Food
This post originally appeared on www.thekidsperts.com, a fantastic resource for parents and daycare providers.
Hola, Mexico!
Well, for Christmas 2015, my little family of three tried something new! We spent seven days at a gorgeous all-inclusive resort just south of Cancun.
That’s right; we (mostly) skipped the gifts this year and instead invested in an experience - six nights in paradise at Dreams Riviera Cancun, near Puerto Morelos, Mexico. This trip was absolutely more than we’d normally spend on gifts (I’ll get to the budgeting later) but was a wonderful family experience that we’d love to do again someday. If I’m going to be completely honest, knowing I’d soon be in warmer weather with a cold drink in hand was the light at the end of the tunnel after a busy fourth quarter.
If you’re looking for advice on how we selected the resort, the best advice I can give you is to contact our travel agent! Julie is amazingly wonderful and helped us choose the resort when my parents, sister, and I first went to Mexico in 2010. My family fell in love with the resort and returned in 2011 as well. This isn’t a “Spring Break, WOOOO!” resort. This is more of a laid-back, adults and families enjoying a vacation. Similar to a cruise, there were dress codes for the restaurants and has an overall high-end feel. After such a great experience, I knew it would be something the husband and the bonus-daughter would love.
We traveled as a group of six; me and my husband upgraded to a honeymoon suite, my bonus-daughter and sister shared a garden view room, and my parents upgraded to a suite as well. Yes, my husband is a saint for spending his vacation with his in-laws; but the truth is we had an absolutely wonderful time together!
Depending on the evening, we met up at the Preferred Club, an additional bar/lounge available to guests who upgraded. It was a great place to wait for a table before dinner or relax after dinner. We brought card games to play but found the game Heads Up on our phones to be a go-to for group entertainment. Speaking of entertainment, the resort had fire dancers, a market night, karaoke, movies, live bands and more to offer each evening. The vibe at this resort is they offer things to keep you busy and entertained from sunrise until midnight, but you have no obligation to participate.
Family-friendly resorts, like Dreams, often have activities and kids clubs to keep kids busy and having fun while mom and dad enjoy the resort. At almost sixteen, the bonus daughter was way too old for that scene but kept busy with books she had packed, and resort activities like yoga, volleyball, and swimming.
Paying for the trip:
Now, this type of trip may be common for the rich and famous, but our household is neither! We live below our means with aggressive savings goals and began planning this trip in January of 2015. Our rule with finances is to only finance needs (house, cars (sometimes)), and otherwise, we don’t buy things unless we can pay in full for them, and this trip was no different. Our trip did go on a credit card with twelve months interest-free and was paid off well before we left town. Not going into debt on this trip made it even more enjoyable as we sat by the pool knowing we wouldn’t come home to a mountain of debt.
We also made strategic purchases throughout the year with this trip in mind. When swimsuits and beachwear went on sale at Target.com and Kohl’s, we bought new swimsuits and clothes to tuck away until our trip.It was hard to leave the warm weather behind, but we were happy to arrive back in Des Moines on December 23rd, just in time for a snowy Christmas at home. Overall, we had such a great time on this trip. It was so worth saving up for a trip of this caliber and we really hope we get the chance to go again someday!
Vacation Flashback: Cancun 2015
Monday, October 9, 2017
This post originally appeared on www.thekidsperts.com, a fantastic resource for parents and daycare providers.
Hola, Mexico!
Well, for Christmas 2015, my little family of three tried something new! We spent seven days at a gorgeous all-inclusive resort just south of Cancun.
That’s right; we (mostly) skipped the gifts this year and instead invested in an experience - six nights in paradise at Dreams Riviera Cancun, near Puerto Morelos, Mexico. This trip was absolutely more than we’d normally spend on gifts (I’ll get to the budgeting later) but was a wonderful family experience that we’d love to do again someday. If I’m going to be completely honest, knowing I’d soon be in warmer weather with a cold drink in hand was the light at the end of the tunnel after a busy fourth quarter.If you’re looking for advice on how we selected the resort, the best advice I can give you is to contact our travel agent! Julie is amazingly wonderful and helped us choose the resort when my parents, sister, and I first went to Mexico in 2010. My family fell in love with the resort and returned in 2011 as well. This isn’t a “Spring Break, WOOOO!” resort. This is more of a laid-back, adults and families enjoying a vacation. Similar to a cruise, there were dress codes for the restaurants and has an overall high-end feel. After such a great experience, I knew it would be something the husband and the bonus-daughter would love.
