But first, Black Friday happiness :)
Woke up at 4am all ready to go! In the end, everyone backed out except me and faith, so we went without them.
First stop, TARGET, where they have super deals galore. I got DVDs for 7bucks, an entire season of FRIENDS for 8bucks (it's normally 50), and an awesome Canon camera for half the price! It made me very happy :)
The people at Target were so fascinating to watch. 'cause they have great deals on electronics and home stuff (i wish we had black friday at home), EVERYONE had a flatscreen TV in their cart. like seriously, it was everywhere. it was super duper cheap and i wish i could have bought it but then it would make no sense to ship it back for double the price. but everyone was so happy about saving money, they had huge grins on their faces and a little skip in their step.
Next stop, THE MALL! It was so pretty and all decked out in Christmas decorations, and there were sales everywhere... except on branded stuff. such snobs. but whatever! I got some presents and clothes... not a lot 'cause I don't know how I'm going to bring everything back. so it was FUNNN.. but we were exhausted by 3pm.
Road trip to Las Vegas
SIN CITY, here we come!
Woke up at the break of dawn again, 5am, all packed and ready to go. We drove through the mountains, and the view was gorgeous! Snow-capped peaks, beautiful sunny skies, fresh air... and then we hit the desert, and there were random gigantic piles of rocks everywhere, and cactus, and tumbleweed (they're like little scraggly bushes that randomly roll across the highway. it's the funniest thing ever). It was nature in all its glory, and you really can't look at such gorgeous creations and not believe there is a God.
So 4 hours later, we reached VEGAS!!! immediately went to check out what shows were cheap that we could go see, and sadly enough, most magic shows were expensive, and the Lion King on broadway was sold out :(
BUT then we found something cheaper and more exciting - DAVID COPPERFIELD's magic show!! So we were like, heck YES, we want to see the greatest magician on earth!
And we were brimming with excitement before the show, but then it turned out to be rather disappointing. it was more of a comedic act with little tricks than huge crazy mind-blowing illusions. he did make a car appear and 13 people from the audience disappear, and he did 'read' people's minds and make predictions... but i kind of think even pastor khong's show was better. OH WELL! at least now we can say we've seen the magnificent Copperfield in action.
Went to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in MGM Grand, and it was so cool. the entire place was decked out to the theme - trees and leaves covering the walls, (fake) animals everywhere, aquariums, a tiny waterfall, stars on the ceiling, and even a 'thunderstorm' every few minutes! it was an awesome dining experience.
It was dark by the time we got out, so we walked along the strip and saw Vegas in all its glory. bright flashing lights, neon signs, people everywhere... it was a feast for the eyes. so pretty. and totally not like how i remembered it. but i guess the last time i was there was YEARS ago. so we were all happy and skipping down the strip... until we came across this whole line of sketchy looking guys giving out cards for hookers. and then the mood just went splat. for me at least. it was so gross! they were standing there, snapping their cards, passing it out to anyone and everyone, even KIDS. that's just wrong.
Anyway, we tried our hand at gambling. haha. 'cause we're all 21! finally! and.. it was a fail. an epic one at that. at first the casinos were very alluring and attractive, what with their bright enticing lights and all, but after a while they all looked the same. and it was kind of smoky inside and some casinos were more dingy than others. and even though all the slot machines have different names, they were definitely all the same. and we had no idea how to play them. so after losing a dollar, i gave up. haha. tas won 37cents! but she lost it after another try. haha. so that was it for our gambling career.
The movies definitely make Vegas look cooler than it is - the gambling part at least.
So then we walked down the strip... saw a miniature version of Paris' Eiffel Tower and New York's Statue of Liberty.. that was cool. and each hotel had different themes. so the New York one had streets inside the hotel like real NYC streets. it was awesome. and it had a rollercoaster on the outside, wrapping around the building, but it was 20bucks to ride, so we didn't.
The MGM Grand was cool, it had a LION HABITAT inside, with real lions and cubs and all. and they also offered free poker lessons, which was tempting, but then we realized even though the lesson was free, u had to use your own money to gamble. haha. and The Bellagio had an AWESOME fountain show every 15 minutes, complete with magnificent music, just like in OCEAN's 11 in the last scene! Treasure Island had a pirate show, but it was closed till next year. And The Mirage had volcano eruptions every now and then. it was so cool... so much to take in! we walked practically everywhere until our feet hurt.
And then we got invited to a ton of clubs for free, so we went and checked out one in the New York hotel, called ROK. it was so fun. faith made sure we kept in line with the stupid rule, so we didn't drink, but it was still fun to dance around and let loose :)
So we finally drove back to Marriott at 3am, exhausted, and went straight to bed. The next day faith accidentally locked her keys in the car, so we had to wait a while for the locksmith to come unlock it. And we were too tired to do anything, so we walked around the shops (they were all ridiculously expensive), and got PINK's hotdogs for lunch, the famous LA restaurant. seriously, the PINK's in LA always has AT LEAST 100 people in line. no kidding. so we tried it in vegas, since there wasn't a line, and it was alright, no big deal. i think it's mostly hype.
Anyway, then we drove around and went to look for wedding chapels. haha. i was ADAMANT we find at least one and check it out, because, you know... vegas = ridiculous spontaneous marriages! haha. so we did, and it was disappointing! the elvis wedding chapel?? looked like some crappy motel. so did all the rest. people must be completely wasted to even consider getting married in vegas!
So we finally said goodbye to vegas at 4pm, 'cause the sun was setting and we didn't wanna be driving home all the way in the dark. but we ended up getting caught in INSANE traffic. i guess EVERYONE IN CALIFORNIA decided to go to vegas for thanksgiving! it was ridiculous. so we finally got back to LA at midnight after being stuck in the car for 8 hours and singing Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA and Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. i never want to hear either of those songs ever again. haha.
but yeah! that was vegas! and it was super fun! tas and i are planning to go back again SOMEDAY! :)
Here are some pics, the rest are on facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31509558&id=179202856#/album.php?aid=2045097&id=179202856&ref=mf
they actually had a DRIVE THRU wedding chapel in VEGAS! weirdest thing ever!
At the Bellagio fountain show
vegas has a ton of pretty fountains
outside the new york hotel
putting a dollar in the lame slot machine and losing it 5 seconds later
people here sure love to gamble
the strip is so pretty at night!
we were in the food coma...
... after eating this huge volcano dessert. we thought the shiny thing on top was sparklers, but alas, they were normal shimmery paper.
at the rainforest cafe!
waiting for david copperfield!! practicing our amazed faces at his tricks.
still waiting...
the lion habitat in the MGM GRAND
yay david copperfield! you weren't that great, but it's ok, it's cool to say i've actually seen you perform :)
pretty strip in the day
we saw a ton of desert before finally getting to vegas
but first, we saw mountains and snow! i kind of actually miss snow. isn't it weird? it just feels so christmas-y when there's snowflakes falling all around you.
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