leaving las vegas

being in vegas, we slept in a bit the next morning.  although you know how when you know when you're heading home, all you want to do is pack up and get the hell outta there?  we were kinda feeling that vibe a little.  the hub had to take a conference call first, so while he did that i headed downstairs and grabbed us a little caffeine.  the line was crazy long, of course.

and then we gathered the few things we'd brought for our quickie trip, tossed them into our bags and went downstairs to check out and leave them at the bell desk while we went off in search of some actual breakfast.  it was pretty stinking hot outside already, but a little bit of walking always does ya good.  not to mention, our destination was going to require a little pre-grubbing exercise.  burn off a few of those calories before they actually go in.

our destination?  the venetian:

having been introduced to it during our road trip to napa, we wanted more bouchon.

this is why we walked - the assortment of bouchon pastries.  cheese danish, chocolate and blueberry croissants, and a pecan sticky bun.  super delicious, all of it.

a stroll through the grand canal shoppes brought us past this, an even bigger and better christian louboutin shop:

and i lamented the fact that we wouldn't be able to stick around for this.

every day's a wedding day in vegas.

the giant wheel at the linq hotel reminded me of the london eye.

back at caesars, the hub decided to try his luck at one of the wheel of fortune machines.  sadly, all he did was feed the damn thing.  isn't that always what happens on your last shot on your way out of vegas?

then we sat at the valet station for awhile, watching the hustle and bustle of people arriving and departing, marveling at what a lot of them were wearing, and sweating our asses off.

those crazy looking colorful rocks were about 15 minutes out of vegas.  it turned out to be a $3.5 million art installation that opened this past may and is only available for viewing for two years.  i read up on it on the official website, but remember that most art is over my head and i don't remember much of what it said.  all i know is that it was fun to look at, something bright and colorful in the middle of the desert.

you park in the small lot and go through this gate:

there are small signs along the pathway that give some details about the rocks, but this is the one that caught my attention:

see?  super random and unexpected, like a giant unicorn flew over the desert and shat on it.

the rest of our drive home was uneventful, and i fell asleep for a chunk of it.  oops.  the girls were happy to see us, especially since we came in with a bag full of bouchon treats.  and the hub and i are contemplating doing another quick getaway like this the next time MIL comes to town.  it was really nice to have some time alone, and you know you gotta get it whenever the opportunity presents itself.