LiveForTheLaunch
CF Legend
A few months back, my boyfriend and I found some really good deals on flights to Vegas, and since his parent's are Vegas maniacs, we decided to present it to them and see if they wanted to come along. When I say maniacs, I literally mean they've been 93 times. This was to be my boyfriend's 13th trip and my 2nd, but my first being of legal age. So we booked our first class tickets for I believe about $750 a piece, booked our rooms, and waited.
Finally, May 25th rolled around and we had that pre-vacation high. I dropped my bunnies off at my mom's, packed, dyed my hair, and went to bed. Surprisingly, I slept quite well and my alarm even had to wake me up, which never happens. We were due to be picked up at 7:00am, which seemed a touch early since our flight wasn't until 12, but Detroit Metropolitan's Delta terminal has a lot to do, so I wasn't too worried. We took the tram to our gate, and low and behold, who do we see? Snoop Dog, his security guard, and his publicist!
We got through security with no problems at all, which seems to be the trend at this airport. Looking for somewhere to eat, we came across Longhorn Steakhouse and settled for that. I'm not much of an eggs and toast kind of person, and I usually just have a little snack for breakfast, so me and Matt split.
My favourite sub place and my favourite bar had been replaced with a Mexican fast food place and a restaurant. I was pretty devastated.
After going for a walk down the very long terminal and admiring all the planes, we went for a beer at Gordon Beirsch. This was my first time trying a Corona, and it was pretty decent.
After a few beers we were due to board, so we made our way back to the gate. We were called first because we were first class, which was quite cool. We didn't get the greatest first class service on the way there apart from a fab Steward, but otherwise there were no TVs, they ran out of the chicken enchiladas, and we didn't get a drink until we were at cruise altitude. I didn't care much about any of these things, but for the price that's paid to upgrade, they should do a little bit better. The service on the way back was much better, though. Soon enough, we took off and we were on our way.
Feeling like I had to make use of the free beverage service, I ended up having six whiskey waters on the plane, which later came back to haunt me.
Although they ran out of the chicken enchiladas, the asian beef wasn't too bad and the pie was very good. I love plane food.
Soon enough, we were descending into the airport. Although last time I got to experience landing at night, which was amazing, the view zipping by the strip in the day is almost just as good. The flight was super smooth and uneventful. After landing, we went straight to the car rental place, which annoyingly was the only one with a line.
After an hour wait, we were finally in the parking garage ready to pick a vehicle. We got an awesome Traverse, which rode smooth and was very spacious inside. We were finally ready to make our way to Treasure Island, which apparently made Matt quite happy.
For a person that is accustomed to staying in Super 8s and Days Inns, I thought the room was really nice.
Once we put our bags down, we were ready to go downstairs and donate the first of many twenties to the gambling industry.
I was very distraught that my first twenty didn't come with any winnings.
We didn't really have any set plans for the first day, so we walked around a bit and took a lot of photos.
I forgot that America doesn't generally serve caesars, so I tried a bloody mary and it was basically just as good. I liked that you could bring your drinks on the Strip.
The High Roller ferris wheel was a new addition since my 2010 trip.
Had to be a bit of a sap and take some cheesy photos.
Since we were at the Bellagio, we chose to go inside and check out the gardens, which were actually really nice. This year they have an under the sea theme. They were really nice, but I thought that the flower exhibits at the Wynn were nicer.
Not quite as awesome as the real Trevi Fountain, but oh well.
When we were inside the Flamingo earlier in the day, Matt bought me a little Flamingo toy which ended up being my good luck charm throughout the trip. His name is Feemee.
After walking around for a while, we realized we were going to be tight for time if we didn't leave to meet Matt's parents for dinner right away. So, we left Treasure Island and walked to Ellis Island casino, which is kind of behind the Strip, but it's a hidden gem.
They told us it was going to be an hour and a half wait to get a table, but we ended up only waiting about twenty. Sadly, during the time we were waiting, my stomach started to feel a little iffy. As soon we we sat down, I couldn't stop gagging, and all I could think of was how horrible it would be to get sick at the dinner table with my boyfriend's parents. Thankfully, nothing came up, but I wasn't really able to eat much food. No worries though, because Matt is good for eating my leftovers. $9.99 for a steak, potato, veggies, and a beer was a great deal, I just wish I had been feeling better to be able to enjoy it!
