*Updated 8/12.....11 days on the road (& in the air)...my TR! About This Page:

[LSUtigerfan]

Okay, I am going to try and keep this TR as short as I can...y'all know how I tend to ramble !

The general trip itinerary was:
Thurs. 7/14: drive from Little Rock, AR to Northshore/New Orleans, LA area
Fri. 7/15 thru Sun. 7/16: Las Vegas, NV
Mon. 7/17 thru Wed. 7/19: Baton Rouge, LA
Thurs. 7/20 thru Sun. 7/24: New Orleans area then drive back to Little Rock on Sun.

Now, I need to clarify the fact that we recently were relocated to Little Rock, AR...much to my dismay...don't get me wrong, I am happy here, it is beautiful, but it is NOT home! I miss my family terribly, and I don't like cold weather! It's ok to visit (like Colorado or NYC in the winter) but I prefer the balmy deep south weather. So, enough of that!

Thurs. morning 7/14: Had to say goodbye to my four legged babies, the 3 of them were off to the vet for an 11 night stay (imagine that bill $$$ ). I knew my baby Boudin would be bigger than my other baby, Magic when we came home I really hated to leave them, but I had no choice. Our drive to my MIL's house was smooth & uneventful. My dh drove the entire way...7 hours! Once we got into town we unloaded our suitcases then we went to my oldest dd's Paran's house (godfather) for a visit. We had pizza for dinner and saw their beautiful new home. The girls (they have 2 dd's also) played princess dress-up for a few hours. Their Mom (my youngest dd's Nanny/godmother) is a complete Disney freak, has purchased EVERY girly Disney costume that ever existed, along with all accessories, so they had a blast. We had Christmas in July, since we haven't seen them in about 9 months...this would be the beginning of the MANY gifts/toys/treasures that would fill the back of our vehicle for the ride home!

Then it was back to my MIL & FIL's for a good nights rest...of course I couldn't sleep, thinking about my LOOOONG day on Friday, my !!!!!

Fri. 7/15, Happy Birthday to Me!
We had an 11 am flight from New Orleans to Las Vegas, just me & my dh. This was a business trip, with a little pleasure on the side. I was pleased to see a Nun seated on the second row of our plane, and a pilot sitting behind me! Made me feel a little bit safer! Our flight went very well, except for the turbulence on the descent into Vegas, due to the unbelievable HEAT!

We landed and caught up with the rest of our group who flew in from AR. The cab line was terribly long, so we hitched a ride in a town car with some friends of ours.

Check in at MGM Grand wasn't bad. We had a nice room on the 4th floor. Not much of a view, but we weren't in there very much. The rooms were recently updated & the decor was modern. I would rate the hotel at 4 stars. It was filled to capacity due to the championship boxing match on Sat. night. The hotel desk reported that the temp. was 120 degrees! Very Hot....I don't want to hear anyone say, "But it's a dry heat !" When it gets to 120, it doesn't matter what kind of heat it is. And to think, I forgot my sunscreen. Walgreens, here I come!

We went to our room to change for the night. We attended a party for Jermain Taylor (the contender for the fight) at the Centrifuge lounge. Dh & I were on TV at home in AR! We were standing on the landing in the club where he made his 15 second appearance, we received some calls on dh's cell phone from some friends saying they saw us!

After the party, we caught a cab to Paris hotel. We had dinner reservations at Le Eiffel at 6:30 (8:30 CST)...the time change was tough, we were all starving! I don't eat very well on travel days...too many butterflies! ***Note to Cheryl: Make reservations here!!! This is probably the BEST dinner I have ever had. And I have eaten at many, many restaurants. Lots of vegetarian choices. Let me back up. The Paris hotel is lovely. The casino area is very pretty too. I loved the gorgeous chandeliers at the check in area. You take an elevator up to the 11th (I think?) floor. When you exit the elevator, you are standing in front of an open kitchen, separated by a counter/half wall, of course. Everyone in the kitchen looks so happy & cute in their uniforms, hats & all! You get a quick glimpse of a few dishes when you pass by. Then you are escorted to the dining area, the view is amazing! Your are overlooking the Bellagio's dancing water fountains! And the strip & other hotels...honestly though, I couldn't keep my eyes off of the Bellagio!

