It's already one full month into 2013 & this is my first post! Since Google won't let me add any more photos (even tho I have deleted some from older posts) without paying to upgrade, my desire to blog fell to the way side!
That said, I will try to wrap up things since my last post, mid-December. We held our holiday cocktail party and, while it was a bit underattended, we had a very enjoyable and laid back time with our friends who were gracious enough to accept our invitation to come to the Dunes. Our guests, in no particular order, were: Nikki & Phil Norwine, Dave & Sandra Marek, Joe Rincon, Robin Campbell, Bart Botkin and Bobby Binford. This little mixer combined people who didn't really know one another, but some had connections that made for easy conversation and, maybe, new friendships. We enjoyed drinks and snacks, chatting one another up. It was a delightful way to share our "home" with our friends and to usher in the holidays.
Here is the Christmas miracle everyone did NOT expect: I went to my in-laws' house on Christmas Eve! Chris didn't see it coming either, as I sort of decided it last minute! We haven't attended the holiday gatherings at Chris's parents in several years. (Chris, however, did go for a short visit at Thanksgiving this year.) So, I threw back several glasses of wine pre-trip and took a bottle with me that I pretty much drank by myself while there! All in all, it was an okay time. It was good to see our two oldest nieces, who arrived from Wisconsin, and to chat with one of our younger nieces who we rarely see. All but Chris's sister, the youngest of the brood, made it over. Had Natalie made it, it would have been (almost) like the old days ~~ I'm talking 15-20 years ago! Unfortunately, neither of us thought to grab the Costco gift card for his parents....and it's still in our possession!!
On Christmas day, we went to my aunt's, as usual. One big difference, however, is that she asked her husband to leave and is getting a divorce, so he wasn't there. Both of my cousins were, tho! Kyle, who lives & works in Iraq, came with his girlfriend, Stacy (our first time meeting her). Matt, who lives in Denver, came with his girlfriend, Emily, who we met a few months earlier. The big news: Matt & Emily are expecting! Since the boys are more like brothers than cousins to me, I will be an aunt again! We should get out to Colorado right after the new Long is born!
We celebrated the New Year Sin City style! A week in Vegas!!! It was far chillier than any of our other 3 visits, but we knew that going in and packed for it. Our days were filled with lots of walking. One of the days, we decided to forego the Strip and walked to the Red Rock Casino, which ended up being just over 5 miles (each way) from our timeshare. Our original intention was to go on to the Red Rock Canyon, but after getting to the Casino we were informed that we would have another 5-10 miles to get to the canyon. We decided that was not going to happen! (Our one regret about not renting a car, after all.) The timeshare we stayed in was several miles west of the Strip, so it was a much different view from our previous stays (Flamingo, Polo Towers and a Marriot timeshare). We got a much better view of the mountains ~~ it was like being on 2 different vacations in one week!
We did the haunted attraction The Goretorium. I am a big chicken when it comes to haunted houses, so after watching the trailer for this one, I was pretty well already scared! We looked around the Shop the day we bought our tickets (we went back the evening of New Year's Day for the "fun"!) and I saw a tshirt that read "I Shit My Pants". So, that made me even more on edge!!! And made me wonder if I should eat before (and possibly vomit or crap my pants) or after (which may not happen depending on what I see in this haunted hotel). Fortunately, for ME, another couple got in line with us (otherwise we would have been doing this thing just the 2 of us...meaning, no way for me to hide btwn 2 people, which is my standard in haunted houses!). And altho we were there first, I sort of maneuvered them in front of us!! So, the girl got more of the in-your-face stuff throughout the whole thing. I did yell out a couple of times, but I have to say, it really wasn't all that scary! I don't know if it was because I wasn't the focus for the "scare-actors" or b/c I had told myself over & over to remember it isn't real! I took the time to really look at my surroundings and they did a very good job on all the stuff to set the scenes!
One of the top things I/we wanted to do was visit the Neon Boneyard. They have many old neon signs from the various Vegas hotels over the years. I LOVE it! A definite must-see! Vintage Vegas is so interesting! The signs are art come to life! Only a couple of the signs are in working order and we got to see one of them (from La Concha) lit up at the end of our tour. (It is just so darn expensive to repair the signs!) In addition to the Boneyard, many signs have been restored and can be found at Fremont Street Experience and along North Las Vegas Boulevard. Chris got a lot of great pics that I intend to print, frame & hang the next time we are gonna land for more than a year!
We also did the tour of the new Mob Museum. We highly recommend a visit, if you are interested in organized crime (nationwide) and/or Las Vegas history. We are from the Chicagoland area and were both surprised and happy to see the original wall from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre on display here. The Museum was able to acquire it from a personal collector and they then opened February 14, 2012, in honor of the massacre. The museum is 3 floors with much to see & read. There are interactive parts, too. Please allow yourself a couple/few hours. We took 2 1/2 hours, and could have done another hour, but it was closing time.
