop and watch it. DH said we didn't have time, but I wanted to watch it and didn't think it would last long. It was pretty cool. The sirens on the one ship sing and lure the pirates from the other ship, blah, blah, and then some cannons and fire. It lasted a solid 15+ minutes. Then we kind of needed to make a dining decision quickly. We got into the Venetian and were having trouble finding restaurants. We stumbled onto a mexican place called Taqueria Canonita and dad said it looked good to him and we settled on that. It was fancy mexican. I had three soft tacos w/ different meats in them. One had chilies and cheese and was good. I don't remember what everyone else had but it was all good. The only problem was that it took awhile for our food to come. When they realized that it was taking awhile, they brought us a free chips and salsa (it was extra here).

Anyway, we got out of there and rushed back over to TI for Mystere - Cirque Du Soliel. We got there just after they opened the doors. We had front row seats to the left of the stage. I'm sure that those are not considered ideal seats because during a good bit of the performance you have to look around to see everything, however I LOVED our seats!! We were right there and could see all of the details really well. Plus, there was a little platform right in front of us and at different times characters would jump onto it and perform RIGHT in our face!! The first time it startled us. I REALLY loved this show!! I would highly recommend it! Well, after the show all of us but dad were ready to go back to the room. Dad was just really set on seeing the fountains at Bellagio and for some reason felt like he wasn't going to get a chance to see them. We ended up convincing him that it was too late to catch them that night and that we Would see them tomorrow.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Day 4 - Wednesday
Today we decided to stay close to the hotel for the early part of the day so that we could go down further on the strip for the evening and dad could see the fountains. We started out by going next door to CircusCircus. We got there just before they opened the Midway for the day. We wandered around a bit and then went to the midway to see the first show of the day. It was a clown juggler and a family of trapeze artists. The show was pretty good, nothing we haven't seen before but after 4 days of walking nonstop it was nice to sit and watch. We also sat down for a lesson on how to play roulette which was very informative and helpful.

Then we went down to the Riviera and first thing when we walked in they were talking about this special that they have where you spend $20 and they give you $40 worth of credits. Thing is you have to spend it $3 a pull on specific slot machines. You then have the opportunity to win $10, $100, or $1000. Whether you win or not you get your choice of a souvenir item which included some nice fleece jackets. So we all go for it. DH and I have crap for luck and are out of money Quickly. We go over to where mom and dad are sitting and mom is up to like 100 credits (you can't cash them out though unless you hit one of the jackpots). Dad was doing ok, but not great. Then all the sudden I look over and he hits the $100 jackpot. So the lady pays him $100 in cash and he plays the rest of his credits then we all get our items. Mom, Dad, and I got jackets and DH got a denim button down shirt. I think we wandered around for a bit longer, then we decided to hit Slots of Fun (next to Circus Circus) for lunch and a few slots.

They have $.99 Giant hot dogs there. I didn't realize the hotdogs were so big, so we also got a $.99 shrimp cocktail for DH and I to split. The shrimp cocktail was kinda pitiful, but the hotdog was good and HUGE. So we hit the slots for a few minutes and Dh and I decide we should head back to the hotel to chill awhile. My mom agrees, but dad is like no I'm having fun on the slots. So I would think mom would stay with him, but she decides to come back with us. We leave dad there thinking he will come back shortly to rest up. Three hours later he comes back and we are all Chomping at the bits to leave by then. Luckily he was pretty much ready to head back out.

We drove down and I think we parked at Ballys. We walked through Bally's shops and didn't think too much of them. Then we went over to Paris. Their theming is pretty cool.

Last time I didn't get to the Eiffel Tower so I definitely wanted to do that this time. Dad ended up paying our way for the tower since he had his $100 win earlier. It was really cool and would probably be even cooler at night. The only problem we had was that it was really windy that day and so up there it was kind of cool. We were able to see up and down the strip and there is also a great view of the Bellagio fountain area from up there. I looked at my watch and realized that we were only about 15 minutes from a fountain show and they say it is great to watch from up there. So, we stayed up there until time. Here are some of our photos from up there:

If you go on the Eiffel Tower definitely make sure you go when there will be a fountain show at Bellagio! It was really cool to see it from up there and you could still hear the music really well.

Dad was happy he got to see the fountains.

After Paris we went down the road to Flamingo and wandered around there some. DH got his picture taken w/ a showgirl.