Our party of 10 was seated at a large round table, 6 people were seated in booth type seating & the other 4 in chairs...it was very cozy. The table was located close to the window, & all we had to do was stand up to see the Bellagio fountains. I highly recommend watching the fountains from the Eiffel Tower.

First, we ordered drinks. Some ordered mixed drinks, the rest of us had wine. I had a single glass of a French Red, I can't remember the name...especially after having the Cakebread Cabernet Savignon ...now this wine is too die for. And I don't really care for Cab. I am more of a Merlot person. This was simply awesome! We killed about 4-5 bottles of that.

Appetizers were the Seafood Towers. They were just like the ones at Smith & Wollensky's for those of you who have eaten there. We ordered a total of 5, one for each couple to share. There was lobster (with claws), shrimp, king crab legs, raw oysters & clams, along with a "chunky" cocktail type compote . Everything was delicious, the clams were sooo sweet! The wait staff even cracked the claws for the ladies & brought the meat to us whole. Now that's the way to do it , especially for us southern belles!

Next was the soup & salad. I ordered cream of asparagus soup and my dh had a Caesar salad (he's REAL adventurous ). My soup was spectacular, served at the perfect temperature, so as not to burn you. I really can't say enough about how wonderful it was. If I would've been at home, the bowl would have been licked clean ! Dh said his salad was good, I didn't want to try it...didn't want to ruin the flavor in my mouth.

For our entree's we ordered meat (sorry Cheryl). They did have some vegetarian choices, but I had the veal, and dh had the filet. My veal was better than any steak could ever claim to be. It was chargrilled & served with English peas and carmelized pearl onions...those onions were awesome! The veal was fork tender & melted in your mouth. The filet was served with dh's choice of bearnaise sauce, upon my recommendation, which he thanked me for. Dh said it was better than Ruth's Chris. I tasted & agreed. We ordered sides of au gratin potatoes and Pommes Anna, which is sliced potatoes cooked in duck fat...they were yummy! Everyone at the table raved over their choices, and everything looked wonderful.

For dessert we all had souffle'. This has to be ordered when you order your appetizers, because they take about 50 minutes to prepare, according to our waiter. I had the Grand Marnier souffle and dh had the banana one. Someone else had a chocolate one, and it looked delicious. Mine & dh's were very good...cooked to perfection. Next time (if I ever get the chance) I will have the chocolate. For those who like banana, it was unbelievable, just enough flavor to keep you eating more & more.

Overall, the meal was superb . I would definetly rate it at 5 stars, as would my dh. Everything was cooked to perfection, and the portion sizes were just right, you were able to eat everything (leaving a couple of bites, of course) without making yourself sick, which made for a very nice & enjoyable meal.

We all staggered out of the restaurant hoping to eat (& drink ) here again! And for all of my Louisianians, the food was better than Commander's Palace! We exited the restaurant at about 8:45 (10:45 CST) and I'm getting tired! I had set the alarm this morning at 6:30 am CST. But the night was young and we had tickets for the 10:30 Cirque de Soleil "O" show. How am I ever gonna make it?.........To Be Continued...........

Are y'all tired of reading yet? Whew! I'm gonna take a break to bring Magic back to the vet at 4pm. We noticed a swollen area on her side that feels like a mass/nodule beneath the skin...did I mention she's in heat too? Yes, I came home to a puppy (9 months old) in heat and the other (Boudin is 14 weeks old) has forgotten all of his house training! Arrgh... I'll try to update tomorrow! Au Revoir!

[chezp]

Thank you so much for starting this report so quickly - you've made my evening!

I'm just sitting here dribbling at your description of dinner - it sounds absolutely superb. Needless to say I've already logged on to the Paris hotel website to find out the number for making reservations for the restaurant. It's just as well you gave such a superb description of dinner, as their website doesn't say a great deal.

Please hurry back - I can't wait to hear all about "O".

