What Happens in Vegas......

...well, it goes on the blog, of course!!!!

So, we had a FaB-U-LoUs time in Las Vegas.

When Ike found out I was coming he upgraded hotels to something a bit better for me. (However, we were considering it anyway, because we weren't sure how the place hotwire hooked him up w/ was going to be ok.........

So, he got to the Stratosphere on Saturday. Well, that first night he has a "smoking" room. Knowing how much I detest cigarette smoke....Ike arranged for the room to be changed on Sunday before I got there. Because of the inconvenience, they upgraded us. Then, because when he was ready to move, they had no rooms ready, they upgraded us again to a $300/night Suite! SWEET, indeed!!
Our room had plenty of space and a small fridge. We had 2 windows, one overlooking the strip and the other overlooking the mountains. It was nice. So, we got our $300/night room for $59/night! Score!! Thanks so much, Stratosphere!! Because we sure weren't going to be upgraded based upon gambling large sums of money!! Ha ha!! Wasn't going to happen.....


Anyways, here's Ike's original hotwire hotel. Wild, Wild West Casino and Hotel. It was supposed to be a Motel 6 or a Super 8 for $23/night. (since we were footing the bill for it and the conference was $500 itself...we were trying to save some money! So, it was just off the strip and was supposed to be a decent place according the them. When we looked it up....we weren't sure. It looked cheesy for sure, but it didn't look unsafe or bad. But, it was certainly no Bellagio.

So, Big Daddy called and asked them to switch it. They said NO.
And NO REFUNDS.

Well, that was a lost battle Big Daddy decided not to fight until
my wonderful boss Kim, decided to send me to Vegas.
And then, I declared, there was no way in hell I was going to stay there during the day while Big Daddy was at his conference and he agreed that was not going to happen!

So...he called hotwire back. And again, he was told, "No refunds and No changes to the existing reservations." Well, this time Big Daddy didn't back down! He proceded to tell them they better find him a good hotel or give him his money back. They still said no. So, he told them to find him another hotel. After all...it was supposed to be a Motel 6 (better known as Motel 666 in Sin City...ha ha!) NOT some no-name
Wild, Wild West Casino and Hotel. They still said no. So, the final sword was drawn and he told them they could do it or fight the dispute w/ Citibank on his Credit Card.....they took action real quick. And within an hour...we had a room at the Stratosphere! But of course, we had to go check out the Wild, Wild West.It was scary enough....but it wasn't until I talked to my step-cousin who lives in
Vegas that I was told how bad it could have been. Apparently drug dealings and shootings are a weekly occurrence at the motel. Whew....dodge a bullet there. Literally.


And we were happy to not be staying at the Luxor (or as we affectionately renamed it after staying there on our last trip....the Sux-or!)

Although, it actually seemed to be really nice this trip when we went there for the CNN party. Anyway, it was under serious construction during our stay there like 6 years ago. (construction started every single morning at 5:00am!!! ACK!!
No wonder we called it the SUXOR!!!!)


And if you know me, you know I am a creature of habit. A girl who hates change. So, in my perfect scenario....we would have stayed at the Stardust. But, alas, the Stardust was imploded in March of 2007, (this is the old site where Stardust was)

....to make way for the new Echelon Place. Now, don't get me wrong. Echelon Place looks really nice! But, I'm a simple girl. I like things the same, remember. I would have stayed at the Stardust and been more than happy to do so!


Aside from all the hotel room drama, Las Vegas is.....well, the same but different.
Lots of Eye Candy. I love all the lights and sights.

And still, lots of stuff that makes my jaw drop. (They don't call it "sin city" for nothin'!!!)

That's the part I try to ignore.
(pretty much what the locals do....)


So, Monday after I dropped Ike off at NAB, I went to my temporary Las Vegas LSS, Scrappin' Time. I spent the day there and knocked out my WorldWin DT requirement for the week. And I loved what I made. (will post that soon....)

Then, when I picked Ike up...we headed over to the CNN building to meet up with Ike's CNN contact to get our badges for the *awesome* CNN party on Tuesday night. (yep, we had to get an ID with our picture on it...to be able to get in!! And we got a killer SWAG BAG, too!! ~t-shirts, watches, key chains, pens, notebooks, etc!~


On the way back to the parking garage....we found Ike's new love....an gigantic Apple vending machine! He begged me to get something, but I shot him down. Poor guy! In my defense, I was super cranky for walking a million miles in sexy shoes... (see them on the floor to the right of the machine!!!) I was being cute at the scrapbook store and didn't know that I would walking all that way!

I got a HUGE blister....OUCH!!!


And here are a few daytime pics, snapped on the way back to the Stratosphere....

For dinner, we went to Battista's Hole in the Wall. This is an eclectic Italian restaurant. It is sooooo good! We went here by the recommendation of the fine people at the Stardust during our first trip to Vegas in 1994. And we've gone back every time we've been there. It's pretty much the same as I remembered. We highly recommend it if you go to Las Vegas. A little pricey, but worth it!

So, after dinner, we did some more driving on the strip! Of course, I love all the eye candy! (have I mentioned that before?!?!)

The Paris.....

The Venetian....

The Riviera....

