Vegas Trip with my Cutie (1 of 2)

My wife and I spent Monday morning through EARLY Friday morning in Vegas last week! This post will be just some fun Vegas photos, and I'll post our "workout" and adventure at Zion National Park separately in a few days.

On Sunday, we left the boys at my parent's house. Here's Henry getting cozy for a little "down time" as Charlie was napping on Sunday afternoon:

Bye boys! See you in a few days!


In VEGAS on Monday! Riding the escalators in the Cosmopolitan.


Crepes at the Bellagio (like last time we were in Vegas).


Selfie in the flower show in the Bellagio (which is where we stayed 4 years ago).


We can't eat out for 4 days straight (for money and indigestion reasons).
So we went to Target and stocked our kitchenette with berries,
fruit, applesauce, boxed wine, oatmeal, and breakfast sandwiches.


Marie suggested Carson Kitchen a bit off the strip. Tiny place with good food! Thanks Marie!


THEE best turkey burger (and spicy tots) that we've ever had - with mango slaw!


Glazed donut bread pudding! Amazing!


Walking parts of "Old Downtown" on Fremont Street.
We saw lots of tasseled boobs over these few blocks.


Saying goodbye to our first dollar at the penny slots (in the Golden Nugget, I believe).


Back at our hotel pool for the night: the Hilton Elara just behind Planet Hollywood
(attached to the Miracle Mile shopping center).


This babe in a bikini.


With our hotel in the background. We stayed on the 33rd floor with a lovely view of the airport.


Nighttime pool selfie.


My cutie.

It was 112 degrees during the day, but we weren't sweating as we walked around. (It was still over 100 that evening as we were at the pool.) We joked about the 2 over-used sayings: in MN, we say "it's not the heat - it's the humidity," and you always hear about the SW that "yeah, it's hot, but it's a DRY heat." Those things are both so true. We deduced that walking around in 110 degree Vegas heat felt like 80 degree Minnesota heat just because of the humidity.

Day 2 was a lazy day without too many plans (except for a 2 hour time-share presentation in the morning which is why we got our hotel so cheap). We started with our kitchenette breakfast:

A breakfast sandwich and a bowl of berries in bed.


My wife on a run to the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign.


I didn't make it as far down on my run, so I posed by
the sign POINTING to the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign.


Reading in bed post-run.


Reading by the pool later that day.


Another recommendation from Marie: Pa'ina Cafe for some Poke bowls.


On the "High Roller" ferris wheel! It's nearly 600 feet high, and each "cabin" can hold 40 people!


Heading UP to see the strip at dusk.


At the top!


You can tell she was a BIT nervous, but we really enjoyed the 30 minute ride.


Seeing the start of a Bellagio fountain show from 500 feet up!


Video I took near the top. Turn up the volume to hear the guy behind me talk
about his Polish heritage. Also the "Hilton Grand Vacations" you can see
in the center when the video ends was where we stayed.


The "High Roller" as we walked back home. The cabins look tiny from farther away.


Selfie #6.

On Day 3, we got up early to head to Zion National Park. I'LL HAVE THOSE PHOTOS FROM SOME AMAZING HIKES IN AN UPCOMING POST. For now, we'll skip Day 3 and just jump to Day 4.

We walked around Vegas after checking out of our hotel on Thursday morning:

Caesar's Palace. I asked my lovely wife to pose with 1 boob out like these statues. She didn't.


Another crepe for my wife: this one was stuffed with gelato!




My first "In-N-Out" burger!


Pretty good among fast food burgers. Like a more tender DQ burger.


At some hotel with some flamingos. I forget which one. Maybe the Flamingo. Who knows.


Gardens at the Flamingo.


Donating more to the penny slots.

We had checked out of our hotel, but we weren't leaving Vegas until just after midnight. Our hotel gave us keycards for the gym, locker room, and pool, so we could still hang out and shower that evening. My wife did more reading by the pool:

Pool-side selfie.


I played roulette for a while in P.H. while my wife hung out at the pool,
and lost $5. Then I played with $20 on the lame "big wheel" where you
play the odds, and I actually cashed out with $47 (after being up over $60).
So: -6 on penny slots, -5 on roulette, and +27 on the big wheel = +16 on the week.

My wife has always LOVED the fountain shows at the Bellagio, so I looked into getting a reservation at Olives: one of the nice restaurants in the Bellagio that has a patio right on the water where the fountain shows are. She loved that idea. We got glammed up for a night out:

Hot bathroom selfie in her 5" heels after getting her hair did. What a babe!


Not-so-hot locker room selfie after a treadmill run in a cotton t-shirt. What a noob.


I had to snap photos of my wife's gorgeous dress (and backside) as we were led out to the patio.


Selfie at our table. It was 101 degrees, but it felt FINE sitting outside
because of the low humidity. I didn't get sticky/humid/moist in my pants.


Over the Bellagio's fountain pool.


Selfie during a fountain show.


We had a 3-course meal as part of their restaurant week. This was course #1.


#2: ribs on potatoes for me, and fish on risotto for my wife.


My meat was amazing.


#3: sorbet and tiramisu.


The fountain show from our table.


Wifey taking a pic.


Some final gambling. Look at those legs! :)


Final pic before heading to the airport.

We changed into "normal" clothes at the airport, and got ready for our redeye flight (12:30 a.m. take off, 5:30 a.m. arrival). Just before boarding, there was a mix-up and everyone had to be re-checked in. What a cluster-eff:

This took FOREVER at first, but then they figured it out and it sped up.


Sunrise over some small South Dakota town. (Is there such thing as a big South Dakota town?)


Still asleep just before landing. Cutie.


One final melfie (married selfie) on the light rail ride towards home
after getting off the plane. I think that makes 9 melfies total in this post.

We slept from 7-10 a.m. and then I went on a bike ride. My parents brought the boys back later that afternoon. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Be back shortly with photos from day 3 where we hiked in Zion National Park! We're not really "Vegas" people, but as I mentioned above, my wife got a cheap hotel if we attended a timeshare presentation. So we used it as a excuse to get close to Zion and to go on some amazing hikes! Back with those photos and stories soon (realistically, it may be as late as next Monday).