The Boys in Sin City

On our way out of LA, we stopped near downtown to pick up a case of wine for Kelly's boss at the San Antonio Winery, an historic winery dating from the 1830s. I got a bottle for myself as well. It's OK but I far, far prefer another Southern California winery: Casa Moneta (John and Sabine's!).

The stop off proved to be very amusing, as we kept getting lost amongst the omnipresent construction that is Southern California.

Nevertheless, we finally made it to Vegas, and our new hotel: Circus Circus.

Some of you may remember that after our last visit to Circus Circus Kelly and I swore never to step foot near the joint again. Apparently, we forgot...

Like L.A., Vegas offered us a chance to catch up with some old friends. David Thomas and I met on the Frances Farley campaign back in 1984. It's been an easy 15 years since we'd seen one another, and this time he had something special with him: his beautiful wife, (the Honorable) Judge Nancy Alf Thomas. It was great catching up with Dave, and finally getting to meet Nancy.

STARS IN HIS EYES

From the moment we told the boys that we were planning on going to Vegas, Niko pleaded with us to visit  Gold and Silver Pawn, home of  the History Channel's show, Pawn Stars.

He was in full groupie mode when we walked through the doors, mouth wide opened, talking about everything he saw at 100-mph.  Kelly was too cheap to fork over $80,000 so I could own Willie Mays' signed 1961 San Francisco Giants uniform.

THE BOYS GET TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

The next day, we hit the Adventuredome amusement park inside the hotel. The boys had a fantastic time.

Yes, the boys are in there!

 

A BITE TO EAT

After a full day of being tossed this way and that, we ventured over the the MGM Grand for dinner at the jungle-themed restaurant, The Rainforest Cafe.

The boys really seemed to enjoy it - they both swore it was the best mac-n-cheese they have ever eaten. Personally, Kelly and I were a bit less impressed.

MELT IN YOUR HAND

We finished off the night with a stroll along the strip, stopping off at M&M's World, the 4-story retail extravaganza dedicated to - what else? - M&Ms. Surreal doesn't even begin to describe it.

With a final stop off at the Bellagio to see the dancing waters, our Las Vegas adventure came to an end.

Well, actually, the boys and Kelly decided to go back to Adventuredome for one last ride...which turned into four.

But enough fun had been had by all. It was time for a good night's rest for a journey home in the morning. Of course, Niko had a bad dream, and Gus had a bloody nose, so it wasn't a good night's rest for dad!

Next time: The Road Home