Our Travels

We were pretty tired so we decided to sleep in until 7:00 am..WOO-HOO. We got ready and strapped on our hiking boots, grabbed our hiking poles, and headed out with NO idea what we were in for.  We hopped on a shuttle after a bagel and scone and arrived at the Visitors Center of Zion National Park. From there we had to take another shuttle to the Canyons. We (meaning Jenn) decided to start at Weeping Rock. It took about 60 minutes to arrive at that section of the park. Once we departed the shuttle we quickly came to some interesting signage:

  

One we were sure we knew how to go to weeping rock we headed out. Well…we missed it. And we ended up on the second trail we were going to take, the Observation Point trail.  This trail is not for the weak. Its is an 8 mile round trip that requires you to climb 2,150 feet to reach the plateau. The estimate on the paper said 5 hours to complete the hike, and that you should not attempt if you were scared of heights, loved your life, or had any common sense. Actually, just the first, but I guess the sign we posted above should have prepared us. The first mile was pretty ok. It was steep, but not too crazy. We chatted and continued to climb. Then we came to a fork and realized we had missed weeping rock and were already on obersvation point. No big deal…and we continued on our way. As we climbed higher and higher we started to get pretty winded. Frequent stops began and we were convinced that we MUST be at least 2 miles in. It was not until MUCH later that we realized how wrong we were. Somewhere right around here:

  

After what seemed like hours of hiking narrow switchbacks on the mountain we came to an odd place. Had we not just hiked for an hour and a half you wouldn’t even know you were off the ground.

 

it was a much needed respite from the hike and level sandy ground felt great on our knees. After some photos we continued on. It wasn’t too much later that we encountered a sign. We thought for sure we would see that oberservation point was around the next bend, but it was still 2 miles away. We were both disheartened, but continued on. From there on it was constant climbing and countless switchbacks. When we FINALLY reached level ground it was an odd sensation. We were thousands of feet in the air, yet there was a large relatively level space with grass and vegetation…and about 30 trees obviously struck by lightning:

 

Apparently when you are in the sky lightning strikes aren’t so uncommon. A short while (meaning .5 miles) later we reached observation point. We don’t know whether it was the spectacular view

 

or the fact that we actually made it, but it all felt worth it. We had a light lunch at the top of the mountain and took some pics. One of the other people at the top was a girl about our age whose boyfriend was rock climbing on the adjacent mountain. I switched lenses so that I could actually see them, and they are quite simply insane. 

 

After about a half hour at the top, we began our journey back to earth. And yes, the trip down was SOOOO much easier than up. We did the 4 miles down in about half the time with few issues. I did twist my ankle, which is quite the heart stopper when one foot to your left is a sheer cliff.

 

I was fine, and we continued. The remainder of the trip down was smooth and once we arrived at the bottom we kissed the ground, and then went back for more. We visited the Weeping Rock we missed first time around. 



It was a bit of a letdown after what we had just seen, and the water had micro organisms, but oh well. Following that little trip we hopped back on the shuttle and took it until we reached Riverwalk Trail. Riverwalk is a 2 mile round trip with only a 57ft incline…CHILDS PLAY. We took a few pics

 

and went back to the shuttle.We were greeted in the shuttle by a rather amusing scene. Apparently a woman had left her camera case and sunglasses on the shuttle to ‘save her seat’. Well apparently when she arrived to claim said seat her belongings were no longer there. She proceeded to accuse the entire shuttle of thievery and shouted “I hope you are happy with yourselves” as she exited. I was in fact quite happy with myself and said so once she left…but I did not steal her stinkin camera case. We took the shuttle back into town and got a proper lunch.

 

Once we completed stuffing our faces we went back to the hotel and hit the hot tub immediately. HEAVEN. After relaxing and a quick pee in the hot tub, we went back to the room and began working on updating this blog! Tomorrow we have another early morning and will be heading to Bryce Canyon National Park, so check back soon!

We had to get an early start as we had a reservation with Hertz for a 7am pickup. I had secretly hoped Jenn had rented a Lamborghini, but it ended up being a Pontiac G6 with a 4 banger and a squeak that was oddly reminiscent of Styrofoam rubbing together. SWEET. It really wasn’t a bad car. But for those who like cars it was odd in one way. It had 17 inch tires….with plastic rims??? Who does that??

