And So It Continues…To Las Vegas!

Viva Las Vegas!! Todays adventure was one that we had been looking forward to this entire trip. Having Vegas as our final stop was definitely a last hoorah before starting new in California. From Zion to Vegas was only about two hours, our shortest drive of the trip. Thank goodness! AND we went back an hour so it was as if we were only on the road for one. As we drove from Zion to vegas the temperature started rising one degree at a time, cactus appeared, and there was sand, sand, and more sand. We also drove through about 20 minutes of Arizona…that’s it…but it counts!

When you pull into the strip of las vegas, it’s as if the rest of the world fades away. The lights, the glamour, the people it all just takes you into a completely different zone. Christina and I have been to Vegas one other time…but we were eight years old. It’s a bit different when you are older. We pulled into our hotel, The Paris! Outside was the eiffel tower, a hot air balloon sculpture, and the Arc De Triomphe. So Cool!

And then you walk inside and it’s the city of love. The concierge and check in area was glamorous, it made you feel important. The ceiling looked like the sky and the bottom part of the eiffel tower was in the main area surrounded by slot machines. You could hear the ringing of machines and sighs of people losing money all around. Oh Las Vegas you are pretty great.

After getting our key we headed up to our room. We rode the elevator until it opened up to an elegant hallway, chandeliers and painted walls. Before you find which hallway of rooms if yours, you come upon a large column of mirrors with tufted seating all around. It was definitely different then the other hotels we had stayed in along the trip. Even though we looked out onto the roof of the building next store, we were still in Vegas. Which means there’s no time to sit, we had to get ready and begin our evening!

I would describe our style of the evening to be casual vegas. We weren’t planning on going to any clubs or special events – not really our style. It had been 15 years since the last time we were in this city. It was time to explore! We started our night by hotel hopping. We have had  several people tell us how incredible some of the hotels were. The Bellagio, Caesars Palace, The Cosmopolitan, etc. we had to see as many as possible! Our first stop was The Cosmopolitan.

Our cousin Maggie had recommended we check it out because of the Chandelier bar. She said it was glamorous, extravagant, and glittery, so of course I had to see it for myself. It was that and so much more.

I want to cover my future home with all the glitz. As you walk in it seems like a normal hotel, but nothing is normal in Vegas, all of a sudden there are beads draped around the entire center of the hotel making it look just like a chandelier. As you rode up the escalator it rose alongside you and inside was a bar. All I could think was “I want this at my wedding”, I could’t take my eyes off of it.

*Christina here – I just have to put my two sense in here because this was for sure one of my favorite sights of Vegas. Oh my gosh… it was BEAUTIFUL! Thank you Maggie. I love that this was our first stop of the night. As you can imagine, Alexandra was completely mesmerized, It was her in decor!* Sadly we had to say goodbye if we wanted to see more of the strip. So we headed to New York, New York.

On the outside of the hotel was the statue of liberty, an apple, skyscrapers, the Brooklyn Bridge and even a running roller coaster. As you go inside you here the chatter of people and the smells of street food…so New York!

Model apartment homes, restaurants, and the floor looked like a cobblestone street. From there we were able to cross over to the Excalibur and Tropicana hotels.

Incase you didn’t know, Christina’s favorite thing is Tropicana orange juice so of course we had to go inside. *I DIDN’T KNOW TROPICANA HAD A HOTEL! It wasn’t as striking as some of the others… but come on… It’s inspired by orange juice! If you don’t know, orange juice is my favorite beverage. Especially Tropicana, so I loved it of course. Honestly, it had the nicest pool of the few we saw*

It was very vibrant and tropical. We also found the outdoor pool which had several cabanas and a swim up bar. Then it was time to cross over another bridge to head to our main hotel spot for the evening, MGM.

The last time we came to Vegas was for a family reunion. Two of my cousins grew up in Orange County, CA so that was the first time we had seen each other in a few years. Since then we have been having family reunions every couple of years in different places across the country. Anyway, back to why we went to MGM.

Well one, it’s a fun hotel with a lot to do, two we had bought tickets to a Cirque Du Soleil show later that evening, and three the buffet. All I wanted to do in vegas was go to a buffet. Nothing fancy or too pricy, just a place where I can eat until my hearts content. I had heard good things about dinners in Vegas so I wanted to check one out, and we did just that. It was about $30 per person, which wasn’t bad at all compared to some other restaurants, and it was all you can eat. So that’s what we did for about an hour before we headed to the show.

After rolling our full bellies out of the restaurant we turned our attention to the directory. From there we found the directions to the theatre, but since we still had a bit of time we decided to explore. The last time we were in Vegas we stayed at the MGM Grand, my whole family did. There were lions behind glass walls in the lobby, a crazy water slide, and a lazy river. I’m not sure about the pool but the lions weren’t there anymore. *That was a bummer! I was really hoping they would be there. At the same time, I’m sure it’s better for the lions. So it’s all good* We walked around trying to recognize pieces of our past. Then we stumbled upon something very important. A slot machine. Not just any old slot machine, but the Ellen Degeneres game! Fun fact number two about Christina in this post, she loves Ellen. Even her socks! So we had to play a game or two…or four. *ELLEN CASINO GAME! Of course I had to play! It even took my picture and put it on the screen with Ellen. Where it should be, like best friends. Also, it’s true… I love her socks*

Finally we made it to the show. We were seeing “KÀ – A Cirque Du Soleil Production”. I had never seen a cirque du soleil show, and as a theatre lover I was very excited. As we found our seats the lights began to dim and a fire was lit on stage.

