Jun 16 2008
Vegas, Baby!
Last week, the Catholic Family and I trekked ourselves to Las Vegas, Nevada and had the time of our lives. The reason? To get together with extended family while enjoying the sites in a fun new location outside of our usual digs. And after all was said and done, I must say that we accomplished that goal to the fullest, leaving me to blog about our favorite events of the week in Vegas listed by each of us individually:
ITCM (me): By far, the biggest WOWEE! moment for me happened when we stepped into the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace and witnessed the sky ceiling. Amazing. Given more time, I could’ve wandered through that place all day (and night) long. The fountains, sculptures and shops actually made my heart skip a beat as I walked around in complete awe. Next time, if there ever is one, I’ll be sure to add more time to my personal agenda dedicated to the Forum.
CS (Catholic Son): Never had we seen CS light up as much as he did when we found the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Up until that point in our vacation, we thought Vegas was completely lost on CS, then we entered the elaborate aquarium where we viewed rare and exciting sea creatures never to be seen before. All wide-eyed, CS looked at us and said, “I’m really having fun now!” His comment was made even before purchasing a stuffed shark at the gift shop, so you know he was being sincere about it.
CG (Catholic Girlie): Everything. CG simply couldn’t put her finger on any one thing enough to call it a favorite, because she enjoyed every single thing about Las Vegas. From the Circus Circus hotel pool, to the resorts, rides, food, etc. CG loved the entire experience. Personally, I think the pool was her favorite. But that seems to be a given no matter where we stay.
CH (Catholic Hubs): After touring many of the resort casino/hotels, the Venetian was one that really stuck out in Hubs’ mind above all. I really can’t blame him, especially after walking into the grand lobby entrance so lavishly adorned from ceiling to floor with Italianesque paintings and sculptures. The Venetian folks spared no expense in duplicating a look & feel reminiscent of Venice, Italy. Having been to Venice myself, I can attest to that fact - even though the gondola moat-like canal was a little lacking IMHO. But I digress. It really was breathtaking.
All: The best part of our Vegas vacation on which we all agreed was sharing an experience with family traveling from all points of the USA just to meet. I mean, how fun is it to complete a bungee jump and run into Catholic Uncle walking by with Catholic Grandma & Grandpa? Or step out of the hotel pool to find Catholic Cousin ready to play water ball? And then to see Catholic Sister-in-Law while picking up a Cinnabon roll in the airport on departure? Those are the kinds of memories you just don’t experience every day, and we’ll treasure them always.
And I only lost $3 in a slot machine. Go figure!
11 Responses to “Vegas, Baby!”
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You only lost $3.00? Good job! I am not sure if Vegas is our type of place, but it sounds like a lot of fun! How was the food? How long were you there? Come on you have to have pics!
~Becca
@Becca - I held out on any gambling until we were in the airport about to catch our flight home. $3 went FAST! We weren’t sure if Vegas would be a good family place for us either, but it turned out extremely well over our 5 day stay, especially at the Circus Circus Hotel with the Adventure Dome nearby our hotel room.
The food was supreme - Krispy Kreme donuts, McDonald’s for the kids, and the MexItalia and Garden Grill restaurants served us up as if we were royalty. The downside? THE FOOD PRICES. Way more than we were expecting. :/ Oh well, that’s the price you pay while on vacation without a choice.
You can see all 240 photos via my Flickr badge on the right of this blog, or go to the set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/itcatholicmom/sets/72157605630106543/
We’re still pinching ourselves.
glad the whole fam loved Vegas. It’s def on my places to go list. Was a week in Vegas over kill, not enough or just right?
@Gina - without kids, I would’ve wanted to stay longer. The reason for that is because we lost half a day in touring Hoover Dam and missed some of the bigger things like the fountains at Bellagio and Glitter Gulch. A couple more days would’ve been perfect. (Expensive, but worth it.)
Vegas is such a strange city…..been there twice on business. Caught Blue Man Group at the Luxor the first time and saw Rita Rudner at the NYNY.
ANywho, you won’t be able to tell the sex of the mantis until its wings have grown; thus reaching sexual maturity. The male will be smaller and skinnier. The female with have a noticably large abdomen for the eggs.
Kinda cross the species line, eh?
*ahem* CROSSES…..
@Kristi - Strange, it is. The day after we returned home, news released about that football player beating by the strip. I won’t go into details, but it spooked us.
You’ll have to let us know when you determine the sex of the little mantis you found. Or did you set him/her free? Such a find!
Nah, I let it go. But still very cool to find as they are very elusive. And green. Caomflage works well…..
@Kristi - BTW, did I ever mention my fear of bugs to you? Yup. Total bug phobic right here.
ohmigosh - long time no visit you….digging up wordpress passwords from the bowels of my e-mail is just no fun…
Vegas is kinda surreal, isn’t it? Hubby did the same thing at the airport slots - plugged in $5 just before we boarded our flight to show Holy Son - who had to stand at a bit of a distance so as not to appear hooked on gambling - that the money disappears in seconds.
Didn’t you think the hotels were all really smoky? I thought Circus Circus was quite smoky but the rides were fun…
@Holy - Surreal it is! The hotels were smoky as ever. You should’ve seen the CK’s covering their faces as we walked through the casinos - they couldn’t stand the smoke.