Viva Las Vegas!

Yesterday the guys had to go to Las Vegas for a Juno (a lighting line they rep) meeting at the Rio Hotel, and my Mom and I decided it would be fun to come along and explore the city while they were in the meeting. We are not big fans of Las Vegas, personally it is just not our scene or any where we would vacation---but it sounded fun to check it out for an afternoon. We started our road trip at about 5:30am and got to Las Vegas at about 9:20am, just in time for the guys to find out where they were supposed to meet in the hotel. Then my Mom and I headed out to explore the city! (you can click on the red text for more info!)

Our first stop was the Mandalay Bay Hotel to check out their Aquarium and Shark exhibit. It was such a beautiful hotel---those La Vegas hotels are pretty amazing. It was a really cool Aquarium (I love them, it is so fun & peaceful), with different themed rooms---you go though a palace, a jungle and a sunken ship!

The photo to the right is of a group of Piranhas. The water was a bit murky so it's really hard to see---I think that was the first time I have seen them at an aquarium! This was the sunken ship room! It had large sharks, fish and sea turtles swimming around and it looked like you were walking around in the hull of a broken up pirate ship. They even pipped in sounds of the ocean and a creaking moving boat. it was so cool! Also you could see through large parts of the floor and to the right you can see my feet and a shark underneath (I had to use the flash because it was so dark) This I think was our favorite room!
After the Aquarium we hit the streets and explored "the strip" by car. We came across the cool retro sign welcoming you to Las Vages......aaaannndddd we came across the "A little white Chapel", where the likes of Britney Spears &...I can't remember who she married....and Bruce Willis & Demi Moore (and more) where married. It was also featured in our favorite TV show F.R.I.E.N.D.S!
(The Stratosphere and the New York, New York hotel) We also drove by the court house that O.J Simpson was sentenced today!
We also drove by the Las Vegas Temple! While it was amusing and fun to explore "the strip" in Las Vegas it was such a nice peaceful change to drive by the temple, up against the beautiful mountains! =) We ended by trying to find where in the hotel the guys had there meeting. Once they were done, we all got back in the car and headed home! It was such a fun day & it was really fun to see more of Las Vegas! I am so glad we tagged along with Dad and Brody! =)