[LSUtigerfan]

Cheryl, and anyone else who may be interested...here is a link for their menu: Eiffel Tower restaurant menu Can't wait to go back!!! My BIL, who has travelled all around the US and Paris & London on business, also says it's one of the best meals he's ever had too. Try it, I promise you will not be sorry. It's worth every penny. Actually, it is cheaper than some of the restaurants at MGM...and I honestly can't imagine any food being better than their's. I wish I had tried some scallops while I was there.

[chezp]

Thank you so much for the link!

[KrisLuvsDisney]

My mouth is so watering! I wish we had tried that while we were there...oh well, it will be a have to next year! I agree with you about the heat (we were there a couple of days after you) and it was killer.

More please! for Magic!

[Cam22]

Great report! Can't wait for more! Dinner sounded so yummy that I know what I'm cooking for our supper will just not compare now!

[DawnDenise]

Awesome report!!! What a time so far!! Your meal sounds absolutely yummy!!! I'll have to remember the restaurant when we plan our next trip to Vegas. Looking forward to the next installment!

[iamgrumpy]

Great report sounds like fun so far!

Amy

[Colexis Mom]

Great start More please

[LSUtigerfan]

Good morning everyone! Magic was fine yesterday at the vet. He said that it was a reaction to her Distemper shot that she received a couple of weeks ago. That was a load off of my mind! No Charge for the visit too! (My dh says that's the least they could do, since we dropped $400 for the boarding & baths ).

Anyway, I have to bring my oldest dd to a play rehearsal this morning & run a few errands, so I'll try to do the next installment this afternoon! Thanks for the positive remarks...I enjoyed reliving the dinner all over again! That dinner surely beat the BBQ chicken & hot dogs we had last night!

[LSUtigerfan]

Fri., 7/15 continued....

Ok, where was I....Ahhh...the Paris hotel in Vegas. If my memory serves me sorrectly, we walked across the catwalk to the Bellagio. We did manage to catch another dancing fountain show, which was choreographed to, "Hey, Big Spender!" How appropriate for Vegas. It was just starting to get dark & the loud music, with the fountains, bright lights & festive crowds made the night seem a little magical... or was it the too much wine & no kids thing??? Anyway, we were really enjoying ourselves.

Enter the Bellagio! Boy, is it beautiful. It's like an orchid among a bunch of wilted black eyed Susan's. Kind of seems out of place for Vegas. It's really gorgeous....it embraces all of your senses. The aroma of fresh flowers is breathtaking, but not overwhelming. Flowers are everywhere! The grand entrance is truly grande , and there are photo ops galore. As a matter of fact, there are flashes going off everwhere They even have small fountains that dance, of course, in the lobby. Words can't express how nice this hotel is, it has to be the nicest on the strip. But, (and don't shoot me here ) my heart is still with Caesar's Palace & the Mirage. Vegas is supposed to be bold & gawdy isn't it? Don't get me wrong...I'd stay at the Bellagio in a heartbeat, it just seems out of character for a casino. My MIL & FIL stayed here in the spring and she raved about the rooms & service, so maybe we'll try it one day.

We walked through the casino area (didn't notice any jackpots lit up on the slots) and over to the Cirque du Soleil theatre area. A little background info here. These <font color="blue"> "O" </font> tickets were a surprise for my . I found out about them shortly before our trip. The other surprise was that our dear friends from Louisiana were meeting us at the show. Dh gave them our confirmation # and they got tickets next to ours. He is a HUGE planner! I knew our friends were going to Vegas for the fight (they are big boxing fans), but they told me they were going to see <font color="red"> Ka</font>. So, we browsed through the CdS gift shop. They had some nice things, but $$$ pricey! I did see a coffee table type book that I wish I had purchased. It was about the history of CdS and each of it's shows. (*insert smiley kicking itself in the rear ) Oh well, maybe next time.

Then we decided to enter the theatre, but first, dh had to have a diet Coke. We stopped at the concession area I think the Cokes were ~$5 each. They had a variety of snacks &amp; beverages for purchase: fountain drinks, water, alcoholic beverages, coffee, popcorn, pastries, chocolates. I passed on everything. In retrospect, I should've had a coffee, or better yet, an expresso.

