Day 1: Wednesday, November 21
Chester had been picked up on Tuesday night by my aunt and cousin (returning home from college) and chauffeured back to my parent's house for the weekend (thanks mom, dad and Stine!). Adam and I both worked from 7:30 to 3, and took our luggage with so we could leave right from work. Adam's mom generously gave us a ride over to the airport. Our flight wasn't until 5:30, but with all the Thanksgiving traffic, we wanted to be there early.
So we got to our faraway gate and waited for a while...
During the approx. 3 hour flight, I read my book and Adam looked through various magazines and did some crossword puzzles and Sudokus. Landing in Vegas was exciting as I got my first view of The Strip. It was nearly 7, so all the lights were on. We grabbed our carry-ons (we NEVER check bags, what a hassle), and made our way to the rental buses. 5 minutes later, we were at the rental station. This time we rented from Alamo. It was very smooth.
Upstairs, the rental lady said she was going to upgrade us from a mid-size to a full-size since they were running low. Adam said something about being upgrade to a Camaro and she was like, "DO YOU WANT A CONVERTIBLE?! They just reminded me to ask people if they'd be willing to upgrade to a convertible!" Adam and I looked at each other, and were like "YES!" I was really excited because I had looked into renting a convertible for this trip but it was hundreds of dollars more. So that was awesome. We had a red 2013 Ford Mustang convertible.
Our next stop was In N Out Burger. It's a regional burger chain found out west that I've always wanted to try. The inside was all retro and cute with the workers wearing those paper hats. Adam and I both ordered cheeseburgers with onions and fries. It was delicious. And I'm not even a burger person.
Then it was on to our hotel, The Flamingo. The parking area was packed, so Adam dropped me off to check-in while he parked. The line for check-in was a nightmare. After waiting 10 minutes, I saw that they had a shorter line for Total Rewards members. The line to join Total Rewards was short, and it was free, so I did it. Total Rewards is just a player's card that you can use at the different casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp. You can also get some food discounts at some of the hotels AND I got a $5 certificate to use in the casino. With my new card, I checked in quickly.
Since Adam still hadn't found a spot in the nightmare of a parking ramp, I went up to our room on the 20th floor. I opened the door, and was greeted by the lovely odor of stale cigarettes. Our non-smoking room on a non-smoking floor clearly had guests smoking in it. It was terrible. I could feel myself instantly getting a headache. So I went back down and waited in line to request a different room. The lady was apologetic but wasn't sure if she'd be able to find me something else. So I happened to mention that I get migraines from that odor and she was suddenly able to find me a different room. I thanked her profusely and met up with Adam and our bags. Luckily this room didn't smell of smoke. It was on the 22nd floor, and while it didn't have a Strip view, the view was still lovely.
The room itself was quite interesting... We went for the upgraded GO room. It took us a minute to figure out that the blinds opened with a switch that was on the wall by the bed.
The bathroom had a TV in the mirror (see the black square) that came in quite handy while getting ready (or when I wanted to sleep in and Adam couldn't sleep...).
It was probably 10 before we were up in our room. We sat down for a few minutes, and then went out to see The Strip.
It was my first view of The Strip, and I was amazed. Adam never made it this far up on his last visit, so a lot of it was new to him too.
I was most excited to see The Bellagio. I still wish we would have just stayed there, but I was feeling kind of cheap after all the trips we've taken this year. Next time for sure!
I was OBSESSED with the lobby ceiling - Dale Chihuly's Fiori di Como. It's made up of over 2000 (!) hand blown glass flowers. Amazing.
We also walked through the Conservatory which was quite odd. We walked out the front right when a fountain show started. It was "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" from The Beatles. Loved it!
While we waited for the next show, I of course took some photos. That's when I looked around and thought, "Wow, we're really in Vegas!"
The "dancing" water fountain synchronized to music goes off every 15 minutes. It was really neat.
Then we walked back along The Strip.
On the way, Adam got a beer at Bill's, and then we went up to bed. It was 12:30 Vegas time, but felt much later to us Central time zone folks.... No partying for us; we must be getting old.
Highlights of the day:
Stef - Bellagio ceiling and fountain show, driving part of The Strip at night in the convertible (top down until Adam got cold!)
Adam - In N Out Burger
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