My Weekend, Part I

I had a great weekend and so many pictures to share! I decided to split my recap into two parts so it isn't too much of a picture overload!

Thursday

I absolutely CAN NOT drive to Las Vegas without stopping at the Chick-Fil-A on the way! I had no idea how much I took this place for granted when I lived in Georgia. Now I will do anything for their delicious sweet tea and chicken nuggets with waffle fries!!

My dad has been in Las Vegas for the last month. He goes every year for work and stays at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club at the north end of the strip. It's such a nice place and Mom and I are lucky to get to visit him there. He has a one bedroom suite with a fully equipped kitchen, a washer and dryer, an awesome shower and huge tub, and a surprisingly comfortable pull out bed in the living room.

After unpacking our stuff and throwing a load of laundry in, we headed to Ellis Island Casino & Brewery for the $6.95 steak special! I've written about this place and the special so many times {here and here} so I won't bore you with pictures. I will just say that the food was just as good as last time...AND I doubled my money on the slots in the casino! If you are in Vegas, I recommend heading off the beaten path to this place.

Friday

My mom flew in Friday afternoon, so Dad took the day off of work. He was nice enough to let us sleep in a little bit. After we woke up, we headed to the gym for a workout and then back up to the room to get ready while watching the US men's hockey team play.

As a side note, I really loved watching the Olympics this year! Figure skating has always been my favorite, but I really liked seeing the skiing activities as well.

After picking Mom up, we were all ready for lunch. I knew that I wanted to try Hubert Keller's Burger Bar at the Mandalay Bay so that's where we headed. Along the way, I found these very friendly penguins hanging out by the Minus 5 Ice Lounge!

Burger Bar was just as delicious as I was expecting it to be! As an appetizer, we had the fried jalapeno pickles. They were so yummy! I ordered an angus burger with blue cheese, caramelized onions, and jalapeno bacon strips. As a side, I had the sweet potato fries!

{the above is the kobe burger with blue cheese and bacon. fat fries on the side}

Needless to say, my mom was ready to gamble after lunch! We stayed at the Mandalay Bay for a few hours before we headed back to the hotel. What I love about the hotel is that there is a full service marketplace in the downstairs area. They make sandwiches, pizza, and breakfast items, as well as having a fully stocked grocery section. For dinner, we ordered a pizza and ate in our room!

My parents went to bed so we decided to walk to the Peppermill Fireside Lounge {wrote about this place here} to order the famous Scorpion Bowl! Okay, I don't really know if it is famous, but it is delicious! It's almost comical how large the glass is and the straws that come with it are at least 2 feet long. The Peppermill is a fun place to come to sit back, relax, and people watch!

That's it for Part I...stay tuned for Part II soon!