...which was a favorite place of mine on our first trip to LV.
I just love the collage of lights on their sign!!!

So, after driving the strip....we decided we were tired of fighting the traffic, so
we decided to find some "indoor entertainment." So, after a hellacious round of slots and roulette in the casino (don't worry...you have to gamble big to lose big...so it was fine.....however, you always love to win! which we did not!) Anyway, so after 30 minutes, we were looking for something else to do. We decided to walk the mall in our hotel. Well, it was this decision that turned into the night of the "bed spin!"

As we hit the top of the staircase, bored and down on our luck....we spied the 100oz. mug of Fat Tuesday's Daquiri's!!!! And as the guy recommended the orange-y concoction known as the Octane 191.....we jumped on board. As most of you know, Big Daddy and I rarely drink. So, we get this mug of jungle juice that is so big, one lady commented that "we'd be still drinking it on Thursday!!" Turns out if we were smart...we would have taken her advice and taken it to the room and put it in that upgraded fridge we had!!!! Ha ha ha!!!! But, no! We walked on down the mall with our 15lb. mug of Octane 191, sharing a straw. It was actually romantic. (well, as romantic as a Fat Tuesday Giganto Mug of 191 can be!!!)

We went to the magic shop and watched a master magician work his, well...magic.
(note to self: don't drink Octane 191 and watch a magic show....it could freak you out!) Anyway, we enjoyed it and it was funny. Although, magic man was a little peeved we didn't buy his $39.99 card trick and the Deluxe Magic Pack for $135.
Oh well, we didn't care. We were lit and we were having fun!!!!

So, we proceeded to one of the zillion gift shops and when chotchkies became funny...we decided it was time to call it a night. No more WILD TIMES for us. After all it was 11:30pm!!!!! HA HA HA!!!!!!

So, without further adieu....I give you the "bed spins!" (Make it stop, he says!)


And the "cheap date!" I'm such a lightweight!!

And finally, "the lush." Well, and the mug!!!!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Hilarious!!!


The next night....we were headed to the CNN Party.
So, of course, I had to take a few more pictures.

The Excalibur...

New York, New York....

The sign for Ike's show he was at: NAB...National Association of Broadcasters.

On the way to the CNN party....aren't we cute?!

So, the party was at Club LAX at Luxor. And it was N-I-C-E!!!!!

And the surprise was the band was Kool & the Gang!
Can you believe it?!?! A private concert from Kool & the Gang.....
...how cool is that?!?!!?

I loved this guy....he so funky!

So, there was a completely open bar. Now, this party is costing CNN some serious coin!!! Renting out a club at Luxor. Kool & the Gang. Free liquor. WOW!!! (although, we saved them some money, since we had done our drinking the night before)

So, we tried to take a picture or two...but it took a few tries to get it right....

Finally!!!!!

Headed to our temporary home.......the Stratosphere. But, we decided to take a detour to downtown LV.

We had never seen the lighted roof they built over downtown. It's really awesome!
Amazing, really how they can do that!

And my favorite....the Golden Nugget!! On our first trip to Vegas, we walked in there and I put a dollar in a $1 slot machine (when I mostly just played penny slots) and I won $50! I screamed so loud, people came running thinking I made a million bucks!)
But, I was stinkin' excited!!!!! Aw....memories.....

Then, on Thursday....I got to go to lunch with my step-cousin, Laurie.
Laurie moved to Nevada 3 years ago. She really likes it here. (of course, she lives out in the burbs!) But, she works for a convention management company and she loves her job! So, that's a good thing!!! And she spoiled me by taking me to Landry's Seafood for lunch! Y-U-M!!!!

It was terrific to see her. She looks so good!
It's so weird to think she used to baby-sit our older boys!!!!


And the creme' de la creme' of our trip came on Wednesday night, when my darling husband surprised me with tickets to Phantom! I WAS SO EXCITED!!!
It was definately a splurge. Like an early anniversary gift. (we celebrate 16 years of wedded bliss next month!!)

And it was breathtaking.

The $40 Million Phantom Theatre at the Venetian was built especially for the show.
And it is gorgeous!! Truly gorgeous.

(click on the chandelier to see youtube video of the
overture of the Phantom! note: fast forward 2:05min into video.....)

And here we are....a self portrait...in the Phantom Theatre.

We both absolutely loved this show!!!!!


After the show, we decided to grab dinner at the Venetian.
So, we chose this fabulous Mexican restaurant, along the indoor canals.
So, we were able to enjoy watching the lovebirds on their rides and
therefore, were able to enjoy the serenading they were getting from the driver.

It still amazes me they were able to build all this into the inside of this casino! And last but not least, I leave you with a beautiful photo of my man.This was during our dinner. I love this picture of him. He looks so happy.
So relaxed. So in love with the crazy scrapbook obsessed girl who is always and forever shoving her camera in his face trying to get the perfect picture to capture the moment. And I'm thankful that he tolerates it yet again. With a smile and no complaint. This picture reminds me why I love him so much.

Thank you Big Daddy for Phantom. Thank you for a splendid time away.
98Thank you for being a great father and a good provider.
Thank you for being you.
I love you more than I could ever possibly express. xoxo ~ r