I just turned 50. Half a century. Ugh. We decided to use this occasion to go to Vegas where we would also be able to meet my half sister for the first time (still working on that blog post, but a little over a year ago I found out I have a half sister I never knew about). It started out with 3, maybe 4 couples going (including us) and then a few singles got added, and then some of the husbands dropped out and a few of the couples so when all was said and done it ended up being 4 girls and Paul! He was a trooper, though, and totally didn't mind and had a great time regardless. We would have made it a girls' trip but he really wanted to meet my sister, too.
My birthday was January 24th, but we went over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend to take advantage of the extra day. We flew down on Friday, and one of our friends was on an earlier flight and waiting for us at the airport. We went together to rent a car (since Paul and I would be driving to my sister's place a little over an hour away), drove to the hotel and then walked around and had lunch while waiting for the other girls to arrive. Once we were all there we sat at the hotel bar (just a tiny bar in the corner of the lobby) and enjoyed free drinks for awhile! Then we went to dinner at the Foundation Room in the Mandalay Bay hotel and then to Blue Man Group.
On Saturday Paul and I drove to Pahrump where my sister lives. She took us to lunch and then we went to the China Ranch Date Farm across the state line in California. It's a cool old date farm with trails, old farm equipment, a gift shop and bakery. It was a cool place.
When we got back Saturday evening we had drinks in the room and played a game for awhile, and then we went to dinner at a tapas restaurant in the Bellagio called Lago. It had views of the fountains. And I forgot to take pictures of the tapas but I managed to snap the desserts!
Sunday morning we had brunch at a buffet in Ceasar's Palace and then the girls did some shopping while Paul sat in a bar somewhere and watched one of the football games. Then we all went to the top of the Eiffel tower. After that, one of our friends left to go visit her mom while the rest of us rode the roller coaster at New York New York.
That night we went out for my official birthday dinner at Tao at the Venetian. So good! They gave us a free dessert, a giant fortune cookie with two different fillings and fruit and chocolate sauce. Yummy. After dinner we went to Cirque Du Soleil Mystere. Great show. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign for a group photo, then went back to the hotel where the gang surprised me with a cake from Carlo's Bakery from the show Cake Boss. They had picked it up the day before while Paul and I were in Pahrump.
Monday morning we checked out and everyone had flights at different times except one friend was on the same flight as us so the 3 of us went back to the Venetian because Olivia wanted a shirt from Carlo's Bakery, so we bought that and then went to In 'N' Out Burger for lunch (and breakfast) before returning the rental car and heading to the airport.
It was an awesome trip!
My birthday was January 24th, but we went over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend to take advantage of the extra day. We flew down on Friday, and one of our friends was on an earlier flight and waiting for us at the airport. We went together to rent a car (since Paul and I would be driving to my sister's place a little over an hour away), drove to the hotel and then walked around and had lunch while waiting for the other girls to arrive. Once we were all there we sat at the hotel bar (just a tiny bar in the corner of the lobby) and enjoyed free drinks for awhile! Then we went to dinner at the Foundation Room in the Mandalay Bay hotel and then to Blue Man Group.
Paul and I at Blue Man Group after the audience threw tissue all over
On Saturday Paul and I drove to Pahrump where my sister lives. She took us to lunch and then we went to the China Ranch Date Farm across the state line in California. It's a cool old date farm with trails, old farm equipment, a gift shop and bakery. It was a cool place.
This interesting rock formation was on the road leading down to the farm from the main road
When we got back Saturday evening we had drinks in the room and played a game for awhile, and then we went to dinner at a tapas restaurant in the Bellagio called Lago. It had views of the fountains. And I forgot to take pictures of the tapas but I managed to snap the desserts!
Sunday morning we had brunch at a buffet in Ceasar's Palace and then the girls did some shopping while Paul sat in a bar somewhere and watched one of the football games. Then we all went to the top of the Eiffel tower. After that, one of our friends left to go visit her mom while the rest of us rode the roller coaster at New York New York.
That night we went out for my official birthday dinner at Tao at the Venetian. So good! They gave us a free dessert, a giant fortune cookie with two different fillings and fruit and chocolate sauce. Yummy. After dinner we went to Cirque Du Soleil Mystere. Great show. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign for a group photo, then went back to the hotel where the gang surprised me with a cake from Carlo's Bakery from the show Cake Boss. They had picked it up the day before while Paul and I were in Pahrump.
It was an awesome trip!
Comments