Our extremely overdue vacation was everything we dreamed it would be. Our choice of destination is no big shocker. We seem to be forever drawn to the desert. I swear it's the intoxicating smells they pump through the casinos and hotels. Riley just likes the free drinks. ;) Either way, there is something that keeps making us want more of that little town they call Vegas. Of course as I thought about this blog I had to take a stroll down memory lane so I did some searching for a picture from our first trip together eight (yes EIGHT) years ago!!! And then just kept on searching for pictures from subsequent trips which led me to the discovery that we seem to have a pattern. We go to Vegas to celebrate milestones. A right of passage, I suppose, into new phases in our life.....
2004- post-21st birthday
2006- post-wedding
2008- post-deployment
2009 - post-graduation
Things have changed since those days. The PB days (pre-baby). Body parts have shifted. Wrinkles have formed. That forever tired look is painted on our faces. A child has caused the beginning of gray hairs I'm almost sure of it. Ok, maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit with all these descriptions. But I can tell you with 100% honesty that we are just a tad more tame than the twenty-one-year-olds we once were. However, one thing hasn't changed. I still love this man like crazy....
2012- post-baby
We finally stopped hemming and hawing about whether to take a trip or not when Riley heard that Motley Crue would be in Vegas in August. Ten minutes later the tickets were purchased and I began searching for flights. It was as simple as that. No beach vacation this year like we'd hoped for. But a weekend trip to Vegas would do. We decided it would be a nice little anniversary getaway and I can't even tell you how excited Riley was about seeing one of his favorite rock bands. But more about that later. Let's start from the beginning.....
The week before we left was one I would like to forget as soon as possible. Everything that could've gone wrong did and it seemed as though the stress was trying to follow us to Vegas. I had gone to Meme's earlier in the week for one of her therapy sessions and found her confused, lethargic and had a leg the size and color of Saturn. After four hours spent up at the hospital that afternoon they decided to admit her to a room and that's where she stayed for the next four days. On top of constant worry about my grandma's condition I had a daughter who was having one tough week as well. Whether it was teeth coming in or just general sassiness and two-year-old-ism, she had us banging our heads against the wall at certain times that week. Meme sick, cranky baby.....and oh yeah, my car had a wheel bearing that had gone out and needed repaired ASAP. I bumped along for two days in Riley's huge truck and prayed to God I wouldn't get pulled over in it since I seemed to have a lead foot through those days of hurrying to fit in my busy work schedule. Sure enough....got pulled over. I think I'll stop right there....of course I could go on but I've tried to block out the rest. Fast forward to Thursday evening of last week.....we packed the truck to the brim and took off for Enid to drop Hallie off for the first leg of her "vacation." We were going to stay the night in Enid, put Hallie to bed at Aunt B's house and then get up early and head to the airport. I've got plenty of hilarious stories and pictures from our evening at Aunt B's house so stay tuned for a separate blog about Hal's weekend. We kicked off our vacay with a quiet late evening at David and Lisa's empty house. They were in Florida and offered up their house (and pool) to us since dad was in the middle of remodeling. We "borrowed" a couple drinks from their fridge and took a dip in the pool. Once the temps had dropped and the shivering began we went back inside and curled up on the couch for some Olympic coverage before we decided that the morning would come much quicker than we would like. And it did. I think the excitement (and nerves about leaving Hallie behind) had gotten to me and I lay awake for much of the night. Luckily we had a very smooth traveling experience and snagged a direct flight to OKC to Vegas. The only minor problem was when my phone went missing as our plane was boarding. Holy panic attack. Random lady sent me on a mission searching for man in cowboy hat....man in cowboy hat had dropped my phone off at our gate (by some odd coincidence), man at gait opened my facebook app to find my name.....said man called my name on intercom....intercom call prevented me from going into full-on panic attack mode....phone found...my point was proven about the benefits of having facebook.....Riley remains unconvinced. ;)
We landed in Sin City around 11:30 and we were waiting in our hotel check-in line by noon. Luckily they were letting guests check-in early so we were passed out on the bed by 12:15. The morning of travel had already taken its toll and the only thing forcing us out of the room was our grumbling stomachs. Pizza perfection here we come!!! We settled into a booth at Slice of Vegas and inhaled the most delicious basket of garlic shoestring fries and a bbq chicken pizza that was to die for.....
