Las Vegas

So, Jesse and I left for Vegas around 11 am, starting the first long leg of the 3 week cross country trip that we were going to take. There wasn't much to see on the way to Vegas though: lots of cars, lots of freeway, and a good chunk of desert. We started hitting the desert region as nightfall was approaching, and didn't cross the border into Nevada until it was quite dark, though the vast amount of lights in Las Vegas would be enough to made the sky a musty yellowish-grey color instead of the deep blue we had on the way in. I was astounded by how many lights and people there were for 8:30 pm, but then again it was Vegas. We navigated our way through the people to our hotel (the Imperial Palace), which is when our luck turned out to be pretty damn good.

We walked into the Imperial Palace, rushing a little bit since it was almost 9 and we had the Crazy Horse burlesque show to catch at 10:30. We got into the IP to get our room, and in checking in were told it was a free upgrade to a suite. Sweet right? We walk to a private elevator, not thinking much of it, then look at our room number. "1908". We look at the elevator buttons. They only go up to 18. *brief pause* I hit the "P".

Turns out we got a free upgrade to a penthouse suite. PENTHOUSE. As in double king-size bed, jacuzzi in the bathroom, full wet bar, two sofas, balcony, two flat screen TVs, and an N64 and Xbox.

We celebrate and drink a beer, then look at the time and realize its 9:45. We have to go get tickets still! We run out and have about 2 miles to the MGM for the show, noticing along the way that every half-off ticket booth is closed. Right outside the MGM is the last ticket booth about to close, and for some reason the guy lets us in line, calls in, and is allowed to sell us tickets (it was 10:20, and they were supposed to close at 10:00). So, saved about $60 on tickets.

Now, my only recommendation for everyone: if you ever go to Vegas, you must go see the Crazy Horse burlesque show at the MGM. It was amazing. So amazing that I wanted to go see it again but couldn't since it was the last showing of the night.

At this point we realized we hadn't eaten so walked over to New York New York (sorry these photos are such low quality; they're cellphone pictures):

 

The plan was to then leave Vegas at 10am or so in order to make good time to Zion, and instead stayed in Vegas until noon making full use of the jacuzzi. Best trip to Vegas ever.