We had a long day, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to admire Vegas at night.
We went back to home base and decided to gamble just a bit more before going to bed. I'm an old person and just couldn't handle staying up super late, especially since I was up between 4-6 every morning. I may have had a few too many.
One of the reasons I opted to have an early night was because Matt's mom and dad wanted to eat breakfast at a little cafe in the Paris hotel. It has an outside balcony for eating and the food is quite good, but they were anticipating a line and wanted to get there when it opened. On our walk there, we seen some boobs.
We got there for 6:45 and there was no line, but shortly before 7, people started to pile in.
Though somewhat overpriced at $13 for an omelette and $4 for coffee (which I didn't have to worry about because I don't drink coffee), it was really good and the atmosphere was nice. I had a ham and guyere cheese omelette with toast and hashbrowns. When I asked for Tabasco sauce, I got these adorable little mini containers of it!
Matt's parents eat pretty slow so they told us to be on our way while they finished up since we had a busy day ahead.
There was a weird shrine thing in front of Caesars, and we weren't sure what it was for.
I obviously had to take the time to admire the statues.
Caesars is obviously now somewhat iconic for the role it played in the Hangover movies. I took a photo in front of the picture that was used in the first film.
There was a really cool restaurant inside, but we weren't there to eat, we were there to touch boobs.
I thought his desire to touch fake boobs was concerning, but then I realize he probably doesn't quite remember what they feel like, considering his girlfriend isn't very blessed in that area! Sadly, the boobs didn't give us much luck.
I had never been inside the Wynn or the Encore before, so we went inside. It was actually really nice, both in and out.
Me showing off my guns with Popeye.
I loved the flower carousel!
The shops were all really high class and fancy, so we obviously felt like we really belonged with our $8 Wal Mart watches!
After exploring the Wynn and the Encore some more, we were en route to the Stratosphere. Now, I had done all three rides back in 2010 and I have to say I was not looking forward to them, but wasn't that nervous either. Matt had only ever done Big Shot, so I was hoping he would do the others. This face accurately reflects how I was feeling, knowing I'd be up on those rides pretty soon!
The Sahara, which use to house the fabulous Speed coaster, is now home to some funky alien thing out front and what looks to be a fairly fancy hotel inside.
Since I'm a nice girlfriend and Matt was scared, I told him he was allowed to pick two of the three rides to do and leave out the one he was most afraid of. Gosh, I'm selfless. He chose to skip Insanity, and by allowing him to do so, I think I made his day!
Annoyingly, on the way up the tower, Matt told me to concentrate and feel the tower sway. I was so irritated because I have never had a problem with heights, but once he said that all I could feel was the back and forth motion and it made me feel very dizzy.
I was feeling so queasy that I almost gave my ride tickets away. I went inside the tower to compose myself and then I was ready to ride the rides!
I didn't take many pictures of the rides because I think everyone here knows what they do. I remembered Insanity being the worst of the three by far, so I got that out of the way. They wouldn't let Matt take pictures, so this is the best he could do. Talk about a poor man's ORP.
We did Xscream next, and I made my way to the front of the car. Matt refused to sit in the front, so he took the seat directly behind me. It's scary, but not as bad as Insanity in my opinion.
Big Shot was the last of the three, and though it looks the least intimidating, it still manages to scare me.
Happy to be back on solid ground!
I had been to Circus Circus back in 2010 to get the Canyon Blaster cred, but they've added their El Loco since then so I went in to give it a shot. At $12 a pop it's pretty pricey, but I paid for both tickets since Matt paid for the Stratosphere.
I like the inside of Circus Circus, even though it's dated and in a crappy place on the Strip.
The coaster was a bit of a burden to get to, the ride operator was a bit of a bitch, and the lockers were in the dumbest place ever, but the cred itself was actually so much fun. They need to install these models in more parks!
We decided to get the coasters out of the way and do Manhattan Express. I already had the cred, but we got BOGO tickets and I wantedd to reride it, so we made our way to NYNY. This coaster gets awful reviews, and rightfully so, but I've always had a soft spot for it despite it being incredibly rough. I didn't mind it, even though it was better at night.
I wanted to check out Hersheys Chocolate World, which only ended up making me hungry and sad that I had to save my appetite for the buffet later on in the day. After that, we gambled and had a few drinks at the bar.
Needless to say, I lost. I wasn't having much luck on the trip yet!
