Here's the Story

About a month and a half ago Adam and I realised that his birthday would fall on my Spring Break. Our conclusion? VACATION! Where? None other than the city known as sin, Vegas! We weren't planning a prenuptial tryst (as we had been loving accused), Adam is actually writing a story and needed to do some research on the Stratosphere's tower. We ended up staying at the Stratosphere (hey, at just over $30 a night it was a great deal, in spite of being on the scarier part of The Strip).

Monday we arrived well before the 3pm check-in time, so we grabbed a bite to eat on Maryland Blvd at the Burger King. To give you an idea of the type of neighborhood it was, in order to use the bathroom you had to ask the manager to let you in (no, they didn't give you the key), there was no mirror, and I used TWO toilet seat covers just for an added measure of safety. After that we went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay where we saw some GREAT creatures (least favorite: Golden Crocodile--it just looked sickly! most favorite: Giant Blue-Lipped fish!--it was shy and had the coolest designs on its face!). We also people watched and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We even videoed some unsuspecting women as they hesitatingly tried to touch the rays. We also laughed at the people who were afraid to walk over the glass bottom floor to the exit. As in, we spent 20 minutes just waiting and watching and laughing. Oh, we laughed :)

We eventually checked in, only to discover that our "resort fee" did not cover internet access, so we relied on the age-old phone book to locate some of the places we wanted to see. This was after we were verbally accosted by the gift committee who, unfortunately, could not help us because we were not married and did not have the same address. The used book store was closed, but we found a shop called "Peru Post." A new little shipping store that also carried some special Peruvian items...including Adam's favorite drink, Inca Cola!  We also happened across a clothing exchange store, and made a quick turn through Barnes and Nobel. Lots of fun stuff there, but nothing for us. And dinner ended up at Chipotle.

Tuesday was Adam's birthday--happy 34th, Sweetheart!--so we started the morning at Roxie's 50's Diner in the Stratosphere. It wasn't bad, and Adam got a Cherry Ice Cream Soda. Yup. For breakfast. Birthdays a great excuses for eating whatever you want at any time of day. We headed back to the used book store and meandered, then went to a comic book shop. I purchased my first voluntary graphic novel, and also bought one of the two Adam was considering for his birthday, then he bought the other one. By then it was time for lunch, so we headed to Chipotle again. We stopped by Target (it's almost kind of a joke--anytime Adam and I go to St. George we go to Target and B&N). And then...it was back to Barnes and Noble (are we creatures of habit or what?!) where we both bought some Young Adult Fiction, and Adam purchased the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy on DVD.

Following a brief rest in our room we made our way up to the Fremont Street Experience. It was an experience, indeed. We wandered up and down, and back enjoying the people watching most of all. and the periodic person ziplining over our heads.

For dinner Adam wanted to go to a Peruvian restaurant he had been to before, but it had moved and changed it's name. After following my bad directions twice we made it there 20 minutes before they were supposed to close. Fortunately for us they were busy and it wasn't a big deal. We enjoyed some delectable ceviche and Chicha Morada (a sweet drink, purple in color, made from corn). Adam's food wasn't as good as he hoped, but mine was delicious. And the owner, Pablo, was wonderful. We also enjoyed a telenovela while we ate.

Finally, it was time to achieve the business purpose of our visit--the top of the Stratosphere tower. Adam's writing a story and needed specific details to make it real. I had a mini-fit about going up. It's freaking high! and you ride in an elevator :/ But we made it up without incident, and it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. The view really was incredible. I've never understood why the lights of Vegas appear so orangey-yellow. Adam took notes, we wandered around, even braved the outside observation deck, and then settled into one of the cushy sofas they have sitting up there.

After a while Adam said, "So I have another 'Buffy' quote. Do you want to hear it?" This may sound like idle banter, but he used a quote from "Buffy" to ask me on our first date. He pulled out a paper and read it to me (with some minor alterations), then dug into his pocket, dropped down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I cried. Not a lot. Just a little. And I said yes. He handed me the ring in the box. I pulled out the ring and said, "You're supposed to put it on!" So he did. And we just sat there and enjoyed the moment. In fact, we saved the news til morning so we could just enjoy having that between us.

Today was a lovely day. Breakfast at IHOP, then we drove to St. George and spent the afternoon with Adam's sister-in-law (and one of my newest favorite people) Jana before arriving back in Cedar. I part-hated coming home. Because it signifies the end of our vacation, and I hate coming home to a different house than him. But it's also good because I know that the faster these weeks go the sooner we get married and don't have to come home to different houses. So soon. But not soon enough.