When the Ferrells finally arrived we took a shuttle to our hotel, Treasure Island, and grabbed some lunch before we were able to check in.
An older lady checked us in and asked Judd if he wanted an upgrade. Yes, please! She said this room was roomier and had a better view. She also said they aren't supposed to do that and have blocked them doing so, but that she's been there for twenty years and knows all the tricks. Judd always wins the affection of old ladies! He says it's because he has a kind face.
We had a corner room so we had two windows with awesome views of the strip!
We all took naps to recover from our early start then headed to the Rio hotel for dinner and a show. We ate at Buzios Seafood Restaurant where I had some darn good fish tacos. Then we went to see Penn and Teller. I had never heard of them before, but everyone else had! They are magicians and their show did not disappoint.
After the show we went up to the 51st floor of the Rio to the VooDoo Lounge - awesome views of the strip!
This was one view from our room - the TI sign and strip!
On Thursday morning we started our journey down Las Vegas Blvd. We walked through (almost) every hotel on the strip! They were all so interesting and so different!
Mirage
This pic is for Linz who loves Celine!
In front of a fountain at Ceasars
Bellagio
The Conservatory at the Bellagio - almost everything was made of fresh flowers or seeds of some kind. It was beautiful!
Nick messing with the water fountains!
New York, New York
MGM Grand
We ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so nice to just sit in an air conditioned building. It's H-O-T in the desert!
After lunch we went to M&M World (four stories of candy and paraphernalia) and did some traditional souvenior shopping. We got the kids Las Vegas travel pillows. Practical, yet something they would like. Win, Win!
On the way back to the hotel we saw the Paris.
Ceasars from across the street - it is massive! It was our personal favorite!
After resting and cleaning up, we had dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, a cute French bistro at the Paris hotel. We sat right by the window and you could see the Bellagio fountains from acros the street! (Another delcious meal - I had crab cakes and Judd and hanger steak. Food in Vegas is gooood!)
After dinner we headed to the Venetian Hotel to see the Blue Man Group. Judd and I even got to take a picture with a "blue man" after the show!
On Friday we slept in and ate lunch at the Buffet at TI. In Vegas you have to eat at a buffet at least once! Then we went to the Venetian to ride the gondalas. The Venetian Hotel was beautiful! It was hard to believe we were inside - everything was so authentic looking.
The outside of the Venetian
That afternoon we hung out at the pool. I took my Kindle and planned to read and get some sun. That didn't happen! The pool was crazy! It wasn't very big and was packed with people. There was a DJ and it was pretty loud - not really a reading environment! We found a spot at the edge of the pool and had fun people watching. We could have done that all day long. There are some interesting folks in Vegas!!!
That night we went to dinner at Serendipty 3 at Ceasars. Judd and I have been to the one in New York twice so we were excited to eat there again. You can't go to Serendipity and not have their famous frozen hot chocolate! We got the mochachino one...yum!
After dinner we went to the Bellagio to see the fountain show. Honestly, it wasn't as great as I had hoped it would be. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's the one we saw. Apparently, there are different "routines" to different songs. Or maybe it's the fact that it didn't live up to the scenes in Ocean 11.
Then we hopped in a cab and headed downtown to Fremont Street. The cab ride in itself was interesting. Our cab driver was interesting. That's the only word I can think of! Fremont Street was quiet the experience. We all agreed it was like a cross between Sixth Street in Austin and Boubon Street in New Orleans. There were some crazy folks down there! We did see the Golden Nugget and the light show that is above the street on massive screens. That was impressive! After we saw the light show though, we were ready to get out of there!
We made it back to TI in time to see Sirens, the pirate show that they do every night in front of the hotel. It was cute, but Nick had it right when he said, "The price was right for that one." (It was free!)
On Saturday, we slept in, packed up, and had the hotel hold our luggage because our flight wasn't until later in the day. We walked to the Fashion Mall which was right next door to our hotel for lunch. We ate at the food court because we were tired of overpriced food! Then we walked through the Wynn, Encore, and Circus Circus. At this point, we were so tired, we were d-0-n-e! I didn't even take out my camera! We got back to the hotel before we had to catch our shuttle so we just hung out in the casino. By the way, there are slot machines and game tables everywhere in every hotel!
We hung out at the Vegas airport for a couple of hours before getting on the plane to go home. It was delayed by about 30 minutes, so we didn't touch ground in Houston until almost midnight. Then we had to get our luggage, get to the car, and drive home. Needless to say, we needed a huge cup of coffee the next morning to stay awake during church!
This trip was a much needed break for both of us! Judd and I really haven't gotten to spend much quality time together this summer. It was so nice for it to just be the two of us for a few days. We had a great time and we are so glad we went, but we agreed that we've "been there, done that" and we don't need to go back! We all decided that our next vacation is going to be one that is more calm, relaxing, and quiet. (Vegas is none of those things!)
Special thanks to Maw-Maw, Pop, Nonnie, and Bubba for taking care of our little ones while we were away. I'm sure they didn't even miss us!
