Monday 15 April 2013

A Vacation in Riley World...
#Monday Listicles

WOW…has it already been 2 weeks since I last blogged!?!? Eeep! Well I have an excuse…again. Last weekend our family took a trip to Viva Las Vegas to catch some of Country’s best artists at the ACM (Academy of Country Music) Experience, Fan Jam and Superstar Summer Night concerts. So much fun!!!

This week my good friend Terri (who happens to live in Las Vegas…coincidence…I think not) suggested this week’s Listicles topic "10 Chapters in a Book About Me."  What better topic for an author who has just finished her second soon-to-be released book “Dark Pretense”. Congratulations Terri!!!

Since my life is ummm nothing to write home about and I know you have been dying to read about our latest adventure…I decided to do a listicles on “10 Chapters about a Vacation in Riley World!”  Fasten your seat belts and away we goooo…


1.      Chapter 1:  Packing 

Any trip away from home in Riley World must include the usual cooking apparatus and depending on the destination…certain foods.

For this trip we only had to pack a small amount of food as some could be purchased.


Product “packaging” is always an obstacle so we packed soup mix and extra packets of seasoning for R’s noodles.


2.      Chapter 2:  Departure Check-in/Seat Assignment   

Note to self:  Check flight times BEFORE leaving home. We arrived an extra hour BEFORE the required 2 hr check-in and we all know how patient Riley is about waiting...NOT!  Surely things would get better once on board.



I decided to splurge the extra $5/seat and get seats closer to the front of the plane so we would not have to wait very long to deplane. Even better…the row right in front of the exit door. G & J2 boarded ahead of R & me. As we started down the aisle I noticed G & J2 looking at me wide-eyed and stone-faced. Our row? The one I paid extra for? Only had half a window! Seriously???



3.      Chapter 3:  Hotel Accommodations


See that really comfy looking bed on the far left? There were 2 of them. R preferred to sleep on the couch. The first night he used the supplied bathrobes as blankets. He looked cold in the morning. Not to worry...I got him a blanket the second night. 



4.      Chapter 4:  Live Entertainment


That's J1 and Katie Armiger playing at The ACM Experience at The Orleans on the Friday night. It was great to be able to see them play LIVE! She was GREAT!!!


5.      Chapter 5:  Bonus Activity


It doesn't get any better than this in Riley World! Thank goodness it was past most kids' bedtimes so R had this bouncy castle all to himself.  :D


6.      Chapter 6:  Relaxation


If it were up to Riley these days he would choose to spend the entire time in the hotel room so we decided to coax him out of the room with a day poolside in a cabana. Don't know about R but I sure enjoyed it.  ;P


7.      Chapter 7:  Extracurricular Activities














J2 and I took a ride on the NYNY Roller Coaster. Riley preferred the upper deck of The Deuce operated by RTC Transit. See...there is something for everyone in Vegas!


8.      Chapter 8:  Concert Highlights


Here is one of the many pics from the Tim McGraw Superstar Summer Night concert that J2 and I went to see. It will be airing on TV in May. This was the finale with Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, John Fogerty and Keith Urban *sigh*.


9.      Chapter 9:  Departure Check-in for the trip home


Remember how I said I was going to check flight times BEFORE leaving home??? Wellllll...I didn't. My excuse this time is that we were not at home...we were at a hotel. Hey...details are very important in Riley World. We found out the flight was delayed by 2 hours when we got to the airport. On the upside...Riley got two windows this time!



10.  Chapter 10:  “It’s Good to be Home Again…”















LEFT PIC:  McDonald's fries in Vegas. I found these in the garbage can. They came in a small white bag. I will admit that they do taste different than the ones at home. This has never been a problem...until this trip. This decreased his menu options down to 5...that is if you consider cheerios and S&V chips as menu items.

RIGHT PIC:  McDonald's fries picked up on the way home. Notice the small brown bag. Much better.

As Riley kept saying all.the.way.home..."It's good to be home again."

And just to keep me in good spirits for my return home...

Gotta love Duty Free!


Congratulations again to our even more famous hostess Stasha! Don't forget to pop over to read the chapters of everybody else's lives.



14 comments:

  1. love the pics, sounds like you had an awesome time!

    yes, it is good to be home again and sounds like a great way to unpack..while drinking

    stopping by from Listicles. Have a great Monday.

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    1. Yes we had a great time! Can certainly handle having our room cleaned "magically" and the relaxation every now and then. Haahaa!

      Cheers, D

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  2. You just went to Rock Star status in my book. How cool to go to Vegas for the AMC. I just was there for the first time last month. I bet you had a ball.

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    1. Rock Star status...oh yea! Haahaa!

      Did you like Vega$??? I find you either LOVE it (like me) or meh. We had a blast! Got some down time too since G & I took turns going to the concerts with J2. Much easier on my wallet too! ;P

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  3. Wow, them's some fancy digs you had there! I'd have slept on that couch too. Looks like you had one heck of a trip. Yay for you!

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    1. Only in Vegas can you live the high life for a fraction of the cost of any place else. Of course they know you're just going to give it back in other ways. ;P

      I was more than happy to hang out with R in the room too! :D

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  4. Minus the airport snafus, what a wonderful trip! It looks like you were up close and personal to those heart-throbs!

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    1. Wish I was that close! The power of the zoom lens. Haahaa!

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  5. Looks like you had a lot of fun! Love the hotel accommodations - I had this thing when I lived in my old apartment of preferring to sleep on the couch instead of in a bed. Glad I got out of that habit. I'm surprised it only cost $5 to enjoy a seat upgrade.

    Nice take on this week's Listicle topic.

    Yona from http://artpark78.com/blog1

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    1. I wish it was only $5 for an "upgrade". We flew on a "budget" airline where we actually have to pay to get a seat! Haahaa!

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  6. Now that's a book I need to read! How fun! Makes me need a vacation even more!

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    1. Vegas is always an adventure with and most definitely without kids. ;P

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  7. Umm...why didn't you take me with you? I like hotels, I like cabanas, I like country music...

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    1. What!?!?! You mean you didn't get my invite??? I wondered why I didn't hear back from you. :D

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