We traveled as a group of six; me and my husband upgraded to a honeymoon suite, my bonus-daughter and sister shared a garden view room, and my parents upgraded to a suite as well. Yes, my husband is a saint for spending his vacation with his in-laws; but the truth is we had an absolutely wonderful time together!
Depending on the evening, we met up at the Preferred Club, an additional bar/lounge available to guests who upgraded. It was a great place to wait for a table before dinner or relax after dinner. We brought card games to play but found the game Heads Up on our phones to be a go-to for group entertainment. Speaking of entertainment, the resort had fire dancers, a market night, karaoke, movies, live bands and more to offer each evening. The vibe at this resort is they offer things to keep you busy and entertained from sunrise until midnight, but you have no obligation to participate.
Family-friendly resorts, like Dreams, often have activities and kids clubs to keep kids busy and having fun while mom and dad enjoy the resort. At almost sixteen, the bonus daughter was way too old for that scene but kept busy with books she had packed, and resort activities like yoga, volleyball, and swimming.
Paying for the trip:
Now, this type of trip may be common for the rich and famous, but our household is neither! We live below our means with aggressive savings goals and began planning this trip in January of 2015. Our rule with finances is to only finance needs (house, cars (sometimes)), and otherwise, we don’t buy things unless we can pay in full for them, and this trip was no different. Our trip did go on a credit card with twelve months interest-free and was paid off well before we left town. Not going into debt on this trip made it even more enjoyable as we sat by the pool knowing we wouldn’t come home to a mountain of debt.
We also made strategic purchases throughout the year with this trip in mind. When swimsuits and beachwear went on sale at Target.com and Kohl’s, we bought new swimsuits and clothes to tuck away until our trip.It was hard to leave the warm weather behind, but we were happy to arrive back in Des Moines on December 23rd, just in time for a snowy Christmas at home. Overall, we had such a great time on this trip. It was so worth saving up for a trip of this caliber and we really hope we get the chance to go again someday!
One of the perks of our somewhat unconventional jobs is the flexibility to travel without taking a ton of time off. As the dates solidified for my most recent trip to Arizona, my best guy offered to join me for the first week of my two week assignment. My wonderful boss was also joining in for the week, bringing her husband and two boys, and was staying a few extra days to visit the Grand Canyon. Add in my awesome teammates Skye, Jenny and Erin, we had a whole gang meeting up for some hard work and fun in the sun!
I flew out Sunday so I could be there first thing Monday morning, and James caught a flight Monday after work. We found a great deal on Allegiant that would arrive a little before 11pm in Phoenix. So after my all day meeting, I grabbed dinner and went back to my hotel to relax when the Google App on my phone reminded me that it was time to leave for the airport and it would take about half an hour. I looked at the pop up and thought "silly Google, Sky Harbor airport is like 10 minutes away!" Then I clicked on the email and realized I had booked his flight to Phoenix-Mesa airport, a small regional airport around 20 miles away. Thank goodness for the alert from Google; I can only imagine how it would have played out otherwise!
We spent our week dining out with friends, celebrating my boss' birthday with dinner and Ping Pong, and cooling off (it got up to 114 degrees!) in the pool. The obligatory stop at In-N-Out burgers did not disappoint! My rental Mustang was extra fun to zip around in, but less fun when we added passengers to the backseat. James daytime excursions included meeting up with our gang for lunch, checking out Mill Avenue, Alice Cooper'stown restaurant, and a Diamondbacks game in their air conditioned stadium.All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and we're already planning our next visit!
More Fun in Tempe
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
One of the perks of our somewhat unconventional jobs is the flexibility to travel without taking a ton of time off. As the dates solidified for my most recent trip to Arizona, my best guy offered to join me for the first week of my two week assignment. My wonderful boss was also joining in for the week, bringing her husband and two boys, and was staying a few extra days to visit the Grand Canyon. Add in my awesome teammates Skye, Jenny and Erin, we had a whole gang meeting up for some hard work and fun in the sun!
