So, in Vegas we Saw Penn & Teller, got pink M&Ms, saw lots of animals, but how did we get there? Where did we stay? Where did we eat? Did we gamble?
As I mentioned in a previous post, the trip was over a 4 day weekend to celebrate our Anniversary on the 3rd (oh, and the 4th of July was around then too). We’d been talking about a trip for a month or so, changing our mind whether to go all the way to Vegas or to go somewhere closer like Monterey. It wasn’t actually until the Thursday night just prior to the weekend that we actually decided to go! We decided to drive, 9.5 hours down toward southern California and through the Mojave. We booked our hotel rooms at THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay (I wanted pools, and we’d heard Mandalay Bay has the best, plus a beach!). VIP tickets for Penn & Teller were also booked and we spent the evening pouring over more options for things to do while we were there.
Friday night we packed! Then took a 4 hour nap before hopping on the road a little after 5AM. The drive down was actually quite fun. Stopped at a roadside farm, Murray Family Farms to pick up some fruit for part of the journey, and passed a fair number of windmills.
Taking route 5 down we saw a lot of orchards, and I’d never driven through the Mojave before, it was quite the adventure. The ride was long, but eventually we were driving into Vegas and could see our hotel!
Upon arrival we parked, did some exploring, checked into our very nice corner suite room. The view from the room was great too, got to see the Luxor and part of the strip from one window, and could look down at the pool across the property from the other.
After checking in we enjoyed dinner and some drinks at an obligatory buffet which had the to-be-expected unlimited crab legs and other fine offerings. Now, the gambling? Vegas hotels seem to be set up so that you have to walk through or around the casino to get to anything, so we had seen it throughout the evening but I was pretty exhausted after dinner.
Sunday was the 4th of July. We picked up tickets for their fireworks and Mystic Roots concert and then enjoyed a very nice meal at Border Grill, outside with a view of the pool area. After lunch, covered in super strong sunblock, we hit the pool. The wave pool with beach was pretty novel, but it was so crowded – and in spite of the “don’t reserve chairs” rule posted everywhere, people do and so it was impossible to find a place to relax at the beach itself. Instead we headed up to one of the other pools where there was a DJ playing and a cover charge, which was slightly disappointing, but once inside I was happy we did it – 21+, not crowded, good music, good drinks that we could enjoy while chilling in the pool and all around quite the relaxing pool experience that I was looking for. Just writing about it makes me want to go back, it’s cloudy today in San Francisco!
An early dinner Sunday night was a really great Rodizio-style meal Rum Jungle. I’d never been to one, and service started off pretty slow, but as the crowd picked up more meats started coming around and they even started taking requests for which ones we had enjoyed the most and wanted more of. The lamb was amazing.
The fireworks on the beach were a lot of fun, even if the recorded music they played during it was a bit much. I was a bit unsure about it, but I really ended up enjoying the Mystic Roots concert that followed the fireworks. After the fireworks we hit the casino floor! We also snagged a late night snack at Raffles …and after some playing I went to bed $40 down, hah! Side note here: I’m a total sucker for the shiny, the blinking lights and the noises of slot machines while on vacation, so that’s where I spent my gambling weekend in spite of the terrible odds. MJ is now teaching me how to play casino Black Jack though, including etiquette!
Monday was the day we spent seeing the animals, getting pink M&Ms and seeing Penn & Teller, but we also had time for some other eating and gambling. Lunch was at BLT Burger at the Mirage before we went to see the Siegfried & Roy animals. I enjoyed a very good blue cheese burger, some sweet potato fries and we ordered a couple milkshakes which included liquor – yummy! After seeing the lions at the MGM I swung by M&Ms World and then met up with MJ at New York, New York for some gaming. I won the $40 I lost the night before! After that we headed to the Penn & Teller show. After that we grabbed some late night food at Pyramid Cafe at The Luxor. I wasn’t the biggest fan of gambling there compared to New York New York and Mandalay Bay, but the atmosphere was fun. Might even consider staying there some time.
Tuesday! We checked out at 11AM and had to drive home, but we put that off until the late afternoon and instead spent time at the Shark Reef Aquarium and then headed over at New York New York for a bit more gaming. Before the games we walked through the cute little “downtown” that they had constructed there at NY NY and I was able to have a lovely slice of Sirrico’s Pizza – real New York style pizza for the first time in months, I enjoyed every bite. I also rode The Roller Coaster, which was a blast!
Alas, the fun times in Vegas had to end, and after enjoying a couple “free” beers at the slots and ending up about $80 down (oops, Vegas owes me!) it was time to head home.
I put more photos up over on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pleia2/sets/72157624308301333/
We’ll have to go back soon! I signed up for a few mailing lists which will email cheap weekend deals that I can take advantage of on weekends so we can skip off on more spontaneous trips.
Thursday, Jul 15th, 2010 at 3:33
great pics. vegas is the city of dreams :)
Friday, Jul 16th, 2010 at 5:51
I don’t know, Las Vegas…. a place I would like to visit once (and only once) in my life time.
Friday, Jul 16th, 2010 at 5:53
gah… icon, icon, wherefore art thou icon?….. oh, look it’s here ;-)