VEGAS!

Last week I got an awesome surprise from Neil that we were taking a mini-vacation, that I should pack a bag, and we'd be leaving early on Monday morning and taking a 6 and a half hour drive somewhere.  I was trying to think where we would be if we drove 6 and a half hours, was it Phoenix, could we be going up to San Francisco, was it Mexico, how far away was a 6 and a half hour drive?

After loading up our 2 suitcases and grabbing some coffee we were on our way East (which took San Francisco out of the running) at 7 am.  I was too excited to sleep the night before and didn't want to miss anything in the car because the last time we took a road trip together he let me sleep through Denver, and I'll never let him live that down!  We stopped for breakfast about 2 hours later and debated just jumping ship right there and staying in Riverside but then weighed our options and decided to continue on our adventure.  I started to fall asleep about an hour later but then woke up just after entering Nevada.  Neil asked if I wanted to drive down the Las Vegas Strip, and I said of course, we couldn't go through Vegas without a quick tour of The Strip.  So as we pulled off the Freeway, Neil said he needed to use the bathroom, and I'm thinking, 'This kid, as we're on probably the busiest part of our drive needs to use the bathroom now?'  To make matters worse, we drive almost all the way down it to turn back around and he says he wants to go back to the Monte Carlo.  So we drive back down The Strip and pull into the parking lot, leaving everything in the car and just walking into the Casino.  Then he asks if I want to walk around the Casino, and I'm again thinking, 'Shouldn't we get going, if we've got another 3 hours of driving ahead of us.'  I say, sure, and we take a lap, and as we're exiting the Hotel, he says, 'Nah, I think we should just check in.'  I stand there confused, and he says, 'Surprise!  Aren't you excited?  Why aren't you excited?'  And I tell him, because you've been throwing me off this whole time, 6 and a half hour drive, stopping to use the bathroom, walking around the Casino, and then say we're checking in!  I learned on the drive home that the total driving time was 6 and a half hours...very sneaky ;)

Winning!

Since we got there so early we weren't allowed to check-in right away so we did gamble for a little bit and got our first Free cocktails of the trip (Vodka rocks with a lemon) along with some winnings from the Golden Goddess game we hunted down that I always play when I'm in Wisconsin.  Neil had me get a Club Card and an extra one as well so we could both rack up points on it.  Not that I was winning the two days we were there, but I was certainly putting money into the machines.  Neil was definitely on a lucky streak because every game he played he was winning something, whether it was the Star Wars Game, the Wheel of Fortune Slot Machine, or some crazy Monster Game, he won over $100 and played for hours.  That's my favorite part about playing slot machines is that if you play the penny machines, you can play all day long and not lose a whole lot.  Another reason why I like $1 Blackjack, you can play for hours and come out ahead if even $50 and get to enjoy the game.  While we were waiting we took a tour of the pool, Spa, and Gym, which were all really nice and serene.

Around 1 pm we were getting a little antsy waiting over 2 hours for our room to be ready so we finagled another room that unfortunately wasn't on the 30th floor (this one was on the 22nd) but still had the view and specifics that Neil had reserved ahead of time.  As we made our way up the elevator and got to our room I was surprised as to how big it was.  It had a beautiful bar set-up with stools and a mirror along one wall, a ginormous bed that a whole family could have slept in, a nice seating area, and a huge hot tub over-looking The Strip!  It should have been called The Rockstar Suite!  We quickly changed and made our way down to the Pool which had a Lazy River, separate Adult Pool, and Wave Pool where we spent most of our time since it was over 100 degree's outside.  The edge of the Wave Pool was shallow enough that you could lay in it, stay cool and get a great tan!  But the 100 degree Vegas heat is far more intense than the LA Sun so after about an hour we went up to the room, changed, and walked to CVS to pick up some snacks and a bottle of alcohol since we didn't want to pay $12 for a drink everywhere we went.

There were a ton of restaurants and bars throughout the Casino but we decided on Diablo's for Happy Hour since we were watching the Bears Monday Night Football Game!  They had a wheel that was spun once every hour where the special changed.  It was $5 Beers for Happy Hour plus the Wheel Special.  We ordered Nachos and they were bigger than my head, and I'm surprised we even made a dent in them!  After the wheel was spun Neil asked if I could spin it the next time so we were excited at 7 pm when it was my turn to spin the Specials!  We kept our fingers crossed for $7 Flavored Margarita's but ended up getting $7 Patron Shots which the crowd seemed to be happy about.  Then two shots of Patron were placed in front of us and it was go time.  We were exhausted from the long drive, sitting in the sun, and watching the game, but we both got our second winds after the shot and a nap was no longer necessary before Dinner!

