This was our annual trip to Vegas with various friends we've met online.

Thursday

We flew out Thursday night; initially our plan was to eat at Canal Street at The Orleans, the hotel we were staying at.

Upon getting to our gate after a couple minor problems (Suzy left her driver's license in her sister's car, and I forgot I had a very small pocket knife and ended up having to check in baggage), we found out our flight was delayed, so we decided to eat at the California Pizza Kitchen boutique at the airport.

Our trip was beginning with a rocky start, but we just laughed it off. We ate dinner, and luckily we headed back to the gate in time to find out our flight had been un-delayed. Things got better as despite being just about the last people who boarded, we ended up with adjacent aisle seats by being clever.

We checked in; Suzy was tired and stayed at the Orleans with Daryl and Dave and played cards. The rest of us went to Rio. Jen had organized a trip to the Voodoo Lounge where we bought a combo open bar and front of the line pass. The Voodoo Lounge is pretty cool -- it's at the top of the Rio on the 51st floor, and has and indoor and outdoor part. The outdoor part was windy at times but had spectacular views; the indoor part was a little cramped with not a lot of dance space.

We danced and drank until Katy got us kicked out around 2:00 for being too intoxicated. After making sure Katy didn't need to get her stomach pumped, most people went off to bed. Jason and I ate at the Courtyard Cafe which has excellent late night specials. After that it was time for sleep.

Friday

We've often eaten at the Stage Deli, a restaurant in the Forum Shops area of Caesars Palace, but Mike's dad suggested a deli which had opened recently at Mirage named Carnegie Delicatessen, so Suzy, Mike, Katy, Daryl, Dave, and I trekked there for lunch. Despite arriving at almost 2:00 we had to wait for about 30 minutes before being seated.

I had thought the Stage Deli served big portions, but the serving sizes here made the Stage Deli portions look as small as Emli, our gnome guild leader. Suzy and I shared a reuben sandwich and still couldn't finish it. (Also vaguely annoying is they charge $3 extra for sharing. I suppose we could have lied and said Suzy wasn't eating but we didn't think of it at the time.)

All in all, I prefer the experience at the Stage Deli, but it wasn't horrible.

After lunch, we walked over to the Planet Hollywood Casino (sorry no link -- I refuse to link to completely flash driven pages) and explored the Miricle Mile Shops. Suzy and I had been to a Vladimir Kush gallery located there a couple times before, and we really enjoy his artwork, so we wanted to go back.

We saw a couple new pictures we hadn't seen before: Above the World, The Doors of Night, and Ocean Sprouts. A nice lady tried to sell us one of the prints, but between not knowing enough about art, and not having a good place to put it, we decided to think about it.

After that, we returned back to The Orleans and hung out till dinner. We headed for the Wynn (ick Flash site) for their seafood buffet. The Wynn buffet was pricy (about $40 per person) but it's among the best buffets in Las Vegas. Nat and his girlfriend Sharon met us there. Eight of us managed to get seated together, and then we had another table of five. It was pretty easy to play musical chairs with the group of eight, but the other table didn't want to play along. No matter, dinner was great and we all had fun.

After that, Suzy, Mike, and I did our traditional walk to the Bellagio to watch the Fountains of Bellagio and check out the seasonal display at their gardens. Highlighting the garden display was a 12 foot tall Ent-like creature made out of wood, along with his lair, made of moss.

When we got back to The Orleans, Suzy went to bed, and I met up with some other people who were gambling. We hung out for a while and saw a pretty cool band at Brendan's Irish Pub before eventually going to bed.

Saturday

Suzy got up early to meet with her parents and grab a car for later in the weekend. Because we had reservations for 6:00, we decided we wanted to eat lunch around noon, which unfortunately was too early for the rest of our group. We decided to go to Osaka (another flash site so I linked to Yelp instead), one of our favorite sushi restaurants. It's been around for about 40 years -- no small feat for Las Vegas.

Suzy's parents wanted to join us, and through various delays we didn't actually eat until 1:30. I ate light, which was probably more than I needed but less than I wanted. Later that afternoon we met back up with some of the other people who were at Gameworks, playing games and drinking. Katy and I played a couple games of Dance Dance Revolution, and then it was time for dinner.

Mike, Suzy, and I had reservations at Seablue at the MGM (ick Flash site). It turned out to be a memorable and delicious dining experience. Unfortunately, the highlight is something I'm not really allowed to talk about at the moment. While I've felt a lot of the restaurants I've been to recently were overpriced, I felt Seablue was a great value.

Afterwards, Daryl, Dave, Mike, Suzy, and I went to see Wayne Brady at the Venetian. I got tickets too late to get "good" seats, but the theater was small enough there wasn't a bad seat in the house. I've always been impressed with Wayne Brady, and this performance was no exception.

Back at the Orleans, we hung out again at Brendan's Irish Pub and in the casino until it was time for sleep.

Sunday

Lunch was the last official event, as Katy, Daryl, and Mike had to drive back to LA, Aaron had a plane to catch, and Suzy and I had plans with her parents. Through inertia, we ended up eating at The Orleans, with some people eating at Subway and others eating at Terrible Mike's. Goodbye's were said, and then Suzy and I headed out.

At her parents house, we looked at Google Earth to check out the places Suzy and I were going to go on our trip to Australia and New Zealand. Afterwards we just chilled out since we had been on the go for so long.

Dinner was in Paris at Mon Ami Gabi. The meal here was excellent too.

After dinner, everyone was exhausted and we called it a night early since Suzy and I were flying out at 8:05 in the morning.

This was a great trip. I was very impressed with Seablue and Mon Ami Gabi and would love to go back. The Voodoo Lounge was a great club, and even though the open bar pass was a little expensive, it was very convenient to not have to pay for drinks throughout the night. Wayne Brady's show was a blast. The fountains of Bellagio and the seasonal display there have become a relaxing tradition which I always enjoy.

The only minor annoyance was The Orleans, which is under new management, has slid a little downhill. It no longer offers coupon books, which were silly but entertaining, and there is a mandatory $5 fee tacked onto each night's stay. Still, it's a cheap place to stay, so I can't complain that much.