Brandon and I just returned from our 2 week stint in Las Vegas and Southern California (the SC where I grew up) and we had a great time. We decided to take this trip for many reasons but most importantly for our fourth year anniversary. I had never been to Vegas before and it had been a while since Brandon had been home to see his family and friends.
Our first stop was Las Vegas, for 3 nights, we stayed at the Stratosphere (while they were nice accommodations it was too far north for me...next time we will stay in a more central location). Our first two days were spent with my side of the family, my folks flew from Maryland to Las Vegas and my aunt and uncle flew in from Arizona, the day prior to our entrance to the "city that never sleeps".
I was amazed at how small Vegas was. I was expecting the strip to be massive in length but it was only several blocks. However what the strip lacked in length it made up for in height. I could not get over how huge every single casino was! Our first night in LV was spent at the MGM Grand watching the increadible performance of KA. To say it was amazing is an understatement. The cast from Cirque du Soleil did stunts I had never seen before; a battle on a vertical wall, acrobatics on spinning wheels, and 5 story falls; it was a sight! The next couple days were spent exploring all we could of the various casinos and shops with my parents. Friday night Brandon, my folks, aunt and uncle, and I had a wonderful paella dinner with my great-aunt who lives near LV. It was delicious and was completed with authentic sangria!
From Saturday on we spent time with Brandon's friends and sister (Melissa) and brother-in-law (Aaron). We explored more of the casinos and my favorites included, the Venetian (for the gondola rides), the Bellagio (for the extravagance), and New York, New York (for the Nine Fine Irishmen pub). Needless to say Brandon and I had a wonderful time in Las Vegas.
On Sunday Melissa and Aaron drove us back to California where we stayed with Brandon's folks for a week and a half. The second day we were in California, we went shooting (my first time). We used a 9mm Glock and a 357 magnum (think Dirty Harry). It was an experience and believe it or not, I did better with the 357 than the 9mm. Further in the week we went to Universal Studios and enjoyed a day of theme park fun. While we were there, tapings for Desperate Housewives and National Treasure 2 were being made...where else but in Hollywood could you say that?! Our anniversary was spent in California and we enjoyed Thai cuisine at a new restaurant in Claremont.
A couple days later Brandon's folks had a family party and we got to see a lot of Brandon's extended family. It was good to see everyone again. Nearing the end of our California visit, we took a trip to Melissa and Aaron's new home in Laguna Hills (near Laguna Beach), their home was lovely and we got to explore the local area, cute shops, and played a mean game of Wii! Our final night was spent at Warehouse pizza where Brandon was able to catch up with several of his buddies from High School.
The trip was busy but we had a wonderful time with everyone and each other.
I was amazed at how small Vegas was. I was expecting the strip to be massive in length but it was only several blocks. However what the strip lacked in length it made up for in height. I could not get over how huge every single casino was! Our first night in LV was spent at the MGM Grand watching the increadible performance of KA. To say it was amazing is an understatement. The cast from Cirque du Soleil did stunts I had never seen before; a battle on a vertical wall, acrobatics on spinning wheels, and 5 story falls; it was a sight! The next couple days were spent exploring all we could of the various casinos and shops with my parents. Friday night Brandon, my folks, aunt and uncle, and I had a wonderful paella dinner with my great-aunt who lives near LV. It was delicious and was completed with authentic sangria!
From Saturday on we spent time with Brandon's friends and sister (Melissa) and brother-in-law (Aaron). We explored more of the casinos and my favorites included, the Venetian (for the gondola rides), the Bellagio (for the extravagance), and New York, New York (for the Nine Fine Irishmen pub). Needless to say Brandon and I had a wonderful time in Las Vegas.
On Sunday Melissa and Aaron drove us back to California where we stayed with Brandon's folks for a week and a half. The second day we were in California, we went shooting (my first time). We used a 9mm Glock and a 357 magnum (think Dirty Harry). It was an experience and believe it or not, I did better with the 357 than the 9mm. Further in the week we went to Universal Studios and enjoyed a day of theme park fun. While we were there, tapings for Desperate Housewives and National Treasure 2 were being made...where else but in Hollywood could you say that?! Our anniversary was spent in California and we enjoyed Thai cuisine at a new restaurant in Claremont.
A couple days later Brandon's folks had a family party and we got to see a lot of Brandon's extended family. It was good to see everyone again. Nearing the end of our California visit, we took a trip to Melissa and Aaron's new home in Laguna Hills (near Laguna Beach), their home was lovely and we got to explore the local area, cute shops, and played a mean game of Wii! Our final night was spent at Warehouse pizza where Brandon was able to catch up with several of his buddies from High School.
The trip was busy but we had a wonderful time with everyone and each other.