We decided it was time to eat so we stopped at the Cafe there. We had way too much food there. It was right next to the Flamingo habitat and even though it was dark out by now we went anyway. It was neat to see the flamingos and other birds. They also had a monument for Bugsy Seigal(sp?) there but I didn't realize what it was until we were past it. We then wandered back down and across the street to Bellagio. Right when we were going into the door of the Bellagio I realized that it was time for a showing of the fountains. We went over and found a spot just as it was starting. It was good to be able to see it from the ground in front of it also. I was not really paying attention but I believe the music was different this time from the first time we saw it. When the show was over we went into Bellagio and walked through their shops and into the lobby to see the glass sculpture on the ceiling.

Then we went to check out the conservatory garden that was done in a "Year of the Rat" theme. It was pretty cool.

We were preparing to leave from there and trying to decide what to do next. Mom had been coming down with a cold today (DH had been feeling a cold for a couple of days now) and she was feeling particularly bad. She said that she was about ready to call it a night. We headed outside to cross the road to our car at Ballys and it just so happened that the fountains were starting up again. This time they played "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood, so we stopped and watched it again. (I think it is particularly funny that we watched it 3 times because dad had been so worried about seeing these fountains for the WHOLE trip!) We headed back to the hotel at that point and mom and dad went to bed.

DH and I weren't done for the night so we walked down to Slots o' Fun to gamble for awhile. Here the wait staff was hit or miss. On this night we had one waitress that was pretty good. Her name was Sandy and she came often enough to keep us happy. We mostly played slots and video poker. We also hit the $.50 roulette table for awhile. DH started on it and then we both played for awhile. It was a lot of fun, but you have to be careful or you can lose your money fast. I didn't play a lot of single numbers. I favored the corners where it covers 4 numbers - it doesn't pay as well but pays out more often. I think I did a tad bit better than DH and cashed out w/ a few bucks leftover. Overall we really enjoyed the atmosphere at Slots o' Fun. There are plenty of cheap slots and they had the $.50 roulette table and $1 Blackjack table. The blackjack table was full all night so we didn't get on it, but decided that we definitely wanted to hit it at some point. We had a good night. I'm quite sure that we didn't leave with any winnings, but we did enjoy ourselves for several hours on not much money.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Whew, this trip report thing is hard work!!

So, yesterday evening I did not do too well. I ended up having two brats over the course of the evening and too much potato salad and wine.

Today was not any better. They had my favorite food - Mac n Cheese and it was uber cheesy Also lots of other bad foods and I ate most of them.

I did help hide the eggs for my cousins girls and then walked around the yard several more times helping them find them. Then my sister went WAY back into our childhood and brought out the old croquet set that my grandfather bought for us. We used to play on pretty days AGES ago. So they set it up and played a round and then I got in on one. It was mom, both sisters, Austin (my sister's best friend), and me. It was really a lot of fun, so hopefully we will play more often. I came in second place too!

So, I did a little more than sit on my duff all day, but not much

It's the weekend though. I'm worn out too for some reason I'm gonna chill the rest of the night. I will work on posting the rest of my trip report throughout the week. I have all but Saturday & Sunday typed up already, so mostly it is just posting it and adding the pics.

Have a Wonderful Sunday evening!!

 

[lindalinda]

Whew Amber...I finally got caught up on your journal. I leave for a couple of days and I am pages behind.

Sounds like Vegas was fun, thats a great trip report! I think you would be a hoot to hang out with girl!

I have to go catch up on mine now.

nite

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hey, Linda! Glad to see you are back with us, too! I was beginning to wonder if everyone was going to let life sweep them away.

I still have more trip report to post, but it has just been a busy two days.

Monday:
food was pretty good except that dinner was leftovers from Saturday. I went to the gym for Hi/Lo but the instructor didn't show. So, I did 25 minutes on the treadmill instead which included some jogging.

Tuesday:
Food was good til dinner. We went out w/ my friends from work and some of their friends. I had fried shrimp, fries, and 3 glasses of wine. Work was BAD yesterday so I was stress eating. I didn't go to the gym at all yesterday.

Today:
B- kashi, milk, coffee
l - chicken salad wrap, caesar salad
d - not sure yet
I am about to try to force myself to go to water aerobics. I had another BAD day at work and really just want to drown my troubles in some more wine... I still haven't made my decision about that yet

I probably won't make it back online tonight but I will try to get another trip report portion posted by Friday at the latest.

 

[DisDee]

Lovin' your Vegas trip report Amber and the pictures are great!