I flew out Sunday so I could be there first thing Monday morning, and James caught a flight Monday after work. We found a great deal on Allegiant that would arrive a little before 11pm in Phoenix. So after my all day meeting, I grabbed dinner and went back to my hotel to relax when the Google App on my phone reminded me that it was time to leave for the airport and it would take about half an hour. I looked at the pop up and thought "silly Google, Sky Harbor airport is like 10 minutes away!" Then I clicked on the email and realized I had booked his flight to Phoenix-Mesa airport, a small regional airport around 20 miles away. Thank goodness for the alert from Google; I can only imagine how it would have played out otherwise!We spent our week dining out with friends, celebrating my boss' birthday with dinner and Ping Pong, and cooling off (it got up to 114 degrees!) in the pool. The obligatory stop at In-N-Out burgers did not disappoint! My rental Mustang was extra fun to zip around in, but less fun when we added passengers to the backseat. James daytime excursions included meeting up with our gang for lunch, checking out Mill Avenue, Alice Cooper'stown restaurant, and a Diamondbacks game in their air conditioned stadium.All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and we're already planning our next visit!
I've made the drive from Des Moines to my grandmother's home in western Nebraska a dozen times or so. For those of you unfamiliar with the drive through Nebraska, once you're past Lincoln, if you've seen one mile, you've seen 'em all. And she's clear across Nebraska, only about 30 miles from the Wyoming border.
I've only actually done the driving once, the rest of the time as a passenger and that drive is exhausting. So when cheap fares pop up on Frontier Airlines, it's tempting to book a quick trip to see my grandma. I'm sure I'm the only person from Iowa flying to Denver to visit someone in Nebraska, but I find the 2 hour flight and 3 hour drive much easier to swallow than the 8+ hour trip in the car. 
So James and I packed our bag for the cheap flight to Denver. Since Frontier charges for carryons and checked bags, we shared a checked bag, and somehow managed to only pack 26.6 lbs for three days. New personal best. On a rainy Wednesday, we boarded our flight to the mile high city. 
Frontier Airline's planes each feature a different wild animal, which they proudly display as you enter the aircraft. Overall, the flight was okay. Anytime I fly a discount airline, I miss the cushy comfort of Delta and American. But then I remember we had to pay for our tickets (not my employer) at about half the cost of the major airlines, so it's worth minor annoyances. We paid for a couple cans of soda on our flight in hard plastic seats that didn't recline. Since I was in the middle seat, I was particularly grumpy but a couple episodes of The West Wing Weekly podcast kept me distracted until we landed. 
After making our way through the airport, we waited for the Avis shuttle and discovered we had been assigned a Suburban for our four day adventure. I laughed as the last thing the two of us needed was a car that seats eight, so we checked in with the Preferred desk and they mentioned a shortage of cars but let us pick between a Ford Explorer or a Lincoln Navigator. James quickly chimed in that the Navigator would be just fine. After figuring out a few of the bells and whistles (including the best navigation system I've used, and lights with the Lincoln logo), we left for my cousin Melissa's house in Brighton, grabbing pizza so we could catch up with her and her two kids. As the sun started to set, we said our goodbyes and left for Scottsbluff, Nebraska. 
As the sun quickly set, we drove on the two lane highway that was only lit by our headlights, only passing by a few cars. After crossing from Colorado into Nebraska, we stopped to stretch our legs in Kimball, about 45 miles outside of our destination. This small town had a few businesses that caught our attention, so I snapped a few pics before we decided to check out Beer and Loathing bar, an homage to Hunter S. Thompson and his book Fear and Loathing. The bar was great and the bartender was awesome. After about a half hour, we figured it was time to get back on the road and get checked into our hotel. 
Our time in Scottsbluff was short, but highlights include cabbage burgers at The Mixing Bowl, Gering Bakery, but most of all - spending time with family. In addition to my grandmother, my Aunt and Uncle live nearby, and I got to see my cousins and meet my cousin's new baby too! As we packed up to head back to Denver, I laughed at the difference in our packings styles. I may be the one that travels most for business, but clearly he's winning at the adulting game.
We took our time on the trek back to Denver, refueling at this cute gas station/diner in Scottsbluff and grabbing lunch at Beer and Loathing as we made our way to Wyoming. The drive was relaxing and the views were magnificent. When we found ourselves in a construction traffic jam, we hopped off the interstate for a quick pit-stop, when I realized we were near the town where my grandparents lived for most of my childhood. Every year, we'd spend a week or more with them over the summer or Christmas, and it had been sixteen years since I had last seen their little subdivision, and the amazing views of protected state land directly behind their townhouse. 
A quick call to my dad, we were able to remember the name of their street, and google maps narrowed down the neighborhood when I recognized the King Sooper's grocery store. It once sat all alone in a field, but the entire county has now been developed. Turns out we were only about fifteen minutes from our destination. We drove by the pool where my sister and I used to swim, and I got to see the roses and aspen trees my grandfather had planted. The yard wasn't quite as manicured as he kept it, but I could tell the home was well loved by it's current owners. We totally tresspassed through their side yard and I snuck a few photos of the gorgeous view. It was a bittersweet trip down memory lane.
