A couple of weeks ago was Nascar weekend in Las Vegas. And you know what that means...another Vegas family vacation! (I didn't go to Nascar though, just so we're clear.)
I was supposed to fly out on a Thursday to meet up with my parents, brother, and uncle and aunt. But Virginia got snow that day, which messed everything up. I couldn't get another flight out until two days later (and I even switched airports). Not only did I miss out on hang out time with the family, but I also missed the Red Rock Canyon half marathon I'd been planning on as a training run with good elevation gain. Instead I just ran around my hilly neighborhood Saturday before finally flying out.
I arrived Saturday night around 9:30. Dad and Ryan picked me up and we stopped by the hotel (Treasure Island) to drop off my bag and join up with Mom. Then the four of us walked over to the Venetian and ate a good family-style meal.
Sunday Dad and my aunt and uncle were at the race, so Mom and Ryan and I hung out. We ate dim sum (including the chicken feet Ryan made us order) for lunch, then walked around. We visited the live flamingos at the Flamingo, walked around the new shops at the Linq, and rested with margaritas (Well, I got a margarita. I'm not sure what they ordered.) at Margaritaville. Then Mom headed back to the hotel while Ryan and I walked around some more before finally meeting up with the race spectators for a steak dinner at Treasure Island. After dinner most of us walked over to Harrah's to play some games. My aunt gave me $100 to play three-card poker with them, which I went on to lose. Luckily Ryan won big there and kept passing me more chips so I could stay and play with him, but I lost all those, too. (He still came out way ahead though, don't worry).
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| Chicken feet. |
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| Cute. |
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| Contemplative. |
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| It was beautiful out. I even wore a skirt and flip flops. |
Monday morning Ryan had to head back to Utah for work. We originally thought he'd leave Sunday afternoon but he stayed a little longer, which was nice since I got there so late and we would have hardly had time together otherwise. After he was gone the rest of us had breakfast together (it was actually more like lunch, and even though they all got breakfast food, I ordered Vietnamese noodles), then went out and did some sightseeing. We visited the conservatory at the Bellagio, then went back to the Linq and rode the High Roller, the new (and world's largest) observation wheel. It was fun. After our ride we stopped by Sprinkles and shared two cupcakes we bought from the cupcake ATM.
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| Parents at the Bellagio |
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| The High Roller. |
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| Pod thingy. |
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| Uncle and Aunt |
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| Cupcakes! |
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| Uncle T. |
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| Sometimes Dad likes to stand on one leg like a flamingo. So I made him do it with me here. |
From there we went back into Harrah's for some games, but Mom and I got tired of that after a while so we went to a restaurant where we could sit outside and have margaritas and chips with guacamole. Eventually Dad walked by and I got him to come join us. So it was fun parent-daughter time. A little later we met back up with my aunt and uncle for dinner at the hotel's buffet. I wasn't really hungry at all, but I still ate (including cotton candy for dessert). After dinner Dad and my aunt and I went over to the Mirage to watch the volcano erupt, then went on to the Forum Shops, which apparently stay open until 11. When that place closed we headed back to Treasure Island for the night. I stayed up just a little playing (and losing) slots.
The next morning I got up early enough to get a good breakfast (by myself) before my parents took me to the airport. It was a short trip, but really fun. I love our Vegas family vacations.