Once we got our car we made our way to Walmart to stock up on white trash..I mean…supplies. We picked up the necessities. Beer, Wine, Champagne, Pop tarts and a cooler.

From Walmart we trekked the hour to Hoover Dam..and DAMN. That is a lot of concrete. I haven’t seen that much cement since I worked as a hitman for the mob and had to dump bodies in the river. 

After visiting that modern marvel we made our way to the Valley of Fire..and I don’t mean we went to hell. We took the scenic route and got to see some beautiful views of Lake Mead and the surrounding landscape.

Once we arrived at Valley of Fire we departed the G6 mobile and walked around for a while. The Red Rock formations were pretty cool.

After we got our fill of Red Rock formations we continued on to Springdale, UT, which is the town near the entrance of Zion National Park where we were staying.

Right before Springdale we took a dirtroad to an abandoned town from the 1800’s. It was really interesting and we spent a little time touring the homes, school and cemetery. 

On a side note, the rental agreement prohibits off road travel. And while this wasn’t off road…it was rough. In the way back to the main road we hit a rock and for a moment I thought we were in trouble. I imagined transmission fluid pouring from under the car, or some other catastrophic damage. Luckily we just bent a bolt back on the frame.

By the time we reached our hotel, we had to quickly find someplace to eat since it was Easter and places also close down early in Springdale. We ate at Zion Pizza and Noodles. It was a mediocre dinner, but got the job done. The building was pretty cool as it used to be a morman church. In fact, I took on another wife while eating my pizza!

Once we got settled in the room we realized just how nice it was. We don’t know if you have ever experienced heated floors…but they ROCK. We also had an incredible view

 

not to mention a plasma TV .



 After another long day we hit the hay. 

And we’re back! We woke up around 5:30 am (dang Columbus time) and laid around for a while. I eventually fell back asleep and Jenn was kind enough to make a beautiful entry to the blog. Once we got up, showered, and out the door it was near 11. Jenn had really wanted to go to the all you could drink champagne buffet, but the line was stupidly long. We instead decided to go out and tour the resorts and bypass breakfast. As we were headed to Caesars Palace the Bellagio fountains started a show.  



 After watching the show we headed into Caesars. The casino was ok, and we went to the food court for a bite to eat. We decided on pizza and while the slice price was $5,50 (not too much more than Sbarros) the Gatorade Propel was $4.50!!! RIP OFF. We played our obligatory $5 in slots and kept on our merry way to the Forum Shops. There we witnessed what has to be the WORST animatronics show known to man. (pic) When cruising the shops we spotted Pete Rose! And some other guy……  



From Caesars we made out way to the Mirage. We liked it quite a bit actually, This could be in part because The Mirage has Sigfried and Roys Dolphin habitat and secret garden (we all know what goes on there). The small habitat and research center was actually very cool. We got to be pretty up close with the dolphins 

    

We also saw a variety of Tigers and Lions. …and stupid Alpacas. From the Mirage we hit The Wynn. They had a great outdoor bar called the Parasol Down 

   

We had a quick drink and while there, a rain cloud let loose several rain drops. It was chaos. People in Vegas don’t deal well with rain:      

Following the Wynn we visited the Venetian. Jenn was very excited to visit this resort.  It did not disappoint!   

    

After all that touring it was time to head back to our resort, Paris. Jenn had made reservations at a popular Italian restaurant, Case Di Amore.  Another LIMO RIDE! Boo ya! And this time it was free! Our limo driver was Johnny….and he was literally straight from New York. The restaurant was awesome and had a live lounge singer (imagine a freaky eyed version of Harry Connick Jr…ok…a MORE freaky eyed version). The food was amazing. We started off with fried calamari with marinara sauce. Then we split an order of their stuffed pork shops and fettuccini alfredo. As a side note, the one thing I actually did was have the lounge singer announce that is was our 5 year anniversary and sing ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ (which I actually asked the guy to play ‘How She Looks Tonight’ which Sinatra never sang. Good thing the guy got my point. Anyhoo…brownie points for Mikey.Once we left Casa we went back to the Bellagio and caught a night show of the fountains. Quite a bit better in my opinion.   

