Anniversary Road Trip: LAS VEGAS

Our plan was to try to get on The Price is Right before heading out to Vegas. Well we went to Hollywood, got in line, got the sticker with our name on it, everything seemed cool—but we quickly realized that this was going to be way more of a commitment than we were expecting. Like, it was going to take ALL DAY LONG. We also realized that it was Breast Cancer Awareness day and that only "survivors" would be eligible to be contestants. Jacob thought about running and getting a quick mammogram—just in case he DID, in fact, have breast cancer.

NOT.

We felt kinda lame, but we decided to ditch out and head to Vegas. Still, it was fun being there and feeling the group excitement of WE'RE GONNA BE ON TV! All the "Save the Tatas" and "Hey Drew! These are REAL!" t-shirts were pretty funny too.

We rolled into Vegas in the afternoon and got settled into our luxury casino hotel. Okay, not so luxury. Imperial Palace is definitely one of the cheap-o places on the strip. But our room was kinda awesome, and it was in the perfect location to go and explore.

the construction going on was real cozy and inviting.

Okay, but back to our room. It was awesome for one very important reason—it had a DELUXE LUV-TUB! This tub was GINORMOUS. And if you can tell from the pic, it had a mirror above it. Kinda trashy? Very Vegas.

I think the last time I could lay down in a tub like this I was likely joined by dozens of My Little Ponies.

We thought about splurging and going to see Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian—oh yeah, but our hotel gave us the completely wrong show times and we missed it. But it's probably a good thing. I'm not sure we really had the courage to dish that much dough in one night. One day when we are rich and famous...

Instead, we just walked around and checked out all the fancy hotels, shops, and free attractions. The "volcano" at the Mirage was kinda hilarious. It kept getting put out by the rain that would soon turn into a flash flood. Not the mighty "100-feet of flames" we were expecting.

Lots of poor attempts to get a decent picture together.

We ate the the Flamingo's casino buffet and pigged out vegas-style.

Probably the most accurate fortune I've ever received.

best free attraction in Vegas.

So this is what we woke up to. Literally, the sight right outside our window. FLASH FLOOD ALERT!

So yeah, we were stuck in Vegas. No way we could drive our little car through that raging river! But instead of crying about it, we treated ourselves to the most AMAZING BREAKFAST I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE at a little place called the Hash House. I ordered what they called the sage-fried chicken benedict. I can't even think of an appropriate expletive to make you understand how delicious this was. One of the best things I have ever tasted. And if you can't tell, HUGE portions. Yes, there is a large chicken fried steak under all that chipotle gravy. I ate 'til I couldn't eat no mo!

We had fun watching the MC Hammer impersonator dancing his butt off in the casino.

We had to wait quite awhile before we were allowed to exit the flooded parking garage, and so we spent most of our time strolling the fancy Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. Jacob also had heard many a great tale of the "ceilings painted like skies," and wanted to see them. Dreams come true.

All I can really say about this trip was that it was funny, and that's all I was really hoping for. We didn't actually do a lot—I mean, what are young-Mormon-marrieds-on-a-budget really supposed to do in Vegas? Our options are somewhat limited. Wandering around and just amusing ourselves with the craziness that this town is was entertainment enough. Surviving a flash flood on top of it—and you've got yourself a memorable trip.

And let's not forget about that Luv-Tub.