Road Trip To Sin City, Part 2

After the wedding, the family all went to lunch, which turned into dinner it was so late. The Venetian is smelly (perfume overload) but fun. This was the disappearing statue man outside of the restaurant. I came back a few minutes later, and he was gone.



Mom wanted to go see the Hawaiian Village Market that was farther away than she knew. We watched the fountains at the Bellagio again, from almost the same vantage point as the night before. If you look closely, you can see Mom in the wheelchair, and behind her on the ledge is Dad, and DH is to his right.



Wednesday, Mom and Dad decided to leave a day early, to get home to rest. We visited more with Best BFF and her hubby.



We walked from the Stratosphere down to Circus Circus and played a few dollars at Slots of Fun. I had budgeted to play at least $20 each for each of three days; we had $120 in Blow Money. With all the little $1 and $0.25 and $0.05 slots we played in various casinos over three days... together we lost (played) only about $18. We both should have quit when we were $1 ahead on the nickel slots! Ah, well...it was fun. I can see how the addiction starts, but we had more interesting things to see and do in Vegas.

Best BFF and hubby then decided to go home, to see their girls before bedtime. We continued walking... down to Treasure Island again. We ate brunch at Denny's (figured it would be pretty standard) across the street from the Mirage, and then got the call from Bro and SIL that they wanted to hang out with us. Yay! This is a bronze statue of the faces of Sigfried and Roy... and probably the lion that ate Roy.



This is the Mirage, advertising the show that DH wanted to see. At first, I said we couldn't afford it. If it hadn't been for Uncle Sam this year, we wouldn't have been able to have a good time at all. So I tried, once we had a bit of money, to get tickets... and the show was on a rotation or something. It was not playing at all the week we were there. Bummer, Dude!



Do not despair, though. DH got his Beatles fix. Inside one of the hotels is the REVOLUTION, a Beatles Lounge!



Some of those letters had seats in them. The pictures I tried to take of DH sitting in them turned out horrible. So here is a sign for you.



We wandered all the way down to the M&M's store (They wanted $11.99 for ONE pound of M's! I figure they can keep them, and I will buy at Wal-Mart). We went to the Coca Cola store next door, and enjoyed "Tastes Around the World". This is a sample size of 16 drinks from all over. South Africa, Italy, Mexico, and others. I have but one warning for you... don't ever drink "Beverly" in Italy. That crap was nasty, bitter and had a terrible aftertaste. I hear they use it to cut their alcohol... and I can't imagine how bad their drinks become because of it. No wonder they prefer wine!

We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and watched the Bellagio Fountains show from above... twice.



We then wandered back down to Planet Hollywood where they had parked their car. Hey, who can beat free valet everywhere? You park for as long as you need, and then you tip the guy a couple bucks for bringing it back. Easy, if you are willing to drive in Vegas. I am not. Bro was... and SIL was worried about the other drivers and the survival of her car. They offered to give us a ride back to the Stratoshpere. While on the way, we all decided we were hungry. In that decision, dinner was proposed.

Sally, I had an In-N-Out Double Double.



IT WAS... there are not words. YUM! I know I was extremely hungry, but I honestly believe that was the best meal we had in Vegas. I won't say the whole trip, because we ate at some awesome places while on the journey there and back again... but IN Vegas, that was the best. And even at $6 for a burger, it was the cheapest, too. Fries and a drink came with that sweet little taste of Heaven. Even McDonald's for breakfast was more $$.

We had been inside New York New York on Monday... and we laughed at this: For all the millions of dollars spent to build these massive Hotel/Casino luxuries, to find an obvious typo made my day! I am not going to say anything more, you have to find it. I apologize for the lack of quality in this photo... I was probably still shaking from giggling.



Then there was this sign. I know I am pretty sheltered and naive. Really. But... this was a bit much to think about.



And one more little delight for the member of the Society for the Protection Of Good Grammar (SPOGG) in me. It was in the Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile of Shops. There seems to be no reason beyond laziness that the T is missing from Entertainment.



At a second glance, it seems that they could have put the T over the corner... or cut it off at the pass. The view just seems incomplete without an attempt at the issue. I know... I am a Language Snob. These little things are part of the grander picture for me. With all the extravagance in Vegas, certainly they could hire proofreaders for their signs?

Join us next time, when Chelf has NOT attempted to correct every mistake she sees....

Road Trip To Sin City, Part 1

We went to Las Vegas, NV for my brother's wedding. We decided that if we had to drive two days to get there and two days to get back, we might as well make a whole vacation out of it.