 

[kmp1191]

Great trip report Amber!!
Love the pics from the tower!! Very cool!


yep, i'm back...
marie

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

HI, guys! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I have been really busy at work this week which then spills over to being too worn out to get on the computer.

I did go to water aerobics on Wednesday and then had wine and Subway for dinner.

We ended up eating out for dinner Thursday too. I had a busy, yet exciting day at work and wanted to sort of celebrate. One of the sibling groups on my case load is finally getting adopted which they've been waiting for for awhile now Everyone was super excited!

Yesterday DH cooked dinner and it was tasty and healthy.

Today I got up and went for yoga class, but the instructor wasn't there Again. I was prepared today w/ my tennis shoes, so I went on to the gym to get my workout in. I did 47 minutes on the eliptical I burned about 490 calories and went about 3 miles!

Then I came home and found DH outside working in the yard. We had talked about doing yardwork this weekend, but I for some reason didn't believe that we would actually do it. But he was out there working and a bit miffed that I had gone to the gym instead of starting on the yard (he was over it fast though). So, I got to work too.

Our goal for the day was to get rid of this Large pile of pine trees that were cut down for the house to be built. It has just been sitting there forever and we had not dealt with it. So we started moving it off to the other side of the yard into the woods, then we decided to borrow my dad's truck so that we could move it faster and easier. We loaded 3 loads and dumped them in another wooded area. We still had a pretty good sized pile, but it was decaying pretty bad. So we decided to burn the rest of it. We started it today, but it was burning Really slowly. We burned some and then put it out. We will try to get the rest of it burned next weekend.

I worked SO hard today and am Completely Exhausted!! I know we did hard labor for at least 2.5 hours!

Dh's mom and a family friend (couple years younger than dh & I) showed up mid afternoon. They hung out while we finished up and did the burning. The friend helped DH some and even offered to come next weekend to help with whatever else we need done.

We went out to dinner w/ them afterward. We had mexican and because I was starving I ate Too much. I have also had way too much wine this entire week. I am not worried too much, but I know it does not help my weight loss at all. I expect things to get back to normal at work w/in the next week or two though, so that should help. This week I ended up skipping my lunch break and just scarfing something down 3 days! That is not a good sign!

So food for today:
b- kashi, milk - this was after workout and at least 30 minutes of yard work
l- chick. sand. and lentil soup
d - cheese & sausage dip, chips, chick. quesadilla, taco, rice and beans, 1 glass of wine I didn't eat every bit of it.. but close
later - more wine... maybe

Well, I just hope that I burned enough calories today to break even w/ my horrible dinner. It would have been nice if I had controlled myself and actually had my hard work today count for something Oh, well, there is a ton of yard work left to be done... guess I'll try to get it right next time.

Gonna check in on a few journals/threads and call it a night. Happy Sunday guys.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Day 5 - Thursday
Ok, so this was a shared trip with my parents, but DH and I had hoped to get at least one day to ourselves. My parents had said early in the planning that they wanted to go to the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. DH and I had little interest in the Hoover Dam and went to the Grand Canyon in 2004, so we were not going with them on this day trip. Well, as the trip got closer they decided that they would not go all the way to the Grand Canyon, but would go to the Indian Reservation where they built the Skywalk that goes out over the canyon. So, DH and I were planning for a "couples" day whatever day they did that.

DH and I had also decided that we wanted to see one of the traditional showgirl shows that they have in Las Vegas and kind of wanted to go with the Topless one to be "fully Vegas". My dad joked that he was going to one, but mom is a bit to sheltered for that. So we just determined that we wouldn't say anything and would go on our alone day.

Well... Wednesday evening my dad says that they are only gonna drive over to the Hoover Dam and tool around a bit and then come right back. I tried to encourage them to go on to the Indian Reservation, but he said they changed their mind. A bit later dad asked me again if DH and I wanted to go to the Hoover Dam with them and I said no and that we figured we would just have a "couples day" and hang out by ourselves. Now, also remember that mom wasn't feeling good at the end of Wednesday night.

I wake up around 10am on Thursday and expect mom and dad to be gone, but low and behold I hear them rattling around in the kitchen. I wake DH and we jump in the shower. I figured they must have decided not to go to the Hoover Dam since they were still there. But, when we get out of the shower I no longer hear them. I open the door and look around and they are gone. So, we figure they must have just gotten a late start.

