On our third and final day in Vegas we obtained our rental car which was fabulous! We felt like teenagers getting our first car and suddenly we had the world at our fingertips. First stop? Jack in the Box of course! Jack in the Box is a fast food chain that does not exist in the Midwest but has become a family vacation tradition. When I was a kid whenever we would travel to a state with a Jack in the Box, we always stopped for their famous tacos (at least famous in the Cosme house). Now let me clear this up in case you haven't had one of these tacos. They are 2 for $1, super crispy, and very fast foody (read: these are not in any regard a high quality restaurant taco.) So why do we love them? I have no idea. But I can tell you that through a bit of conditioning they have come to taste like vacation for me. Decades of devouring the little suckers in cities across the country have made me incredibly nostalgic for these tacos.
Then it was off to our new room at the cosmopolitan which was amazing! We had a balcony that overlooked the Bellagio fountain and a completely and utterly impressive shower. The shower was essentially double the size of our entire bathroom at home and if you want to envision it, picture a long rectangle room that is all tiled and has a shower near one end and at the other is a big soaking tub that is positioned next to a window overlooking the strip. Classy.
I know Devin would have been content to stay on the balcony all night but we had groupons to use! So I worked out because I felt obligated to at least put forth some physical effort. My run on the treadmill was pretty entertaining though given the proximity of the Bellagio fountains. 
Then we showered and headed to this place called Escape the Room which is off the strip. Here's the low down. They lock you in a room and you have to complete a series of puzzles and riddles in the room to escape. You have 45 minutes and 1 hint, but if you want to stay longer you can pay $4 each and then you get unlimited hints. We paid the $4. We only ended up needing 2 hints and overall it was a pretty interesting experience.
Then it was off to dinner at this place called Bar Forte which I had seen once on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. It is a European restaurant and we got a Bulgarian sausage platter (phenomenal) and some Russian dumplings (also excellent). In fact the food was so good we had almost woofed down the entire plate of food before I remembered I wanted to take a picture. Here is the one sausage that remained and an empty dumpling plate. 
Then we went to our favorite Las Vegas bar - The Chandelier bar! It's a bar inside of a giant chandelier at Cosmo and they have the coolest funkiest drinks in town (in my opinion). We started off with these cocktails that are accompanied with a szcheuan button which is a flower that when eaten takes your mouth on an insane roller coaster. To give you an idea it kind of feels like you licked a battery, and then your mouth intensely salivates for a few minutes, and somehow you feel like things taste both sweet and salty simultaneously. It's better than it sounds - I promise. Then we went upstairs to the third floor of the chandelier bar where I had a lemon poppy seed cake drink that had this amazing cream cheese business on top. 
Next it was over to the Sugar Factory (where I had a groupon for $50 worth of stuff) where we got a delicious goblet of booze and a few appetizers. Tots are my not so secret heaven so they were a must.
Then it was back to the room to enjoy our balcony and cuddle while overlooking the bustling city. A perfect last night in Vegas. While we sat on the balcony I couldn't stop smiling. Some days you know how lucky you are and tucked under my husband's arm in that way that always makes me feel like we were made to fit together, I knew there would be moments from this trip I rembembered forever. Moments I tell our kids about and dream of when I am stuck in the rat race (which is a literal rat race for me). And right there on that balcony looking out at all the gorgeous twinkling lights without a care in the world, I knew I would not soon forget it.
In the morning it was go time. I ran a few miles on the strip, and we set off for California! Our road trip was sponsored by Serial. Devin had never listened to it before and since we often have a hard time deciding on music choices it seemed perfect. He's hooked and I'm certain by the time we are at our final designation of San Francsico we will be done with the saga.
We are spending a lot of time in the car on this trip but it's wonderful. We love taking in new landscapes, letting our eyes feast on all the vistas we have yet to encounter. The hills, trees, desert - it all looks so different from home and somehow reminds us that this is an adventure. This is the start of something big, our lives as a pair. There are so many things we have yet to experience but from here on out we are committed to experiencing them together. Good and bad.
When we got into LA we went to the Getty and spending a couple hours there, where we got some great pictures that are unfortunately all on my camera and thus not postable, we went to the Queen Mary where we were staying for the evening. Our room was....well, you definitely feel like your on a 1936 cruise ship complete with paper thin walls and barely any outlets. We had dinner at a great place called The Congregation Ale house which was a recommendation from a friend who lives in Long beach.
Then after hitting a bakery for some dessert (apple pie cheesecake and pb brownie) I fell asleep at 8:50. I apologized forever to Devin for my total lameness. But I'm his wife, and he knows when I am exhausted, so he had no problem letting me drift off to sleep while he channel surfed beside me. Now that's what marriage is all about.
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