Viva Las Vegas

So.....Vegas.

Wow. That seems like forever ago.

But it has only been a week (or so) since I got home.

Here's a recap in pictures of this year's trip to Vegas and the Sonic Convention.


But for starters, I have no pictures of I-20 and I-285 in Atlanta being closed because they were under water after days and days of rain. The last thing on my mind was photo documentation of the most stressful trip to Atlanta in my entire life!!! You folks who don't live in or near Atlanta do not know, but interstates 20 and 285 are the ONLY way to get to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport! My GPS kept telling me "no alternate route". So I drove in the general direction of the airport, down every pig trail in West Atlanta until my GPS finally found an alternate route. However, it was about 10:30 AM. Did I mention my flight was departing at 10:55Am?

Lovely.

I was the picture of patience and optimism by the time I pulled into an off property parking lot.

We got to the airport 10 minutes after our plane was supposed to depart. "We" included myself, my brother, his wife, my mother-in-law, and 3 other of our Sonic managers. We finally made it to the Delta counter, to figure out what the heck we were going to do, at 11:30 AM. The Delta agent told us that our flight had been delayed until noon. Hallelujah!! BUT...we could not check any luggage. The only problem with that was that my suitcase was too large to carry on. So was my sister in law's. So was my mother in law's. Women. Geez. So we had a split second to make a decision. My mother in law volunteered to catch the next flight and keep our luggage with her and check it. I offered to stay behind with her, but none of the rest of our traveling companions had ever flown before. She and I couldn't exactly abandon them in the madhouse that is air travel. So she kept back one of our managers. I handed her my suitcase and took off. Leading the charge to gate A13. We managed to all get through security and onto the monorail without a hitch. When we got to Concourse A we literally ran to our gate! We got there as the gate agent left his desk headed over to close the door to the plane! He saw us running and asked "Las Vegas?". We said yes. And he told us we better come on. We nearly missed this one!
So we were the people that everyone hates. You know, the people who board last, carrying their luggage, looking for any open space to store it, banging into the knees of everyone who is sitting in an aisle seat. Yep. That was us. But I didn't even care. I was just happy to be on that plane. Finally.
Unlike my mother in law and our manager, who were told they could fly stand-by, but there were no tickets available until the next day. So they flew stand-by. Fortunately, Atlanta being under water made lots of people miss their flights. There were 10 people flying stand-by for the 1:30PM flight along with my mother in law, and they ALL got on!! So by 5:00 PM CST our whole crew was in Vegas!

This was the first picture I took on our trip. Flying over the Grand Canyon.

Once we got to Las Vegas we met up with Britt, who had been there for 24 hours already. Our group checked into the hotel, and we went off in search of our Sonic swag! We found it. Our shirts, bags, note pads, pens, and other junky trade show stuff. By the time we had walked the 65 miles across the Mandalay Bay hotel from the lobby to the convention area and back to the food court area for a quick bite it was time for the Opening Session to start. So we trekked the 32.5 miles back to the convention center for the 2 hour session. Afterward was our supply partner trade show. You know, the people who Sonic buys bread, strawberries, napkins, etc from. They give away the BEST swag! I have a fabulous new Sonic tee shirt from our uniform supplier. I may or may not have a picture. If not, I'll take one. I LOVE it. They were only giving out shirts to the first 1,000 people to come by their booth. And folks were lined up out the door waiting to get in! I may or may not have been the girl who was running to get a tee shirt. But we all know the smalls go first!

Once that was over we went back to our rooms to change clothes. I mean, I had on the same thing I had put on at 4:30 AM CST when I woke up. By this time, it was 11:00 PM CST!! My brother and his girlfriend of 7 years had decided that they were going to get married while we were in Las Vegas. They were afraid with all the work stuff we had to do that we wouldn't have time. And we read that the courthouse in Vegas stays open until midnight. (Isn't that hilarious!!??) So my brother, his [wife], Britt and I grabbed a cab and headed out to get A and D a marriage license!

D and A inside the Marriage License Bureau
My brother looks like he is 17! He actually turned 26 in August!

We got to the Marriage License Bureau...as it is called....and guys were standing out front handing out fliers for different chapels. While A and D went inside to get the license, Britt and I sat outside looking through fliers and taking turns holding my eyelids open. We waited for several minutes. You'd be surprised at how many people were in line for a marriage license at 11:00 PM PDT (1:00 AM CST)! Britt figured out that one of the chapels we had a flier for was only two blocks away. When A & D came out we all headed over to Vegas Weddings so they could get hitched!

