If Life Was Easy: Vegas, baby, Vegas

As I said in my last post, Rick and I were going to Las Vegas to see Phantom of the Opera Spectacular! It was AWESOME!!!

Let me just say my hubby did real good (I know, fantastic english). He surprised me back in June for my birthday with these tickets as a combo gift for my birthday and our anniversary (tomorrow will be 8 years!). He did all the planning and I just had to pack and find somewhere for the kids to stay. Our good friends the Blass' offered to take them for 4 days, 3 nights. We owe them...

We stayed at the Stratosphere, I would highly recommend it. It was really nice there because there was a lot to do without having to go through the casino much. Also it is at the north end of the strip and so it wasn't as busy, as well as convenient access to the freeway.

We got there Tuesday night and got checked in, walked around to check out the place and had some dinner. Wednesday we slept in!!! Then we bought an all-day buffet (one price, go whenever you want) so we ate there for the day. Following breakfast (at 11 a.m., gotta love sleeping in) we went up to the top of the Stratosphere to ride the rides. We got an all day pass there also. They have 3 rides, the Big Shot, the X-Scream, and the Insanity. NEVER, EVER go on those rides in the heat of the day after eating (let alone a buffet).

Our first mistake was to ever go on the Insanity. It has 5 arms that hold 2 people each and then starts to spin as in moves you over the edge of the tower so that you are looking down about 1000 feet to the ground. Not for acrophobics, but also not for anyone who wants to keep their lunch.

After the Insanity (aptly named) we had to go in where there was some air and get our equilibrium back, as well as let our stomachs settle.

Next we went on the X-Scream, much more fun. It is like a little rocket that shoots you off the side and then after a pause over the edge... it drops a few more feet so that you are looking down about 900 feet to the ground. The front seat is fantastic!

Our favorite ride by far was the Big Shot. You start at about 1000 feet up and then the thing rockets you up another 180 feet before free-falling up and down a few times. It's similar to the one at Lagoon, only a million times scarier. The following pics give you an idea of how it was.

We went on X-Scream and Big Shot several times (once was too many for Insanity). Then we took a nap, oh the luxury. That afternoon we went to the IMAX and saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The first 20 minutes were 3-D which was pretty cool. Following dinner and another nap we headed back up to the rides. They were super cool at night. We must have rode the Big Shot 7 or 8 times.

Thursday we went to the pool and then shopping to the Outlet Mall. It was more a mall than an outlet. But after Rick had been there 1 1/2 hours I decided that he'd probably had enough shopping (he made it 88 minutes more than he usually does). After yet another nap we went to the Roxy Diner (at the Stratosphere), it was a 50's type diner and had fantastic burgers and fries. The strawberry milkshakes were yummy too. They had some live entertainment, one of the waitresses sang to a couple that had just gotten married 2 hrs before and she was great.

Then we headed to the Venetian for the main event...

The Phantom of the Opera Spectacular

Before the show started we walked around the Venetian and saw the living statues, the Grand Canal (with gondola rides), and watched one of their shows while eating gellati. It wasn't exactly the same as it was in Venice but it was close.

The Phantom was AMAZING...I can't even begin to describe how good the show was so I won't try. We had a great time.

Following the show we walked around for a bit and then headed back to the hotel. Friday morning we headed home and though we were anxious to get back to the boys, we certainly are going to miss our naps, staying up late and sleeping in.