Off and running

Big parade today. Convention parades are the best and the worst.

Enjoying some time with friends both before and after the parade.

I’ll give a proper recap of the weekend later on this week but at least wanted to warn you about it.

Parade Pictures

So our schedules allowed for the Hubby to come to the parade the other night. Here are some pics he took.

 

Once for Good Luck….

Twice because we are crazy.

The week after Vegas was just as crazy as the week of Vegas. It took us nearly a week just to recover. Memorial day’s meat-a-palooza was a rousing success. It was all down hill from then.

It always seems that the short work weeks tend to feel longer then the regular work weeks. That week was pretty uneventful, a lot of figuring out what happened while I was gone and figuring out what June was going to bring. We also had a friend visiting from North Carolina for the week so that made the home life fun.

We went and saw X-Men First Class. I must say I rather enjoyed the movie, it helped that most of the actors in the movie were easy on the eyes. I think I will go on record as saying this is the best of the Super Hero movies that I have seen. On top of the Human houseguest we also had a 4 legged houseguest, my best friends’ beagle boxer mix. Miss Maggie loves to come and visit and with each one she gets more behaved. She also gets a spa treatment while she is here.

The weather here finally broke just in time for the fun part of the week. Last night we had out first Firemen’s Parade of the season, the Drum Corps I lead does mostly Volunteer Firemen’s Parades during the summer. Last night we marched for one of the fire companies we have marched for years for. Since they were the hosts we get to lead the parade. Then after we marched the mile, we got on our bus and headed back to the beginning to do it all over again. This normally would be good fun but in 90 degree weather, yeah not so much.

We braved the heat and the band sounded good. Up next is another parade on Saturday then our annual community service work playing at a local Flag Day Ceremony for our local Elks Lodge on Sunday.

That’s it for now…stay cool, or warm wherever you may be…..

Vegas Wrap Up

I know I am a bit late (ok so a week late) please forgive me.

So the last 2 days of Vegas were pretty laid back and subdued compared to the rest of the week. The hubby and I went out to see some of the Casinos that were on our list that we hadn’t seen yet.

We hopped the Tram and made our way over to Mandalay Bay, wandered through checking out the sights. We then walked to the Luxor which is the big Pyramid shaped casino. The hubby found a roulette wheel he liked, and I found a Slot Machine to keep me busy for an hour.

Then the hunger bug hit. We stayed inside the Luxor and had a fantastic lunch at Tacos & Tequila. The chips were fresh made and the salsa was awesome. I had steak tacos, the hubby had pork, both came with rice and Black beans. After lunch it was back to the condo for a quick nap and then a fun game of Mini golf (thanks Groupon!).

We had tickets to see Hal Sparks at the Hilton so we headed over that way to find someplace for dinner. We settled on Benihana since it was inside the hotel and right near the Shimmer Club where Hal was performing. We had seen Hal once before a couple years ago and he was just as funny this time. He did spend quite a bit of time making fun of the (non existent) Rapture.

Friday was another lazyish day. The hubby and I slept in, then we all headed to the World’s Largest Gift Shop, then on to The Golden Gate Casino for the $1.99 shrimp cocktail and sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we played the slots and roulette for a couple hours and then headed on back to the condo. Another quick nap and then it was off to our last meal (and buffet) of the week, the Seafood Buffet at The Orleans. Packing commenced and then bed since the hubby and I had to be up at 3:30 am for our flight home.

Saturday was the travel day, up at 3:30am, left Vegas at 6:15, hit Chicago for what was supposed to be a 3 hour layover that turned into a 5 1/2 hour layover, then home. It was a long day!

So that was the trip in a nutshell.

Marching Along

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

In honor of our Armed Services I am marching in 2 local parades. The first in my hometown, and although the weather started crappy the crowds came out in full force to cheer us on.

Next up we head over to a neighboring town to march for their local fire dept.

After all that is done it’s home to finish prepping for Meat-a-Palooza. It has become our tradition to have a picnic and the main course is Smoked Meat. This year we are having pulled pork, brisket, chicken, and a salmon. The hubby has been tending to it since 12am.

Whatever you do today, enjoy your day!

Airport

Sitting in the airport. Waiting on our 2nd leg of the flight home. Been up since 3:30 am Vegas time. 3 hour layover in Chicago. I hate the travel day part of vacation.

I will do my best to get the last 2 days of the trip posted as soon as I can. If I can’t sleep on the plane maybe I will type them up and post later tonight.

Vegas Day 5

Day 5 and the fun is still commencing. Weds was the Hubby’s Birthday and we had a jam packed day planned.

We started the day by sleeping in. Once we got up and dressed an moving, the first agenda item was lunch. Since we knew we would be having a good dinner we opted for a quick lunch. Del Taco was the final destination. I know it’s not some gourmet or even semi-gourmet place but we don’t have Del Taco at home. A Taco and Burrito later and I can scratch that place off the list of places we haven’t tried before.

After lunch we headed out to Ms Nail for Mani-Pedi’s, neither of us have ever had them before so it was a good treat. The pedicure was very relaxing and I must say after all the walking from the previous days felt very good. Once the Pedi part was done it was on to the Mani’s. I can say that after the Manicure my fingernails do feel a little smoother.

We had separated from our friends for the morning so once we were done with our stuff we called to see where they were and if they wanted us to pick them up. We had taken the rental car and they were out via shuttle and foot. We found them and met them at The Bellagio, Valet’d the car and hopped on inside. After we found them and they cashed out of the slot machine we made a bee line for Jean Philippe Patisserie and had some Gelato. Along with the Gelato we partook in the oohing and ahhing over the chocolate fountain.  We made a stop back at the Cirque De Soleil gift shop for some cups we had seen there then headed back to the Condo.

Since we still had a couple of hours to kill, we opted for a drink and a dip in the pool and hot tub before heading out to dinner.

Here is where the best part of the day/evening begins. This was the only night we had preplanned where to eat for dinner. For the last few years we have gone to The Cheesecake Factory for the hubby’s birthday. So prior to our trip I researched and found one at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. Our friends had never been to one. As much as the place is a “chain” (closest one to us at home is 40 minutes) the food there has never disappointed me. Surprisingly there was no wait (any other time we have been to one there is usually a 45min to 2 hour wait). After much menu scrutiny I decided on the Fire Roasted Artichoke for an appetizer, the Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo for dinner, and the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert. All washed down with pomegranate Mojitos.

Once dinner was over we had a very long walk (although it was only across the street) to the Venetian Casino where the Blue Man Group Theater is located. The hubby’s request for his birthday for this trip was to see Blue Man Group. None of us had ever seen this show so we were all looking forward to it. The show was fast paced and fun. A bit of education thrown in with some comedy and a dash of audience participation.

The show was over and we called it a night. A very late night…..