Our Vegas trip -- April 14 - 18, 2011

Begin forwarded message:

From: Matthew Hanson <mjhanson84@gmail.com>
Date: April 18, 2011 12:22:52 PM CDT
To: "Guenther, Jill" <Guenther@ortho.wisc.edu>
Subject: Our Vegas trip -- April 14 - 18, 2011

Our Vegas trip -- April 14 - 18, 2011

If you don't care to hear the story you can skip this section to see the photos...

We planned this trip for our 2nd year wedding anniversary.  I  had never been to Vegas.  I'm not a big gambler but I do love excitement & people watching.  We left from O'Hare at 9pm.  Matt & I each took turns sleeping the 3 hr flight.  Once in LV we rented a Niessan Maxima.  The drive down Las Vegas Blvd amazed me!  There were hundreds and hundreds of people walking the strip.  And I thought I packed risqué clothes (dresses and mini-skirts). That was nothing.  Every other girl was wearing 4 inch heels with too much skin showing!  Our hotel, the Venetian was amazing!  Chandelers, shopping, casinos, gardens, 5 acres of pools, restaurants, spas...  The hallways were blown with oxygen to keep you going and awake.  It worked for us...it was 3am WI time and we were still going!  Our room was over the top.  The bathroom was a girls dream come true...2 sinks & a TV. There was a remote control operating the window curtain overlooking the Red Rock Canyon in the distance.  The best part...the room was big enough I never even saw matt's mess on his side of the room!

Our first morning we did a running tour of the strip.  A much different crowd this morning from the nightlife....running capris and sport tops versus mini-skirts with fish net stockings.  We ate breakfast right next to an awesome spa & fitness club in our hotel.  The club had hundreds of machines, exercise classes (including spinning & yoga), an indoor climbing wall....   I had the best breakfast wrap (chirizio, egg, avocado, Gouda cheese in a sproated wheat tortilla).  After washing up we started our walking tour of the strip.  We found  ourselves a fashion show.  The stage and runway arose from underground.  I was happy to see only one or two of the models looked deadly thin and not all of them.  Next we chilled by our pool.  Chilling for Matt means sleepy time.  At this point I wished I were 18 again.  There was a pool right next to us with paid admission for a good time....beach balls, dancing, loud music....  Matt said we were too old for that...maybe he is!  It was time for a pick me up so we ordered some Miami vice coconut flavored alcoholic drinks.  Time for some more walking the strip.  We headed for Emeril's for dinner.  Tonight was the first night I got to experience the cards.  Tons of people line the strip trying to hand out cards advertising their event (porn, sex clubs, night life gigs).  These people practically hit you as they demand you take a card.  2.5 miles later we made it to Emeril's.  Very nice restaurant with too many good choices.  Matt orders gumbo and Jill gets her usual...salad with shrimp.  We toured the casino at MGM...amazing how many people throw there money away...by the way the whole weekend goes by and neither one of us gambles!  We walked to Mandalay Bay with intentions on viewing the shark tank.  Our legs where pretty exhausted from walking.  We opted to spend our $16 admission fee on ice cream at Serendipity instead.  We toured some more hotels....the cosmopolitan was unreal.  There were beaded hanging decoration things surrounding the 3 story restaurant in the hotel.  I'm sure they were made of some elegant stones (rhinestone, pearls, diamonds).  Arriving back at our hotel at 11pm you'd think the night was just starting...maybe it was for some...not for Jill and Matt... We put on 7 miles of walking and 4.5 miles of running this day.