James had researched and found the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver as our destination. On our way, we got to see a packed Coors Field. The road we were on led right to the stadium, almost looking like it reached center field. On 16th Street, we picked up souvenirs, did a LOT of people watching, and grabbed dinner at Illegal Burger, a funky burger place, on par with Zombie Burger in Des Moines.
Exhausted from the day, we made our way to our hotel near the airport and got ready for our early flight the next day. Our checked bag weighed 19.5 lbs more than our trip out thanks to a purchase of Tab Cola that isn't available in Des Moines. Surprisingly, every can made it home intact! Since we arrived to the airport early, I wandered around taking photos and timelapse videos. Click the Instagram image below to see a quick timelapse. 
I'm so grateful for the chance to visit family and enjoy some quality time on the road with my best guy.
Colorado/Wyoming/Nebraska - May 2017
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
I've made the drive from Des Moines to my grandmother's home in western Nebraska a dozen times or so. For those of you unfamiliar with the drive through Nebraska, once you're past Lincoln, if you've seen one mile, you've seen 'em all. And she's clear across Nebraska, only about 30 miles from the Wyoming border.
I've only actually done the driving once, the rest of the time as a passenger and that drive is exhausting. So when cheap fares pop up on Frontier Airlines, it's tempting to book a quick trip to see my grandma. I'm sure I'm the only person from Iowa flying to Denver to visit someone in Nebraska, but I find the 2 hour flight and 3 hour drive much easier to swallow than the 8+ hour trip in the car. So James and I packed our bag for the cheap flight to Denver. Since Frontier charges for carryons and checked bags, we shared a checked bag, and somehow managed to only pack 26.6 lbs for three days. New personal best. On a rainy Wednesday, we boarded our flight to the mile high city. Frontier Airline's planes each feature a different wild animal, which they proudly display as you enter the aircraft. Overall, the flight was okay. Anytime I fly a discount airline, I miss the cushy comfort of Delta and American. But then I remember we had to pay for our tickets (not my employer) at about half the cost of the major airlines, so it's worth minor annoyances. We paid for a couple cans of soda on our flight in hard plastic seats that didn't recline. Since I was in the middle seat, I was particularly grumpy but a couple episodes of The West Wing Weekly podcast kept me distracted until we landed. After making our way through the airport, we waited for the Avis shuttle and discovered we had been assigned a Suburban for our four day adventure. I laughed as the last thing the two of us needed was a car that seats eight, so we checked in with the Preferred desk and they mentioned a shortage of cars but let us pick between a Ford Explorer or a Lincoln Navigator. James quickly chimed in that the Navigator would be just fine. After figuring out a few of the bells and whistles (including the best navigation system I've used, and lights with the Lincoln logo), we left for my cousin Melissa's house in Brighton, grabbing pizza so we could catch up with her and her two kids. As the sun started to set, we said our goodbyes and left for Scottsbluff, Nebraska. As the sun quickly set, we drove on the two lane highway that was only lit by our headlights, only passing by a few cars. After crossing from Colorado into Nebraska, we stopped to stretch our legs in Kimball, about 45 miles outside of our destination. This small town had a few businesses that caught our attention, so I snapped a few pics before we decided to check out Beer and Loathing bar, an homage to Hunter S. Thompson and his book Fear and Loathing. The bar was great and the bartender was awesome. After about a half hour, we figured it was time to get back on the road and get checked into our hotel. Our time in Scottsbluff was short, but highlights include cabbage burgers at The Mixing Bowl, Gering Bakery, but most of all - spending time with family. In addition to my grandmother, my Aunt and Uncle live nearby, and I got to see my cousins and meet my cousin's new baby too! As we packed up to head back to Denver, I laughed at the difference in our packings styles. I may be the one that travels most for business, but clearly he's winning at the adulting game.
We took our time on the trek back to Denver, refueling at this cute gas station/diner in Scottsbluff and grabbing lunch at Beer and Loathing as we made our way to Wyoming. The drive was relaxing and the views were magnificent. When we found ourselves in a construction traffic jam, we hopped off the interstate for a quick pit-stop, when I realized we were near the town where my grandparents lived for most of my childhood. Every year, we'd spend a week or more with them over the summer or Christmas, and it had been sixteen years since I had last seen their little subdivision, and the amazing views of protected state land directly behind their townhouse. A quick call to my dad, we were able to remember the name of their street, and google maps narrowed down the neighborhood when I recognized the King Sooper's grocery store. It once sat all alone in a field, but the entire county has now been developed. Turns out we were only about fifteen minutes from our destination. We drove by the pool where my sister and I used to swim, and I got to see the roses and aspen trees my grandfather had planted. The yard wasn't quite as manicured as he kept it, but I could tell the home was well loved by it's current owners. We totally tresspassed through their side yard and I snuck a few photos of the gorgeous view. It was a bittersweet trip down memory lane.
