Anniversary in Vegas 2008

The flight in to Vegas was absolutely nasty for someone with a head cold, but as that had nothing to do with the service we received, we have a very favorable opinion of Frontier. The seats are certainly rather posh for a discount airline -- with plenty of leg room, wide seats, and leather upholstery -- and those alone count for most of one's experience on a plane. So, Frontier is a go in the future.

The shuttle service from the airport, on the other hand, was so incredibly jarring that my already strained sinuses twinged with pain every time the driver slammed on the breaks. And of course, we were the last ones to leave the shuttle, so I had to endure the better part of an hour of this. Considering that our previous experience with Grey Lines included leaving me behind while my purse, luggage, phone, and husband were driven off, I don't think we'll be using them again.

Our first impressions of our hotel, on the other hand, are very favorable. We're staying at the Desert Rose Resort this year, which is located just off the Strip, behind the Hooters Casino with the MGM and the monorail within extremely easy walking distance, much more so than our daily trek from the Stratosphere to anything else last year. It's more of a family-oriented place, too, but not in a kiddie way; the environment is much more laid back and relaxed than any of the casino hotels, due mostly to the fact that it's significantly smaller. It doesn't hurt that the basic room is a veritable suite, with a full kitchen, living room, dining area, and separate bedroom, two closets and TVs, and a balcony. There's also onsite laundry (complete with a laundry basket in every room), a decent-sized pool that we hope to try out tomorrow, a guest social every evening in the lobby, and FREE BREAKFAST. Yes, that's right, there are free breakfasts in Vegas at hotels that are reasonably priced. Mostly, this place rocks.

The only thing we had the energy to do this evening was to try out Battista's Hole in the Wall, which we sadly missed last year. Getting there was a bit of a mess, as the monorail broke down for about 20 minutes, but the food was decent, if a tad bit expensive. It probably would have been more worth our while if we had taken advantage of the complimentary house wine and cappuccino, but we don't drink either of those beverages. A wandering accordianist came by our table all-too briefly, and played the Wisconsin Badgers fight song when we told him where we were from. I would have much preferred if he had played something romantic as well, as this is our anniversary trip, but eh...he had a big restaurant to cover. Also, if anyone ever sits in the corner of the chicken coop cubby thing, we left our mark on the wall there next to umpteen million other scrawls of commemorative graffiti.