Vegas!

For two people who don't really drink or gamble, we always have a good time in Las Vegas.  There's always plenty to do, plenty of time to relax and sleep, and plenty to see. We started our trip Thursday after work.  Eric came and picked me up at the office, and we hit the road.  We only stopped once in Cedar City for gas and a bathroom break, and then drove straight through.  After 5 1/2 hours in a car, we were pretty tired so we checked into our hotel and went to bed.

Friday morning we slept in late and then we headed to Mandalay Bay to meet Pete Rose.  Pete Rose is the all-time hit leader in baseball, but he cannot walk on a baseball diamond now because baseball banned him for life for betting on the game. Vegas definitely seems like an appropriate place for him to hang out.  He sets up shop a few days a week in Vegas to sign memorabilia for fans.  When we arrived at the store, we bought a baseball and then headed over to meet him.  They have someone there to take pictures, so we handed them Eric's phone and went over and started talking to Pete.

He signed our baseball for us with his record, and then we talked for a few minutes.  He asked where we were from, and when we told him Salt Lake, he said it was 412 miles.  Apparently, Pete is good at his geography.  We told him we met Vern Law a few days earlier and he said "he's the deacon right?"  He said that Vern was at the game where Pete got his first hit. He asked us how long we had been married and when we told him we had been married for 2 years, he told us we looked like we were 18.  We get that a lot...  As we were leaving, I told him that I hoped they let him into the Hall of Fame, and he just smiled.  All-in-all, he was a pretty nice guy.

After meeting Pete Rose, we headed across the street for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Eric and I first went to the Hard Rock on our honeymoon in Vegas, and they were so nice that we go to Hard Rock's almost every time we are somewhere where there is a Hard Rock Cafe.  This time was no exception.  As always, they were SUPER nice and the food was delish!

After lunch, we went to the Luxor to see the Titanic Exhibit.  It was really interesting and informative, we were very impressed!  Next, we headed over to Caesar's Palace to walk through the forum shops but took a detour to see the Flamingo first.  

We walked around Vegas that evening with stops at M&M world, the Grand Canal shops, and of course the Bellagio Fountains.  After such a full day, we crashed when we got back to the hotel. 

Saturday morning, we slept in again. Eric ran downstairs and got breakfast, and brought it back to our room so we could eat breakfast in bed. It was the best!  Our first stop was the sportsbook at our hotel.  We took a page from Pete Rose's book and placed a bet on baseball.  

Afterward, we headed to the Mirage to see the White Tigers and Dolphins.  The dolphin habitat was really cool.  We were there when the trainers were feeding the dolphins, so they were really active.  It was awesome.  We also saw lions, white tigers, and leopards.  Overall, it was pretty cool.

Our next stop was the Miracle Mile Shops at the Planet Hollywood.  Unlike the Forum and Grand Canal shops, there are actually some places we can afford to shop at the Miracle Mile. We had a good time wandering around, before heading to the MGM Grand to do CSI: The Experience.  CSI was not cool. There is a crime scene and labs to try to solve the mystery, but it was pretty boring  Once we finished, we decided to watch the Yankees game in a sportsbook.  We wandered around for a while before sitting down to watch the game at the Excalibur.  The Yankees took a 2-0 lead early in the game but they ultimately lost, which means we lost our bet.  I guess you can't win them all.  

We ate dinner Saturday at Emeril's Fish House - our favorite restaurant on the strip.  It was amazing like always!  I had lobster bisque and shrimp etouffee, while Eric had barbecued shrimp and salmon.  And it wouldn't be a trip to Emerils without a slice of banana cream pie.  We were stuffed by the time we left. 

Sunday morning we slept in again, packed our bags, and headed home. We stopped in St. George for lunch and got caught in a crazy rainstorm coming home.  After a few hours on the road, we arrived safe and sound back to our cute little apartment in West Jordan.