On Saturday, we drove from Oklahoma City, OK to Albuquerque, NM and spent the night at Chez Jenna, in the Mom Room. We visited for only a few moments (let her dog, Charlie Brown, come and stare at me like he does with Mom) and then went to bed. We arose fairly early on Sunday. Several months ago, I had seen an interview on TV with Neil Patrick Harris, and he said his parents owned a restaurant in Albuquerque. It is a wonderful little Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch spot called Perennials. We found it, and enjoyed the most wonderful breakfast. We both had the Fiesta Bowl which was hash browns covered by a meat of your choice, eggs cooked your way, and chile of your choice (Red or Green). I loved it so much, I bought a mug with their logo on it. I recommend that you eat there if you can. They are a very nice neighborhood sort of place; no big bragging on their famous son, nothing at all in fact to attach him to their business.



We then went to Gallup, NM to meet my parents. From there, we were a short caravan to Vegas. (My parents drive a Dodge Caravan, so yes, the pun was intended.) There was snow on the ground in Flagstaff, AZ. (This was Devil Dog Road... had to have a picture of that for the Devil Dog dessert DH loves from Vintage Timeless Coffee.)



We stopped in Winslow, AZ, and let DH stand on a corner. I am sure that is not a new concept, but it was fun for us.



We didn't forget Winona, AZ (get your kicks on Rt. 66!).



We spent three days and four nights there. I have never before been to Las Vegas. It is huge, and growing all the time. It is fantastic and busy. We stayed at the Stratosphere, at the very north end of "The Strip". DH referred to it as the giant thumb tack... it can be seen from Henderson when you get close to Vegas... and it is a perfect landmark for finding your way. All that, and I never really got a good picture of it. My good pictures were from the top of it, looking down. Imagine that!

We spent Monday walking from Treasure Island (somewhere in the middle)...



...all the way south to the MGM Grand (the far south end).



We were sore and blistered, but had a fun time with Best BFF and her hubby.

Tuesday was the Wedding.



It was beautiful! Short, sweet, to the point, and no Elvis Impersonators in sight! I made sure as my first question to Bro that there would be none. He said that there wouldn't be any "within a MILE!" and then amended to say that he couldn't be sure how many Impersonators would be within a real one mile radius of the chapel, but there would be no Elvis in the building for his wedding. The officiant on staff at the chapel. Bro said he did a great job for not knowing anything about them.



Mom looked great!



The ducks were beating them to the punch! (I hear they were male ducks, so maybe they were fighting over a girl? I don't know.)



Lots of pictures being taken.

New Family. Bro and SIL with their new In Laws.



Sisters. This is Mom (in the middle) and her two sisters. In age order from right to left, and height order from left to right.



New couple.



They each asked their sisters to be witnesses on the official paperwork!
His sister... that would be me.



Her sister.



To be continued....

Ask, Seek, And Knock. Simple Instructions.

God is so big. Massive. My realization of this fills me with awe. Saying "awesome" doesn't really share the immensity of the relationship, or the epiphany. God could be concerned with governments, planets, galaxies... or birds, fleas and grass.... but He chooses to be concerned over me. Chooses to give me more than I could ever really know I needed.

I keep coming back to the Scripture. One idea in particular stands out recently. A theme, of sorts. The words of Jesus. The way he conversed with the apostles and the people. The words he said. I can imagine him shaking his head at us... like a frustrated parent. What were you thinking? Don't you know? I have told you over and over.

It shows in the way he started different explanations. "Have you not read the Scripture?" And it is in the way he instructed by reminding. "You do not have because you do not ask!"

For Christmas in 2007, I asked for a new car. I was frustrated with the Buick and didn't want it to die on me again in some remote place. I put the request in my Elfster account that we had for our family gift exchange. I added that if I didn't ask, I would never receive. Not that I was asking the family to provide, but that I wanted the request known.

Before Christmas 2008, I had the new car.

For Christmas in 2008, I decided to ask for the grandest thing I could think of. I know that I do not have a NEED for any THING, but I have many desires. God says he longs to give us the desires of our hearts. So I went bold. I asked for a new house.

Yesterday, we received the pre-approval letter to take to our contract meeting. We have been approved to make a loan to get a home. We have chosen the home, and are working to purchase it from the owners. This "For Sale By Owner" is a friend of ours, and they never even had to put a sign up at the house.

Before Christmas 2009, if all goes well, we will have the new house I asked for.

What have I missed out on by not asking for it?

Go talk to God. He wants to give us good things.