Day 3 or What happens in Vegas....

Day 3 was also sunny and beautiful. The nice thing about this time of year in Vegas is it's not too hot, but also not horribly windy or cold or rainy. This day is also Anne's birthday so we had all kinds of fun things planned. We starte out by going to Hart and Huntington (where Inked is filmed) and Anne and I got tattoos. Mine is of a plant called a Wandering Jew and played a significant roll in my life. As you can see, it's on my ankle and very colorful. I love it. The tattoo artist was fun and had a great bedside manner and since it only took about 1.25 hours, it was not very uncomfortable. Anne stayed with me while they colored on me and helped the time pass. Aileen, Susan and Angela did some gambling and eating while they kindly waited for us.

We then went to Excalibur to pick up our tickets for Thunder from Down Under, the show we went to that evening. We wandered over to the Luxor which is shaped like, you go it, a pyramid. I've included an interior shot, but I couldn't capture the truly interesting architecture. There are no elevators, they are inclinators, as they mirror the angle of the pyramid.

The Luxor has exhibits, and we'll term that loosely, of King Tut and a really baaaaaaad motion sensory ride. I also think after being at the Hilton and doing the Star Trek rides, nothing else can match.

We then went back to the hotel to clean up - which I must say we do quite well - to go to Olive's at the Bellagio for Dinner. I can't say enough about Chef Todd English. His food is quite stellar. We celebrated Anne's birthday in style. They brought Anne a beautiful dessert - see her blog for pics - and ate enough to be full, but not stuffed; very yummy indeed.

Then, the finale - Thunder from Down Under. Yep, that's all I'm saying. Go to their website and use the skill you've got to come up with some peppered story; it's better than anything we could tell you ;)

Susan and Angela went back to the hotel and Anne and Aileen and I went to check out some clubs. We had a great time.

When we got back, we found Angela tending to a sick Susan - we feel so bad Susan that your trip ended with feeling so ill! Angela, Anne, Aileen and I stayed up until aroun 1am sitting on the floor chatting.

Vegas - Day 2

I've gotten a lot of request to see the spreadsheet I put together. I think some of my friends want to see just how AR I really am. So, to appease them:

The Day dawned bright and crisp and we took the shuttle over to MGM Grand and toured the casino and entered the street level and walked down to the M&M store - 4 stories of yummy goodness. We all had a great time looking at all the candy, faux movie posters and trivia. We even did the "tour" of how an M&M gets it's candy coating. I'd tell you how, but what happens in Vegas....We also watched a 3D movie which was hokey but fitting.

We walked our way down the strip taking in all the sights and sounds that are inherently Vegas. There is an enormous amount of construction and I took some grief about taking pictures of tower cranes.

We stopped and ate ice cream, which perked us all up and continued our walk to the Venetian so we could go through Madame Toussands Wax Museum which was thoroughly enjoyable. The recreations are amazing. Each room has its own theme. Everyone seemed to enjoy a different room for different reasons. Aileen and I found the sports room and reveled in one of our favorite football legend. One day, I hope to see Brett Favre "enshrined" in the wax museum. Aileen and I were dumbfounded when the young person in front of us didn't know who the wax figure below was. If you have to ask too, your friendship application will have to be reconsidered :)

We wandered into the Venetian and looked at the shops, listened to a gondolier sing and found a food court and regrouped. After a brief respite, we crossed the street to the Mirage and went to one of my favorite places, The Magic Garden. Zigfried and Roy performed at the Mirage for years and made this dolphin habitat and small habitat with tigers and lions and other animals. It's a nice oasis that is so antithetical to the controlled chaos which is vegas. Below is a picture of the dolphin habitat.

We took a cab back to the hotel, cleaned up and went to dinner at the buffet at the Rio where the food choices on the buffet were almost overwhelming. We left the buffet and went into the theatre to watch Penn&Teller which I would highly recommend. It was the perfect blend of up-close, illusion and physical comedy. I won't describe the show other than to say it was amazing. I'm a big magic fan and always appreciate a good illusion.

Day 2 ended with appreciative chatter about the day and anticipation of Day 3.