Day 8

Day 8 we again woke up on couches in Matty's living room. After a quick sweep of the place, we left to meet Jon at the Himalayan Grill for an early lunch. The place was delicious, with a great buffet we all took advantage of. Our 2 days in Flagstaff were fantastic, but needless to say we were excited for Vegas.

The drive out of Flagstaff was beautiful, with approaching rain and clouds creating impressive views as we left the mountains for flatter terrain.







The highlight of the drive was definitely visiting the Hoover Dam, which we had driven across around this time last year. It was interesting to see the progress they had made in building a new bridge over the canyon. Last year they had just barely started, and now they have an entire arch built. As always, the sheer size of the dam took our breath away, and we spent a good hour wandering around appreciating the spectacle before us.











We arrived in Las Vegas just as a large black storm cloud rolled past overhead, creating an intimidating backdrop over the mountains but bathing Sin City in light. We were excited to see a rainbow form overhead, and were quite excited to try and find the pot of gold at the end.








After checking into our room at the Flamingo, which was inconveniently located at the ass-end of two impossibly long hallways, we tried to gussy ourselves up as best as possible for a night on the town. Caitlin soon realized that she had absolutely nothing to wear, and decided the only solution would be new clothing. Thankfully it only took two stores to find an acceptable outfit, and poor Joe was such a trooper that he found stuff too. Soon afterwards, rocking fresh new threads, we left the Forum and hit Serendipity 3 for dinner. This was, of course, delicious, and after generous helpings of frozen hot chocolate each, we decided that we should find a show to see that night.



After being misdirected to the Mirage to see the Blue Man Group, we decided on O, and aquatic production by Cirque du Soleil that was unbelievable. The acrobatics alone were incredible, and the adjustable pool onstage was mind-blowingly cool.

The show got out around midnight, and after battling with the mature parts of us that knew we had an early morning and LOTS of driving to do the next day, we decided to head back out and find some place to dance the night away. We ended up at Cleopatra's Barge, a hysterical little fake boat floating on a fake lake somewhere in Caesar's Palace. We danced like dinosaurs with our hands in the air until the DJ called it a night, and then returned to our room for a couple well- earned hours of sleep. All and all, Vegas was a great success!!