The BIG Las Vegas Surprise - 19th Feb 2019 - Shopping, Exploring South Strip & Noodle Shop

[smithlane]

Day 3

No alarm set this morning. Woke up at 7 after a lovely 9 hour sleep. I’m hoping I’ve kicked the jet lag now!

Got ready and left at 9. Took the car and parked in the Showcase Mall round the corner, there was a bit of confusion finding the entrance we had to go round the block again. Would have been quicker to walk

We were going to Denny’s for breakfast then the South Outlets straight after hence taking the car.
They were saying a 15 minute wait but ended up only taking 5 which was handy. It was heaving in here!
I went with the All American Slam with Sourdough toast, Jim the same but with pancakes instead of toast. For drinks a coffee and orange juice for Jim and a Diet Coke and orange juice for me.
Food soon came out, it was as good as usual and certainly hit the spot. We were stuffed! $46.16 including tip.

We now made our way to the South outlets. Very straight forward just straight down Las Vegas Blvd.

Got there in about 15 mins and what do you know, a Denny’s and a Ihop right next to them. We needn’t have battled with the busy one on the Strip. Doh, planning fail! Never mind we were now fed.

We parked outside Guess, again the Outlets weren’t busy at all. This outlet centre is all inside with more regular shops than designer wear but still the likes of Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.

Started in Ralph Lauren but didn’t see anything else that took our fancy.

Bought the kids some bits in Adidas, Hope a grey training jumper and Sam a pair of shorts and a top. Jim also picked up 2 golf polo shirts. One for him and the other for his golf partner. I had a 10% off voucher over a $100 spend so altogether it came to $83.07.

Went passed Kate Spade and my eye automatically looks in. I had said to Jim before we left to NOT let me in a Kate Spade shop this year as I really REALLY don’t need any more bags but I spotted this one in the window and before he could stop me I ran inside!
$77.51 after tax. They had 50% off then a further 20%. It would be rude not to

I got some jogging bottoms in Nike $54.11 then these Huaraches for Hope in Shoe Palace. Apparently they don’t have this colour way in the UK so she’s a happy bunny. These were $108.24.

Whilst I was paying for the trainers Jim went on ahead and got stopped by one of the ladies that sell facial products on the stands in the middle of the mall. I came out of Shoe Palace to find him having some eye cream applied then something to reduce his frown lines. It was hilarious he looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights . He works in construction so isn’t your typical man that looks after his skin but he has said now that he’s 40 he should really start. Now bearing in mind I am a Beauty Therapist and have been my entire adult life so I’m obviously very keen on looking after your skin, I’ve been on at him for years to at least put moisturiser on but it’s always fallen on deaf ears!
Well whatever this woman used actually looked like it had reduced his under eye bags and his frown line reduced. He was so impressed he paid the $180 to buy the set

We were now done. I wanted to visit a Walmart so programmed the nearest one into the Sat Nav, it said it was a 10 minute drive away. Got there with no issues. This one was a Superstore and was massive!

Proceeded down the aisles picking up what we needed. Got some snacks for our long car journey tomorrow, some M&Ms for the kids, Eos lip balm for Hope, Elf make up and Secret deodorant for me and some golf balls for Jim.

We went to the self serve tills and for some reason the golf balls wouldn't scan. We tried typing in the barcode number but it wouldn't recognise it either. Got one of the store assistants over to help but he too couldn't figure it out! He then got a colleague involved and between us we tried a combination of things but nothing would work. It was actually quite hilarious, these 2 workers were both well into their 70's and fairly slow it was like something off of a sketch show
We had a bit of a laugh about it, we were in no hurry so could see the funny side. Eventually he just overided the system and manually typed in the amount, something I would have done about 15 minutes ago
$108.04 altogether

Jim was hungry so as there was a McDonalds in the store we stopped for a quick bite. Big Mac meal for Jim and cheeseburger meal for me. $19.55
We were now all shopped out so we headed straight back to the hotel.

Not before stopping at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign for a few photos. I had replied to a post on here from the Dibber goodevans asking for photos with a message to her daughter and SiL for their upcoming wedding. She wanted to collect as many photos from Dibbers who were going on holiday across the globe then put them together in an album to give to them at their wedding next year. As we were here I was only too happy to help! I believe she’s had a great response, the album will look fab when finished!

Chilled out in the room for a bit, catching up on notes and Jim had a nap.

Got ourselves ready and left at 6pm. We used the walkway that connects the Signature Towers to the MGM Grand. Took about 10 minutes so not bad and at least it was warm!
The MGM was huge. A guy that worked there asked if we were lost yet

Found our way outside and walked over the footbridge into the NYNY. I liked it in here, had a really good vibe to it.

