Today was the last day, so we took it easy. We started off with breakfast at Bouchon, and then headed out to do a little more nosing around and shopping. Lunch was some really good pizza over at Mario Batali’s Otto Enoteca Pizzeria. Finally we boarded the shuttle for the airport and caught our plane home. It was a fun weekend, Heather was a good sport, and we’ll probably do it again, though without all of the secrecy next time.
Regrouping in the morning we snagged a quick breakfast just off the casino floor and then did a little more walking and shopping. This time we were a little more thorough about hitting the Forum Shops and found a great clothing store called Bettie Page, where Heather found a really nice dress. We struck out on finding a pair of shoes that would go with it, so we’ll have to find another excuse to wear it.
After a bit more shopping we went back to The Cosmopolitan for lunch at José Andrés’s China Poblano. The fusion of Chinese and Mexican food was interesting and extremely tasty! We then headed back to get ready for dinner and tonight’s show. Dinner was at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon, a French bistro. The food was delicious, the service was perfect, and really, the entire experience was as close to perfect as we could have hoped. We started out with a charcuterie of salamis and then moved on to the main courses. Heather had the Gigot d’Agneau, a delicious lamb dish and I had the steamed mussels. Both were very, very good. Finally we finished off with some dessert and coffee. I had a lemon tart and Heather had the profiteroles.
After dinner we went back through the hotel to the Blue Man Theater for tonight’s show. Thanks to some great advice, I booked the VIP experience when I purchased the tickets. We got good seats, which were supposed to be outside of the splatter zone (they were not) and a one-on-one meet and greet with one of the Blue Men after the show. The show was a lot of fun, with great music mixed in with physical comedy and a lot of mess. As I mentioned earlier, the splatter zone is rather loosely defined. I managed to wear a bit of banana pudding during one of the acts, but it’s all good. After the show finished we were escorted to a small room where one of the Blue Men came out to meet us. He was a lot of fun to talk to, and yes, he did break character. We got autographs, had some good laughs, and then headed back to get some sleep.
I’ve been teasing Heather about a mystery trip I booked since June. It’s been kind of fun, but this morning the jig was up and we headed for DFW airport to catch an early flight to Fabulous Las Vegas.
We got in and over to The Venetian, our base of operations for the weekend. Check-in accomplished and stuff unloaded we proceeded to head out to get some food and then wander around the strip for a while. It’s changed a lot since the last time I was out here, but was still a lot of fun to hang out and take in the sights. We grabbed some lunch at I Love Burgers and then nosed around the Grand Canal Shoppes before heading out into the heat. We took it easy because we had dinner reservations at Jaleo, one of José Andrés’s tapas restaurants and a show booked. This is about where I slipped the engagement ring I’ve been hanging on to since early July over to Heather. She said yes, in case you’re wondering. There were some tears and some laughter, but all in all it was the right place and time.
Jaleo was fantastic! We started out with an excellent selection of jamóns and some cheese before moving on to scallops and veal cheeks for our main courses. We got talked in to dessert, which was probably a good thing because it was so incredibly good that missing out would have hurt. All I can say is “saffron mousse”.
After dinner we headed over to New York New York to catch Cirque du Soleil‘s Zumanity. It was really good, but definitely on the risque side. If you’re so inclined, you’ll probably enjoy it. If not, don’t go.
Back to the hotel after that where I finished off the evening with a tasty IPA from Sin City Beer.
Since my flight was later in the afternoon, Reese and I got a day to hang out. We went to get him his second flu vaccine, but other than that it was all chill time. We put together the Lego Darth Vader TIE Fighter he got for Christmas. I found a piece of software called Gawker that uses the iSight camera on the Mac to create a time lapse movie. We did one with 1 frame every 5 seconds and it turned out pretty well. I’ve got a little editing to do to get it cleaned up but then I’ll post. After that it was time to go, so we headed down to the airport and I got checked in. Again, no problems checking the pistol (thanks United!), and the flight to Chicago left on time. The flight to Dallas was delayed though, so I didn’t get home until almost 1:30 AM, but it’s all good…
We hit the road early and decided to trust the GPS’s chosen route out of the mountains. It took us through some really pretty country in northern Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Kudos go out to the states of Georgia and Tennessee for their most excellent snow removal efforts. North Carolina, on the other hand, gets a big fat raspberry. Seriously. You could tell where the state line was by the quality of the road. After we got out of the mountains it was smooth sailing until we were about 20 miles outside of Peoria, where we ran in to frozen fog. The visibility was terrible and it was more than a little freaky seeing fog outside when the temps were in the single digits. We arrived safe and sound though, got the car unloaded, and headed to bed at a decent hour.
Or the second day of Christmas… Nothing much going on today, just hanging out, playing with Reese, watching some football games, and avoiding going outside into the cold.
Reese, as usual, was up before the sun, ready to open presents. We waited for the rest of the gang to get up and moving and then started in on the unwrapping. Reese got a lot of what he’d asked for and seems pretty happy with everything. I got a few books and the first season of Warehouse 13 on DVD. And we all got the gift of a white Christmas because it started snowing just after dawn. We didn’t get a ton of snow, maybe an inch or two, but it was nice. From there we just kicked back, played with the kids, and watched football.
We had a short drive, just over an hour, out to the cabin. It’s up in the mountains in northern Georgia, and is really nice. Lots of room, a full kitchen, a great view, and a hot tub. Everyone’s unpacked, we’ve got the tree set up, and the kids are off to bed so that Santa can come…
We hit the road just about on time, stopping in Champaign for breakfast, and then continuing down to Kentucky. Once back in a civilized state I could carry again, which was nice. Lunch in Paducah, followed by more driving, and then some more driving. We pulled in to Joi’s brother’s house outside of Atlanta at around 10:00 PM local time, got Reese to bed and got settled in ourselves. Tomorrow we’re heading up to a cabin in the mountains north of Atlanta…
Morning came way too soon, but that’s the way it is. I got a lift to the airport and got checked in for my flight. DFW wasn’t busy at 6:30 AM, which was nice since I was checking a firearm on this trip. That was handled professionally and quickly by both United and the TSA. The screening to get through security was fun though, since I decided to fly kilted. The flight was delayed twice and I barely made my connector after a nice run across O’Hare airport. Seriously, I arrived at gate B22 and had to get to F14. Thankfully that flight had also been delayed so I got to the gate just as they were boarding. Picked up Reese and headed out to dinner, then got settled in because we’ve got a long drive to Atlanta tomorrow…