DH and I eat breakfast and then head out. We have no car today and want to go all over the strip, so we buy the all day Monorail pass and jump on at the Sahara. We go straight down to the Tropicana and buy two for one tickets to the 10pm topless showing of Folies Bergere. Then from there we are free to explore for the day. We walked out front and walked up the road a piece. We stopped off at the M&M World which is 4 stories of M&M merchandise. Then we got to the corner where Planet Hollywood Hotel and Monte Carlo sit.

DH and I had talked about eating lunch at Diablo's Cantina because I had read that it was neat & that they had 35 different tequilas. Well, it was lunch time and there sat Diablo's so that is what we ate. We were able to get a 15% off coupon from this totally weird dude standing on the corner across the street, which helped. They charge for their chips and salsa too but we bought some. It was totally worth it. There were three different types of salsa and we had a really hard time determining which one we liked best. They had a tequila menu which was cool and a sampler which gives you a 1.5 oz shot each of the blanco, reposado, and anejo versions of a particular brand of tequila. These are the various agings of the liquor and they had Patron and other expensive brands. The sampler was expensive but much cheaper than 3 shots on their own. We decided to get the Patron sampler to share. It came on this really cool tower w/ the limes in a shot glass on the bottom. I got the shrimp quesadilla which was very good and Dh got 3 pork tacos which he enjoyed. This was a very good meal and we left full and w/ a decent buzz. BTW, we both liked the blanco (younger) tequila because it had less bite. It is also the cheaper version which I find funny.

We left there and wandered through the "Miracle Mile Shops" at Planet Hollywood Hotel (a note: PH restaurant is not in PH hotel which is really odd to me). We bought some good lingerie at Fredrick's of Hollywood which I'm really proud of. I had not gotten anything new since DH and I got married... so it was time (sorry if that is TMI). Also of note is that when we went in 2004 this shopping area was part of the Aladdin hotel and was called Desert Passage. This was our favorite themed shopping area back then and was SO cool. Well, now they are remodeling it to be all modern - BLAH - but it is mid change over which was weird. At least we got to still see some of the old styling and the area where it "rains" indoors. We spent a long time in this shopping area because it is big. After so many days of so much walking we were REALLY feeling it too. We sat down and came up with a bit of a plan.

We decided to go over to Bally's & catch the tram to Harrahs. From there we would go to the Venetian to ride the Gondolas. Then we would come back to Paris for dinner at the Le Village Buffet before heading down to Tropicana again for the show. On our way to the Venetian I stopped a got a souvenir Eiffel tower shaped glass full of strawberry daiquiri. It was really big and got me a Lot of looks throughout the rest of the evening. It was good, but had a way too high sugar to booze ratio.

We made it over to Venetian and all the way from the beautiful canal area outside to the place to buy tickets inside. (We didn't actually take our camera w/ us this day, but I added a couple of relevant pics from later in the trip )

We decided to do the indoor ride because it is longer. It was really neat and the gondolier was good. We had to share our Gondola with a man and his mom, but it was not bad. The gondolier sang two songs for us and was very talented. I really enjoyed the ride and would do it again. I only kind of wish that we had decided to wait and do this w/ mom and dad so we could have filled the whole boat (I'm not sure if they would have wanted to though).

So then we head back to Paris. It was not quite time for us to do dinner and I was not really hungry yet cause of the stupid daiquiri. We sat and played a few bucks into the slots before dinner. I had wanted all week to get one of those giant daiquiris but knowing that we were eating an expensive buffet I should not have done it that day... oh, well, live and learn. The Paris Buffet was really themed well. It looked like a small village and they had tons of different foods. We started w/ two plates each just to try to get a small sample of all the good looking stuff. I tried a few new things and it was really good for the most part. They had crab legs so I had a few of them. Then they had a WHOLE area of deserts w/ all kind of awesome stuff. The BEST thing though wasn't even w/ the deserts... hand/custom made crepes!! I had mine made w/ just nutella and whipped cream. OMG that was the BEST thing ever!!! I also had one of these made by a street vendor when I was actually in Paris so it really took me back. Dinner was delicious and I was stuffed. I had this really uneasy feeling that I had had way too much sugar and would end up feeling bad, but at that point didn't know what I could do about it. I wound up being fine though.