We did breakfast this morning in our hotel again.  It was also right near the spa.  Every other couple was wearing their workout gear...sipping their organic green teas flavored with Stevia or green power protein smoothies.  My kind of restaurant.  Not so much for Matt.  Once he noticed there weren't any salt shakers on the table that is when he got on his soap box.  The waiter said they don't put them on the tables because salt isn't healthy.  Matt begins,  "why do these restaurants think they can control our taste buds?  We have the freedom to salt if we want it! Just because it is healthier to not add salt doesn't mean they have the right to control our decisions!". I think he had a point.  After a good 30 min conversation discussing how we are loosing our freedom of choice it was time to head out for a day's hike.   We drove to Red Rock Canyon 15 miles west of LV.  As soon as we saw the cyclists on the road and the rocks we were going to climb our adrenaline started pumping!  There is a beautiful 13 mile drive that circles around the park...beautiful scenic drive...No so peaceful though with Matt's pedal to the metal in our Sports car!   We choice a hiking route that was a strenuous 2000 foot elevation climb in 2.5 miles.  It was an up and back route.  The views were spectacular!  No wild like other than a few salamanders.  After 1.75 hrs up we took some photos, had our power bars, and started our descent.  It was tricking footing coming down but once the trail evened out matt discovered a new challenge....running down.  Once we made it down we were both exhausted yet on an adrenaline high.  To see the mountain we climbed and not to mention the 1000 calories we've burned!  Ice cream will taste that much better tonight!  Tonight we went to Beatles Love.  It was amazing.  Simulation overload!  I didn't have enough eyes to see it all!  Matt bought us first row seats.  The energy, music, creativity were beyond anything I've see before.  I can see why so many people love these types of shows...no thinking required since there isn't a plot.  The story line is about the songs of the Beatles.  I couldn't help but think I'd love to swing on a trapeze, I could see Matt being one of the dancers, Noelle posing on the climbing ropes, and James being one of the Monkeys rollarblading up the skate ramps.  My favorite part of the show was when a parachute draped over the whole audience.  A wind current started slowing pushing it up until the current went strong enough that it up and away.  After our show we grabbed dinner at "Stack" a restaurant in the Mirage.  We walked through the casino at the Mirage and made our way to Giradelli for some ice cream.  We watched a live band and people dancing...we were going to join the fun but Jill forgot her ID.  The evening ended there.

Sunday morning we opted for a different routine.  we found an evangelical free church , Canyon Ridge.  In it's 4 services per weekend it has nearly 6000 attendants.  It reminded us of one of our home churches, Blackhawk.  The amazing part that stood out in my mind was when they had people come to the front of church to give up their sins for God.  It was a powerful time, images of Jesus dying on the cross were showing on the screens.  I'm glad we went to church....even though we were on the other side if the country we felt a little closer to home...and God.  Next we headed to Hoover Dam.  What an amazing sight!  Next we drove along trying to find this awesome hiking trail called cleopatra wash....it leads down to Lake Mead...the largest man made lake in the Western US.  Unfortunately the road leading to our trailhead was gravel...not good for our rental. We choose to insteAd drive to the Valley of Fire National Park.  It was the hottest time of the day...94 degrees.  We found a trail named "prospect" that meandered through gorgeous RedRock Formations.  For awile we got off trail...matt was a little nervous about rattlesnakes.  Maybe I should have been too.  Thank God we didn't see any.  After an hour out we got pretty confused about our trail..not really sure which way to go.  We started noticing a lot of rocks piled up as if prior hikers were marking their journeys. There were so many possible routes I was even getting nervous! We turned around and made it back in half the time...did some running to spice it up.  Matt took advantage of our barren highway out of the park.  I did see a speed limit sign 35 mph....I think we were going 80!  Once we got back to the hotel we jumped in the pool for a quick swim.  Next we washed up and headed for dinner at Margaritaville.  who would have guessed we'd choose Mexican for our last night in Vegas!  Afterwards we finally saw the waterfall show outside the Bellagio.   Next it was time for geliato.  I'd personally rather have ice cream.  We picked up some gifts and called it a day.

What an amazing trip.  So many people, excitement, lights, music, entertainment!  Yet we were able to escape it all to enjoy the natural beauty Nevada has to offer.  Thanks Matt for an awesome wedding anniversary trip!!


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