Excalibur is another hotel I've always liked, maybe because I stayed there on my last trip or because the exterior is so gross and tacky.
We were headed to the Mandalay Bay so we walked through the Luxor as well, which has cool theming.
It also apparently has a sock store.
More boobs and maturity.
There's a game on Facebook called My Vegas Slots, which allows you to play games for points. The points can be transferred to real life free coupons, money off dinners, or BOGO tickets. We got the Manhattan Express tickets on there, and in addition, got two free tickets to the Shark Reef, which would have cost about $40 otherwise.
I pet some sting rays, which I have always been too scared to do for some reason. They were so slimy and strange.
I guess once you've seen one aquarium you've basically seen them all, but I've always liked them for some reason.
We made our way back to Treasure Island to meet with Matt's parents for dinner, which was suppose to be at the seafood buffet at the Rio. I guess it has really gone down in quality according to just about everyone, so we opted to do the Bellagio buffet, which is ranked one of the best on the strip. It also had a lot of seafood, including pre-split crab legs, so I couldn't really complain! It was so delicious, and I could have had more, but I didn't want to be struggling with bloat for the rest of the night. Still, two and a half plates, and a plate of dessert was certainly enough.
We had a little bit of time to kill before our show, so we gambled for a little bit and I had terrible luck. I lost fifty bucks in just about as many seconds. Still, I was about to see a Cirque show so my spirits were high.
I bought both of our tickets for the show for Matt's birthday earlier in the month. They were great seats and I heard that O was one of the best Cirque productions ever from quite a few people. First of all, I'll never sit that close again. At $500 for two tickets, the price was steep and I felt like it would have been better to sit just slightly back so you could see the entire massive stage without having to think about where to look. The theatre itself was gorgeous.
Overall, the show was really good but I didn't feel it was as incredible as Varekai, which I had seen in my city a year and a half ago. The production was to an immense scale, and as usual, the costumes and sets were beautiful, but the acrobatics and the show didn't flow as well as they did in the other two shows I had seen. Would I pay $500 for tickets again? No. But, it was enjoyable and still a great show. Next time, I plan to see Mystere or Zarkana which seem to stay more true to what Cirque is all about.
Since we were already at the Bellagio and it was dark out, we took some photos and seen the fountains.
After we took a walk, we went back to Treasure Island, probably gambled some more, and hit the hay.
Stay tuned for more!
Finally, May 25th rolled around and we had that pre-vacation high. I dropped my bunnies off at my mom's, packed, dyed my hair, and went to bed. Surprisingly, I slept quite well and my alarm even had to wake me up, which never happens. We were due to be picked up at 7:00am, which seemed a touch early since our flight wasn't until 12, but Detroit Metropolitan's Delta terminal has a lot to do, so I wasn't too worried. We took the tram to our gate, and low and behold, who do we see? Snoop Dog, his security guard, and his publicist!
We got through security with no problems at all, which seems to be the trend at this airport. Looking for somewhere to eat, we came across Longhorn Steakhouse and settled for that. I'm not much of an eggs and toast kind of person, and I usually just have a little snack for breakfast, so me and Matt split.
My favourite sub place and my favourite bar had been replaced with a Mexican fast food place and a restaurant. I was pretty devastated.
After going for a walk down the very long terminal and admiring all the planes, we went for a beer at Gordon Beirsch. This was my first time trying a Corona, and it was pretty decent.
After a few beers we were due to board, so we made our way back to the gate. We were called first because we were first class, which was quite cool. We didn't get the greatest first class service on the way there apart from a fab Steward, but otherwise there were no TVs, they ran out of the chicken enchiladas, and we didn't get a drink until we were at cruise altitude. I didn't care much about any of these things, but for the price that's paid to upgrade, they should do a little bit better. The service on the way back was much better, though. Soon enough, we took off and we were on our way.
Feeling like I had to make use of the free beverage service, I ended up having six whiskey waters on the plane, which later came back to haunt me.
Although they ran out of the chicken enchiladas, the asian beef wasn't too bad and the pie was very good. I love plane food.
Soon enough, we were descending into the airport. Although last time I got to experience landing at night, which was amazing, the view zipping by the strip in the day is almost just as good. The flight was super smooth and uneventful. After landing, we went straight to the car rental place, which annoyingly was the only one with a line.