After dinner we took the long walk back to the Bally's monorail station AGAIN (this is a REALLY long walk & we did it WAY too many times that day) and headed over to Tropicana via MGM Grand. We got there a few minutes before they opened the doors for the show. We had decent seats. Most of the seats are at tables which is kind of weird, but ended up not being as bad as I thought at first. The show was really enjoyable. They did kind of a history of women and women's fashion. There was only toplessness during just over about a third of the show. I thought it was fairly tastefully done. My MOST FAVORITE part was when they put this mirror at an angle over the stage, then the ladies lay down in a circle and make shapes w/ the movement of their legs and these giant feather fans. It is hard to describe, but was SO cool. It is reflected in the mirror so that you can see it and sort of looks like a kaleidescope. Anyway, they could have done just that the whole show and I would have been Happy.

After the show DH & I were both pretty tired and still had to ride the monorail all the way back to Sahara and walk from there home. That was the end of our "couples day". It was a very long and full day. I really enjoyed it. DH & I are very well matched and are very go w/ the flow type of people. When we travel with other people it always reminds us of how well matched we really are. This was a much needed break for us from dealing with other people. I love my parents a lot and we do fine traveling with them, but DH and I have sworn off traveling to places like Disney or Vegas w/ anyone else for a long time! It is just very hectic and stressful trying to coordinate and appease all the various personalities. (little side note: I think it is primarily going to be Dh & I at DragonCon this year, which after last year is just fine w/ us )

Oh yeah, update on how this all worked w/ mom and dad. They called us when we were at PH shops and left a message (phone wasn't getting signal) saying they were on their way back from the Hoover Dam and stopping for food. DH talked to them when we were at the Venetian and they were back in Vegas. Dad asked DH if we were going to meet back up and DH politely told him that we had dinner planned already and would just hang separately (w/out having to actually say it). Dad said that was fine and that he and mom would probably go downtown to the Fremont Street Experience. I told DH that I was so glad that he talked to dad because w/out meaning to dad bowls me over and would have somehow convinced me that I needed to meet them to go to Fremont Street. When we got home they were up and told us about their day. They had slept late because mom was sick. They enjoyed Hoover Dam and then dad said that Fremont Street was probably his favorite part of the trip so far. I said good because I still want to go there. They asked about a couple of things from the day, but not details so I was able to avoid saying that we went to the topless revue. Don't ask me why, but telling my mom that seemed like it would be VERY uncomfortable.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Day 6 - Friday
We slept late again which was really our regular routine this week. We got up and decided that we would go to the Wynn Hotel and a few things in that area in the early day and then hit Fremont Street/Downtown for the evening.

We drove down and parked at the Wynn. Another hint for your trip is that if you rent a car - use the valet parking at the various hotels. It doesn't cost anything but the tip and is Super convenient. The Wynn was very nicely decorated. We went in and found the Parasol up/ Parasol down bar that overlooks their small pond & waterfall. At night the water fall has a laser light show on it, but it was way to early for that. The Parasol bars are just on two levels and have really pretty decorations.

Then we walked through their expensive shopping center toward the Palazzo which just opened in February. We had been told by our gondolier that the Venetian is themed after Venice and the Palazzo is themed to look like the Italian countryside. We entered through their shopping area and it's shops were not all filled yet. The theming was very pretty though. You know I don't think we actually went into their casino/hotel area, just the shops. I'm sure we didn't miss much.

The Palazzo shops lead you straight into the Venetian Canal Shops. We wandered all around them and showed mom and dad the gondola rides and St. Mark's Square.

Me with a Living Statue.

I really Love the Venetian! It is SO beautiful and I really loved Europe so it makes me want to go there. I did not have my camera with me on Thursday so I was able to take some pictures today of the things I missed. The front outside area is truely beautiful also.

Since we were outside I wanted to cross the street to the Mirage.

They supposedly had a volcano out front that "erupts" every half hour in the evening, but I had yet to see any evidence of that. We walked over and realized that the volcano area is under construction, so I'm not sure if it will still be a volcano when they are done with it. We went inside and looked around. They have a small rainforest set up in the lobby that was really pretty w/ some lovely orchids.

We also wandered through the entire place all the way to the back pool area because they have a dolphin habitat that we were interested in. I told them it cost to get in, but DH said he thought it was free (who did all the research, I ask you?). So we get there and it is $15 per person. I would have paid and gone in, but dad & mom said they can see dolphins for free on his boat in Florida. I have never seen one on his boat, but that is because I'm bad fish luck on a boat - never see or catch anything . So we moved on.

We took the Tram from Mirage to Treasure Island thinking it would save us some walking... not. The tram dumped us out at the back of TI so we had to walk all the way through the hotel and shops to get back to the front/street area. Anyway, it wasn't a really big deal though because we had not really explored TI the other night when we were here. I got a few pictures of the Sirens of TI set area today.

