Weekend getaway

I have been such a slacker getting this updated with everything we've done lately. Life has been crazy this week.
So after we came home from Idaho, I had one day to do laundry and then Greg and I headed to Vegas for some much needed 'us' time! Greg's folks watched the kids, and we drove all day Friday to Sin City.
We used Hotwire, since it was a last minute trip, and we requested a 4 star hotel. Not being very familiar with Vegas, when it showed us a map with the hotel's location, we thought it looked like a good spot. It wasn't until after we'd paid for it that we found we were booked at The Golden Nugget. Do not stay there. Ever. It is in the old part of Vegas, the seedy part. The interior, including the rooms, have been redecorated, so they look nice. But it's all just an illusion. We arrive in our room and sit on the bed. Uh-oh. It had to have been older than both of us. You could feel every spring and it creaked like no tomorrow. I decided to take a shower after our drive, before we head out for the night. But the shower was full of dust, as were the faucet knobs on the sink! It was filthy. So after a not very nice phone call to housekeeping, they came and took care of it.
We went downstairs and had some dinner, people watching the entire time. I am going to sound like such a snob, when I have no right to be one, but the people staying there weren't exactly what you would call sophisticated. There was an element I couldn't quite put my finger on while there. But when we went to the Venetian Shops after dinner, we breathed a sigh of relief. These were more our kind-of people. Does that make sense? Not like we could buy anything or had the money most of them did, but it felt better.
The next day we parked at the Bellagio, and wow. What a beautiful place. We promised ourselves that someday we are staying there. We got a gelatto and went out and waited for the fountains, but got impatient and crossed the street to Paris. That was kind of a let-down, so we went next door and did some shopping at the Million Mile shops, attached to Planet Hollywood. We ate lunch and saw the guy who played Jaws in the James Bond movies. While there, Greg talked me into getting our caricatures drawn. I think he did a really bad job on Greg, personally.
I guess I should have mentioned at the beginning that the whole reason we went down is because Greg's friend Ken Craig got free tickets to see Van Halen that weekend. It was a benefit concert for Tiger Woods' foundation. So that night we met Ken and his wife Katie for dinner at Company, a new restaurant at The Luxor. It was so fun to hang out, as I've never spent much time with them. (Ken and Greg became friends their Freshman year at BYU.) After dinner we went to the concert, and let's just say we were probably the only ones not drunk or high in attendance. While waiting for the concert to start, Greg spotted Robin Leach! (I tried taking a picture but it was too dark.) For some reason, I'm thinking he was just there to support Tiger. I can't really see him as a Van Halen fan, can you? But I guess they can span all generations.....
Tiger finally came hobbling out, as he'd just had knee surgery, and introduced the band and then the concert began. David Lee Roth was with them, so they played all of their old stuff, none of the Sammy Hager songs, which bummed me out. 'Jump' came out when I was 11, and I only saw the videos at friends' house, as Van Halen wasn't allowed in our home, and for good reason. Some of those songs were pretty nasty. But they sounded incredible, and Eddie was amazing. Seriously, I can't imagine having that kind-of talent. His son Wolfgang played bass for them, and David was up there with a cheesy grin on his face the whole time. Greg has always loved Van Halen, and I'm so glad he got to see them live.
Sunday night brought us home to happy kids. I am do glad we got away for a few days. We need that. It reminds us both that we're Greg and Kimberly, not just Dad and Mom. All in all, a fabulous weekend.