4 States 9 Days

I have never traveled so much in such a short amount of time! It's one thing to go to multiple places during a trip, but it's another to have multiple trips within a short period of time.  Whew that was exhausting...but fun. I started off going into great detail about my travels, but even writing about them made me exhausted.  Plus I posted a lot about them on Facebook so it would be stuff you probably already know.  Here are some pictures to go along with the trip.

Our vacation was to Las Vegas.  We stayed at NYNY Hotel and Casino.  We have stayed at several places in Vegas but never NYNY.  It was great! We hope to eventually get to all the hotel's along the strip someday.  It will take years! We kept this trip more structured than normal.  Reservations, tickets to shows, etc.  Loved it all. Here are the highlights!

Breakfast at Il Fornaio in NYNY

Crepes!

We took a trip down memory lane and walked over to MGM Grand.  Visited our wedding chapel. Awwww.  It was fun to walk up to it and look in the window.  It made my heart flutter as I instantly remembered the feelings of getting ready inside.

We then walked back over to NYNY and had lunch where our wedding reception was, Nine Fine Irishman!  The hostess asked how many and then she guided us to our table.  As we walked into the place she started going up the stairs.  I turned and looked a Preston with a smile, then she kept going.  She took us RIGHT  to the spot of our reception! Of course it is normally a dining room with tables, so it seemed fitting that she sat us in the table exactly where we had our first dance. Awwwww again.  So cheesy.  Oh' I just realized I didn't mention that this trip was for our 3rd wedding anniversary. 

We gambled the majority of the day.  Up some, down some.  Then went to Battista's!  This was where we had our rehearsal dinner.  It's been around Vegas for over 30 years!! It's an awesome atmosphere and great food.  It's classic old school.  I recommend checking it out if you are there.  It's a Vegas dive. 

http://www.battistaslasvegas.com/

After dinner we had tickets to see O at The Bellago.  It's a cirque du soleil show and amazing!  I have never seen anything like it.  You can't take pictures of it, so I took a picture of the ceiling before the show started.  The whole production is a dream like trance.  I still can visualize the details.  I loved it. 

Ceiling of the O Theater

After the show we made our way back to NYNY by walking in and out of the casinos.  Aria, Cosmopolitan, Mandalay Bay, etc.  It was close to 4am by the time we got back to our room! I haven't stayed up that late in a long time.  Gambling will do that to you.  The next morning we slept in and enjoyed the view from our room.  The rooftop wasn't that grand, but the roller coaster against the sky was awesome.  We started off down the strip with our main goal The Mirage.

7:30pm it was showtime.  We had tickets to see Boyz II Men!  So exciting and such a small venue.  There was no rules on taking pictures so I took a couple.  I wanted to enjoy the show, but have some memories. 

The show was so good and they sang all of my favorite songs from the 90's.  It was a very small and intimate theater.  It was an early night as we had a flight at 10am the next morning that took us to Phoenix and then to Dallas.  Getting us home by 4:30pm on Sunday to prepare for the work week.  At least we thought so.  We boarded the plane and headed out.  We weren't in the air more than 40 mins when the girl in front of us said the leg of the flight Dallas was canceled.  Not delayed, straight up canceled.  It was one of those flights that we didn't  have to leave the plane.  Others got off and we continued to Dallas.  Well, once we landed they announced that it would not be going on to Dallas and that everyone had to get off.  Ugh.  We were directed to go to customer service.  With not able to change the situation we all moved like cattle to the counter.  

We stood in line over an hour and the best we could get is on a flight out of Phoenix on Monday night at 7:50pm.  Well....when life gives you a 2nd vacation!  They hooked us up in a Holiday Inn and the hotel has a free shuttle around town.  We did some research and there was a neat little district by ASU.  Mill Avenue District.  It was so fun!  We tried some local brews, ate dinner, and watched the college town come to life.

Best Torta I have EVER had. And the only Torta I have ever had.

When we realized we were stuck in Phoenix, AZ for 24 hours we joked about going to watch the Rangers play ball for their spring training.  We laughed and then slowly looked at each other and pulled out our phones.  Surprise, AZ was about 45mins away.  Preston worked on finding a ride and I worked on tickets.  Within 30mins we were set up.

I don't think we could have planned a better surprise vacation if we tried.  Total pun intended.  Surprise, AZ! We got home around 1am on Monday night, ugh.  Went to bed and then Tuesday I got up and started doing laundry.  I had another flight to catch that afternoon!  This one was for work.  Des Moines, IA.  I was so tired and exhausted, it almost made me cry when I was upgraded to first class. FINALLY I got a break.  

I then got an upgrade at the Stoney Creek Inn to the Wilderness Lodge. Oooooooo! The faux logs, fish, and forest upholstery was more than I could handle.  The room was huge and the bed was a little cloud of heaven.  I needed the rest.  If I ever have to go back to Iowa, I really do want to stay there.  It was nice. 

I came back to Dallas late Thursday night and went to work on Friday.  I hadn't been in the office since the 26th.  It felt weird, but nice to get back in the groove.  I couldn't have a job that required me to travel on a weekly basis.  Saturday I went back to the sky for a quick trip to Oklahoma.  It was a girls weekend of old high school friends.  I didn't get much pictures, but that was because we were having too much fun.  I love it when I can hang out with someone that I haven't seen in decades and it's just like it was back in the day. 

Our next adventure begins in May with Indiana and goes all the way to Germany! It's the year of travel.