We were anxious to explore our hotel with it being our first time to stay at Mandalay Bay. After lunch we took off on foot to check out what the place had to offer. We made our way down the strip and enjoyed drinks and junk food along the way....
My some strange miracle, I convinced Riley to get a foot massage with me. "Five minute, no good....you need twenty minute!!!" This was his favorite line from the sweet ladies making our feet feel great. Twenty minutes it was!
We did some gambling as we hopped in and out of casinos along the way....
Then something even stranger than Riley getting a foot massage happened. He suggested we go see a movie. Wait, what?!?!? This is the man who hasn't been to a movie in over three years. No joke. There we were in Vegas and a movie is what's on his mind?! There was no way I was saying no so we laughed our tails off through The Campaign. Good choice, hubs, good choice!
After the movie we trekked back down the strip to our hotel. By that time it was already 10:30 and we were famished from all of the walking. We found a delicious little American restaurant in our hotel called Red, White and Blue where we had a late dinner and drinks....
We were both thinking the same thing but just not wanting to admit it: we were tired. But wait! It was Vegas. You aren't supposed to go to bed before 2 a.m. in Vegas! We broke the rules and were in asleep by 1:00. Oops. Don't tell Vegas. Our bodies hadn't adjusted to the time change so we were both wide awake by 8:30. Our inability to sleep ended up being a blessing because we had a very LONG day full of fun. We were able to pack in a lot of STUFF on Saturday. First things first: breakfast. We scarfed down amazing burritos at House of Blues, did some shopping at the beach store for hats and pool gear then scoped out the pool area before going back up to the room to get suited up.....
Someone's been up in the gym lately
My running efforts have resulted in very little success but that's what bathing suit cover-ups are for ;)
After failing at finding a chair at the main pool we decided to sneak off to a pool off the beaten path where there were only a few people. Ah, peace and quiet....
The weather.....the water....the fruity drinks.....the sun.....the FREEDOM!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhh.....
Us two lovebirds had a grand ol' time floating around in the pool....
We headed back to the main pool area and found a couple of chairs that we claimed before jumping into the wave pool. I quickly decided that I wanted a new job: I want to be the life guard who sits on a surf board all day and rides each wave. Looks easy enough and pretty fun. ;) Did I mention how pretty the pool was?!?!
Riley James was starting to bake in the sun so we decided to take one last spin around the lazy river before heading back up to the room. The sun felt great and the whole "no responsibilities" thing felt ever greater!
Not a worry in the world
It took a trip to Vegas to FINALLY find the perfect bathing suit cover-up and hat that I've been looking for all summer!!!
After changing clothes we headed up the strip to find a Mexican restaurant we had heard about. Diablos exceeded our expectations and managed to make my jaw drop to the floor. As the waitress layed by plate of nachos on the table I couldn't help but wonder if it was a man vs. food sort of meal. Where's the free t-shirt I win if I eat this plate of nachos?! And where is the wall of fame where my picture will hang when I lick the plate clean!?!? Turns out that I was only capable of eating 1/4 of the plate and there was no such thing as a food challenge. It was just an insanely ginormous plate of food. ;)
A couple of pina coladas later and a few too many nachos we rolled ourselves back toward the hotel. The walk back took about an hour since we stopped at NY NY and tried our luck. I couldn't contain my excitement when this happened while I was playing a slot machine......
