Vegas Weekend Update

As you can imagine, I am exhausted this Monday morning. We drove back from Vegas last night after a weekend filled with lots of...shrimp. Yes, that's right - shrimp. Most people go to Vegas to party, hitting the hot, trendy clubs and strip joints. Not us. We go to do laundry and eat.

Saturday
Wake up somewhat early so we can do our laundry. Unfortunately, having three loads means that we don't get to eat until around 2pm! When we finally get to the Mirage, we head straight for the buffet. I load up on shrimp cocktail, while Allen salivates over the desserts. We really didn't eat as much as we normally could because we were so starved and ate too fast. With a buffet, the key to getting your money's worth (not that we were paying) is to pace yourself.

For dinner, my dad chose his new favorite - The Oyster Bar. He loves seafood and since it's all free, he forces us to take advantage. It really is quite good. It's not a sit-down restaurant, but literally a bar with only counter seating. I ordered the jumbo shrimp cocktail (more like lobster than shrimp) and shrimp scampi over linguini. Yum!

Dad scored us tickets to the newest Cirque Du Soleil show at the Mirage.

LOVE is the latest Cirque du Soleil production which celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles. Drawn from the poetry of the lyrics, LOVE explores the content of the songs in a series of scenes inhabited by real and imaginary people. The international cast of 60 channels a raw, youthful energy underscored by aerial performance, extreme sports and urban, freestyle dance.

This show isn't as "cirque-y" as their other shows - fewer tricks and a lot more dancing. Since I love lyrical dance and I love the Beatles, I really enjoyed the show. The stage is really cool, but if you don't have good seats your view will probably be obstructed during parts of the performance.


Sunday
Woke up, finished up our laundry and headed for the Mirage Buffet. This time, we took our time and ate a ton of food. My favorite was the fresh, handmade peach gelato.

On the way home, Allen needed a break from driving so we exit and stop at this little market to stretch our legs. This was the weirdest, most creepy little convenience store I've ever had the displeasure of patronizing. First, you have to cross an old wooden bridge to even get to the front door (there's a murky koi pond out front). As soon as we stepped inside, we heard this super loud screech, "BRRAAAAAAWWWWWK" - there were friggin' birds in there! Everything was really old and they sold very random items along with the everyday staples. Plus this 80 year old gramps was watching Just Like Heaven at the counter. Allen said it was just like a scene out of Deliverance. Super creepy.