After an hour wait, we were finally in the parking garage ready to pick a vehicle. We got an awesome Traverse, which rode smooth and was very spacious inside. We were finally ready to make our way to Treasure Island, which apparently made Matt quite happy.
For a person that is accustomed to staying in Super 8s and Days Inns, I thought the room was really nice.
Once we put our bags down, we were ready to go downstairs and donate the first of many twenties to the gambling industry.
I was very distraught that my first twenty didn't come with any winnings.
We didn't really have any set plans for the first day, so we walked around a bit and took a lot of photos.
I forgot that America doesn't generally serve caesars, so I tried a bloody mary and it was basically just as good. I liked that you could bring your drinks on the Strip.
The High Roller ferris wheel was a new addition since my 2010 trip.
Had to be a bit of a sap and take some cheesy photos.
Since we were at the Bellagio, we chose to go inside and check out the gardens, which were actually really nice. This year they have an under the sea theme. They were really nice, but I thought that the flower exhibits at the Wynn were nicer.
Not quite as awesome as the real Trevi Fountain, but oh well.
When we were inside the Flamingo earlier in the day, Matt bought me a little Flamingo toy which ended up being my good luck charm throughout the trip. His name is Feemee.
After walking around for a while, we realized we were going to be tight for time if we didn't leave to meet Matt's parents for dinner right away. So, we left Treasure Island and walked to Ellis Island casino, which is kind of behind the Strip, but it's a hidden gem.
They told us it was going to be an hour and a half wait to get a table, but we ended up only waiting about twenty. Sadly, during the time we were waiting, my stomach started to feel a little iffy. As soon we we sat down, I couldn't stop gagging, and all I could think of was how horrible it would be to get sick at the dinner table with my boyfriend's parents. Thankfully, nothing came up, but I wasn't really able to eat much food. No worries though, because Matt is good for eating my leftovers. $9.99 for a steak, potato, veggies, and a beer was a great deal, I just wish I had been feeling better to be able to enjoy it!
We had a long day, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to admire Vegas at night.
We went back to home base and decided to gamble just a bit more before going to bed. I'm an old person and just couldn't handle staying up super late, especially since I was up between 4-6 every morning. I may have had a few too many.
One of the reasons I opted to have an early night was because Matt's mom and dad wanted to eat breakfast at a little cafe in the Paris hotel. It has an outside balcony for eating and the food is quite good, but they were anticipating a line and wanted to get there when it opened. On our walk there, we seen some boobs.
We got there for 6:45 and there was no line, but shortly before 7, people started to pile in.
Though somewhat overpriced at $13 for an omelette and $4 for coffee (which I didn't have to worry about because I don't drink coffee), it was really good and the atmosphere was nice. I had a ham and guyere cheese omelette with toast and hashbrowns. When I asked for Tabasco sauce, I got these adorable little mini containers of it!
Matt's parents eat pretty slow so they told us to be on our way while they finished up since we had a busy day ahead.
There was a weird shrine thing in front of Caesars, and we weren't sure what it was for.
I obviously had to take the time to admire the statues.
Caesars is obviously now somewhat iconic for the role it played in the Hangover movies. I took a photo in front of the picture that was used in the first film.
There was a really cool restaurant inside, but we weren't there to eat, we were there to touch boobs.
I thought his desire to touch fake boobs was concerning, but then I realize he probably doesn't quite remember what they feel like, considering his girlfriend isn't very blessed in that area! Sadly, the boobs didn't give us much luck.
I had never been inside the Wynn or the Encore before, so we went inside. It was actually really nice, both in and out.
Me showing off my guns with Popeye.
I loved the flower carousel!
The shops were all really high class and fancy, so we obviously felt like we really belonged with our $8 Wal Mart watches!
After exploring the Wynn and the Encore some more, we were en route to the Stratosphere. Now, I had done all three rides back in 2010 and I have to say I was not looking forward to them, but wasn't that nervous either. Matt had only ever done Big Shot, so I was hoping he would do the others. This face accurately reflects how I was feeling, knowing I'd be up on those rides pretty soon!
The Sahara, which use to house the fabulous Speed coaster, is now home to some funky alien thing out front and what looks to be a fairly fancy hotel inside.
Since I'm a nice girlfriend and Matt was scared, I told him he was allowed to pick two of the three rides to do and leave out the one he was most afraid of. Gosh, I'm selfless. He chose to skip Insanity, and by allowing him to do so, I think I made his day!