James had researched and found the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver as our destination. On our way, we got to see a packed Coors Field. The road we were on led right to the stadium, almost looking like it reached center field. On 16th Street, we picked up souvenirs, did a LOT of people watching, and grabbed dinner at Illegal Burger, a funky burger place, on par with Zombie Burger in Des Moines.
Exhausted from the day, we made our way to our hotel near the airport and got ready for our early flight the next day. Our checked bag weighed 19.5 lbs more than our trip out thanks to a purchase of Tab Cola that isn't available in Des Moines. Surprisingly, every can made it home intact! Since we arrived to the airport early, I wandered around taking photos and timelapse videos. Click the Instagram image below to see a quick timelapse. I'm so grateful for the chance to visit family and enjoy some quality time on the road with my best guy.
In the very early days of dating my husband, his family warmly invited me to join them in Orlando for his sister's lovely wedding. The celebration was a two day affair culminating in a backyard family barbecue, but left plenty of time for sightseeing and typical Orlando touristy stuff. Disney, Universal Studios, and Cocoa Beach were on our agenda for our week-long escape.
This trip was also our first experience flying Allegiant Air, which offered cheap non-stop service from Des Moines to Sanford, Florida - just outside of Orlando. We paid for seat assignments (Allegiant offers these as an upgrade) as we didn't want to risk being split up from his then eleven year old daughter, which added about another hundred dollars to the total each way. We stayed with some of James' family, but rented a car so we'd be able to get around a bit easier.
This trip was a learning curve for all of us; James daughter had packed herself which meant some items in her carry-on were questionable from a TSA standpoint and we hadn't really traveled anywhere together so we all had different expectations. Nowadays we are pros and travel together pretty easily.
Our days at Disney and Universal were both fantastic. October is an amazing time to hit up the theme parks with the shortest lines I've ever experienced. We rode the Dragon Challenge six times before us girls tapped out, while James rode another four or five times. The Dragon Challenge was formerly Dueling Dragons, which I rode on my Spring Break trip with the marching band in high school. They had a shortcut open between the exit and entrance, and by the time we walked to the front of the line, it was time to board again. Following the old advice, we made sure to ride the front of Fire and back of Ice - the names for the two rides.
The longest wait was at the featured ride of newly unveiled Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. We waited maybe thirty minutes to get to the head of the line, and another fifteen minutes with the lights on when they had a mechanical issue. It was really cool to see the otherwise dark space with the lights on. As we rode the ride, I remembered there was a scene with snakes in one of the later books, so I spent most of the ride with my eyes closed, including the photo moment, much to the entertainment of James' daughter. 
We also made the drive out to Cocoa Beach, another place I had visited in high school. The city had grown, but we hit up Ron Jon's Surf shop for more souvenirs before making our way to the sand. Without swimsuits, the kid wadded in the water as we enjoyed the sun from our seats in the sand. Her plan was genius because when she inevitably was caught off guard by a wave, she ended up with a new outfit from another surf shop up the shore. 
After the beach, we hit up a fish camp for lunch where we enjoyed fried alligator, crab, and hush puppies before making the trip back towards Orlando. Our rental car was another Ford Escape, which was super convenient for getting around too. Oh, and it was the kid's first trip to IKEA!
Overall, our trip was a great getaway and so full of love as we celebrated Catherine and Dan's marriage!
Vacation Flashback: Orlando 2011
Friday, June 2, 2017
In the very early days of dating my husband, his family warmly invited me to join them in Orlando for his sister's lovely wedding. The celebration was a two day affair culminating in a backyard family barbecue, but left plenty of time for sightseeing and typical Orlando touristy stuff. Disney, Universal Studios, and Cocoa Beach were on our agenda for our week-long escape.
This trip was also our first experience flying Allegiant Air, which offered cheap non-stop service from Des Moines to Sanford, Florida - just outside of Orlando. We paid for seat assignments (Allegiant offers these as an upgrade) as we didn't want to risk being split up from his then eleven year old daughter, which added about another hundred dollars to the total each way. We stayed with some of James' family, but rented a car so we'd be able to get around a bit easier.
