Viva Las Vegas!

Well, I already am working on making this a more exciting, fulfilling year.

Starting with one of my resolutions to take more vacations - we just got back from a Las Vegas vacation. What a blast! Bob and I haven't been away together in far too long. It was an anniversary trip - so we wanted a romantic getaway.

It was so fun to escape sub zero temperatures and 5 inches of snow to go away to Vegas and just step off the everyday world for a while. The glitz, the glamour, the "over the top" nature of Vegas was just what our heads and hearts needed right now.

Although Bob is very tolerant of my knitting and fiber obsession, I decided to leave it behind for this trip. I just wanted to focus on our relationship, seeing the scenary, being together and vegging out. We became children for 5 days - being goofy, silly and just doing whatever we felt like as the mood hit us.

We haven't been to Vegas since Emily was in kindergarten and boy has it changed in all those years!

We tried to do something different everyday. We went to the Pawn Shop store where the History chanel TV show is filmed with Rick and his dad the "Old Man" and Chumley and the son "Big Hoss." Though we didn't get to see the stars in person, we saw them taping out in the parking lot as we drove by one day. Another day, we went in and toured their shop. Yes, there is a line waiting to get in. We spotted a few items in the shop that have been featured on their show.

We absolutely LOVED the Freemont Street Experience - it's in downtown Las Vegas night activity. They've taken 5 blocks of streets and put up a big 90 foot lighted ceiling overhead to link them together and turned it into a place where you can go, shop, walk around, eat, drink, gamble, and just have fun. The whole area is ablaze with people dressed up, with outdoor musicians, including one really talented saxophone player named Carl Ferris. That guy is amazing. It really puts me in mind of a Mardi Gras type atmosphere, even though I've never been to New Orleans to accurately compare the two.

I'm no fashionista - but one thing I noticed was that many MANY women there, tourists and locals alike, were wearing these quilted jacket/vests. Though I've seen them around for years, I've never seen so many in one place - it's like EVERYONE was wearing them. So I went to Ross's discount clothing store - and they have those shops everywhere in Vegas, and bought one for myself. If you are cold, wear a whole jacket or sweater, right? But these somehow keep the core part of your body warm and so all you need to wear under it is a long sleeve blouse and you stay pretty darn warm without the bulkiness of a full coat or jacket. Really neat. Now I know why they are so popular.

We had a chance to see several shows - including Cher's Farewell Tour. Oh my gosh, that woman is a knockout at whatever age she is now. She gave an amazing performance and I'm so impressed with her talent. I always watched her Sonny and Cher show on TV when I was a kid, and what a chance to see her live.

Of course, we ate and ate and ate. But we tried to eat two meals a day instead of three. We ate most mornings at a favorite place called Arizona Charlie's - having the $3.99 egg and steak special. Delish!! That's what we're eating in the photo at the top.

Well anyway, we are back to reality. Wah!!! But it's okay, really. In fact, going back to a normal routine wasn't half bad, and we came back really refreshed.