Next trip to Sin City will be in a plane!

There was SO much traffic on the way up! It took us 9 hours to get there when it should have taken 6! We took the shorter way that was also supposed to be the faster way, but it turned out otherwise. Can somebody tell me why every single highway in the state of Arizona has some sort of construction work being done? I'm serious when I say the whole way there was slow! Slow traffic at Picacho Peak, slow going through Surprise, almost standstill at Wickenburg, and then it took us 1 1/2 hours to cross the Hoover Dam! That's right....1 1/2 hours to go 10 frickin' miles! Jon was cursing up a storm that whole time, exclaiming that this was a bad idea and why were we even going. I simply responded, "You were the one that wanted to go to Vegas so bad. We could have been in San Diego by now." That got him to stop, but we were both so tired and hungry by the time we got there.

For anyone planning on staying at the Planet Hollywood, please valet your car! We found out later that it's complimentary. Don't go the cheap way and self park because you are going to have to go trek through the Miracle Mile shopping center. It was awesome....with all our bags. We wait in line to check in and when we get there, they have limited rooms with a king size bed. Would we like the smoking optional room or the handicap room? Ugh! We pick the handicap room and it's complete with rails all over the place. We were going to stay there, but it looked like the room hadn't been occupied in a while. The furniture was dusty and the sink and shower drains were SLOW. Taking a required bath....I think not. Good thing we were able to switch rooms after the first night!

Other than that, we had a blast! The Strip was crowded to capacity and everybody was WASTED! The yard long margaritas were really prevalent and I wanted one, but never got one. Maybe next time! Jon was actually meeting up with a friend from high school so we hung out with his group. Jon went along with the group, which happened to be Jewish, and went with the "what's cheaper" theme. Yes I'm stereotyping, but yes that's the way it was. They do it to themselves! :P We went to Bill's Casino and I drank up four 99 cent margaritas which weren't half bad! I barely got a buzz off them, but there definitely was tequila in there.....they were just so small! 

The next day was set aside for shopping. Unfortunately, I had a bad headache and wasn't in the mood so I left Vegas empty handed. I didn't find anything I needed at H&M, which was a disappointment, but I'll hit it up again when it opens up in Scottsdale. That night we went to Toby Keith's I ♥ This Bar and Grill. Don't ask me why this group wanted to eat there! It was fun though! I got a mason jar of electric lemonade which was all I needed, believe me! Some drunk girl just sat down at our table mid meal to ask us about Earth Hour, which I had no idea was happening that night. Sure enough, as we were walking back to our hotel I noticed that all the marquee signs were off. To be honest, I couldn't even tell because at ground level all the casino lights were on and it was still bright. You had to look up to notice that any lights were on.

All in all, it was a good trip even though we only really spent a day there. Next time we're flying! 

Dinner time now. And I have a big day tomorrow. I have to break the news to my boss that I'm leaving my job in May. I'm so nervous! We're going through a grant renewal now so it's really bad timing. How am I supposed to tell my boss that I went behind his back and applied to nursing school?

Vegas bound....again....and I'm not complaining here!

We're heading out tomorrow morning EARLY. We hope to leave by seven, drop the dog off at the kennel and make the drive up. It's going to be a short trip, but should be fun nonetheless. I just found out at lunch today where we were going. I knew it was either Vegas or San Diego. Vegas won out with Jon! We got a great military discount for a hotel right on the strip. While we're there we'll probably meet up with Jon's best friend from high school--I don't think he's seen him for a couple years!

One highlight for this trip for me....H&M! I've never been, and when they opened one up in Seattle I was sooo jealous. I'm so mad that you can't even shop their clothes online unless you live in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, etc. So I've been holding out for a trip that could take me to a city that has one of these coveted stores. Too bad I'm 5 lbs heavier now...grr!!! I check their website periodically and found out that Scottsdale is getting one this fall, so I'm excited about that! Anyways, husband has been warned....and he's fully prepared for the shopping frenzy (window or otherwise) that will ensue! Happy weekend everybody!

Las Vegas pictures

As promised, I'm posting our pictures from our trip to Las Vegas. After looking through them, I realized that I don't have much. I don't have a camera bag for my camera and I really didn't like looking like the stereotypical tourist carrying my camera with me everywhere, so the pictures are limited. I was also sick, so I wasn't on top of my game, but here they are!

One of my favorite things about Vegas. I saw the Bellagio fountain show 3 times (I know, just 3, but I was sick!) My favorite show was to Andrea Bocelli's Con Te Partiro. This version literally brought tears to my eyes.
My handsome husband being a good sport and posing for me in the Venetian.

He saw a gelato stand and attacked! I'm so glad he found it because it was the best spumoni gelato I've ever eaten!

Hopefully next time we go (there will be a next time!) I'll be healthy and want to do more! We did see two Cirque de Soleil shows, Love and Mystere. I loved both! Love, obviously, had more dancing and music than Mystere, but still had plenty of acrobatics. Jon put up the money to buy the Love CD, even though you probably would just have to go to Walmart and buy a Beatles best of CD.  Mystere had more audience involvement, which made it more fun. One girl from the audience even got to participate in some scenes after being handpicked by the "baby." There was one scene that was my favorite involving two dancers--their movements were just so beautiful and portrayed the love between the characters so well--but then I do love ballet.

I also got to see the Bodies exhibit, which Jon saw without me in Seattle when it was in town. It was amazing! Then there was the delicious steak dinner at Morton's. We got some keepsake menus and a picture in celebration of Jon's homecoming. They also gave us a complimentary glass of Port. I love Port!

Not too exciting a visit, but still memorable! Las Vegas was never on my travel list, but now that I've gone, I definitely want to go back!