Las Vegas- Mandalay Bay

 Day 4- Thursday

So Thursday morning we woke up at Mandalay Bay and headed to their "beach" to play.  It was a HUGE wave pool with sand and a lazy river.  Yes, please.  We found out those green floats you see in the background were $25 a piece and could only be used in the lazy river.  Again... total waste.  A nice lady who was leaving happily gifted us her T Mobile pink floats for free and we were set.

I wish the videos could load on here because in the wave pool if you catch the undercurrent it sends you in just like a wave in the ocean.  It is hard to do but so fun if you catch it right.  The kids did it over and over again and Jimmy and I tried but often ended up looking like beached whales washed ashore.

Moonwalking with Michael in the lobby...

Jimmy loved the roulette table and spent all of his gambling time there.  At some of the casinos we went through, I'd try my luck at a few and we would keep a chip.  We hit the floor at Mandalay Bay before dinner and I was ahead.  I had pretty good luck and was happy to hold on to my winnings but my hubby is much more the "go big or go home" type and always wanted to push it.  This night we left with money in our pocket but it wasn't easy for him to quit.  It's a good thing we live far, far away from Vegas.  Lol!

We surprisingly got reservations at the Bacchanel Buffet back at Caeasars Palace for Thursday night so we left early for dinner and hit the casinos/hotels on the way up.  First stop was New York, New York again to ride The Big Apple coaster.  Keatyn had to be talked into it but ended up loving it and her and Trace did it a second time.  It goes outside and through the lobby of the hotel.  So cool!

Cosmopolitan

Bellagio...

The Bellagio was absolutely beautiful inside!!  And of course the fountains didn't disappoint.

Several people told us a buffet is a MUST in Vegas but most hadn't reopened since Covid.  The Bacchanel Buffet in Caesars, one of the only ones up and going, was booking into mid August.  So imagine my surprise when I hopped back online the night before we left and found 1 reservation for the time we were there.  It was late for dinner, 8:45 (which was 11:45 our time) but totally worth it.  SO many different foods to choose from.  My girl in true fashion stuck to the crab legs and was perfectly happy.  Also, Trace in true fashion, did NOT get his money's worth.  Sometimes the magnitude of a buffet is just too much and you freeze.  Lol!

And this happened moments after I said... please don't spill butter all over that brand new jumpsuit.

After dinner, we were stuffed and tired but got to see the gorgeous fountain show again at the Bellagio on our way back down the strip.

All week we had been seeing what Trace referred to as "Peacock Girls."  Some looked rough and kinda sketchy but when we saw these 2 they looked like sweet college girls just trying to make a buck.  Sooo we let him get a picture.  He had NO idea what to do with his hands.  Lol!  Lord love him.

And then before he knew it, they threw their legs in his arms for the second pose.  Look at that face.  Priceless!

We started making our way back down the strip and were having NO luck finding a taxi.  All of a sudden this stretch limo pulls out of the Bellagio and we realized there was a spotter at the side that had been watching us try unsuccessfully to hail a cab.  He called his buddy parked at the entrance to the casino and he pulled around in the limo.  The driver offer a ride (a little over a mile) to Mandalay Bay for $75.  Jimmy said  sorry that was too much, while the guy behind us was oohing and aahing over what a great deal that was.  They were obviously in cahoots.  Lol!  The driver agreed to do it for $50 and since a taxi ride would have been nearly $25, we jumped in.  This was probably the highlight of the trip for the kids.  Totally unexpected or unplanned but that mile ride with the music blaring and lights flashing inside a stretch limo on the Las Vegas strip will never be forgotten.  

Day 5-  Friday

They all obliged and stood in line for the customary picture in front of the sign.  You have to get that one right?!?  They know my love of pictures run deep!

Keatyn's request all week had been to eat an In-N-Out burger like she saw on her videos.  It was actually really good and one of the cheapest meals we had had all week.  Lol!

The Paris hotel and casino...

The last day, we made our way back to the top of the strip to the Strat.  It was so tall!  And there were rides on the roof which terrified me.  Luckily for me, 2 of the 3 were closed and I was relieved.  One of them was a coaster that went off the side of the building.  NO THANK YOU!

We watched several bungee jump off the side.  In my old age, I've lost all desire for that stuff.

We went back to the hotel and hit the pool again before our last night's dinner...

We changed reservations for dinner several times on the trip and the last night ended up staying at Mandalay Bay at Lupo's which was a Wolfgang Puck Italian restaurant.  It was so good!

After dinner, we tucked the kids into the hotel room and hit the casino one last time.  We found a lady that was on a winning streak and played for about an hour and had a blast.  Again, I was way ahead and was happy to leave with my little winnings.  Guess who wasn't?

Day 6- Saturday

We snapped a few pics of the hotel room before packing up and heading to the airport...

One last twirl of the wheel.  Jimmy convinced me to go for it.  I did.  It didn't end well after this picture was taken.

We took a taxi back to the airport and waited for the flight which got delayed.  Once we got back to Atlanta it was well after midnight.  I was expecting the Atlanta airport to be in full swing 24/7 and was starving.  We waited on our luggage for 45 minutes and then got lost in the parking garage for an hour and a half.  Needless to say but the time we FINALLY got to our car, I was HANGRY and we stopped at 3 different exits trying to find food on the way home.   My daughter may have heard me say a cuss word when I found the gas station closed AGAIN.  We finally found a McDonald's about 3 a.m. and all was right with the world again but it got ugly for a minute.  Lol!

We were happy to be home not long before the sun was coming up and see our sweet pups!  It was SUCH a wonderful trip that I pray we always remember.  I absolutely love seeing the world with this crew and will cherish these memories forever!