Well hey everyone. Welcome to yet another “Watching Our Way Across America” post. And if you guys have been paying any attention, we are nearing our destination soon.
Soon, my little smurfs.
But this post. This post right here is dedicated to the City of Lights.
Paris?
Noooooo, the entertainment capital of the world.
New York?
Oh you. No no…the City of Sin.
Ohhhhhhh……Lynn, Massachusetts.
You’re an idiot.
No of course I am talking about…
Hurr durr…..
Cross-country trip – Day 9
So, as you recall from the last post, we left off in the Grand Canyon. The plan for Day 9 is to wake up in our room at the Kachina Lodge early enough to catch the sunset over the South Rim. We want to not only have seen a sunset the night before, but also a sunrise. Then we will be covered. Sun-wise.
Ha Sun-Wise. It sounds like Elmer Fudd saying “sunrise.” Wascally.
After sunrise, we will probably get packed up and then head to breakfast at the El Tovar. And pretty much immediately following breakfast, we hit the road. The drive from the Grand Canyon to Vegas is about 4.5 hours. We will also be stopping at the Hoover Dam on the way there but probably not much else. This trip will be taking us off Route 66 so no giant balls of twine or anything to keep us distracted.
Once we roll onto the strip, we will check into our room at the Palazzo and be schwanky. Like so money, we don’t even know it. I think the plan is to hit the pool pretty much immediately for lunch (and cocktails, obvs squad.)
After pool time, we will get dressed and do some exploring. We want to show the kids all the different hotels we can – the fountains at Bellagio, the volcano at Mirage, the canals at the Venetian. That sort of thing.
In the midst of our hotel exploration, we are also having dinner at the Wynn buffet that night. Buffets are so Vegas. Remember that when you are reading what we had for dinner during this theme night. FORESHADOWING
And who knows? Maybe Nickie and I can each get a little time at a table. Maybe.
The theme night
This right here was an awesome day. We decided to hold this one on Mother’s Day so not only was it the four of us, but we were joined by Nannie, Nonnie and Papa. Whoop Whoop Mickey Fickeys. So not only did we get to have a theme night but we got to also celebrate some pretty awesome moms (Nickie totez included.) Some rando pics from the day:
And for the movie? We decided to watch an awesomely awesome Vegas movie. You know the one.
Oh right The Hangover.
Ugh, here we go again. Fine, just get it out of your system.
OK – Leaving Las Vegas?
…
Erm, Showgirls?
[GIF REDACTED]
OK, feel better now? We watched Ocean’s 11. You really took the wind out of my sails on that one, didn’t you?
The food
This was sort of just a perfect storm of awesome. So being that it was a Vegas theme, we did a buffet. And being that it was Mother’s Day, I asked Nickie and the moms to tell me whatever they wanted to eat and I would make it.
Here was the menu:
So, we had Caesar salad and cheeseburger sliders
Clam chowder
Baked macaroni and cheese and broccoli quiche
Chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne. No pic, but I hear it’s what Bruno Mars likes. Or is it strawberry champagne? Pfft, gross.
And for dessert? An ice cream sundae bar!!
I got fat. Just like I will on this trip! So you know, authenticity and shizz.
The activity
So the activity actually ended up being after the grandparents left. They watched the movie and split. On account of tired.
So Nickie, the boys and I played a little blackjack. It was super fun because the kids didn’t know how to play and we totally took advantage of the…I mean, taught them how to play.
Nickie won by the way. Like millions of dollars.
The movie
I am pretty glad we watched this movie for our Vegas night. Not only is it an awesome movie in its own right (because it totally is), but it like IS Vegas. And I am not just talking about seeing all the casinos and bright lights. Or even hearing Elvis. But the overall feel of the movie is so Vegas, baby. It’s super cool, super glitzy, glamourous and sordid yet an insanely good time. This movie legit makes robbing a casino seem pretty tempting.
Ocean’s 11 is a pretty great movie but for some reason, it never seems to come up in “great movie” or “desert island” conversations. I don’t really know why that is. But it kind of made watching it with the boys (and everyone else for that matter) a little more fun. If you haven’t seen it or heard of it before, it’s a nice little surprise and even if you have seen it, it can feel like it was so much better than you remembered.
And it is REALLY good. I mean, the cast obvs squad. Clooney. Pitt. Damon. Cheadle. Affleck. Gould. Reiner. Garcia. Oh, and I think Julia Roberts is in it too. But yeah, an amazing cast. All turning in amazepantz performances. Like the original Ocean’s 11, you really get a sense these guys were having a good time making this movie. It does a good job of projecting that camaraderie. It comes through.
The movie plays like a puzzle, letting us watch every piece fall into place as it builds to the big heist. Watching them assemble the team, create the plan…I don’t know. I kind of love those movies that make you wanna root for the bad guys. And this movie definitely does that. They’re just so damn charming.
AND, it made me super excited to see Vegas again. Seeing the lights and the fountains and all that. It’s weird – before I had kids, I never would have thought I would be excited about taking my kids to Vegas. But I really am. I kind of think it’s going to blow their minds. And yeah, they won’t be able to gamble or anything, but at least they got to take part in robbing a casino tonight. Close enough.
I feel like I should end on some sort of cheesy Vegas pun so I don’t know – take a gamble on this one, it’ll be sure to pay off!
Mic, dropped.
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