   

By that point we were super tired and went back to the room, BUT, not before Jenn ordered a Nutella Crepe from a bakery at the Paris.  



   

We have a TON to write and pictures to post, but oddly there was a lack of internet connection in the desert?? 

Since we went to bed so early (around 11 pm Vegas time), we got up really early as well – at about 5 am!!!!  This gave us plenty of time to leisurely get ready and look at all of our pictures before heading to breakfast.  We left our room at around 7 am.  Vegas at 7 am is quite different than Vegas at 7 pm.  There are still people gambling at 7 am, but I think most of them have never actually gone to bed.  I wanted to eat at Mon Ami Gabi again, because prior to our trip I had read about their chocolate bacon waffles.   Yes, that means a waffle with chocolate AND bacon inside!!!  Anyone that knows me knows that waffles, chocolate and bacon are three of my favorite things.  I was not disappointed.  I will never again settle for having just a “regular” waffle.  To make it even better, it was served with a side of delicious whipped cream, syrup, and chocolate dipping sauce.  I made Mike take a picture so that I could make everyone that has never experienced this wonderful creation jealous.



Mike isn’t a big breakfast person, so he just had a bagel.  It was a nice morning so we sat outside.  We had a great view of the Bellagio from or table!



After breakfast we caught a cab to Mandalay Bay.  The plan for today was to tour as many of the hotels on the southern part of the strip as possible.  Mandalay Bay is about as south as you can get on the main strip area.  We really liked the feel of this hotel.  It felt like a beach resort.   The decor throughout was really interesting.



 They had a headless statue of Lenin outside of their Russian restaurant, the Red Room.



 There was also this cool wall filled with marble body parts.  Mike liked one in particular.

 

We had decided to play $5 in slots at each of the casinos we visited – I know, we are such high rollers, aren’t we?!?  The $5 went by quickly and we decided to continue with our touring.  After Mandalay Bay we walked to the Luxor.  This is the Egyptian themed hotel in Paris.  The one shaped like a pyramid with a big sphinx out front.  

 

I was excited to tour this hotel since I teach Ancient Egypt.  I had read that there was a recreation of King Tut’s tomb that you could view.  Unfortunately we both felt like this hotel was a big let down.  The front was kind of cool, but the inside was dated and after ample searching we were unable to find King Tut’s tomb.  Now I know what Howard Carter must have felt like all those years 🙂  We did sign up to win a Z06 there, so if we were to win that I think that perhaps it would make up for the suckiness that is the Luxor. The Luxor is connected to the Excalibur, so we ended up visiting this hotel almost by accident.  Again, nothing special.  

 

We walked around the casino for a bit, Mike played $5 at the slots and then we quickly got out of there.   Next up was the New York, New York hotel.  This one was better than the previous two we had visited.  All of the restaurants and shops were done up so that they recreated a “typical” New York street scene.



Outside there are miniature versions of the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge.  Having been to NYC,  they seemed to be pretty accurate, but of course no where near as cool as the real thing.



After the New York, New York hotel we took the walkway across Las Vegas Blvd to tour the MGM.  I already new that the MGM was huge, but didn’t realize how huge until we got inside and started walking around!  We walked clear across it and actually stopped for a few minutes to rest before trekking back.  We sure are going to be in trouble on Monday when we are suppose to hike those 8 miles up hill in Zion!!! One of the coolest things about MGM was the Lion Habitat.  It’s a free lion exhibit right in the middle of the casino.  The “habitat” is completely enclosed in glass so it gives you a good view of the lions that are on display.  There is even a glass tunnel that you can walk through to get a view of the underside of the lions.  A view few people ever get to see and live to tell about!!!  Unfortunately free attractions like this attract a LOT of people.  It was hard to get close to the glass and when we did people kept shoving in to us so that they could see better.  We did get to see one of the lions drinking from a small waterfall though before we were shoved out of the way!  