This trip was a learning curve for all of us; James daughter had packed herself which meant some items in her carry-on were questionable from a TSA standpoint and we hadn't really traveled anywhere together so we all had different expectations. Nowadays we are pros and travel together pretty easily.
Our days at Disney and Universal were both fantastic. October is an amazing time to hit up the theme parks with the shortest lines I've ever experienced. We rode the Dragon Challenge six times before us girls tapped out, while James rode another four or five times. The Dragon Challenge was formerly Dueling Dragons, which I rode on my Spring Break trip with the marching band in high school. They had a shortcut open between the exit and entrance, and by the time we walked to the front of the line, it was time to board again. Following the old advice, we made sure to ride the front of Fire and back of Ice - the names for the two rides.
The longest wait was at the featured ride of newly unveiled Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. We waited maybe thirty minutes to get to the head of the line, and another fifteen minutes with the lights on when they had a mechanical issue. It was really cool to see the otherwise dark space with the lights on. As we rode the ride, I remembered there was a scene with snakes in one of the later books, so I spent most of the ride with my eyes closed, including the photo moment, much to the entertainment of James' daughter. We also made the drive out to Cocoa Beach, another place I had visited in high school. The city had grown, but we hit up Ron Jon's Surf shop for more souvenirs before making our way to the sand. Without swimsuits, the kid wadded in the water as we enjoyed the sun from our seats in the sand. Her plan was genius because when she inevitably was caught off guard by a wave, she ended up with a new outfit from another surf shop up the shore. After the beach, we hit up a fish camp for lunch where we enjoyed fried alligator, crab, and hush puppies before making the trip back towards Orlando. Our rental car was another Ford Escape, which was super convenient for getting around too. Oh, and it was the kid's first trip to IKEA!
Overall, our trip was a great getaway and so full of love as we celebrated Catherine and Dan's marriage!
After Jim and Angie's lovely sunset ceremony, we went back inside The Bellagio Hotel, where they were holding our luggage, to grab dinner. On a seven-hour layover coming home from The Philippines, a friend had raved about their buffet. I'm not a buffet person at all, but was willing to give it a try, and I remembered the meal being really good - but after flying 16 hours, any real food tastes pretty good. So a year later, James was willing to check it out with me.
At almost $45 per person on Friday and Saturday nights, clearly you're expecting it to be more impressive than the buffets back home. This was far and above our expectations, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
After we were beyond full, we collected up our luggage and made our way to our much cheaper hotel - the Stratosphere. The Stratosphere is off the main part of the strip, and located between the strip and Fremont street. Friends of ours that love Vegas make a face when we said we stayed there, but honestly, it was a place to sleep for a few hours and we spent the rest of our time out and about. Room stays include complimentary visits to the top of the Stratosphere, which would be worth checking out no matter where you stay. We visited that night for a bit, and met up with the wedding crew again Saturday morning for a daytime view. None of us were brave enough for the roller coaster or zip-line jump from the observation deck!
James and I took the monorail and buses to get around, and had a great time people watching. We aren't gamblers, so we had done our research on what we wanted to do. With a limited window - basically one day, we made just a few plans to fill our day. We grabbed lunch at In-N-Out just behind New York, New York casino, James' first visit to the chain, and then took a bus to the Pinball Hall of Fame on Tropicana. 
James and I are both pinball fans; he actually has some skill, I just have fond memories of playing. 10,000 square feet of pinball machines is our type of casino! So we spent maybe $50 over three hours playing almost every machine. We also got a chance to meet Tim Arnold, the founder who is featured on Special When Lit, a documentary on pinball that's available on Netflix. The proceeds from the machines are donated to The Salvation Army; five and six figures every year! After we were done playing, we went to Fremont Street to check out old Vegas and grab dinner. When we had hit our limit of people watching - and there was plenty to watch, we called it a night and went back to the hotel. We had an early morning shuttle to catch and met up with the wedding crew at the airport. My flight left about an hour after theirs to Des Moines, so I decided to put $10 in an airport slot machine. About five minutes later the $10 was gone, and I confirmed that gambling was not my thing.
Vacation Flashback: Vegas 2012 - Part 2
Monday, May 8, 2017
After Jim and Angie's lovely sunset ceremony, we went back inside The Bellagio Hotel, where they were holding our luggage, to grab dinner. On a seven-hour layover coming home from The Philippines, a friend had raved about their buffet. I'm not a buffet person at all, but was willing to give it a try, and I remembered the meal being really good - but after flying 16 hours, any real food tastes pretty good. So a year later, James was willing to check it out with me.