That was a GREAT way to kick off the evening!!!! I have zero luck when it comes to trying my luck so needless to say I was ecstatic to walk out of there having evened things up. Take that Vegas!!! ;) The next portion of the evening went something like this: showered, dressed, strolled downstairs to get in line early to enter the concert arena, found a HUGE crowd of crazies thinking the same thing we did! KISS/Motley Crue fans don't mess around. That's for sure. We found a casino full of rock fans waiting to get seated for the show. Men, women and babies (yes, BABIES!!!) dressed in full KISS get-ups...makeup and all. AMAZING sight to see! BABIES!?!?!?! I'm still shaking my head on that one. There were tons of fans in concert tees from the 70's and 80's. I found an innocent looking woman (who seemed to be in the same boat as me going to a rock concert that she wasn't too interested in) to take our picture while we waited in line. Hey, even if rock isn't my thing Riley said I still looked the part in leopard....
I must say that after having purchased the tickets over a month ago I hadn't really done any mental preparation for what was about to happen. First I must say this: I hate loud, screaming music. HATE. Yes, very strong word. I'm known for plugging my ears to drown out Riley's rock music during long car rides. Makes me all anxious and I'd so much rather kick back and relax with a little twangy country tune. Heck, I'd even take some rap music. It hit me what I'd gotten myself into as we stood in the t-shirt line and I looked around observing how ridiculous this show was going to be. "What did I get myself into?"
Four hours of pure rock. Banging, loud, raunchy, disturbing, did I mention loud, obnoxious, never-ending, profanity-laced, LOUD rock. You can see I'm not beating around the bush here. Secondly, I must mention that most of my disinterest was related to the fact that I only knew the words to two songs. Four hours: two songs. That left me with quite a bit of "down time." Ok, so now that I've mentioned all that, I must say that there were several parts in the show that captured my attention. Such as Tommy Lee drumming upside down on a roller-coaster like track. That. Was. Awesome. Or how 'bout a stream of blood running out of Gene Simmons' mouth after he flew down from the ceiling like a bat? Yeah, That. Was. Awesome. Too. ;) You know what else was awesome?? This guy's face as he watched the concert....
I ought to let him share his perspective because it was dramatically different from mine. He was in rock heaven. While he was transfixed on the stage, I couldn't take my eyes off of this lady dancing on her husband, tossing her drink around, and just being a drunk mess.....
Sunday was our last day in the desert. Boo, sad face, NOOOO!!!! Despite the fact that our trip had flown by thus far we were ready to make the most of our last 24 hours of fun. We started the day off with a waltz down the strip in search of some lunch. Momma was getting hangry (hungry/angry) by the time we made it to Caesar's Palace where we decided on an old favorite, The Cheesecake Factory. You may be wondering what I was wondering....why did we go to Vegas to eat at TCF? Well, you see, it's kind of like the movie. When Riley suggests one of my favorite things in this world, I just don't turn it down. Movies? A favorite...so the answer is always YES! Cheesecake Factory? A favorite...so the answer is always an emphatic YES! Their lunch was delish as always and we got the day started with a peach belini....
We burned up the concrete on the strip all the way down to Harrah's and back to the other end of the world at Mandalay. Shopping here and there and stopping along the way to listen to some live music. Then it was back up to the room to get ready for our dinner that night downstairs....
Sleepy head slept for about an hour once we got back to our room while I read my book by the window that overlooked the pool. I washed the streets of Vegas from my feet and put on my new favorite dress and strolled down to Border Grill with this handsome fella.....
I regret not taking pictures at dinner for the simple fact that the setting was gorgeous. We sat on the balcony right above the pool and watched a wedding take place under a gazebo nearby. The weather was beautiful and the food was to die for. The restaurant had been recommended by a friend and I was glad we finally went on our last night. We went to bed early like the seniors that we are since our flight was leaving early the next morning. We had a smooth flight home, read up on our books, and made it back home to Woodward by 4:30 when we picked up Hallie at Nanny and Papa's house. Not only did we have a fantastic three days of solitude and quiet time but I also came back with a new perspective on life thanks to the book I picked up in the airport. I can't wait to blog about it once I finally finish it. Airport reads never disappoint!
Another trip in the books and another anniversary passed! I was busy counting my blessings on our way home.....and I'm still counting five days later. ;)
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