Info

Family, Home, Fashion, Quilts & Crafts

Posts tagged travel

Choose another tag?

So, Vegas just isn’t our scene. I wasn’t miserable or anything, but we just couldn’t get into it! I don’t know, I realized while we were out walking around that I probably don’t like it because I don’t really like spending money, and there’s not a lot to do except go out and spend money on things. Clarification: I like thinking about spending money, and I don’t mind spending money (even a lot of money) on quality items that will last a really long time. I feel like it was even more expensive than vacationing in Maui! Maybe not, but at least in Maui you have the clear blue ocean, gorgeous views and that delicious island air. Vegas is just… gaudy. The dry desert air was really awesome for my skin and hair, though. It’s so humid here, even when it’s not!

Our travels back from Vegas went much more smoothly than they did on our way out. Getting up at 3am wasn’t as bad since we hadn’t really adjusted to the time change yet. We had a roomy, half-full plane for our long flight to DC, and we got to watch The Big Year, which wasn’t the best movie ever, but better than nothing. I also brought a million snacks with me. I was traumatized on our way out, when our flight to Houston was late and we missed our layover. I planned to get a bite to eat during those precious 50 minutes, but since we missed that, I only had a bag of nuts to eat and I felt like I was going to die. (And I guess I’d rather die than pay eight bucks for a package of goldfish and 100 calorie cookies. SO RIDICULOUS! (This blog post is making me sound miserly, which I promise I’m not!)) So, the flights went quickly and smoothly, and the traffic from Norfolk to my parents’ house in Virginia Beach wasn’t too bad, especially for 5:00!

Vada was SO excited to see us when we got to my mom and dad’s. She said she “missed us all the time!” We only talked to her once while we were away and she started crying, so we decided it would be best if we just cut off contact until we got back. She had a ton of fun with my parents while we were gone. They went to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, my sister took her to the mall, my dad took her to visit my uncles at work and to Kids Cove at Mount Trashmore, and my mom took her to the aquarium.

The next morning, we got up at 6:30, packed up the car and started our 5 hour drive back home so Greg could get in a half day of work. It was so nice to see those Blue Ridge Mountains! We got home just in time for Vada (and me) to take a nap (which ended up being 3 hours, whoops!) Nothing feels better than sleeping in your own bed after being away for a while.

Vada and I are celebrating Leap Day by staying at home and being cozy in our PJs allllll day. It’s yucky and rainy outside, perfect for catching up on laundry and emails, and for getting back into the swing of “real life.” ♥

We took a little trip to Las Vegas this weekend for my cousin’s wedding. It’s been… tiring.

Thursday morning we drove 5 hours to my parents’ house in Virginia Beach to drop Vada off. We had to wake up at 3am the next morning to catch our 5:30am flight out of Norfolk, and I barely slept a wink that night, worrying that I would sleep through my alarm. Our flight out of Norfolk was late so we had to haul ass through the Houston airport to (barely) catch our connecting flight to Vegas. We checked into our hotel at around 11:00am, got some food, and spent most of the day wandering around our enormous hotel like zombies and catching up on sleep.

By Saturday morning I was feeling more alive and back to normal. We had a delicious breakfast and I spent the day hanging out with my cousin doing matron of honor stuff while Greg and my brother went out exploring the strip. I hung out with Jenny while she got her hair done at a fancy Paul Mitchell salon in our hotel, then we went back to her room to hang out and do our makeup. The wedding was at 3:00, so we got to the chapel at 2:00 to get her dressed and ready to walk down the aisle. She looked like a beautiful and glamorous little brunette Barbie doll. Her dress and shoes, hair and makeup, everything was just perfect.

The wedding was short and sweet without being rushed or anything. The pastor was great and gave a lot of really great marriage advice throughout the service. There were a plenty of happy tears. I can’t help it, I just always cry at weddings! They are just such a nice reminder of how special my marriage is and make me feel renewed in my own vows.

After the wedding, we had some photos taken and I ran to my room to change dresses because that size 4 JCrew bridesmaid dress just wasn’t working out anymore (as in it was cutting off my circulation.) There was a nice cocktail party, and then everyone went back to their rooms for a few hours before meeting up again later that night for a party at a club called Tryst.

I decided to stay in for the evening, because being almost 6 months pregnant: 1.) I was tired. 2.) I would have felt completely ridiculous riding around the Las Vegas strip in a yellow stretch Hummer. 3.) I doubt I would have had fun hanging out with a bunch of super drunk people. 4.) If I would have gone, I would have only lasted 2 hours max, and I wanted Greg to be able to enjoy himself in Vegas! 5.) I was tired.

So I had some relaxing alone time in the hotel. Meanwhile, Greg had a little too much fun… He got in around 2:30 after having at least 2 drinks too many and ended up throwing up. Unfortunately, this was to be expected. (He rarely drinks.) Silly Greg.

Once we eventually get out of bed today, I’m looking forward to finally getting out to see some sights. We have the whole day to do whatever we want, so we’ll probably have a taxi drop us off somewhere down on the strip and just walk around, do some shopping and people-watch. I might put a dollar in one slot machine where you can win $12 million, but otherwise I don’t think I’ll be doing any gambling while we’re here. It doesn’t feel right to me to just… give my money away to a machine? And I don’t know how to play any card games.

So far, my impressions of Las Vegas are…

This place is crazy. It’s like an alternate universe – a massive adult playground where time doesn’t exist. It’s kind of over-the-top and feels a little ridiculous. It’s also the most expensive place I’ve ever been in my life. Seriously, SO expensive.

We’ll see what today brings. ♥