A Little Less Conversation....

I've been thinking about Las Vegas a lot and decided to post this oldie, but goodie. :) Keep in mind that this is before we started our Shomer Shabbos rules and also before I gave up non-Kosher meat. (My husband had given it up by that time.)

March 7th, 2006
03:28 pm - Viva Las Vegas!

I know I've been quiet lately. The craziness never stops!

This year, I broke away from my Oscar watching tradition...

We went to Vegas this past weekend to celebrate our anniversary (a week early, but my husband has to photograph a wedding next weekend). We packed a lot of activity into a few days.

Friday: We arrived at 9 am and checked into our hotel. Then, as we were heading to lunch, this lady invited us to view a timeshare and said she would give us a free dinner and show for doing so. So we signed up for it and then went to lunch. The timeshare was beautiful, but we don't see the point of spending that much a year for something we can only use one week out of the year. Three people tried convincing us otherwise, but we stood our ground and still got the tickets and meal we were promised. Afterwards, we walked along the strip and went into a few hotels. Then we walked all the way back to the Stratosphere (where we were staying). It took over an hour to get there. At night, we ate at Top of the World (like the Signature Room, but it rotates) and then saw a really funny "adult" hypnosis show.

Saturday: We went to the Paris hotel for crepes. Then we walked to MGM and came back to Paris for massages. Later, we walked around Venetian and Wynn. (Wynn is the newest hotel and is very pretty, but doesn't really have a theme.) At night, we went to Chicago Joe's for dinner. It's downtown and somewhat out of the way, but worth going to. It had really good Italian food and a romantic atmosphere. Afterward, we saw The Amazing Johnathan. However, most of his show was what we saw last time. He's still funny though. My husband got to gamble for a while too.

Sunday: We picked up our free show tickets (for V) at the Aladdin. Then we went to NY NY, Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay. We made plans with another couple we're friends with and they picked us up at Mandalay. We went for lunch and then to Ethel M's chocolate factory tour. It wasn't much of a tour, but we got free chocolate samples. The pecan brittle is fabulous! Later, we got dropped off at the Mirage and we walked around there, went to the forum shops at Caesar's for a while, and then got gelato at the Venetian. Then we went back to our hotel and got ready for the evening. We saw "V" at the Aladdin, which was a fun variety show. There was a lot of humor in it, but no female performers. Then we had dinner (the free meal from the timeshare) at La Salsa Cantina. It was really good. Afterward, we walked around and my husband took a lot of pics. We saw the Bellagio fountains (I still get good chills from thinking about them) and the volcano at the Mirage.

Yesterday, we had time to pick up a few souvenirs and then we went to the airport. We didn't get home till late last night and then we stayed at my parents' house for another hour before taking Eitan home.

I definitely missed Eitan while we were there. It was hard seeing other people with babies. I did get to catch up on sleep, but I kept thinking of all the things Eitan would have enjoyed if we had brought him with. I know he would have loved the fountains at the Bellagio too.

Next time, we're staying closer in on the strip. The walking was tiring and the transportation was either slow or expensive.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and memorable trip. Definitely worth missing the Oscars for. I plan to post some pics as soon as they're processed.

Follow up:
I can only imagine that I'd plan a trip to Vegas nowadays based on being Modern Orthodox. I'd have to go on weekdays so that I didn't have to worry about Shabbos. I'd be more particular about where to eat, as well. Still, I miss being there and would love to go again. In any case, the only vacations we've taken have been trips to visit family members who live out of state. We haven't taken a trip with the boys that would involve exploring new places. I'd be happy just to take them camping at this point. Or even for a fun getaway at a Wolf Lodge type place. I was telling a friend that I envy people who are able to take their kids on lots of fun vacations. Who knows when mine will see Walt Disney World? My parents presented us with an option to stay at a timeshare and go to WDW with them, but there's still the cost of transportation and the park is expensive too.

I'd also like to be able to go on another getaway with my husband. I miss our honeymoon and how relaxing it was to lounge by the pool all day or rest in a hammock, as well as drink as many cool alcoholic concoctions as we wanted. I also miss going on cruises. And of course, I'd love to get back to Vegas.

For now, I am looking forward to seeing family and friends this summer and hope to plan a vacation for just us (as well as for the kids) in the future. It would be really nice.