At almost $45 per person on Friday and Saturday nights, clearly you're expecting it to be more impressive than the buffets back home. This was far and above our expectations, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
After we were beyond full, we collected up our luggage and made our way to our much cheaper hotel - the Stratosphere. The Stratosphere is off the main part of the strip, and located between the strip and Fremont street. Friends of ours that love Vegas make a face when we said we stayed there, but honestly, it was a place to sleep for a few hours and we spent the rest of our time out and about. Room stays include complimentary visits to the top of the Stratosphere, which would be worth checking out no matter where you stay. We visited that night for a bit, and met up with the wedding crew again Saturday morning for a daytime view. None of us were brave enough for the roller coaster or zip-line jump from the observation deck!James and I took the monorail and buses to get around, and had a great time people watching. We aren't gamblers, so we had done our research on what we wanted to do. With a limited window - basically one day, we made just a few plans to fill our day. We grabbed lunch at In-N-Out just behind New York, New York casino, James' first visit to the chain, and then took a bus to the Pinball Hall of Fame on Tropicana. James and I are both pinball fans; he actually has some skill, I just have fond memories of playing. 10,000 square feet of pinball machines is our type of casino! So we spent maybe $50 over three hours playing almost every machine. We also got a chance to meet Tim Arnold, the founder who is featured on Special When Lit, a documentary on pinball that's available on Netflix. The proceeds from the machines are donated to The Salvation Army; five and six figures every year! After we were done playing, we went to Fremont Street to check out old Vegas and grab dinner. When we had hit our limit of people watching - and there was plenty to watch, we called it a night and went back to the hotel. We had an early morning shuttle to catch and met up with the wedding crew at the airport. My flight left about an hour after theirs to Des Moines, so I decided to put $10 in an airport slot machine. About five minutes later the $10 was gone, and I confirmed that gambling was not my thing.
In all fairness, I knew what I was getting into. This was not my first visit to Ziggurat Restaurant in Makati; two colleagues and I dined there one night last year and it was probably one of the best meals I've ever had.
After my last conference call on Monday, I returned to my apartment around 7am and the sky looked unusual; the sun had come out. No rain, the wind had died down, it was almost pleasant out!
I decided to seize the opportunity and head to Lonely Planet-approved Ziggurat and enjoy food from all over Africa, Asia and parts of Europe. I contemplated hiring a car to drive me as the restaurant sits in between establishments called "rouge" and "mascara" where I'm sure the girls wear very little more than their employer's name. But at just under a kilometer away, that seemed silly in the daylight. While the distance is short, the route is along a very busy road (during rush hour, no less) that intersects another very busy road. For perspective, it would be like walking down I-235 during rush hour, but everyone is going 35 miles an hour, then crossing the same sized road.
The walk was easy and traffic wasn't too horrible. I kept with the flow and crossed at the walkways with a dozen other people. The restaurant was exactly as I remembered, tucked behind a little 7-11 store.
I started my meal with some hummus and flatbread, then an Indian kebab with Jordanian rice. I also placed a to-go order of paneer butter masela (an Indian dish) and Iraqi Saffron rice for leftovers this weekend. I sat on the patio and people watched to my little heart's content until I noticed the sky turn and decided to make a dash back to the apartment. As I sat there, I made a list of everything I saw, sort of live tweeting the experience.
- A woman in dire need of dental services shouting at parked cars. I watched her touch some garbage and smell it. It must not have been to her liking as she left it alone.
- A sports bar called "Cheers" (yes, THAT cheers) opening this month.
- Japanese and European male tourists wandering the streets. 1 american male for sure - he had a fanny pack
- A petite woman wearing an over sized T-shirt, grey leggings and last night's make-up
- A well dressed, older, eastern-European couple with confused/concerned looks on their faces.
- Same couple again, walking the opposite direction
- A 50+ year old Caucasian man walking with a woman who is likely 30+ years his junior, with the body of a middle school student. I was creeped out by his presence as they walked across the street.
- A woman in J-Lo-esque club attire. Olympic volleyball style shorts and rap video style shoes, enjoying her smoke break.
- Young couples walking hand in hand, weaving through traffic, obviously just passing through the area.
- A man in green skirt, dragging his flip flops as he passed by three times.
- A man walking very quickly carrying a case of water on his head.
- A college-aged guy wearing a northface backpack selling viagra to restaurant patrons across the street.