We entered the seating area....the theatre was simply gorgeous. The ceiling was soooo pretty, everything was spectacular...very upscale. We were seated in section 201, row 2, seats 3-6. I was so happy to see my friend &amp; her dh come in, it really made my day even more special. I really miss all of our family &amp; friends, so it was really nice to see them on our trip.

The pre show started, and it was typical CdS humor, the clowns interacting with the audience, as well as, props and it was all choreographed to the music, or in O's case, the dripping of water. Our seats were wonderful, we had a great view of the stage (which is mostly a pool, sort-of). All of the seats seemed to have unobstructed views, and they had designated wheelchair seating very close to us, which I thought was nice, since they typically put these at the very bottom or at the top. I think the 2nd level has the best seating. You can see into the pool &amp; you aren't too close. Nor will you get wet. If you plan to see <font color="blue"> O</font> and you don't want to get wet, DO NOT sit ANYWHERE in the 1st level, middle sections....trust me. I would not have been happy had I paid more for those seats and then got wet while I was dressed up!!!

Now onto the show. I am going to be kind of vague, because I don't want to spoil anything, so if someone wants more detail, feel free to pm me. The theatre itself is truly a show. I can't imagine how they do the things they do with the "stage" and pool area. It is amazing. It combines a little bit of typical CdS acrobatic stunts with diving &amp; synchronized swimming. my dh says this show is a choreographer's worst nightmare ...or dream, he couldn't decide. The cast is huge and they are all in tip top shape. The choreography is unbelievable, I can't imagine the work that was put into this show. The costumes &amp; music are beautiful also. There isn't much of a storyline....I tried to figure it out, but it was hard. I'd love to compare notes with someone who's seen it to see what they thought it was about. I loved the swimmers, they were so graceful. My dh &amp; friends loved the divers.

Now for those of you who have seen a CdS show, there isn't as much acrobatic type stuff in this show. I have not seen La Nouba, but I have seen clips of it, and I have seen Alegria' which I absolutely , and <font color="blue"> O </font> is something completely different. There is sooooo much going on at one time, it was kind of hard to watch during certain parts. My dh would lean over to me &amp; say, "Did you see that?" And I would say, "No, I was watching that." But, I guess that's why some people leave mesmerized &amp; wanting to go back. I would like to see it again, but I will see Mystere or Ka first. <font color="blue"> O </font> is very pricey, our tickets were $150 each. I enjoyed Alegria' just as much, if not more. The music for Alegria' was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard in a theatre. (*Note to Cheryl: Alegria' will be in London from 1/5-1/29/06, I highly recommend it!) One other thing about <font color="blue"> O</font> is, the clowns in this show became kind of annoying to me. Now onto the expresso comment...I started getting sleepy, I think the show was overloading my brain!

Simple math: Full stomach+belly full of wine+2 hour time zone change=sleepy girl! I am ashamed to admit it, but I dozed off once &amp; my dh had to elbow me! I felt terrible about it. But it was toward the end of the show, and my body thought it was 2am! I had been up for almost 24 hours!

Overall, the show was definetly worth seeing. Was it worth $150? Not sure about that one....probably as a one time thing. I am glad I saw it, and I would like to see it again, but it would be hard for me to condone the $150 price tag.

After the show, I was wide awake and we all decided to go to NYNY to ride the roller coaster. We were able to hop on the last coaster ride of the night. Our friends had already ridden it earlier in the day &amp; said they didn't feel like getting another headache, and they were still feeling the time change too. So, dh &amp; I stood in line talking with a wonderful couple who had just moved to Vegas from northern California. We traded our tornado/hurricane stories for their earthquake stories...I decided that I would rather deal with the wet &amp; windy stuff rather than the ground opening up beneath me. Of course, we traded children stories too. We split a 4 rider package with them &amp; we each got a free ride photo. We really enjoyed chatting with them and hope they are doing well.

Dh &amp; I rode in the front seat! Wow, does that ride go up high!!! The city looks beautiful from that ride, but not for long! It was a VERY rough coaster. One of the guys that worked there told me that the front seat is the smoothest, I can't imagine how jerky the back is. Dh got a headache, and my neck was sore afterward. We decided we are getting too old for this stuff...just kidding! We're only in our 30's. It was ok, I wish I had rode Speed at the Sahara instead.

