Viva Las Vegas!

About a month ago, our oldest son came to us and said, "Rebekah and I are getting married!"

And we were like, "Woot! That's AWESOME!"

He then said, "And we're getting married in Las Vegas!"

And we were like, "Whah??!!" Really? Vegas? And yes...he expected us to be there.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against Las Vegas, per se...after all, Hubby and I used to spend a lot - a LOT - of time in Vegas, due to his business. We've pretty much stayed in just about every casino up and down the strip, and have seen most of the shows. However, over the years, the lure of gambling wore off, and the incessant crowds and traffic got worse, leading to an 8-year hiatus of Vegas on our part.

And now we were going back - for a quick, three-day weekend, to witness the marriage of Evan and Rebekah.

Actually, the wedding itself was wonderful...I'll talk about it in my next post...but for this post, I wanted to talk a little bit about some of the highlights of our weekend jaunt.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, and because we had 14-year old Daughter with us - who's never been to Vegas before - we spent most of our free time showing her the sights of the elaborate casinos.

First, though, a quick stop at Pinkberry, for some delicious fortification:




And I know you're DYING to see what it is I'm noshing on, so here you go:


Nom. Nom. Nom. Gluten-free, too.



My favorite casino has always been the Bellagio...what an experience, both inside and out. Their conservatory, which is free, by the way, was completely decked out in a cornucopia (literally) of fall decor:


A 10-foot tall cornucopia overflowing with fall vegetables...



This wheel was so pretty...the sound of the water so peaceful....



A talking tree...which totally creeped me out, especially the moving eyes...eep!



Look at that gnome...!! Or a troll??? I'm not sure, but it was incredibly creepy....



After enjoying the conservatory and the glass ceiling, we made our way down to the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain:


Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!


This thing was huge...HUGE! So big, in fact, I couldn't begin to capture the entire thing in my camera. It had a Willie Wonka-esque quality, which led me to do my best Veruca Salt impression and demand, "I want one, honey...I want one NOW!"


If it weren't behind glass, I would seriously dive in to that and bathe in it. Really.


And in case you are doubting that it's the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain, here's the proof:





Eventually, we made our way outside, so we could enjoy the free "dancing fountains" that are in front of the Bellagio:


So cool...I hope they have these...always!



We visited some other casinos, including the Venetian, so we could show Daughter the indoor gondola rides:




Daughter at Saint Mark's Square....



Of course, we had to visit New York, New York - in homage to our summer vacation there:




Another highlight was visiting the "Haunted" Shark Reef aquarium at Mandalay Bay:


Decorated for Halloween...Daughter makes a new friend....



The piranha tank was decorated in a most unique way:


Creepy! Did I ever tell you that I used to have a pet piranha when I was a little girl? That's a story for another day...but so true! His name was George. Ask me about him sometime...!



My daughter could be swallowed by a giant bat, and she would never have a clue....


Glued to her cell phone. Of course.



I loved the "haunted" aspect of the attraction, which was only for this weekend before Halloween:


Looks like these scuba divers ran into a bit of trouble in the shark tank....



My favorite part of the exhibit:


Jellyfish!!!



I REALLY don't like the way this guy was looking at me...


He was scarier than any fake Halloween decorations, believe me....



One last highlight...a visit to Aria, which had these cool "tornado" sculptures...they were fascinating to watch, as they spun around, each one different:




Besides our visits to the casinos, we also dined at some fabulous restaurants, watched some interesting people, and enjoyed some beautiful weather. We also saw Criss Angel, the magician, perform at the Luxor on Saturday night...where we sat directly behind Joel Silver, the famous Hollywood director - and his entourage. I actually sat behind his bodyguard, and it was pretty much like sitting behind a wall.

Vegas has changed in some ways in eight years, but in many ways, it's still the same.

And for the record...yes. I gambled. Duh. I was in Vegas, after all. However, I was NOT lucky...with that said, I NEVER like to leave empty-handed, so I DID come home with something:



Yup. Two cents to my name.

But gaining a daughter-in-law?

Priceless.