Down into the casino where we had a little flutter. One of the waitresses came round with drinks orders so we got a vodka and lemonade for me and a Budweiser for Jim. We tipped $3 each. I won a grand total of $1.20 but Jim won $42.10! He then lost $20 of it on the blackjack table. Oh well onto the next one

Walked next door to the Excalibur where we had another bet on the roulette table. Were up for a bit but then lost the $20 he had put in. I didn't like it too much in here, felt very smoky in the casino area. You can really tell the difference between certain hotels and their ventilation systems. Somewhere like the Venetian you can't smell the smoke nearly half as much as the casino in the Excalibur.

Now onto the Luxor. We just sat and had a drink in the bar here. Was nice to have a sit down, my hip was killing me. My body doesn’t know what’s hit it with all this exercise I’m putting it through!

We were getting a bit peckish but nothing took our fancy in the Luxor so headed next door to Mandalay Bay.

After a quick circle of the casino area we settled on the Noodle Shop for a very overpriced Chinese.

I ordered the orange chicken and rice and Jim the beef chow mein. We then split it so had half each. Also ordered some veg spring rolls.

With 2 Diet Cokes the bill came to $65.62 before tip
It was nice but Panda Express is far nicer and for a fraction of the price!
We sat and let our food go down then started the walk back to the hotel.

We got just outside the entrance when Jim suggested we get a cab as he could see I was limping!
5 minutes later we pulled up at the Signature. Had a very chatty driver who wanted to know all about Queen and the new film Bohemian Rhapsody. He was very impressed when I said we lived in the same town he grew up in. If only he knew what a complete dive it is! Cab came to $12. We tipped $3

It was nearly 10.30 by the time we got back and we needed to pack still as we were checking out in the morning so got straight on that once back in the room.
I checked the Grand Canyon NPS website again to check on latest weather report. It said they were due another snow storm on Thursday and anticipate closing one of the roads from 2pm tomorrow.

We plan to leave the hotel at 8am, stopping to change the car at Avis then will get straight on the road. Really hoping we get there!

Bedtime came at 12

[WileyCoyote]

Well that’s it, I totally need a trip to Vegas now. A great day, shopping looked good and love the walk through the different hotels. Shame you4 hip is hurting though.
I did laugh at Jim and the eye cream and is it wrong I sighed at the Walmart pics..take me there !
Ouch to an expensive Chinese at the end of the day.

Hope the snow doesn’t mess with your travel plans !

[Goldia]

Breakfast at Dennys looked fab and is a great start to the day. Lots of lovely shopping for you, I laughed at Jim getting caught by the moisturiser lady. It sounds like it's going to be chilly in the grand canyon, I hope it went smoothly changing the car over.

[JoS]

Great shopping day and looking around. Thanks for sharing and does Jim look any younger yet lol

[Floridafour]

Aaah love Vegas, we used to go every year BC (before children) it was a bargain back then with such a strong exchange rate, not so much now I guess. You certainly packed a lot in, looks like a fab day, thanks for posting 🙂

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

Well that’s it, I totally need a trip to Vegas now. A great day, shopping looked good and love the walk through the different hotels. Shame you4 hip is hurting though.
I did laugh at Jim and the eye cream and is it wrong I sighed at the Walmart pics..take me there !
Ouch to an expensive Chinese at the end of the day.

Hope the snow doesn’t mess with your travel plans !

See more...

I think you and Andy would love it, for the shopping if nothing else
My hip was being a right pain in the a!
Oh god it was so funny, it was the last thing I expected to see when I walked out of the shop. You know how forceful these sellers can be
I love a Walmart, I could have spent at least another hour in there wandering around!
Such an expensive meal but I suppose we were in the Mandalay Bay so was to be expected.
I've just seen you have a new countdown, how exciting! Where are you off to?

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Breakfast at Dennys looked fab and is a great start to the day. Lots of lovely shopping for you, I laughed at Jim getting caught by the moisturiser lady. It sounds like it's going to be chilly in the grand canyon, I hope it went smoothly changing the car over.

See more...

I do love a Denny's breakfast!
Not as successful as the other day but still a fairly good haul.
Oh Abby it was so funny, I wish I had taken a photo
You're right about it being chilly in the Canyon, we couldn't believe it!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by JoS

Great shopping day and looking around. Thanks for sharing and does Jim look any younger yet lol

See more...

Do you know what? He hasn't used it once since we've been home. However I have and its pretty good stuff I have to say! I'm hoping to look 25 any day now

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Floridafour

Aaah love Vegas, we used to go every year BC (before children) it was a bargain back then with such a strong exchange rate, not so much now I guess. You certainly packed a lot in, looks like a fab day, thanks for posting 🙂

See more...

Oh wow, yes I bet it was a bargain back when it was $2 to the £!
Thank you for reading

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by smithlane

I've just seen you have a new countdown, how exciting! Where are you off to?

See more...

I had itchy booking fingers last week so nabbed some flights . In to Orlando and out from Tampa but nothing planned for the 23 days in between yet I won’t be fit enough for us to go to the parks but shopping a whole other matter