Viva Las Vegas

Last month on June 4th Chad and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary in Vegas. We had been wanting to go to Vegas together for awhile and after finding a good deal on Vegas.com we decided why not.

 

Details: We stayed at the MGM Grand in a Deluxe King room in the West Tower / Saw Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage / Renewed our wedding vows at The Little White Chapel

I had been to Vegas a few times before but this was Chad's first time. I keep trying to explain how big the strip was and how much walking we would be doing but I don't think he really believed me until we got there. My stupid self did not bring good walking shoes (trying to be all fashion forward again) so after the first night of walking I had to find new shoes or I just wasn't going to make it. When I had been to Vegas before it was with my parents when I was younger and we always stayed at Harris in the center of the strip but I had always wanted to stay at MGM mainly for their amazing pool area so when we booked our trip that is where we went. We were not disappointed. Our hotel room was amazing and the pool area was fantastic! Lazy river on a Monday anyone? Our flight got in pretty early and when we checked into the hotel the front desk allowed us to check in early at no extra fee. Score. (Vegas is full of fees... that's why getting to Vegas is Cheap but once you get there, watch your pocket books.) After checking in and getting dressed we headed down to the strip to start exploring. The first thing we did was get tickets to ride The DEUCE bus up and down the strip. We each got a 3 Day unlimited pass for $20.00 each. It was the best deal available and it worked out really well for us. Walking in 100 degree heat in crappy shoes just wasn't going to happen for this girl. After that we headed to the Mirage to pick up our will call tickets to the Beatles LOVE show. We got the tickets FREE with our vacation package on Vegas.com and I have ALWAYS wanted to see that show.

As usual everything in Vegas is bright lights and sensory overload and the entrance to the Beatles LOVE show was a perfect example. It was so pretty.

 

After we got our tickets we decided to start exploring and we worked our way back up the strip towards our hotel. But first a stop in front of a step and repeat to pretend like we are important.

 

I only brought my camera out this first day because I still had no idea how to use it but enjoy the two other pictures I snapped on automatic:

 

We did however snap quite a few pictures on our phones so here we go:

 

Once we got back to our hotel on the first day we got ready for our night out which we were planning on doing dinner and the LOVE show. We were running late and couldn't decide on what to eat so we just got a gigantic drink instead. (Stupid idea)

Yea, that's a 100oz. We then found out you couldn't bring drinks on the DEUCE. Epic fail which meant us drinking that thing as fast as possible and getting a killer brain freeze. After we finally got on the bus we headed to the show. It was absolutely amazing. I recommend that anyone in Vegas go see this show. I was on the edge of my seat and amazed by the music and the performers. Once the show was over we were starving and a still tipsy so we stopped at BLT Burger inside the Mirage and it was fantastic. We ate the food too fast so no pictures but know that it was yummy. The prices however... not so much. We both got a burger and fries and the total came out to be like $46 bucks... Highway ROBBERY.

 

After that we made our way back to MGM for a little gambling and more drinking. It was a great night and a well done first day in Vegas.

 

 

Part 2 tomorrow.

 

 

The San Juan Islands

Back in early May the hubs and I took a little weekend trip to the San Juan Islands. To give you a little info about this area it is in northern Washington and located directly across from Victoria, B.C. You have to take a Ferry from Anacortes, WA and when you arrive in Friday Harbor you literally feel like you have stepped back in time.



You can hop islands with free ferry trips but we just stayed on San Juan Island this time. I did want to go to Orcas but the ferry times didn't work out with us and we really wanted to take our time exploring our island this trip. We took our car with us on drove around the entire Island (even getting lost a few times) but as you can see it wasn't tons of ground to cover.

Here are some highlights:

We stayed in Friday Harbor which is a tiny town with no chain restaurants or big stores. There were 3 gas stations on the entire island 2 of them being in Friday Harbor. (They were all Shell stations too. Odd) It was so nice to disconnect from the city life for a few days... and it made me miss that slow easy island/country life that we grew up with. Fun Fact: Shaw Island is home to the Our Lady of the Rock Benedictine monastery and has no stores or eateries on it's 10 mile area.

Friday Harbor

 

The Whale Museum

The museum was really neat and when you arrive you get a Whale Card (that you can find on my Instagram) which has your whale that is a part of the resident pods that live around the islands. I got Muncher. How appropriate.

 

After we finished up at the museum we started driving around the island.

It was all rolling island farm land. Such a weird combo but it was so stinking pretty.

 

Our first stop was Cattle Point. The Cattle Point Lighthouse is a short hike away and I'm obsessed with Lighthouses so we decided it was time to scale some cliffs.We both forgot our tennis shoes (along with jackets, my makeup, and Chad didn't bring any pants - it was 50 degrees the entire time mind you) but that wasn't going to stop us. HA!

You see that high hill/cliff. Yea I climbed up that, in Toms, WITHOUT falling! I am by far the clumsiest person... I was so proud I didn't twist an ankle.

I hope you enjoyed that photo shoot. Chad knows to take 3 pictures at once for 3 different poses so that you have enough choices. Choices people. It's all about choices!  

 

 

Wanna know how Cattle Point got it's name? Back in the old days the ships would come in with cattle and instead of pulling into the harbor to dock the boat they would get close to the shore and push the cattle off of the boat into the water. The shore was so shallow that the cows would safely swim to shore at the lighthouse. Viola! Cattle Point. Sad news is that it was perfectly normal to lose a cow or two to a whale during this process!

Walking back to our car through a field of flowers.

 

Then we went to Roche Harbor where Theodor Roosevelt stayed in the 1900's and we saw his signature in the hotel guestbook inside the Hotel De Haro.

 

Then we checked out the Historic Park full of expensive structures.

The hands of God holding the world.

 

Lastly, we saw the camel, Mona.

 

 

 

Later that night we ended up at a Karaoke bar, met some locals, and had a really good time. The next day we went on a whale watching tour which changed my mind forever about those big beautiful creatures. More on that tomorrow!