Loved this pic, very Goonies to me

It was lunch time so we went next door to the Fashion Show Mall for lunch. They have this Giant TV screen out front and it shows videos and plays music really loud. I had noticed it when we drove by numerous times during the week. Well, what I failed to realize until we walked up to it is that it is always showing the same video/commercial - an IPOD commercial using a Mary J. Blige song...basically THIS over and over and over. It is a catchy little tune, but GOOD GRIEF! It was Absurd!

Anyway we went inside and looked around. The directory said they had a California Pizza Kitchen and DH decided he really wanted that. My parents agreed, but since they had been kind of cheap on food I wasn't sure if they would think it over priced. They enjoyed it though and agreed that it would do well in Macon. DH and I split a bottle of wine along with our meal. After that we headed back to the hotel and I dragged DH to the hot tub. I really want a hot tub here at home

For the evening, we headed out to the Downtown/Fremont Street area. We got there just after the first light show that was at 7pm. We wandered about a bit and DH wanted to buy a shot, so I got a lighted souvenir cup w/ margarita. We saw a little acrobatic street performance, then meandered through a couple of the casinos.

The nice thing about the downtown area is that it is WAY more compact so you can see several casinos in a half hour and not feel like you have walked yourself to death. They are not very themed out though.

We ended up going into the Four Queens and joining their slot club. You got a free deck of cards in a metal tin for joining. Then we sat down for a bit to play. DH and I found a little video roulette table that only cost a penny per token and played at that for awhile. DH was doing really well at it and ended up fussing later that we made him leave it. We did leave there though to wander some more.

We saw the Fremont Street Experience light show. It was neat, but not anything really special to me. Dad said that the show is different each time and the two we saw were his least favorite (I think they saw them all the day before).

We decided it was time for dinner and I had read that there were some really cheap specials at Aloha Specialties restaurant in the California, so we went to check it out. They did have some interesting looking stuff, but it wasn't striking my fancy and mom and dad didn't look interested. So we moved on. We ended up at Main Street Station and they had a seafood buffet because it was Friday night. So who says that it what he wants? My dad. It was pretty good and they had a nice variety of things. DH and I decided to eat lightly and then work on crab legs the rest of the time. I think I managed to not be too stuffed when we left there.

We went back to the Fremont Street area and were able to watch the Cage of Death thingy - where they ride motorcycles inside a cage. DH & dad enjoyed it, I did not care and was not enjoying standing a lot at that point. We collected beads at a couple of places, then headed back to the Four Queens for some more gambling. I got on one of the "Deal or No Deal" slots and it was pretty cool. The guy sitting two seats down from me was doing great, but mine wasn't hitting too much. The drink service at this place was pretty cruddy too. DH got pretty frustrated and ended up going outside to one of the street vendors to buy more shots. I asked him to bring me a margarita back. Well since he did several shots in a row and ordered a margarita the guy hooked it up and it was so strong I could hardly drink it!

Well, at some point DH and I are sitting at the slots and my parents come up to us. Dad sticks a ticket in our face (the ticket prints out your winnings instead of giving coins) for $45 that he won. We were like Oh, that's good. Then Mom sticks hers in our face for $250!! I was like OMG! It was great that they were doing well, but DH and I were a bit jealous because we didn't hit anything all week!! We had not been losing terribly, but just not winning anything to speak of. I think I had hit like $13 once and was excited!

So, we had some fun there and then mom and dad wanted to go to the Plaza Hotel/casino at the end of the road, which was right next to where we parked. Dad had read that they had really loose slots. Well we went there and DH and I were not impressed at all. We didn't do very well and there was NO wait staff anywhere. We were probably there at least an hour and no one asked to get us a drink. Well, I had finished up and mom and dad had, but we were waiting on DH. So I went to the next row over and stuck another dollar in. I was playing and while not hitting anything substantial I was continuing to play on that one dollar. Well, the lady Finally came around and asked for my drink order so I ordered one. Then DH comes up and is like, We've been looking all over for you! and we are ready to go! I said, but I just ordered a drink and I'm not out of money yet! So, they all gather and are watching me play. Dad tells me to bet bigger, because your winnings are more if you hit and the money goes faster that way. Well, I bet like 3 or 5 credits a line ONE time and hit like $10 or $15 just like that! I was all excited, which made my dad really laugh since he and mom had so much bigger wins. Well, the lady brought my drink finally and I spent down to $5 and then cashed out.

