The Long Dirt Road: Las Vegas Trip 2013

November 27, 2013 ~ Brandon and I wanted to go to Las Vegas over Thanksgiving so we packed up some clothes and made reservations. We have a lot of Southwest points and I have a companion pass (where Brandon gets to fly for free whenever I fly somewhere) that was going to expire at the end of the year so we figured we better take advantage! We sat at the back of the plane (you ain't never seen a plane back into a mountain have ya?) and we got settled in. There were a lot of foreign people from all over the world on our plane and a large group that sat in front of us. (I always love listening to people talk because I think I can pick up on certain words to figure out what they are saying .....never happens but sounds fun right?) when all the sudden we were looking forward and see an iPad pop up 2 rows in front of us... Brandon immediately looked at me and said "Photo Bomb"! We grinned really big and the picture was taken! I am pretty sure at this point I heard "Americans" and then they laughed... I wanted so badly to ask them if I could take a picture of their picture but Brandon said I couldn't... party pooper! When we travel to Las Vegas we always try to do things we haven't done or seen before and this trip would be no exception!

I booked our hotel stay at the Bellagio ( http://www.bellagio.com/ ) which is a hotel we have never stayed at. (Normally this is totally out of the price range we choose to spend however it was actually $50 cheaper than the Mirage so we figured we would give it a try!)

The room was really pretty and I loved the colors!

I really loved these green vases in the bathroom too!

One of our favorite places to go in Vegas is The Buffet at the Wynn. I found out that they were only going to be open the first night we were there so you bet your bottom dollar that was going to be one of our first stops! But first a quick picture in front of the Wynn waterfall!

We always love going to the Wynn (we've only stayed there once as it's usually more than we want to pay on our Vegas trips) because Steve Wynn has done an awesome job of making this a luxury hotel and they have some beautiful displays that are always changing! Near the check in area they had these two beautiful displays made of fresh (I believe... you can't touch) flowers and the carousel actually spins to music..... really pretty!
http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/

Then it was finally time to get some food! We were starving!
Once we entered this place was packed! We have never been to Las Vegas and had to wait to get in to The Buffet as they usually move people through pretty quickly however we would soon find out that one holiday weekends or long weekends they have a lot of guests in Vegas. (There were thousands of foreign people from all over the world with their entire family including little tiny babies and older parents/grandparents which was ok... Vegas is pretty big and we can all have fun right?!?!)

Of course we enjoy the prime rib and the 30+ awesome desserts....
Brandon's favorite dessert is the candy apples!

After dinner we decided to take in a show we hadn't seen before!
(I mean after-all we are in Vegas and they are known for their shows)

http://youtu.be/Ys3RKEGn7II
Click on the YouTube video above this and watch their official trailer....
This was an amazing Cirque du Soleil show and the strength in these men and women are amazing! I can't even imagine what it takes to put a show together like this and the training that goes into making everything work together!

The next morning we checked out some stuff in the Bellagio before heading out to see the sites!

I loved all the fall colors as we walked through this display at the Bellagio!

When I saw this watermill I totally wanted to make one...

Brandon on the other hand just rolled his eyes and walked away!
(Now we all know if Michele wants one then Brandon will build me one)

I love this man!

I also loved this little boat and dock ....

You should have seen all the kiddos that were around this talking tree... pretty cool!

This little guy was kind of creepy yet cool...

and I loved this old wagon!

Finally it was time to see the sights!

We had to check out Las Vegas' newest attraction... The High Roller Ferris Wheel!

Although it's not open just yet it is the world's largest ferris wheel!

You can read about it here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/09/10/220986155/worlds-largest-ferris-wheel-takes-shape-in-las-vegas

We headed over to Flamingo to see their real flamingos and walked past this place... I could only think of Brandon sitting on one of these beauties! Ha!

When we got to the flamingo habitat we saw a guy with these birds taking pictures (of course for a fee) on your arms/shoulders. I opted to just take a picture of the birds and keep my money!

I can't believe in the 6 or 7 times we have been to Vegas we have never seen this place.

One thing we have never done before is see an away game featuring our Missouri Tigers.... but a special thanks to Steve and Sherry Redmon they had 2 extra tickets to both Mizzou Basketball games at the Orleans Arena! Woo Hoo!

It's time to get excited folks...

It was fun to be cheering on our Missouri Tigers away from home while having a little fun in Vegas!

We even saw Jay and Michelle Lindner!

We had fun! Thank you Steve and Sherry!

Oh and how could we forget.... Happy Birthday Sherry!

What a great way to celebrate a special day!

When the game was over we went to a little bar inside the Orleans...

We listened to a Prince impersonator who was really good!

After brunch we decided to go looking for antiques!

We got a taxi and he took us to a downtown area... luckily the taxi driver told us where not to go and to get back to the strip before dark.

I loved this back wall... pallet wood and the fun letter signs are totally up my alley!

I would love a jukebox like this one!

We seriously almost bought this gas pump... if shipping hadn't been so high we would have owned it!

I loved this little guy... not sure why but he made me smile!

Then it was time to head to the next game ....

Well lookie who I found... Coach Frank Haith!

Oh and lookie who else I found...

Gary Link! (You bet I walked across the court to get a photo!)

Let's get this party started! M-I-Z

There were a lot of funny conversations or comments made that I can't share with you... needless to say we are still laughing about this game!

The Spry's!

I even found Sara Baumgartner at the game!
Sadly I would find out that she is leaving Mizzou and taking employment at another school...
I wish her the best of luck and she will be missed!

As we were leaving we saw a pretty Christmas Tree so we decided to get a quick picture...
Thanks Steve for being our photographer!

I do have to say that you can't help but smile when you are out of state and see a little piece of home hanging up! (Oh and it felt good to win both games too followed by yelling of M-I-Z.....Z-O-U down the halls!)

Goodbye The Orleans... it's been fun!

We decided to take in another show and we would see KA...
(I am really sorry but we didn't like this show at all. If we hadn't talked to one of the ushers we wouldn't have known this is the only Cirque du Soleil show that has a story line to it. We ended up walking out of the show and I feel bad because I know how much time and dedication goes into these shows but it wasn't our style)

The next day we decided to gamble a little....

We were sitting at 3 machines next to each other and put $50 in each...
I was playing 2 machines and Brandon was on the other....

I ended up hitting a good jackpot...

but the best part was that I got that jackpot and the other two machines we were playing also got a large amount split between them... Sa-weet!!!

after a little more playing we cashed out... not bad for $150.00 investment and a few Bloody Mary's!

Then I went over to another machine... Put $20.00 in and bet max...
(I mean we are in Vegas and didn't come to shoot marbles right?)

I cashed out after 30 minutes... not too bad and I was ready to grab a bite to eat!

Brandon loves crab legs...
I don't eat anything that stays in the water longer than I take a shower!

This was my favorite part!
(Well and the prime rib!)

After dinner we thought it would be a great idea to see another show and let our bellies settle!

We've had a blast this far!

We were excited to see another show!
You can see a video about the show by clicking on the link
http://youtu.be/bPcGjO0vxsA

Although this wasn't our favorite it was still pretty amazing! The strength and stunts these people do are unbelievable!

Well, we are in Vegas and why not squeeze in one more show!
It was recommended that we see this show so... why not!

It was a good show! It tells the life of Michael Jackson through the years. I didn't really care for the 4 kids running all around but it was a good show!