From rustic to ridiculous

We've been back for a couple of days, but it's been a little crazy trying to get back to Molly and work and find time to write. I probably should have posted pictures while still on vacation when I had all the time in the world!

As I mentioned in the "Unlucky" travel woes post, we had a wonderful time in Zion and so much fun in Vegas. It was kind of a funny vacation because Zion National Park was so laid back -- everything shut down by 10 pm and hiking boots were the norm at dinner  -- and then Las Vegas was full of crazy energy. My Fitbit stats tell the story pretty well. I got more than 11 hours of sleep each night in Zion (heaven...) and about 6 each night in Vegas. Even though we hiked all day in Zion, I ended up with twice as many steps in Vegas after trucking back and forth along the strip from casino to casino. Ha!

Most of my pictures were taken in Zion. It was so incredibly gorgeous, but I feel like these shots hardly do it justice. We stayed at the Cable Mountain Lodge, just right outside of the entrance to the park, and had really yummy but casual meals at Café Soleil, The Spotted Dog Cafe, and Bit and Spur. In Vegas, we stayed at The Cosmopolitan, saw The Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil show, and ate dinner at Mario Batali's B&B Ristorante and Chicago chef Shawn McClain's restaurant Sage.

Jason had actually won a bit of money from a Superbowl pool before we even went to Vegas, which was nice, because that meant we basically got to gamble guilt-free. I introduced Jason to the joys of low stakes, high intensity gambling with $3 minimum roulette (always bet on birthdays!) and $5 black jack at the Casino Royale. I'm pretty terrible at black jack, but I did hit my numbers a few times playing roulette, which is always exciting. I also placed future wagers on my Cincinnati teams -- 60 to 1 odds for the Bearcats to win the championship and 25 to 1 odds for the Bengals to win the 2015 Superbowl. It would be pretty exciting to cash in on those bets, but I won't hold my breath :)

All right, that's enough typing. Here are a few of my favorite vacation pics:

View from our room in Zion



Canyon Overlook Trail (my favorite hike)

Photobombed at Weeping Rock

Standing tall at the end of the Riverside Walk

Dinner at Sage (Aria Casino, Las Vegas)

Bellagio fountains -- "Fly Me To the Moon" version

Happy birthday, Jason!!