It grew as the the auditorium filled. Once most people were settled, they began flying overhead. The story of KÀ is about “the coming of age of a young man and a young woman through their encounters with love, conflict and the duality of Kà, the fire that can unite or separate, destroy or illuminate.” The costumes, makeup, set, sound, lighting, it was all absolutely incredible. You couldn’t predict what they would bring out next. They even had a 360 degree rotating stage!

One point in the show they have a contraption called “The Wheel Of Death”  Where there are men inside what looks like a hamster wheel with a complete opening on either side. It is attached to a base and at first you think there just going to run in it, then each one begins to spin like a ferris wheel, while they are running inside. You think oh wow thats cool…then one man gets outside of it and starts running on top! Then the other man does it. And you think to yourself “oh wow now I get why it’s the wheel of death”…but THEN they run outside while jumping roping in the air and catching themselves back on top of the wheel! *I would just like to add that THEY WERE NOT ATTACHED! I was so nervous for them, but it was really amazing.” It’s hard to explain but if I can find a picture of it I’ll add it. You felt like you were part of the empire. In Vegas there is such a variety of cirque du soleil shows, I can’t wait to see more.

If you are interested here is a link to the trailer https://youtu.be/xT9CXr2o5ME

The show ended and we strolled out of the theatre, looking at all of the designs of the walls. It was about 11 PM but that means the night is still young in Vegas. We went back through various hotels until we reached ours, The Paris.

It was late and we were exhausted but there was one thing left we had to do. Gamble. We took twenty dollars to the slots! After quite some time I turned my twenty dollars into…ten cents. Christina turned her twenty dollars into…fourty! She found a machine and that was it, her proudest moment was when she turned two dollars into twenty. *I was very proud of doubling my money! Even though it then led to me having to buy breakfast the next morning and spending my winnings because everything is just so expensive. It was great nonetheless* All the while there were people dancing on bars and singers at the cabaret. We decided it was time for us to hit the hay. We had a big day tomorrow, we were going to see our apartment for the first time! After eating a few snacks and discussing our plans for the morning we went to bed.

Another day waking up in a hotel meant another day on the road. This day was different because it was our finally drive! We had to be out of the hotel by 11, but since we still had a few hours we decided to explore the other hotels we didn’t see the night before. Christina’s win from the night before bought our breakfast of croissants and chai tea lattes. Some of the hotels in Vegas connect, which makes it easy to explore. We began by walking through the Flamingo. We saw flamingos, the pool, and the casino.

Thats pretty much what we did with the rest of the hotels. We went to the lobby, casino, and pool. After the Flamingo we went to The Venetian, The Palazzo, The Linq, Caesars Palace, and The Bellagio. All were so unique and beautiful.

We practically ran back to the Paris, barely making it to check out, but we did it! After checking out we headed to the slot machines…just five more dollars. I ended up turning five into thirteen! Christina on the other hand turned five into zero, but in the end it was just for fun. We walked through the hotel one last time before heading to the valet for our car. I am so happy that’s where we stayed, I will definitely be going back.

Christina and I hopped in the car and were on our way. Before hitting the highway, for the final part of our road trip, there were two more stops in Vegas we had to check out. The first was one hotel we didn’t make it to that morning, the Wynn. Our friend Kaitlin recommended we check it out, apparently there are tons of sculptures made out of flowers! At first I just dropped Christina off and stayed in the car, it was one more hotel and I wanted to get on the road. *I really wanted to see this one, so instead of parking and dealing with all that Zandy just stayed in the car. She wasn’t even planning on coming in, but as soon as I entered the Wynn I knew she had to see it as well. It was so incredible!* But then I got a text saying I had to go in and I’m so glad I did. It was mind blowing.

The whole lobby was filled with flower sculptures! There was a moving carousel, a hot air balloon, and more. It was beautiful, I also took a sneak peak of the unbelievable pool. Next time I want to stay there.

Last time we were in Vegas we began our trip by staying at the Golden Nugget, that was before we met up with the rest of our family. It was a few minutes from the strip, but along the colorful Fremont street. Fremont street is the second most famous street in Las Vegas, the first being the strip. There is a light show called Viva Vision that illuminates an incredibly large screen each night. I remember our parents allowing us to stay up late one night and see the light show. People were dancing, singing, and throwing beaded necklaces. Having that memory made us want to drive past the street.

After going down memory lane, or street, we were on our way to our final destination!  What an incredible place Las Vegas is. Yes you have some annoying people that come up to you and say things, or try to sell you something, but as long as you ignore them and keep your stride its great. There are so many places to explore and so many things to do. The nice part for us is that it’s only four hours from our apartment. We could go for a weekend if we wanted. Oh 

Can you believe we did it, we made it across the country! After nine days, 3,412 miles, and driving through fourteen states, we arrived to our new home. This only means that the next adventure is beginning. 

Thank you for following along and reading my posts, I know some of them took longer to get up then I expected. We appreciate you all wanting to follow us on our journey. I look forward to posting about our first few weeks in California and the ups and downs of our new home. 

More? Oh yes, much more.