Overall, I would say if you are tired and don't want to walk a lot, Downtown is nice. But if you like the free cocktail service and that is half the fun of gambling, then DON'T go downtown. For DH and I there were several nights that we sat and spent less than $20 total between games and tips for both of us and stayed for SEVERAL hours and had at least 4 or 5 drinks a piece - that was at Stratosphere and Slots o' Fun. That was "winning" enough for us.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Well, that is most of the trip. I still have Saturday that I have to write up. Sunday was pretty much just the flight home. I will write a little about that probably, but not much. I'm gonna say that the last portion of the trip report will most likely have to wait until next weekend.

My back is hurting me pretty bad from all of the yard work yesterday. I think I over stressed the muscle on the left side of my lower back. I'm gonna take it easy and hope that it feels better in the next couple of days.

I was SO tired yesterday that I went to bed before midnight (which is rare for me on a weekend) and slept until almost 11am!

Food so far today has not been bad.
B? - coffee
L- blackeyed peas, butterbeans, and cornbread. I drank water too one bite of rib, one bite of orange muffin thing
Dinner will be grilled chicken w/ black bean and avocado salad, together in soft tacos. YUM and very low fat/whole food

I did not do any exercise today. I'm taking the day off after all the hard work yesterday. Most likely tomorrow I will go to the Hi/Lo Cardio class.

I really want to aim to get 4-5 days of exercise in this week. I also sat w/ DH and planned our dinners for the week today, so I should be on track food wise

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Today has been a success so far. I ate pretty good and made it to the gym today despite having a few issues at work and going out for lunch.

Food:
b- kashi, milk, coffee
l- caesar salad w/ shrimp
d - grilled chicken, black bean & avocado soft tacos - man that stuff is YUMMY!

Exercise - 8 min. on the bike before Hi/Lo Cardio for an hour.

I took my lunch today and was looking forward to it, but we were all having a really grumpy Monday, so almost our entire unit went out for lunch together. I really want to have a good weigh in tomorrow though so I made myself get the salad. It was good and I enjoy salads, I just usually can't convince myself to actually order one

I had alcohol most nights of the last week and need to cut back just so that the calories don't send me back to the 200's! What is funny is that if I had not thought about that last night and this morning, then I would not want anything to drink tonight, but because I said, "No alcohol on the day before weigh in" now I want some I will not drink tonight though!!! I makes me retain water or something and I have bad weigh in's when I drink the night before.

I weighed yesterday morning and was down, so I'm desperately trying to hold onto that and use it as inspiration to get and stay on the right track!!

Have a great week everyone!

 

[lindalinda]

Hi amber! I loved your trip report!

I have never been to vegas, never really wanted to, since I'm not a gamber. But your report makes it looks so fun! That Venetian is gorgeous! I would love to stay there!


I hope your back feels better soon!

Have a nice week, dont work too hard!

Oops I for got tosay that pic of you with the "living statue' guy is adorable!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Thanks, Linda! The Venetian is Really nice, I'm sure it would be a great place to stay. It is centrally located on the strip also which would make it nice! I enjoyed the gambling, but there are a load of other things to do there also! We really didn't spend much time gambling overall.

My back is much better, thanks. I think it was just sore from the throwing of the wood.

Today I joined the 100 day challenge posted by Princess Vija. I gave myself four goals. I am not sure about goal number 3 though. Here they are, discussion to follow:

1. Journal my food and exercise daily - which should help me with my other goals
2. exercise 4 times a week minimum
3. Eat healthier meals and stay within my calories daily (1200 - 1500) Part of this is going to be trying to eat more whole foods and fruits and veggies... but not sure if I want to make a daily goal for that yet.
4. Weight goal for July 9th = 170lbs, goal for the half way mark = 181lbs. (I decided to shoot higher than my 15lbs so that maybe I will actually hit 15 )

I was trying to think about this challenge as something I would try to do/not do everyday for 100 days, but I was having a hard time with thinking that way. So, I said stay within 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I know that I should be doing that and will do that Most days, however I can say with certainty that there will be days that I will go over. I would say it may even happen weekly. My thinking was that if I aim for it daily and get there most of the time then that is progress.... but then I'm wondering if that is not really following the challenge goal of doing something for 100 days? I'm gonna ask the other challenge participants what they think.