Outside the Courthouse showing off the Marriage License

We were all falling asleep waiting for the minister to come out and talk to them. It was 11:30 PM in Vegas. 1:30 AM in Alabama. A, D and I were going on our 22nd waking hour, after only sleeping 4 hours! It was insane! But they had a nice ceremony. No Elvis or a drive through, like A had said he wanted! D did not care what kind of ceremony they had or who married them! After waiting for SEVEN YEARS she just wanted to get married!!!

D had brought a dress to get married in, but when A wanted to do it that night while we were out D wasn't about to say "Let's wait until another day!!"

Hence the jeans, ponytail, and tennis shoes!!

D finally has the band to go with the engagement ring she's been wearing for 2 years!

After the wedding, for some reason, we walked the four blocks down to Freemont Street in the "old" Vegas. I guess Britt, who had plenty of sleep the night before and had not traveled that day, was afraid we wouldn't make it back downtown. He wanted A & D to be sure to see the "old Vegas" with all the lights and the impressively large LCD screen that covers the whole street that puts on a show every hour.

Outside Vegas Weddings Chapel
Their first photos as Mr. and Mrs. C

We got back to Mandalay Bay around 1 AM and fell asleep before our heads hit the pillow!!

We had to be up early for our General Session that started at 8:30. Breakfast was served from 6:30-8:00. Needless to say, I missed breakfast every day we were there! Wednesday was our long day. We had sessions until 5:00. Then we 4 girls went to see The Lion King musical which was at our hotel. It was phenomenal!! Everyone had told us to see it when we are in NYC in November. But I didn't want to wait! It really was spectacular!! We all four loved the show! The men went down the strip. Britt showed the guys all the different hotels and casinos while we were at TLK. Once our show was over I was still exhausted from the night before, so I called Britt and told him goodnight!! I'm not sure what time they all got back! I was sound asleep by 10:30!
The next day we had to get up early AGAIN for sessions. But we had the afternoon free. We took everyone over to The Venetian, which in my humble opinion is THE BEST hotel in Vegas!! Maybe the best hotel ANYWHERE!! The Venetian is where the Sonic Convention was held in 2005 and we found out at the final night reception that the convention is going to be at The Venetian again NEXT YEAR!!!!

The lobby at The Venetian

This is actually indoors. It's near the indoor canal and it's made to look like a street in Venice complete with shops and Italian Bistros and street lamps!

The Venetian is so beautiful. It's probably the best theme hotel in Vegas. Based on Venice, Italy, it has two canals where you can go for gondola rides while the gondolier serenades you in Italian! It's so beautiful!!

Britt and me with our gondolier going through a tunnel in the outdoor canal.

D and A rode with us. Isn't the hotel in the background gorgeous!?

We spent the whole afternoon there riding in the gondolas and walking around the shops. Then it was time to head back to Mandalay Bay for our final night reception and concert.

Britt with our general managers at the final night dinner

Dinner was wonderful! We had steak and lobster. Of course, I gave my lobster away. Yuck! It's too fibrous. I can't stand the way lobster feels in your mouth when you bite into it! Eww! But we had these cute little chocolate mousse desserts topped with a chocolate emblazoned with the Sonic logo.

Cute, isn't it?
I ate mine and Britt's!!

Anyway!

After dinner we went over to our entertainment for the night. None other than Huey Lewis and the News!!!!

I took this picture of the screen when Huey was playing the harmonica. I could've walked right up to the stage and taken one, but I didn't really care that much! ha!
Besides, once they did "Power of Love" I was outta there!!

Britt and me at they Huey Lewis show.
Not exactly a good picture of either of us, but I don't have many from this trip!

We headed back out with A and D for one last sightseeing trip before coming home! We went back downtown to Freemont Street so Britt could play BlackJack without spending a fortune. Those old casinos are MUCH less expensive than the new one we stay at! I was quick to go with him once he explained that he could play for $3 a hand downtown, but $15 a hand at our hotel!!

A and D picked up their actual marriage license the last night. We found this sign and took their picture under it wearing nicer clothes than what they wore to get married!!

A and I aren't gamblers. But D and Britt think it's a blast! So they played in a nearby casino and A and I walked up and down the street people watching!
We took this picture for our mom. She's gonna be thrilled. I don't think we've taken one together in atleast 5 years!!

A and me in front of Freemont Casino in downtown Las Vegas!

Have a great day!!