The greatest trip ever

Wow, I need to update. It's been a crazy busy month or so, and I have a much more elaborate post in the works, as soon as I decide to sit and go through the 450 photos I took as an amateur photographer in Las Vegas. (Note: Cool angles only work when you have the proper experience. Otherwise they just look like you're drunk.)

So, we went to Vegas. And it was awesome. So I'll write the full post, and then I'll edit it and enter the photos (which, admittedly are of an awesome quality when I get them all straightened, fill-light-ed, and enhanced. Many don't need this treatment, and that's good, because I took them in JPEG setting instead of RAW. Photo tip #1: Good editing software doesn't work on jpeg images. Photo tip #2: Manuals aren't bad things. Read them.)

I made Matt walk around the strip with me for a little bit after we checked in to the hotel. I didn't want to go straight to bed once we got the Vegas, even though it was like being awake until 2am our time. I'm always fascinated by Vegas, even the airport. So we walked across the street from our hotel and played with the camera. 

I took Matt through the Venetian, which woke him up a little bit since it's ALWAYS DAYTIME in there. 

Then we found a fancy-pants Walgreens and bought some booze and soda for our next day's events. 

Saturday: 

I guess it was around 9am Vegas time when I woke up, decided to get ready, and take on Vegas. 

We filled our soda bottles with our booze of choice, I put them in my purse, and we hit the strip. We met Matt's cousin, Chris, and he showed us around some of his favorite places there too. 

We spent most of Saturday drinking. It was awesome. We stopped in the Luxor for some more beverages, and I discovered that whipped cream vodka+OJ+Sprite = liquid dreamsicle. I chose to ignore the amount of sugar and calories in this beverage and focused instead on the fact that I hadn't eaten so it was basically the same. 

We strolled through NYNY briefly, where I got another sugar-infused-calorie-laden beverage and made it across the bridge to the other side of the street.

I'm terrified of escalators, and so Chris stopped on ours, which freaked me out more because I was drinking. But then we saw this guy:

And I soon forgot what I was previously afraid of.

We stopped at the Coca Cola Store for some good natured tourism, and I unashamedly flirted with a giant polar bear.

If you've been to Vegas, ever, you know that the people there do one of three things: 

1. Avoid the strip completely unless they have friends in town.

2. Are homeless and sit on the strip, smelling like urine, and begging for food and money. Sometimes they have witty signs. 

[Picture- divorce]

3. Dress up in what would be an unusual social behavior, which is rewarded with photo opportunities and tips in LV.

I decided to use my awesome new toy to document, secretly without the need of tipping, these people.

[Picture-Batman and spiderman]

[Picture- Homer]

[Picture-Mario]

[Picture-Barney]

And then I found THIS GUY:

[Picture-Birdman]

Who was just walking down the strip like he was the man, completely unaware that I was behind him snapping a million photos simply because there was a red macaw and a blue macaw on his shoulders. Then he stopped, and saw me, and I was embarrassed by my unabashed love of his birds and told him he was awesome. 

To which he responded: "Thanks, for $5 I'll let you take some pictures with them."

SOLD. 

So we gave him our camera and he gave us his birds and we took these pictures right there in the middle of the strip.

[Pictures-Birds]

And that made it the greatest day ever. 

We went back to the hotel, I changed, drank a little more, and then we were off to catch a bus to Fremont Street. We get to the street and while walking around in the dark, Chris points above our heads and goes "There's the zip line."

Matt: "Cool. I wanna do it."

Me: "I'll go with you!"

So we get weighed (grumble), sign our releases, and get in line. I gave Chris my purse since I didn't think I could zip line with it, and his buddy who had been with us all day took the camera, stating, "If it has video (which it does), I'll record it for you."

I think nothing of this. I think it'd be cool to see ourselves zip line. And obviously, my tiffany-blue purse looks awesome on Chris's shoulder. 

So we stand in line for almost an hour on the roof of some random building. I'm wearing my owl hat (one of three), and we are chatting with the people around us. When it's finally our turn, I don't get nervous until I'm strapped in, sitting on the launch box. I look to the guy in charge and say "Am I gonna die on this?" 

To which he replies: "Not today."

And we are off. I had been given all these rules before we left; don't leave your feet out, pay attention at the end, don't kick the guys at the end, etc. And I was very focused on this. Plus, my thing got all twisted and I was trying to make sure I didn't kick anyone while Matt is a few seconds behind me screaming my name. 

I get my head turned around enough to look at him, all smiles, and hear him yell "Will you marry me?"

My initial thought, was that he was joking. That he heard me ask if I was going to die, and was playing some 'OMG we're gonna die" joke on me. But I screamed "Yeah!!"  back at him. (I mean, I would marry him.)

So we get to the end of the rope a few seconds later (my timing may be way off on this, it was a lot of happenings), and I'm sort of piecing this all together. That he really did ask me that, and I really did say yes, and dude, I hope that wasn't a joke.... and then I get my harness of the line and turn around to get down when I see Chris. 

On the platform. 

On a knee, holding a box out in both hands in a presentation manner. 

And I believe the words that came out of my mouth were "Are you f***ing kidding me?!"

(Sorry, I swear. I know. I KNOW.)

I look over at Matt, who is on the platform too (I repeat my profane question. Mostly out of shock.), and I recall hearing him ask the attendants "Can you get me out of this thing?" and he gets off his box, grabs the ring from Chris, gets on one knee, and asks me again formally. To which I respond with zero profanity, but in the affirmative, and it's all happy ever after. We even have a video of it.

[Video]

And professional photos

[Pictures-zipline]

Which then was the greatest day ever. 

We spent two and a half more days in Vegas. We saw Mystere, we were hungover on Sunday, we saw Chris one more time, we lost (expensive) things and found them, we won money, and we had an amazing time together. I took a ton of more pictures, which I'll post some of on here and my facebook. As soon as I sit down to finish reviewing them.

Now we're planning a wedding. It's stressful (which I expected), and it's fun (which I hoped for), and it's exciting (which I knew it would be). I've cried, I've lost sleep, I've picked a dress completely different than what I wanted. I'm so incredibly lucky to have a family who will bend over backwards to ensure that Matt and I have the day of our dreams with as little stress as possible. It means the world to me. 

<3