 

Maybe we are just really missing our boys (our labs Shadow and Bailey), but everything the lions did reminded us of them! From the MGM we made the trek to Planet Hollywood.  Mike had visited this hotel when he was in Vegas last year.  He had really enjoyed it then and wanted me to see it.  I quickly understood why Mike liked it so much – there is a Hawaiin Tropics inside, all of the cocktail waitresses in the casino wear bustiers, and there is even an area of the casino called the “Pleasure Pit” where all of the dealers also wear bustiers!  We stopped at Hawaiian Tropic for our first beverage of the day.  We got the second round “to go” and went to play some of the slots.  This time I decided to partake in the action.  I played the 5 cent blackjack machine.   I actually really liked it.  The $2 I invested lasted me quite a while – at one point I had even doubled my money.  Prior to the trip we had made a rule that as soon as we doubled the money we had invested we should cash out, but I felt a little silly cashing out on $4, so I just continued to play until eventually I got a little wild and upped my bid to 25 cents.  I was actually still able to continue playing for quite a while on the initial $2 I had put in.   I could quickly see how people who are willing to invest $$$ into these games could potentially make some fast cash – or lose it all within minutes. Once we had lost all of our money at the Planet Hollywood we decided to go to the Bellagio before stopping for lunch.  The Bellagio is a really beautiful hotel.  The lobby was gorgeous with a ceiling of glass sculptures.

 

There is even a conservatory right in the middle of it.



After checking out the Bellagio we decided it was time for some lunch.  We decided to go to I Love This Bar which is owned by the country singer Toby Keith.  Let me start off by saying that I hate Toby Keith.  He is the one that criticized the Dixie Chicks for talking bad about Bush.  And anyone that writes lyrics like, “we’ll put a boot up your a**,  because it’s the American way” must be a freaking idiot.   But Mike went there last time he was here and said it was good, so I figured $20 bucks of my business isn’t going to make or break him and we might as well – plus at this point I was so hungry I probably would have eaten just about anywhere!  The restaurant was okay.  We got the appetizer sampler and then split the club.  Mike thought everything was very good, so perhaps I’m just being harsh.  The whole time we were there we kept hearing this group of girls up at the bar scream and cheer every few minutes.  We figured out that every time we heard that they were taking a shot.  Eventually the cheering gotten fewer and far between and by the time we left we were pretty sure they were passed out.  

After lunch we made our way to Bill’s Gambling Hall.  This is where Mike had done most of his gambling during his visit last year.  This is also where Big Elvis performs and I definitely wanted to see that show!  By the time we got there we had a little over an hour before the next show so we decided to play at a table.  Mike really enjoyed playing Pai Gow last time and wanted me to try it.  We got $20 worth of chips per person and placed our bets.  The minimum was $10 which is what we played.  Mike had tried to teach me how to play on the plane, but as soon as I sat down at the table everything I had learned went out the window.  The dealer was really nice and told me what cards to play where, but within a couple of minutes I had lost the $10.  And within a few more the remaining $10 was gone.  I didn’t really like the table because everything goes so fast and there are all these rules that apparently you are just suppose to know.  Like you don’t hand your cash directly to the dealer, Mike couldn’t touch my cards when he was trying to help me out,  I couldn’t touch my own cards until she made some sort of sign, you are suppose to tip 5% commission on whatever you win, etc.  Mike still had all of his money left, so I went to get a table for the Big Elvis show while he continued to play.  Within 15 minutes his money was all gone as well and he joined me for the show.  Big Elvis is a legend on the internet.  He has been playing 3 times a day at Bills for the last 7 years and everything I read prior to our trip said that we must go see him perform.  We were not disappointed.

 

He sounds just as  good as Elvis and put on a great (free) performance. Amazingly he has lost 550 pounds in the last 3.5 years.  He use to weigh 900 pounds and had to be put on oxygen when he decided to change his life – and he’s done it all without any type of surgery or procedure!!!!  About 1/2 way through the show he picked four guys from the audience to perform with him.  We were seated toward the back and thought we were safe, but the guy that controls the spotlight was right behind us and put it right on Mike.  After initially hesitating Mike decided to just go for it, because what happens in Vegas is suppose to stay in Vegas…  unless we put it on this blog!  The four guys were competing for who was the best performer.  I attempted to use Mike’s camera to get some pics.  A couple of them actually turned out somewhat in focus. Unfortunately for Mike, two of the guys were REALLY into it, but they ended up giving all four participants the “grand prize” which was one of his cds and a certificate saying that he performed with Big Elvis.  After the show we headed back to our hotel to get ready for the evening.  Once ready we caught the free shuttle to the Rio and made our way to the Voodoo Lounge which is the restaurant/bar at the top of the hotel.  I had read that the view from here was amazing and it definitely was. 

