Vegas (again)!

So, we headed back to Las Vegas for 1/7's Birthday Ball. The Marines always celebrate their "birthday" on the anniversary of their formation (which happened on November 10, 1775). Ours happened to be on the 19th, since all the different groups of Marines on any given base need to somewhat stagger theirs or no one would be around on the 10th. Since we're in the middle of nowhere at Twentynine Palms, my battalion generally goes to Las Vegas.

We decided to stay at the Wynn. Now, that place could be a whole other post on its own. Anyhoo, it all started last year when we used Hotwire! to get a hotel. We happened to land at the Wynn after we reserved a "mystery" hotel for a good price (those of you who use Hotwire! know all about how it works). Anyway, once we were guests there one time, we apparently got on their mailing list, so we got a good offer on a room rate this time, too. I don't think it hurt that we stayed there in the middle of the week, when rates are lower.

Notice this ridiculous carpet. This is in the hallway up on the 58th floor, where our room was. Now, I understand why the casino owners put hideous carpet in the casinos themselves--it is said that it's because they don't want your eyes on the floor, but up, looking around, so you'll notice all of the gambling options and spend more money. That may or may not be true. However, I don't know why you would need to put hideous carpet that looks like little mitochondria way up in the hallways where the rooms are. Furthermore, where do they buy this stuff? I told Tally there must be a "Casino Carpet Warehouse" or catalog separate from what any of us would ever get to peruse. Really, who designs this stuff?

Here's a picture of me risking my life savings on one of the high-limit slot machines. Oh, who am I kidding? We were playing nickel or penny slots or something, hoping to make $5 last as long as we could and get a free drink or something. No jackpot here.

Also, it was Tally's birthday (I won't say which one, except that it rhymes with "shirty") on the 18th, so we tried to celebrate a little. We both like Bobby Flay (from the Food Network), so we went to his restaurant, Mesa Grill, on Tuesday night, and had appetizers (which we delicious, by the way). Here is Tally modeling them for us:

Then, as we decided the two of us didn't need to split a whole cake of some type, here she is with her birthday cupcake (she had already chomped a piece out of the "Happy Birthday" chocolate disc):

Here are two pictures from the Ball itself, one of the two of us, and one of Tally with one of the centerpieces from the table. (No idea why she grabbed that to get a picture, but it is kind of funny.)