After the ride we took the catwalk from NYNY to MGM. Oh, a few comments about NYNY....I didn't really care for it at all. It felt like a cheap impression of NYC. It just didn't do anything for me. The layout was terrible too, kind of hard to navigate. Next time I probably won't bother going in. (Sorry to those of you who like it, I'm still removing my foot from my mouth due to the same exact comment I made to my SIL...she told me, "That's where we stayed last time we went." But she assured me that she didn't like it either. Whew!) Walking into MGM was wonderful. I really like it here. It's HUGE! I found it very easy to navigate, my dh on the other hand, never figured it out. We walked through the casino, which was very busy, and then up to our room. We had been awake for 22 hours!!! No wake up call for us, just pure uninterrupted sleep.........

Best thing about today: Spending my b-day in Vegas &amp; having a safe flight.
Amount gambled: $0 (yep, that's right!)
Final thoughts about today: Eat at the Eiffel Tower restaurant again, Visit Cakebread winery in October (if we get to go to CA), carry eyedrops with me in this heat, and go to Walgreen's to get some sunscreen!
Other things I forgot to mention: My friend got dehydrated earlier in the day just from lying by the pool. She almost passed out and her dh said he had to practically carry her up to the room. The heat was fierce! I had on capri pants and actually wished I was wearing long pants to protect my legs/ankles/feet from the sun. The heat that was coming off of the pavement was unbelievable. It felt like it was burning my skin. Even my bare arms didn't feel as hot. Now tomorrow was another story, my shoulders burned just walking to Walgreens, but I'll tell you about that later!

for reading! I hope to give another update tomorrow afternoon. Hope this hasn't been too long!

[LSUtigerfan]

Forgot to leave the cliffhanger for my next installment....

Day 2: Brunch at MGM Grand Buffet , M&amp;M store, Walgreen's, various casinos, dinner at Emeril's Fish House, Middleweight Championship of the World boxing match, and dessert!

Stay tuned!

[RobDVC]

What a great time you had at O. Hurry back with more!

[GoofyMom]

Sounds like a wonderful day!!

[LSUtigerfan]

Hi, everyone. Sorry it's taken me soooooo loooooong to complete this TR. Here are my excuses: ..........Had company from out of town (who wanted me to help her plan her November WDW vacation, so how could I resist?), starting a new job as my dd's school nurse (had lots of things to do @ the school).

Now that I have a little bit of time, I'm going to try to finish this TR.

Sat. July 16th
We woke up around 9am, hurried to get dressed for breakfast. I wanted to try the MGM Grand's buffet, which was actually a brunch after 10 am. We arrived at about 10:15 and waited in a moderate sized line, for about 10-15 minutes before we were seated.

The buffet was enormous. There were several different sections/stations to the buffet. Of course they had regular b'fast fare: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, hot cereals (even grits! ), fresh fruit , danishes, pancakes, Belgian waffles, etc. They also had different salads (southwestern chicken or shrimp salad, caesar salad, green salad, etc.), omelet station, Belgian waffles (with various compotes &amp; fresh whipped cream, the real stuff! ), carved meat station, lasagna (vegetable &amp; traditional), and my personal favorite....a complete dessert bar! The dessert bar was loaded with many yummy things. It had key lime tarts, white chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries, tiramisu, croissants filled with fruit ( <font color="blue">blueberry was my favorite! </font>), several different pies (regular &amp; sugar free), cherry and peach cobbler (the peach had a cinnamon crumble topping like a Dutch apple pie!), and various other pastries/sweets (your typical eclairs, cream puffs, brownies, etc.) I ranked the desserts in descending order! Everything was so good, esp. the first four.....I ate tons of mousse.....only on vacation can you eat mousse for breakfast every morning. The Belgian waffles were really great too, I put the strawberry compote on mine, with tons of the whipped cream, it tasted like strawberry shortcake (sort of). Everything was delicious, and we decided we would eat here again tomorrow.

As we exited the restaurant area, we saw how long the line was.... Boy, were we glad we came down when we did! Those people looked like they had about a 45 min.-1 hour wait! It was around 11:30, so I guess the early bird does get the worm in Vegas.

