We're in Colorado with the family at the start of our summer vacation! But it's a special day for Theresa and I coming up. It's almost our 25th anniversary! And so, since Gram and Pop Pop offered to watch the kids, Theresa and I were free to go out and celebrate!
They're off on a 2 week tour to Italy! Fun times for them!
Goodbye fancy people. Have fun in Europe!
T and I grabbed some food at the airport.
Hopped on a train to our terminal.
And then grabbed our seats on the plane!
Where to?
Las Vegas! We can gamble as soon as we get off the plane inside the airport!
Las Vegas! We can gamble as soon as we get off the plane inside the airport!
Just kidding, we're not gamblers. We're here for other things.
We'll be staying at the fabulous Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. It's a little bit off the strip, but Theresa has hotel status here, so we'll be set up!
And have special options like this fabulous suite! I like that it's a big room and spread out.
Nothing spectacular about the view, but it's good enough.
And we even get free breakfast! Unless you don't wake up until 10am. Then it's fortunate that the breakfast place has a menu that also includes lunch!
These burgers are ginormous! And the fries are coated with additional starch so they're extra crispy!
The day was spent basically hanging out in the hotel room doing nothing, but we've got plans for dinner. A well reviewed Korean restaurant!
Look at all those side dishes! And Theresa got something that she doesn't ever make at home. Fish!
I'll stick with the spicy pork, thank you. It's delicious. The service and the food were both great.
And in a nearby shopping center is an 85C! We don't get nearly enough of that in Florida!
Finding all our favorite treats.
When we were trying to decide what to do and where to go for our anniversary, we were thinking of some things we'd wanted to do, but haven't crossed off the list. Vegas had a couple of those things, so here we are!
Tonight, we're going to see the World Famous Penn & Teller!
Splurging on some good seats in the front.
At the Penn & Teller Theater.
Before the show, audience members were invited up to the stage to sign a sheet of paper that will be used in a trick later on.
I made my way up, because who wouldn't want to say they've been on the Penn & Teller stage.
And Theresa came not long after for the same reason.
All the while hearing live piano music while we waited for the show to begin.
I know in the past (before Covid) after each show, they'd come out to the lobby to greet people. No more of that though, which was unfortunate but understandable.
Breakfast the next day was in the hotel restaurant again. I liked mine so much yesterday that I got it again today.
Theresa however went for the french toast banana pancakes.
They're here in the Rio hotel, same as us, so it didn't take much to go downstairs and see them.
Filling out one of the pieces of paper that is used for one of the tricks.
In the end, it was more about the showmanship and presentation than the actual magic. The tricks themselves were simple slight of hand or things that were set up ahead of time. They aren't the big stage show magicians with giant sets. I had seen them perform just about all of them in some variation through their tv specials or tv show Fool Us. Still, it was fun seeing them in person. They've been performing together since 1975, so this is their 50th year as a duo! Wow!
It was interesting seeing the bananas served with the skins still on. They are served with banana cinnamon cream, candied pecans, and maple syrup.
We promised to record her a video of us opening it.
Alli these are incredible! I love them! Some of my favorites like Hades and Hercules. And some of our favorite Pokemon characters too. Nice work Alli.
What should we do with our day?
Since it's our actual anniversary today, Alli wanted us to bring along a present that she made for us.
I thought it would be fun to get out and wander along the Las Vegas Strip. Casinos have decided that they'd like you to pay for parking instead of trying to draw you in with free parking and fun things to do. Toward the end of the strip though, at the Wynn casino, they still offer free parking.
We wandered through the shops and looked at the artwork and sculptures.
Then crossed over to the Venetian Las Vegas. 
Modeled after Italy and the canals in Venice.
We have great memories of eating gelato in Venice. Might as well get some.
We sent a picture to Patrick and Megan who happen to be in Italy, and they sent back a photo of them also enjoying gelato.
And before their trip to Italy, they had a 12 hour layover in Paris to run around and do all the things.
We have an Eiffel tower here in Vegas too!
Walking further along the strip we see the Trevi fountain. It brought back fun memories of previous trips we've done together.
There's a White Castle too!
But no, for dinner tonight we're picking something for me. Last night T got Korean. Today I'm getting something I don't get often. Deep Dish Pizza!
They brought out a free appetizer of bruschetta which was very tasty.
But this pizza is monstrous! Each slice is a meal! Definitely going to be taking some of this home for a midnight snack.
One big new addition since we've been to Vegas is the Sphere! I've seen pictures on the internet and definitely wanted to stop by after dark to see it.
It's pretty hot outside, pushing high 90s.
Theresa was dying for something to drink. We stopped at a shop on the strip (first mistake), she grabbed a soda in an unmarked case (second mistake), and when the 16.9 oz Mountain Dew rang up as $7, I did a double-take and looked over at her. She said it's either that or an ambulance. Yuck. I wonder why Vegas isn't as crowded as it used to be...
And the pictures on the internet definitely DO it justice. It looks way better through a camera lens than it actually does in person. While it's impressive that it has 1.2 million pixels, those pixels cover a huge surface area. When you get even a little close, you see the individual pixels instead of one smooth object. Still, it's fun to see in person.
Heading back to the car through the Wynn.
The next day was once again breakfast at the hotel restaurant Hash House A Go Go. The coffee machine has been broken for the past couple days, so we opted for the hot chocolate instead.
The day was spent hanging out in the room until it was time for dinner. Where? Why not some place we know we're going to like. The same Korean restaurant from before named 777 Korean Restaurant. Again, T got all the tasty sides and today she's opted for kimchi soup. Because it's not hot enough outside, obviously you want boiling soup for dinner.
And just like when we were dating, after a meal at the Korean restaurant, it was over to Arby's for a Jamocha shake.
I booked tickets early enough to get Theresa and I box seats, in real chairs (not crowded seats down on the floor). Ticket prices for this musical have always been ridiculous any time I've looked for them, so this seems like the best splurge to do it, on our 25th anniversary trip.
Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who we loved for his songs in Moana and Encanto.
Our big event of the evening, and really the reason for the whole trip to Vegas was to see a show that we've put off seeing for years.
Hamilton!
We've heard rave reviews from so many people. I know it came out on Disney+ but we knew that before we spoiled ourselves with that, we'd have to go see it in person. Kinda like reading the book before you go see a movie, right? One will definitely be better than the other.
Theresa and I have gone so far as to not even listen to the soundtrack for this before coming to see it.
The lights dim and the show starts. And...
I look over at T after the first "song". Hmm. This is not what I was expecting. This is like a rap battle back and forth. And I'm having to work to understand what each person is saying. I... don't love it.
Overall, my favorite character was King George. Funny and sarcastic, and only appears for like 6 minutes in the entire production, his songs are more of the classical musical style. Theresa felt much the same way. After all the build-up, it was a little bit of a disappointing let-down of a show. Maybe we'll research things like this a little more next time. Or not. We'll see. The surprise is usually worth it, if it turns out good.
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