ctinabina

K had been hinting to me for a while that he was planning something "big" for Valentine's day.  Last week he started sending me these cryptic clues via email.  All I knew was that I was supposed to meet him in Albuquerque on Friday night with a toothbrush.  I ended up forgetting to bring a toothbrush.

After a delicious (srsly) dinner at La Cuisine French Bistro in Albuquerque and walking past this hilarious building:
  See?  It looks like it says "Hendren Blog."  hilarious!  But I digress...
Kev revealed the big surprise...

A TRIP TO LAS VEGAS!  Squee!

We headed out on a Saturday morning flight.  I had no idea but Vegas' airport is basically right on the strip. 
K had planned our stay at the Luxor.  The Luxor is this neat hotel/casino/restaurant complex that is built in the shape of a giant black glass pyramid.  The decor on the inside is all ancient Egyptian-like. 
Here's the view from our hotel room:

Cool sphnix, eh?  One of  Luxor's acts right now is Carrot Top, no joke.
We spent a few hours shopping at The Forum (Caesar's Palace) and Planet Hollywood.  Here I am taking a breather after scoring big-time at Nanette Lepore.

I am sitting in front of a really cool aquarium.  The aquarium was gigantic like everything else in Vegas.
We did a bit of walking around.  This is the front of the Bellagio.

If you notice, to the center-left of this photo are a pair of what can only be ninjas.  Here's a blow up:

I'm perplexed by this because ninjas move too fast for the naked eye.  But what else could 2 guys in all black in a small inflatable raft outside of the Bellagio be, if not ninjas?
K had another surprise up his sleeve.  He had arranged a helicopter tour up and down The Strip at night.  It was really awesome.  This is the view of the Luxor from the Excalibur, where the helicopter shuttle picked us up.


We got all dolled up and rolled over to the Mandalay Bay where we checked out the thousands of people leaving the UFC fight and had a great bite to eat at Red, White and Blue. 
Here I am in front of the Luxor, waiting for the little tram to shuttle us over to the Mandalay. 

I'm wearing the fruits of my shopping in that pic.  That is the sphnix behind me. 

We left on Sunday afternoon after eating at another great restaurant at the Mandalay Bay called the Border Grill. 

 It was a fantastic trip and I already can't wait to go back.  Unfortunately, K and I didn't get our Superbowl bets down in time because the lines at the casino sports books were extremely long.  It really was a shame because we would have won, too. 
K and I already have plans to improve our blackjack skills by practicing at the local casinos here in New Mexico. 

Happy Valentine's everybody!