Annoyingly, on the way up the tower, Matt told me to concentrate and feel the tower sway. I was so irritated because I have never had a problem with heights, but once he said that all I could feel was the back and forth motion and it made me feel very dizzy.
I was feeling so queasy that I almost gave my ride tickets away. I went inside the tower to compose myself and then I was ready to ride the rides!
I didn't take many pictures of the rides because I think everyone here knows what they do. I remembered Insanity being the worst of the three by far, so I got that out of the way. They wouldn't let Matt take pictures, so this is the best he could do. Talk about a poor man's ORP.
We did Xscream next, and I made my way to the front of the car. Matt refused to sit in the front, so he took the seat directly behind me. It's scary, but not as bad as Insanity in my opinion.
Big Shot was the last of the three, and though it looks the least intimidating, it still manages to scare me.
Happy to be back on solid ground!
I had been to Circus Circus back in 2010 to get the Canyon Blaster cred, but they've added their El Loco since then so I went in to give it a shot. At $12 a pop it's pretty pricey, but I paid for both tickets since Matt paid for the Stratosphere.
I like the inside of Circus Circus, even though it's dated and in a crappy place on the Strip.
The coaster was a bit of a burden to get to, the ride operator was a bit of a bitch, and the lockers were in the dumbest place ever, but the cred itself was actually so much fun. They need to install these models in more parks!
We decided to get the coasters out of the way and do Manhattan Express. I already had the cred, but we got BOGO tickets and I wantedd to reride it, so we made our way to NYNY. This coaster gets awful reviews, and rightfully so, but I've always had a soft spot for it despite it being incredibly rough. I didn't mind it, even though it was better at night.
I wanted to check out Hersheys Chocolate World, which only ended up making me hungry and sad that I had to save my appetite for the buffet later on in the day. After that, we gambled and had a few drinks at the bar.
Needless to say, I lost. I wasn't having much luck on the trip yet!
Excalibur is another hotel I've always liked, maybe because I stayed there on my last trip or because the exterior is so gross and tacky.
We were headed to the Mandalay Bay so we walked through the Luxor as well, which has cool theming.
It also apparently has a sock store.
More boobs and maturity.
There's a game on Facebook called My Vegas Slots, which allows you to play games for points. The points can be transferred to real life free coupons, money off dinners, or BOGO tickets. We got the Manhattan Express tickets on there, and in addition, got two free tickets to the Shark Reef, which would have cost about $40 otherwise.
I pet some sting rays, which I have always been too scared to do for some reason. They were so slimy and strange.
I guess once you've seen one aquarium you've basically seen them all, but I've always liked them for some reason.
We made our way back to Treasure Island to meet with Matt's parents for dinner, which was suppose to be at the seafood buffet at the Rio. I guess it has really gone down in quality according to just about everyone, so we opted to do the Bellagio buffet, which is ranked one of the best on the strip. It also had a lot of seafood, including pre-split crab legs, so I couldn't really complain! It was so delicious, and I could have had more, but I didn't want to be struggling with bloat for the rest of the night. Still, two and a half plates, and a plate of dessert was certainly enough.
We had a little bit of time to kill before our show, so we gambled for a little bit and I had terrible luck. I lost fifty bucks in just about as many seconds. Still, I was about to see a Cirque show so my spirits were high.
I bought both of our tickets for the show for Matt's birthday earlier in the month. They were great seats and I heard that O was one of the best Cirque productions ever from quite a few people. First of all, I'll never sit that close again. At $500 for two tickets, the price was steep and I felt like it would have been better to sit just slightly back so you could see the entire massive stage without having to think about where to look. The theatre itself was gorgeous.
Overall, the show was really good but I didn't feel it was as incredible as Varekai, which I had seen in my city a year and a half ago. The production was to an immense scale, and as usual, the costumes and sets were beautiful, but the acrobatics and the show didn't flow as well as they did in the other two shows I had seen. Would I pay $500 for tickets again? No. But, it was enjoyable and still a great show. Next time, I plan to see Mystere or Zarkana which seem to stay more true to what Cirque is all about.
Since we were already at the Bellagio and it was dark out, we took some photos and seen the fountains.
After we took a walk, we went back to Treasure Island, probably gambled some more, and hit the hay.
Stay tuned for more!