- Ordinary citizens un-phased by the businesses that surround them as they walk to school or work.
- A black sedan with heavily tinted windows, circling the block. We'll pretend I didn't see the "For official use" decal (with flag) on the passenger side.
- Crazy lady is back and has added an empty juice jug to her belongings.
- Approached (I'm sitting outside) by a man selling DVDs. I consider but send him away, I shouldn't buy until I'm ready to leave - otherwise I'd be swarmed.
- A woman with 2 small kids begging for food. I hand them my unopened water bottle through the railing of the dining area. The baby is maybe 2. Suddenly things get blurry until I blink away the tears.
- A man selling stolen/fake nike shoes.
- The sedan stopped circling; the "official" business must be done.
- An man resembling an older John Lennon sitting under the awning of a dry cleaners.
- A van of properly dressed women in their 30s & 40s entering a language school down a side-street
- A woman selling long-stemmed roses to the Romeo's looking to impress their companions for the night
Things One Sees While Dining in the Red Light District
Sunday, August 5, 2012
In all fairness, I knew what I was getting into. This was not my first visit to Ziggurat Restaurant in Makati; two colleagues and I dined there one night last year and it was probably one of the best meals I've ever had.
After my last conference call on Monday, I returned to my apartment around 7am and the sky looked unusual; the sun had come out. No rain, the wind had died down, it was almost pleasant out!
I decided to seize the opportunity and head to Lonely Planet-approved Ziggurat and enjoy food from all over Africa, Asia and parts of Europe. I contemplated hiring a car to drive me as the restaurant sits in between establishments called "rouge" and "mascara" where I'm sure the girls wear very little more than their employer's name. But at just under a kilometer away, that seemed silly in the daylight. While the distance is short, the route is along a very busy road (during rush hour, no less) that intersects another very busy road. For perspective, it would be like walking down I-235 during rush hour, but everyone is going 35 miles an hour, then crossing the same sized road.
The walk was easy and traffic wasn't too horrible. I kept with the flow and crossed at the walkways with a dozen other people. The restaurant was exactly as I remembered, tucked behind a little 7-11 store.
I started my meal with some hummus and flatbread, then an Indian kebab with Jordanian rice. I also placed a to-go order of paneer butter masela (an Indian dish) and Iraqi Saffron rice for leftovers this weekend. I sat on the patio and people watched to my little heart's content until I noticed the sky turn and decided to make a dash back to the apartment. As I sat there, I made a list of everything I saw, sort of live tweeting the experience.
- A woman in dire need of dental services shouting at parked cars. I watched her touch some garbage and smell it. It must not have been to her liking as she left it alone.
- A sports bar called "Cheers" (yes, THAT cheers) opening this month.
- Japanese and European male tourists wandering the streets. 1 american male for sure - he had a fanny pack
- A petite woman wearing an over sized T-shirt, grey leggings and last night's make-up
- A well dressed, older, eastern-European couple with confused/concerned looks on their faces.
- Same couple again, walking the opposite direction
- A 50+ year old Caucasian man walking with a woman who is likely 30+ years his junior, with the body of a middle school student. I was creeped out by his presence as they walked across the street.
- A woman in J-Lo-esque club attire. Olympic volleyball style shorts and rap video style shoes, enjoying her smoke break.
- Young couples walking hand in hand, weaving through traffic, obviously just passing through the area.
- A man in green skirt, dragging his flip flops as he passed by three times.
- A man walking very quickly carrying a case of water on his head.
- A college-aged guy wearing a northface backpack selling viagra to restaurant patrons across the street.
- Ordinary citizens un-phased by the businesses that surround them as they walk to school or work.
- A black sedan with heavily tinted windows, circling the block. We'll pretend I didn't see the "For official use" decal (with flag) on the passenger side.
- Crazy lady is back and has added an empty juice jug to her belongings.
- Approached (I'm sitting outside) by a man selling DVDs. I consider but send him away, I shouldn't buy until I'm ready to leave - otherwise I'd be swarmed.
- A woman with 2 small kids begging for food. I hand them my unopened water bottle through the railing of the dining area. The baby is maybe 2. Suddenly things get blurry until I blink away the tears.
- A man selling stolen/fake nike shoes.
- The sedan stopped circling; the "official" business must be done.
- An man resembling an older John Lennon sitting under the awning of a dry cleaners.
- A van of properly dressed women in their 30s & 40s entering a language school down a side-street
- A woman selling long-stemmed roses to the Romeo's looking to impress their companions for the night
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