What happens in Vegas ~ Days 2 & 3

Happy WEEKEND all!  Thanks for all the great ideas on what to do in Las Vegas.  I LOVE that some of you are taking notes on things to check out.  Since we go usually once or twice a year and I think it will help those planning visits out, I will be making up a list of all of our favorite things to do, including all the FREE SHOWS you can watch here in Vegas.

We woke up on Thursday morning to check out the view of the strip from our room during the day. 

And at night!  I LOVE VEGAS at night…not just for the lights but because it’s not a million degrees outside

We made sure to stock up on a few essentials on our first day so we could make breakfasts in and I could have my “snacks’ to carry everywhere lol.

The Husband actually made us breakfast complete with “fancy” napkins. 

1/2 cup orange juice and an eggwich

I didn’t tell you all the main reason of our trip.  We come each year for the Casino Chip Show.  The Husband kind of “geeks out” a bit over the clay casino chips (think the $1, $5, etc. chips you get playing cards).  They actually have a convention for collectors and it goes on for 3 days.

We spent majority of Day 2 at the convention checking out chips.  Lunch consisted of my snacks…..Banana.

Quaker Oat Squares!

After the convention, we headed over to The Husband’s must eat place in Vegas ~ Buffalo Wild Wings.

I decided to get what I really wanted….The Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wrap with medium buffalo sauce and bbq sauce.  I only had a couple of chips ~ they were just ok and I had 2 of those mozzarella sticks in the back.

I think I am totally mixing my buffalo and bbq sauces from now on ~ this was delicious!

After our “Linner” we decided to walk it off.  The first stop was visiting the Tropicana for The MOB Experience.

We both got badges with our Mob Nicknames on them.

I was “Doves” and The Husband was “The Clutching Hand”.

It’s such a COOL experience.  You get to “play” these characters as you walk through reading all about the MOB, how they came to Vegas and the rise/fall of the casinos they created.

Oh and you are totally “IN ON IT” ~ You are created by several mob characters, have a few chats, deliver an envelope and badabing badaboom ~ the rest is history!

They don’t let you take pictures once you get inside, but, trust me, if you are in VEGAS ~ do this ~ IT’s FUN and actually quite interesting to learn about how the mob worked “behind the scenes”.

After the show, we walked the strip and checked out some of the casinos.

Bachelorette fans ~ I was totally a dork when I saw this…it’s where they did the whole coin flip date and picked out the wine!

Inside The Cosmopolitan.

I think this Canoe Sculpture is pretty cool too!

Can you believe I actually resisted snapping a bunch of pictures of the strip?!  I really wanted to but The Husband reminded me that I already showed you all two years in a row now HERE (good shots) and HERE (before I knew to make my pictures bigger lol).

Friday was MY DAY!  By that I mean, since we spent the entire day at the convention on Thursday, I got to pick what we did all day Friday.

We whipped up these Pillsbury Reduced Fat Cinnamon Rolls that The Husband picked out. 

Fruit salad!

For those wondering, the rolls are 4 points+ each, not too bad, huh?! 

After breakfast, we were off to the Shark Reef Aquarium. We decided to pick 3 experiences for $54 (you save a lot of moohlah that way and triple your fun).

First up…..The Shark Reef!

It’s a smaller aquarium (not like the one we went to in Atlantis), but, it is still pretty cool and only takes about an hour or less to get through. 

Crazy fact ~ if you were bitten by one of these Komodo Dragon’s the bacteria in their teeth would kill you.

He looks so sweet/happy sleeping though….

These little Green Tree Monitors totally came right up to the camera for pictures.

The Husband totally teased me when I snapped a few pictures of the plants and flowers saying I was trying to be like my Dad the Professional Photographer

Then again, he also told me he was good to NEVER snorkel in the Amazon

Paraná skull

There were a ton of BIG and small fish to see.

Puffer Fish!  And, yes, for those wondering…I cannot walk past these fish without puffing my cheeks out….Don’t worry, we totally moo at cows when we drive on the freeway too – it’s totally normal

Do you see him opening his mouth?! He swam faster than I could snap the pic.

I WISH I got a better picture of this fish ~ look at the “skeleton” on his skin.

Jelly Fish!

Octopus!

The tour guide had it change colors in front of us ~ so cool!

Turtles!

Sting Rays ~ I LOVE the babies and how they just swim right over the top of each other.  You can pet them if you want….I didn’t!

Sharks!

He wanted his picture taken “catching” one LOL.

This is a Shark Ray ~ Somehow a sting ray + a shark = this…..

Next up was lunch at Dickies (it’s right next door to Buffalo Wild Wings)!  As you all know, we fell IN LOVE with this place when we were in Reno last time.  Normally I am all about NOT going to chains or places we can go back home, but, these pickles just sounded too good!

We shared everything you see here…Caesar Salad.

BBQ Beans (I only had 2 bites).

I have decided I could have pickles, their mac n cheese and rolls and be totally happy!

I had 1 rib, 1/3 of the pulled pork and probably all the mac n cheese.

Oh and these Bacon Green Beans too!

I think all restaurants should offer FREE cones when you eat there too ~ I totally eat like a kid sometimes LOL.

We actually were not sure if it was a good thing to go to The Bodies Exhibit in the Luxor before or after lunch.

We both thought it was really informative and it’s a bit like you are when you are in school.  The part that kind of icked me out a bit ~ they use REAL BODIES and I actually felt bad for the people who were sliced/diced.

That being said, it was neat to see how your lungs/heart/veins looked healthy and unhealthy.

COOLEST FACT WE READ ~ Every single red blood cell in pumps through your body once per minute.

Next up was the Titanic Exhibit in the Luxor!  After seeing this exhibit we totally want to watch the movie again!

Definitely worth the $$!  They did a great job displaying the artifacts and creating the “feeling” you are on the boat as you walk through (including the cold temperatures the people felt the night the Titanic sank).

We were also each given a “boarding pass” for an ACTUAL passenger that was on the ship.

At the end, you get to find out if you survived the Titanic or not.  It is also pretty cool that you can research their name online to read all about the person you were.

The Husband was Mr. Ernst Gilbert Danbom.

I was pretty excited to be a stunning 22 year old actress from New York that was in demand!! Miss Dorothy Winifred Gibson.

After the tour, we walked, gambled a bit and then headed over to New York, New York to visit the America Restaurant we ate at last time.

I LOVE their décor ~ the ceiling is all the states with little symbols of what you can find in each state.

We shared the Caprese Salad appetizer….I was sad there were no greens (it said it came on a bed of arugula) but it was delicious all the same.

There were so many things that sounded good on the menu, but, I really wanted shrimp scampi….so I went for it!

I ate all the shrimp and about 1/2 of the pasta because it was so rich.

STEP COUNT ~ who needs a workout when it’s built into your vacation.  So far we have walked…..

THURSDAY ~ 20, 569 steps

FRIDAY ~ 20, 592 steps

NEW AT FRIENDS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

* WIN IT!! 3 WINNERS FOR THIS MONTH’S BIGGEST LOSER GIVEAWAY!!!

* Meet our newest Contributor, Jen who will be sharing Food Allergy Friendly recipes!

 

See you all tomorrow with a final recap and a list with all of our FAVORITE things to do in Vegas (including all the FREE Shows you can see!)