Diablo's Nachos in the Monte Carlo Casino for Happy Hour

After Happy Hour we went back to the room, poured ourselves a couple of drinks and got ready for Dinner.  In our matching purples, we headed downstairs to take a cab to the Rio where we were having an elegant Dinner.  I had no idea where exactly we were going and as we took the outdoor elevator up to the top floor I realized we had a 360 degree view of Las Vegas from our table!  We had Dinner at the Voo Doo Steakhouse and were going upstairs to the Lounge after Dinner.  We ordered some fun cocktails along with the Chilean Sea Bass and a Steak, cooked Medium Rare!  Both of us were excited for our food, and the Fish was by far one of the best I've ever had, but we were both disappointed with the steak.  It was a little meaty tasting and Neil wouldn't eat much of it because it was so rare, and even me, who practically likes my meat 'mooing' at me, had a tough time eating it.  Yes, we should have sent it back, but since we had cut it and eaten a few pieces at that point, I didn't want to cause a problem.  We also were the last reservation of the night and the only people in the restaurant at that point and I'm sure the chefs were just waiting for us to be done so they could clean up and go home.  We did agree that the cocktails were perfection and the Sea Bass made up completely for the Steak, plus the company and view were amazing.  Our next stop was the Rooftop Lounge where the Bartenders did a little flair while making our Specialty drinks (which of course, I loved) and then we stepped outside where we took in the incredible view of the lights, hotels, and everything Las Vegas has to offer.  The DJ was good and we even found ourselves dancing in between taking hundreds of pictures trying to get the perfect lighting in the background.  Sorry Neil...but I love my pictures!

Our cab ride back to the Monte Carlo was certainly not as fun as our first one as our cabbie never even spoke to us but it was all fun and laughs when we got back to the Casino and sure enough Neil won more money while I lost at the Ghostbuster's Game.  It was getting late so we made our way back to the room but were stopped by the VIP Host at Brand, the Night Club in the Monte Carlo.  We weren't sure if we wanted to go in but he gave us Free Admission wrist bands and told us to come back if we were up for it.  As we walked away, a couple asked where the Night Club was and we told them as we hid behind some slot machines to see what would happen, and sure enough, the Host was telling them they needed to pay an Entrance Fee in addition to what they would be paying for drinks in the club.  They declined but we decided at that point to check it out and see what all the fuss was about.  We walked into a nearly empty club; it looked like they were a group of girls in for a Bachelorette party and scattered couples or groups throughout the room.  Everyone was dancing and having a good time, and their Ladies Night Special of $20 for All You Can Drink was definitely a selling point but both of us just weren't feeling it so we headed back to the room for our own Free cocktails.

In-Room Cocktails :)

The room wouldn't have been appreciated without a swim in the party-size Hot Tub that 4 people could have easily fit into, and although I nearly scalded Neil with the hot water, he did get to enjoy it but didn't stay in for too long.  I had every intention of relaxing and enjoying it myself but I kept drifting in and out of sleep with my arms on the edge looking at The Strip, so I knew it was time for bed.

On Day 2 we went down to the Pool to get some more sun and sit in the Wave Pool for a while before going back to the room and packing everything up!  Thank goodness for Late Check-outs!  We had to hit up the Buffet since we had finagled the 2-4-1 price since we didn't get into our room at the time we were promised. 
'Would you like a table?' ~ Waitress

'That would be better than the floor.' ~ Neil

Literally made me laugh out loud!  I did some damage with 3 platefuls of food; getting breakfast, a salad, a Chinese plate, a Dinner plate with Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, and 3 kinds of vegetables, not to mention a few different desserts to enjoy.  The Buffet loses money on me...might make money on Neil, but certainly loses money on me :D  And leaving the Buffet I could have used a wheelbarrow but was still able to do some bell kicks.  I couldn't believe I was projecting myself off the ground with the amount of food I ate!

Vegas at Night!

We gambled for a long time on Tuesday, starting off at the Monte Carlo, and me playing a bunch of different games trying to win at something, but it just wasn't my day.  I lost at Gone With The Wind, and even tried playing some of the Video Blackjack and Pokers game, but would lose at those while Neil would win $10 and $20 off of them.  I was happy that at least he was winning, and I liked watching him play the Star Wars game and helping him choose which Robot had the most points, or what star ship was going to blow up.  One of the things I wanted to do at some point was to find $1 Margarita's, so we went to Palace Station where I had stayed when I worked with PowerTV at SEMA, 2 years ago, and sure enough, they still had the same deal.  They were $1 Margarita's, you could get them Strawberry flavored, and add a shot of Cazadores for $2.  DEAL!  We almost wished we had watched the Football game there with all the specials they had going on.  Yes, it may not be as fancy a Casino as some of the ones on The Strip, but their specials were awesome!  Neil won money at some Monster Game, actually won the Jackpot and at that point, it was 7 pm and we wanted to have some Dinner before heading back to LA.

My family always goes to the $7.77 Steak Dinner at The Hard Rock so after our unfortunate steak experience the day before, I thought this might make up for it.  Well, I was wrong.  I remember we came here a couple years ago with my friend, Ashley, and had it, and it was amazing!  It was one of the best steaks I've ever had, and this steak was tough, dry, and had tons of fat on it...not good.  At least we left with full bellies from the huge salad, mashed potatoes, and shrimp we also got with the entree.  

Then we drove the three and a half hour drive back to Los Angeles as we re-lived the fun and memories of an absolutely incredible mini-vacation and road trip to Las Vegas.  We laughed, we were spoiled, we had to do this again, and can't wait until the next time we talk about the Mouse Face 8:*)