So food today:
b- kashi, milk, coffee
l? - 2 quarters of sandwiches, small handful of chips & salsa, 2 cookies (we had a big meeting & this was what was there)
s- 60 calorie bowl of soup
d- soup made from leftovers - chick., sausage, veggies - really low fat except the sausage which wasn't much
alcohol - wine - gonna have a couple of glasses
calories - I'm thinking on the pushing it side.... probably shouldn't count today as an "on point" day

Exercise - Hi/Lo Cardio - apparently Tuesday's class is only 40 minutes It was Super Hard Core though!! I was really feeling it!

OH, YEAH, I almost forgot.... Hold on to your hat, don't fall out of your chairs... DH and I actually came home and did chores today! On a Work day!! We do minor stuff sometimes, but are So lazy during the week Today he came home and said he was going to mow the grass. So I changed the bed sheets, washed them, and washed dishes! I know that is not much, but I felt like it was a good showing that we are trying to think about what life will be like when we actually have to take care of a little one. We are growing up Sorry just was entertained by that

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Today...

Food:
b- kashi, milk, coffee
l- chicken salad sandwich, grapes, water
s- 2 small pieces of chocolate
d- Homemade pizza (crust by Boboli ), 2 white russians
total - by my estimation around 1500 to 1600

Exercise - 1 hour of water aerobics

I think I will take the calorie count part out of my challenge... mainly because I'm too lazy to actually calculate my calories Every day. I will still try to stay in that basic range though.

K, it is late and I'm just finishing dinner, so gonna make it a short one tonight

 

[DisDee]

Hey Amber, I know what you mean about not doing much around the house during the work week. If I accomplish 1 thing each nite, then I'm a happy camper. I will tell you though, that I always managed to get things done when the kids were young, and you will too. I worked outside of the home (sometimes part-time) so DH and I had to be a team.

If we ever get around to taking our trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, I'm going to refer to your trip report. You really must have done a lot of pre-trip planning. The pictures are great too!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hey, Dee. Thanks for the encouraging words about managing life with kids. I know it is possible, but it is a scary concept for me at times because right now I have so much "lazy time". I know that it will fall into place and seem normal once it is happening. I have a wonderful DH too who I'm sure will help out a lot.

I did research a good bit for the trip. I think for me the research is a large part of the fun. I can be a bit obsessive also though I read two guidebooks that were old, then bought a new one (Vegas changes WAY to fast, you need a current book) and read it. I also found EVERY website I could about Vegas and read all of them & got all the freebie tips & coupons. It was fun though and made the trip more fun, I think

Today was a road trip with one of my coworker/friends to see some kids that are 3+ hours away. It was a long day in the care but we had some nice discussions along the way. It was one of the kid's birthday so they picked the location, chinese buffet

Food:
b- kashi, milk, coffee
l- too much chinese food plus some ice cream
d- veggie curry w/ a tad of chicken over couscous
alcohol - having wine
Exercise - none

I know I've had a lot to drink lately, but it is sinking in that I will have to quit completely sometime around June so, I'm living a little while I still can

K, my shoulders are still a bit sore from the workouts and typing at the puter kind of hurts. So, goodnight.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Today:

b- kashi, milk
s- coffee w/ white chocolate
l- red beans and rice w/ sausage, part of an Elephant Ear
d- fried and blackened shrimp, cheese grits, boiled peanuts, salad, wine
calories - WAY too many
exercise - none

Today for lunch my co-workers and I went down to Central City Park to eat at our Cherry Blossom Festival which is taking place all week. It is basically just fair foods. All the girls I went with got dessert, but I didn't see anything that I thought was worth the money or the calories. Instead I ended up eating about a third of one girls Elephant Ear because it was huge and she wasn't going to eat it all. It was really good, but I didn't want to buy myself one because it was Way too big.

DH & I went to a place called Fish & Pig tonight. It is right on the lake and while we waited we were able to sit on the covered porch in rocking chairs and look out over the lake. It was really nice. This is one of the places that Oprah ate at when she came to Macon in December (I think, or was it November) to do her "Favorite Things" show. I'm still VERY mad at myself for not trying to get tickets to that show!

I'm exhausted! It's been a long week AND I've gotten up early enough to get to work on time THREE days this week I really do need to work on that

DH & I had planned to do yard work tomorrow and then go to the Street Party tomorrow night. BUT, it is supposed to rain pretty heavily all day tomorrow, so both ideas may be out of the window. I will probably try to go to either Yoga or Hi/Lo Cardio tomorrow morning. Then if it is rainy we will work on inside chores. Not sure what the evening will bring.

Have a Fabulous weekend!!