What vacation wouldn't be complete without a food recommendation, right? I stumbled upon a tidbit about a restaurant inside Imperial Palace (which is transforming into The Quad) that had been visited by Man v. Food AND that had chicken & waffles (my new favorite meal!!!). We simply HAD to go to Hash House a Go Go! OMG! My chicken & waffles was a masterpiece: in looks and taste!! I kid you not! The waffles had bacon baked into them!!! And the portion sizes are out of this world! While waiting on our food, we saw a table delivered a pancake (yes, one pancake) the size of a platter...not a plate, but a platter!!! I ate 2 of my 4 waffles and 1 piece of chicken and we took the rest to go (stuffed into my backpack for the rest of our day!!!) ~ which I graciously shared with Chris the next day after warming it all up in the oven! AND...guess what....there is a Hash House a Go Go in Chicago!!! We are definitely getting there before our move cuz, to me, there is no other chicken & waffles I will eat!
We bought more $1 chips to add to our burgeoning collection. Somehow, tho, we thought we already had Riviera, but came home to find we do not. We are concerned that that casino/hotel will be one to close soon (the Sahara has been shuttered since our last visit), so I have asked a friend who is going out there in April to grab one for us, if she makes it that way. We visited some off the Strip casinos, too, like, The Orleans and the Palms. We wanted a chip from the Palms, but they don't sell the $1 at the cage ~ and I wasn't going to a gaming table to see if I could purchase one from the dealer!!!
We saw 2012 out and 2013 in at Fremont Street. A New Year's Eve party under the VivaVision was the party we decided to attend (the cheapest, too), where they had several bands performing throughout the nite on different stages along the street, to include BuckCherry. It was a chilly, chilly nite, but we were able to warm up now & again inside a casino. It was "cool" to celebrate NYE somewhere other than NWI!!!
Our timeshare was perfect! We used the fitness room once, but we were getting so much walking throughout the week that we didn't feel the need to use it. There was also a pool and hottub. I would sit at the hottub a couple mornings with my feet and lower legs submerged, while enjoying either wine or coffee. I didn't bring my bathing suit, so I did buy a clearance suit bottom at Target (on our walk back from Red Rock Casino) which I paired with one of my sports bras, so I could get all the way in! Glorious! Chilly temps but oh-so-warm (102 degrees, I believe) in the hottub! I did a quick run over to the pool, but it's 82 degrees seemed downright freezing! I know, I know, as I was doing it, I thought to myself that I should have done my dip in the pool first, then run over to the hottub! But, I wanted to be able to say I was in the pool in January in Vegas!!! Either way, I warmed up in the hottub after the cold pool! We were about a half mile walking distance to the grocery store, which we visited the first morning and then again about mid-stay. We brought one bottle of wine and a bottle of rum with us in our checked luggage; we bought and drank 2 more bottles of wine the first grocery run and 2 the second!!! The rum was all gone by week's end, too!
We sent my mom a postcard, as I always like to do anytime we vacation!
We got our usual coffee (Illy) inside the Venetian, which is my favorite of all the casino/resorts! We rode the bus and our resort's shuttle often. We even figured out how to take the bus near our resort, make a transfer and get to the airport for our flight home. It saved us a ton of money (our taxi upon arrival cost almost $50 and we didn't want to do that again), but it took longer and was far colder than a taxi ride would have been. However, it was fun! We had an awesome & cheap dinner at Ellis Island Casino and Brewery , which was recommended by 2 of our shuttle drivers and confirmed by other timeshare guests! We also got $10 each in free play, which we used on video poker, and tried our hand at craps (only $20).
The rest of January has been filled with work, the gym, Chris taking a yoga class once a week (from a Groupon I bought for him) and both of us looking into Colorado jobs. We also had a fun nite out this past Saturday with friends for another friend's birthday. We met Dave & Sandra for dinner and drinks before heading out for drinks and dancing to the sounds of Dick Diamond and the Dusters at It's Vegas Baby inside the Blue Chip Casino. We didn't get home until 4AM! Good times, Good times!
So, here we are already February 1st! We are planning to have a nice dinner to celebrate Chris's birthday this month. We are also doing bowling and dinner with Dave & Sandra. Mardi Gras is this month! And our love for New Orleans hasn't faded one bit! We will eat jambalaya (made by Chris) with Popeye's biscuits that I'll grab on my way home from the gym while watching the last 3 episodes of Season 2 of Treme. I'm going to enjoy a Crown Bakery fresh strawberry (with cream) paczki earlier in the day...hence the need to make it to the gym btwn the sweet treat and dinner!!! Kennedy Harper turns one on Valentine's Day (the birthday she shares with her favorite Uncle Chris) and my mom has a birthday on the 25th. It will be another full month, with some time spent near the beach and in the dunes, too, of course! We have to get out there and enjoy as much nature as we can while living in the midst of it!
I am putting together a group for the Dirty Girl Mud Run in Chicago in June. Should be a fun event! It's a 5K course that isn't competitive! We will have a crazy, muddy time making our way through (or for some, around) the obstacles! I dubbed us Team DRRRty GRRRls (which is a play off of our LAB circuit Team GRRR). This will be my breast cancer activity as I will miss my annual Pink Ribbon Society Tea, which is the last Sunday in September (so, after our move).
And....I have that vacation itch, so I am working on our next trip ~ Key West! Most likely, in early June.
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