In an effort to savor the post-vacation warm fuzzies for as long as possible (and prevent picture overload), I will be splitting my recap into two parts. Part one goes like this...
Friday morning, Wheat and I braved the 3:00 AM alarm and premature autumn temperatures as we headed to the Indianapolis airport. Our flight to Phoenix was uneventful and after a brief layover and several threats from flight attendants that I was carrying one too many bags, we finally arrived in Vegas.
My family's timeshare, the Jockey Club, is nestled in between the Cosmopolitan and the Bellagio. So, as soon as we dropped off our luggage, we set out to explore. We made our way through the Cosmopolitan and Aria, stopping in a sports book to watch part of the Orioles game. Between innings, we walked to New York New York, where we ate hot dogs from Nathan's and watched the Orioles win.
We checked out the Excalibur before riding the tram to Mandalay Bay. From there, we decided to walk back through the shops to the Luxor. As we entered the strip of shops, we spotted a sign advertising that Pete Rose was signing autographs. After a little deliberation, we decided to buy the 8x10 and have him sign it.
I was ridiculously nervous to approach the Hit King, but he was so nice and talkative. When I told him I was from Cincinnati, we discussed my little hometown in detail and he mentioned several specific places he used to frequent. He asked how we met each other as he personalized our picture, then shook Wheat's hand as they discussed the Indy 500. I was just a little excited.
Slowly, we made our way back to the timeshare, stopping in various shops along the way.
When we got back, we waited for Denny (the birthday boy!) to arrive before heading to dinner at Bistro Buffet in the Palms. It was wonderful to finally have the whole family together for a meal and I was even more excited when I found the pumpkin pie.
Saturday, Wheat and I woke up early to walk through the gorgeous, seasonally decorated lobby of the Bellagio. As always, I was blown away by the beautiful decor, which included bears made of moss, animatronic squirrels, massive pumpkins, and an archway made of fountains, lights, and flowers.
Somehow, Wheat managed to pry me away from the scenery to meet my parents at the Linq. We admired the huge new observation wheel (High Roller), ordered red velvet cupcakes from Sprinkle's, checked out the shops, and watched some college football and ate lunch at Tilted Kilt.
After lunch, Wheat and I ventured to Caesars Palace so he could place a few bets in the sports book. I lost $10 in slots, then won $9 in roulette and called it a day. Next, we walked through the Forum Shops and randomly ran into Magic Johnson, who was also doing an autograph session in a memorabilia store.
We reunited with my family at the Silver Sevens Casino (formerly known as Terrible's) and placed even more bets on the NFL games for the following day. Note to self: Never bet on the Detroit Lions. After a little relaxing, we piled in the rental van and made our way to Old Las Vegas to admire the weird street performers.
We saw the world's biggest golden nugget on display, ate delicious fried food (I had a fried peanut butter and jelly coated in powdered sugar - my god), and watched the light display on the ceiling of Fremont Street.
On a whim, Wheat, Elizabeth, and I decided to do the 77-foot-high zip line. Although I was wearing a short dress, the line was ridiculously long, and they made me take off my glasses, it was pretty exhilarating to dangle over the people-laden street before zooming to an abrupt
I'll post part two on Monday. Serious kudos to humankind for creating a city where overindulgence is required.
Every Rose has its thorns, except for Pete.
ReplyDeleteSO MUCH FUN. You did so much, and I am definitely excited for part 2.
ReplyDeleteI love that you saw Pete Rose and then talked about Lebanon in Las Vegas. I mean, come on. That sentence.