We decided to go casino browsing today, so we exited the hotel near the main entrance. The cab line was so long, we decided to walk, since I heard Walgreen's was practically next door to MGM. I needed to burn a picture disk and get sunscreen. Well, we didn't think about MGM being the largest hotel...it was quite a trek in the sun to get to Walgreens, which was right next to MGM. We should've walked through the hotel casino to the entrance/exit on the other side of the hotel! It would've been a nice air conditioned walk, and my shoulders wouldn't have gotten <font color="red"> sunburned! </font> It wasn't a bad sunburn, but that sun was really fierce! Walgreens was jam packed with people buying water. If anyone needs to do the photo disk thing, this Walgreens has a 24 hour photo dept.

Next, we walked to the M&amp;M store. It was so cute! They really had lots of cute things in there. I bought my dd's some souveniers (love those <font color="yellow"> bright yellow bags </font>) and I couldn't resist getting some <font color="purple"> Purple </font> &amp; <font color="yellow"> Gold </font> M&amp;M's (for LSU) and some other ones in my dd's favorite colors. They also had dark chocolate M&amp;M's for my oldest dd! They were expensive though, like $7 per pound, or something!

We strolled down the strip, ducking in &amp; out of different shops to get out of the sun. I had my picture taken with "Elvis" outside some scooter rental type place. He was hilarious, and played his part well. That was fun, and something I wanted to do while I was here. (My dh doesn't like Elvis, and we unintentionally got married on Elvis' b-day, so I love to rub the whole Elvis thing in his face! ) He eats it up though.

We went to the Mirage (which I love), bought my youngest dd a dophin purse. Then we went to Caesar's which is my absolute favorite! I just love it in there. We made our way over to the Forum shops, it was very crowded, but we did lots of browsing, saw lots of over priced things &amp; many under-dressed people (of all ages). My dh really enjoyed going in the area where they sell cars. They had Astin Martin's, Ferrari's, a Lambourghini, a Bentley, etc. They also had some chopper type motorcycles. Very nice! There were many men drooling over those cars and taking pictures.

We realized the day was going by quickly, and we needed to get dressed for the fight this evening. My dh wanted to be there to see a few of the pre-fights. So, we took a cab back to the MGM (~$7). We went up to the room &amp; showered &amp; changed for the night. We walked through the area in the back of MGM (I think it might be called Citiwalk, can't remember) anyway, there are many different restaurants, and we decided on Emeril's Fish House. They had an area for immediate seating where the tables were a lot closer together, not so intimate, but we were hungry, and actually, we enjoyed our table. We were seated next to a glass wall which overlooked the "CitiWalk" area, so we were able to "people watch" during our meal....we saw MANY sights! I ordered Cream of Artichoke soup, Pecan Crusted Redfish with grilled vegetables (like zucchini, squash, eggplant, tomatoes), served on top of crispy shoestring potatoes....oh and topped with a meuniere sauce! (mine was the BEST!!!) Dh had grilled &amp; roasted double cut pork chop with carmelized sweet potatoes &amp; I'm not sure what else...oh yeah, he had some seafood gumbo too. For dessert we shared a piece of Banana cream pie topped with chocolate shavings &amp; caramel sauce! Superb!!!!! Our dinner was very good, but compared to last night's I'd rate it at 4.25 stars. It was VERY, VERY good but not "5 star good." My fish was really, really good. Dh even admitted that it was better than his entree. He didn't think the gumbo was "all that" either. The pie sure was yummy though...not overpowering with the banana, and the caramel was a nice finishing touch.

We paid our bill and made our way over to the fight. We found our seats (with the rest of our group of customers &amp; co-workers). We watched a couple of the pre fights, then the Jermain Taylor/Bernard Hopkins fight was up. Jermain Taylor won the fight by decision, so he became the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. We were excited because that's who we were there to see. (Some of my friends told me just last night, that dh &amp; I were on the front page of the sports section in the Ark. Democrat Gazette paper on the morning of the fight...I've gotta get a copy!)

