Day 11 (April 8) - VEGAS BABY!!
I totally had no idea what to expect in LAS VEGAS.
But just the plane ride in gave us an idea.
There was already a party in the row in front of us.
A group of Canadians were already celebrating and drinking heavily
Needless to say - their banter was pretty loud!
Thank gawd for my IPOD !
The other peeps on the plane were pretty tolerant of all the noise.
Most probably coz' of our destination...
The ALL-TIME LET-LOOSE PARTY PLACE!!
VEGAS BABY!!
Vegas draws you in the moment you step off the plane
The airport is already a mini casino.
Filled with slot machines and other games of chance.
A Nevada lawman even approached Zachy and Cara while we were observing the slot machines and gave them "Honorary Sherrif Badges".
Cute. :)
We then proceeded to FOX Rent A Car outside the airport to pick up the car that we would be using for the next 10 days of our trip.
They're one of the new, up and coming car rental agencies.
And we got a real good deal!
The car we got was a very nice black 2008 Lincoln Town and Country
with UTAH Plates??
(Filipino Utahites??)
We loved that minivan.
It had so many cup holders and a very deep trunk to hold all our luggage.
It was very powerful and easy to drive too!
Thanks for the luggage help Maks!
After filling up the paperwork, we drove out of the rental area and drove northbound on THE LAS VEGAS STRIP towards our hotel the MGM Grand!!
It was so cool to FINALLY see Vegas with my own eyes.
I practically grew up watching Vegas on TV and the silver screen.
For TV -- it was all those live boxing matches that they show every Sunday lunch - Sugar Ray Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Holmes, Tyson and THE PACQUIAO FIGHTS of course. CSI LAS VEGAS and Las Vegas (The TV Series) ..
Movies... Casino, OCEAN'S 11,12 and 13!
Oooohh!
Mandalay Bay!
Pacquiao fought here!!
The LUXOR Pyramid!
NEW YORK NEW YORK!!
In Las Vegas?? Crazeee.
The HOOTERS Hotel?
And finally..
OUR HOME FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
The Famous and green
MGM GRAND!
Pacquiao fought here too!
MAN..
PACQUIAO IS SO HUGE IN THE STATES.
They were promoting his fight vs Hatton when we were there.
And I swear..
All you saw was Pacquiao's face on ALL the electronic billboards up and down the STRIP
His face was also plastered all over via posters and other merchandising.
HE REALLY Makes the Filipino Proud!!
Check out Pacquiao's Face underneath the MGM sign.
Anyways, we finally found parking, unloaded our luggage via the very friendly and courteous MGM Grand staff and trudged on towards the lobby reception area where we met..
THE BELOVED
and
STUPENDOUS
TITA/SIS CARLA!!
We were all so HAPPY to see her!
She flew all the way in from TORONTO.
LOVE YOU SIS!!
The Check-in counter was pretty funky.
It was like checkin in at the airport.
Each receptionist had their own litle cubicle and console.
I guess this was way necessary due to the volume and number of rooms!
This hotel is huge!!
Da Bros and Sis.
TOGETHER AGAIN!!
Carla and Maks walked over to Planet Hollywood where they would be staying for the duration of their stay.
While we met up with the Castillos and Santamarias who we haven't seen since they left Vancouver.
COUSIN RYAN IN THE HAUS! (He's the dude - far right in the pic)
He flew in from San Fran and joined the Castillos/Santas in Seattle when they drove down.
TOGETHER AGAIN Part 2!
Hear that LION Roar!
The plan was to walk over to a nearby food court on THE STRIP for dinner.
To do that you had to pass through the smoky and crowded casino...
Through the MGM GRAND Lion Habitat..
Yeesh..
Lions in a hotel.
The Lions relax on a see-through fiberglass panel.
This is what it looks like from underneath.You also pass through the SPORTS Betting section...
Dig all those LCDs and live scores and games being shown!
And then voila!
FOOD COURT heheheheeh!
After a scrumptious and cheap dinner, we headed downstairs to walk up and down the Strip.
Of course-- we had to have the customary ELVIS picture.
The M&M Store
and
the Huge COKE Bottle
Not to mention.
The breath-taking lights and action of LAS VEGAS
The wind was pretty chilly and it was getting late so we decided to head back to our respective hotel to rest up for our HUGE ADVENTURE the next day.
Stay tuned.
Did you ever wonder how the MGM GRAND glows green at night?
VIA THE GREEN SPOTLIGHTS!!Day 11 Photo Album:
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