 

I had also read about this drink they have called the “witch doctor” which is a huge concoction of different liquors with dry ice thrown in.  It was great – and lasted us the whole evening!  We got there early enough to get some pictures of dusk and stayed long enough to get pictures of the strip all lit up.  After taking in the view we decided to head back to the Paris to get some dinner. We ate at Le Burger Braisserie.  Mike got an onion mushroom burger and I got the french cheesesteak sandwich.  Both were really good, but about 1/2 way through dinner we lost all of our steam and could barely keep our eyes open long enough to finish our meal.   I was so tired I didn’t even want to stay for the banana donuts with chocolate sauce that I had read so much about!!!  Sadly we were so exhausted that we were in bed by 10!!!   

Wow – what a whirlwind first day! Jenn pulled out all the stops on this one. I thought we were ‘just’ coming to Vegas, but I had other things in store.As I mentioned in the previous entry Jenn sprung for a limo from the airport and we had it for a full hour, not just your typical trip striaght to the hotel. The driver, Robert, was an Ex-banker that got out (can you blame him) and it was just his 3rd day on the job. We knew this pretty quickly when he hit a child on the way out of the airport with the limo. j/k, he was great, and he gave us more time than we were allotted, probably by accident.  The driver opened the limo door and handed Jenn a rose, which I took slight offense to. Then he popped a bottle of champagne and I was ok again. We cruised towards our hotel, the Paris, and we stopped at the famous ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign.

 

After taking pictures at the sign the driver took us for a short tour of the strip and dropped us of at Paris.This is when I found out that in a short time we would be having our vows renewed…….by ELVIS. No I’m not kidding. Since next week is our 5 year Anniversary Jenn booked a vow renewal ceremony at the Little White Wedding Chapel!  Since we were just renewing and not getting married, Elvis was able to handle the event. And a fun, if not odd event it was. You are welcome to take a look at the photos!www.dotphotopro.comUsername: GracelandPassword: mjcolNow for a little detail. A white limo picked us up in front of the hotel to take us to the chapel. We could defininately get used to being carted around in a limo full time! Heres a pic of the limo:
 

And here’s the happy couple: 

 

The ceremony included the two of us, Elvis and a photographer…that was it. So Elvis did his thing, we did a little dancing, a little singing and before we knew it we were married again! And just like last time there was a strange man with side burns and a white jumpsuit involved……j/k.When we were finished at the chapel we were limo’d back to Paris where we had dinner reservations at Mon Ami Gabi’s. We were seated with a view of the Bellagio fountains, which make a GREAT backdrop for a steak dinner.Dinne was GREAT. Jenn got the ‘classic’ steak, while I got the steak bordelise. And to top it off we split a side of macaroni augratin. That mac and cheese was a small bit of heaven. After dinner we played slots for oh, 10 seconds, before losing $10 and went back to the room. We are both still on Columbus time, so we were really tired and crashed so that we could start off early tomorrow.Here are a couple pics of the room:



Well, thats it for now! More to come! 

Things have been AWESOME so far. The flight went smoothly and we arrived on time. Jenn surprised me with a limo vs. a taxi! More to come later…running late!

Our 2009 Out West vacation has begun! Jennifer and Angela picked me up from work no more than an hour ago. Jenn and I have already cleared security and are chillaxing at Chili’s. Jenn has a Corona in hand and I have a soda water….SIKE. I gots me a nice Stella draft to have with my boneless wings. My $11 boneless wings might I add. LOVE airports. Our flight is at  3:15 and we brought a movie to watch on the airplane. Jenna does Vegas. I heard its a classic. 

 

Today is finally the day!

 Our flight departs in a little over 7 hours and we are stoked! This will be jenns first time in Vegas, and my first time actually seeing it. I went with coworkers last year, but we didn’t get settled until almost midnight. We then gambled until sunrise, slept, and did it all over again. So I am looking forward to seeing more than the tables 🙂

and all through the house…everyone was stirring, especially my spouse!