After the fight, we met up with our friends, and went to the Venetian to ride the gondola. We took the monorail from MGM to the Venetian area of the strip. The Venetian is really pretty, esp. the ceilings. The artwork in there is gorgeous. The gondola rides were all sold out for the rest of the night, and we were bummed out. So, we just stopped for coffee and dessert in the Venetian, it was at a Coffee Bean, or something like that. I had chocolate mousse cake (kind of dry), and dh had Oreo cheesecake (didn't care much for his either), &amp; our friends had a cookie &amp; ice cream. We just walked around a little then decided to make our way back to MGM via cab. It was late and we wanted to get an early b'fast in the morning before we had to check out.


Sunday, July 17

We woke up early (~8:30) to pack and get dressed. We met our friends at the MGM brunch buffet, with virtually no wait, which was nice. It was before 10am, but they started to bring the "brunch" items out at 10. Today they added a Mexican section. I had some pulled pork &amp; guacamole off of that bar. The pork was good, but I've had much better guac. My main meal this morning consisted of the first four desserts listed before (esp. that mousse!) along with lasagna &amp; belgian waffles (2 of them, they're small!!!). We were stuffed.

Our friends wanted to go to Mandalay Bay to see the Shark Reef. We decided to walk....wrong decision. It was so HOT!!! Mandalay Bay was really pretty. I would definetly like to stay here. The pool looks really nice. It has a wave pool, lazy river, and cabanas for rent. The Shark Reef was overpriced, and not as good as the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. I think there are much better things to do in Vegas that are free. I enjoyed walking around the different casinos &amp; shops more than that. I would not recommend going to the Shark Reef unless you just really had your heart set on seeing some fish while in the desert. I've done a tour of Lake Mead and enjoyed that more.

After our Shark Reef excursion it was time for us to head to the airport. So we hopped in a cab after getting our luggage from guest services and rode to the airport. The air conditioner in the airport was broken and it was 117 degrees outside (and that was only at 1pm!). It was ridiculously hot in there....and VERY CROWDED! Apparently, there were several delayed flights, so there were people sitting on the floor everywhere. Our flight was only delayed by ~30 minutes or so, which wasn't that bad.

One funny thing that happened was, another flight came in and about 30-40 Jessica Simpson wannabe's exited the plane (it was the flight that everyone was waiting on for over an hour). I'm sure these girls made their parents really proud, if you know what I mean, they all looked ridiculous. Half dressed, maybe even quarter dressed, tons of plastic surgery, people were yelling comments everywhere, like "Yeah, I heard they had a big furniture convention, this must be their entertainment"....and "We see why that plane was late" etc. But, the clencher was when one of the girls came bee-bopping off of the plane and her tube top was almost down to her waist on one side...with NO undergarments on underneath The whole airport was yelling "Hey Janet Jackson!" and she didn't even notice ( Or did she?) for quite some time. She must have walked about 20 yards before she realized what happened. It was kind of sad, of course I couldn't help but laugh, but like I said, it was sad, she didn't really look too embarassed either.

We had an uneventful flight home and drive to my MIL's house. The rest of my trip consisted of visiting family in Baton Rouge for three days. My new baby nephew is so cute &amp; fat. Then we spent many days shopping on the Northshore &amp; in New Orleans for altar items and Holy Communion dresses (even though it's not the season). I had some really neat finds and we had fun. I also got to eat one of my favorite dishes, Eggplant Pirogue while I was there. It's paneed eggplant served over angel hair pasta with a crawfish cream sauce... We also had plenty of fried catfish &amp; shrimp while we were there. I gained about 5 pounds I'm sure!

At the end of our stay we drove back to Little Rock and were quickly back to the real world! Laundry, Laundry, Laundry.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention about the heat in Vegas, I had on a cute pair of leather bottomed flip flop type shoes and the black asphalt melted onto the bottom of them!!!

Well, thanks everyone for reading my TR. Sorry it took me so long to complete it. Hopefully, I won't have as much trouble typing our WDW one in Sept. Not sure though, since I'm going back to work, we'll see. Dh just called me to tell me that we're going to San Francisco in October too! A four day trip! Hope I can get off of work....keeping my fingers crossed!