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Vegas Day 10

Well someone forgot to close the blinds when we went to bed last night and I would wake up to a room full of light.




Today was NEW YEARS EVE and we were really looking forward to experiencing it. The predicted weather was supposed to be 59° today. So, not as warm as it had been all week but still warmer than it was in Ohio.


Where do you think we ended up at for breakfast? None other than Denny's again. The kids really liked this place. I think we only have one in our town and we never go there because it is not close by. So we were getting our fill of it while we were here.



Sakari really loves soup and was hoping for some Chicken Noodle soup. But the special of today was vegetable. They were "out" of crackers but said they would find some for her. Look at what they brought her. She loved it.





Well it was our last full day in Vegas and I really didn't want to spend more money to go somewhere so the one thing that we hadn't done yet was visit the REAL Welcome to Las Vegas sign. I looked at the map to see just how far it was and if we were able to walk to it. According to google maps, it was a 2 miles walk. Uh...dang...I'm honestly not sure. but, what else could we possibly do today and I really wanted our pictures taken at the sign again. Plus, I also didn't want to pay another $8/pp for the Deuce bus again.


Wait, we could potentially walk over and catch the monorail at least to Mandalay Bay. Ok, how far would it be then?? From the tram station to the sign would be 1.3 miles. Ok, we can do this! I pumped up the kids and hubby with multiple "you can do it" phrases and off we went. Even if we had to walk slow to complete it, we were doing it!


Out of Mandalay Bay and onto the sidewalk we went.





I will be honest, it really didn't seem that far, even with my bum foot. We were pretty much there in no time at all.


We arrived and crossed the street where we would find the longest line ever to stand in to get up to have our picture taken.







Of course there were many people that would go off to the side to have their pictures taken instead of waiting in line and there was some girls on the side that just wouldn't leave and must have taken 100 pictures or more and were finally told by someone to get off the green where people were taking their pictures. Then there were 2 kids that had been there for over an hour going up the green hump and rolling down, doing cartwheels and running back and forth. People said they had tried to find their parents and no one had claimed them...for over an hour. They were also told MOVE OUT OF THE WAY multiple times!


Sakari wanted to recreate the pictures we had done the last time. We tried...but we had that extra person with us this time too.


So here we are: on the left 2021 and on the right 2024







Well we didn't get this pose quite right...oops! We were saving our kiss for midnight tonight when bringing in the New Year I guess.





Then the newbie of the bunch:


Ok, time to head back again. We were getting our steps in and saving money.




Of course no need to continue trying to get steps in when we can ride the monorail back right?



I was trying to get a picture of where our room was based on what we would see when we looked outside.


We are on the top floor of the white building.



After coming back, we had worked up an appetite again for a snack and stopped at Nathan's for more pretzel bites. I had to have it one more time before this trip was up.



What better way to kill time than a little gambling...eh hem, I mean donating our hard earned money, to the slots right?

🎰


We actually didn't do too bad and found a few games that kept us playing for awhile. At least this time we walked out with some money. Not as much as we went in with but more than half after playing for a few hours.




As we were getting ready to leave, the hubby yelled "HEY! Look over here" and pointed to something on one of the slot machines. IT WAS A DUCK! Wait what? People do this on land? I thought this was only a cruise thing. I CAME HOME WITH A DUCK! How exciting! My first land duck and first and only Vegas duck). I should have been watching out the rest of the time we were here.




I think we just hung out in the room the rest of the day watching tv and I binge watched Squid Games. We did all of our packing except for what we would need in the morning. The good thing about land vacations is that you don't have to pack and put your luggage outside of your door for someone to take them away not to be seen again until you are off the ship next day.


Then around 8pm we decided to find some dinner. Something quick and simple. Burgers sounded good.


We headed down the street and decided to try Whataburger. I had never had them before.


We spent $47.36 and it was pretty good. Sakari opted for Pizza.




Well, they had the roads blocked off and it was party time. I really expected the streets to be completely filled with people and not being able to move. But, honestly it wasn't bad at all. Most people were up on the sidewalks. Maybe they couldn't figure out how to get down on the street. You pretty much had to walk to the end of the block and go out and back down.


They had the Brooklyn Bridge roped off and New York New York was having a party up there with a band and dancers on a stage. We had the perfect view from down on the street.






Music was playing everywhere and I know there were a bunch of New Years Eve parties going on at various locations. One that would be really interesting to go to would be at the top of the Strat. I think tickets were around $200/pp but imagine the view it would have!!! Maybe some day when Sakari turns 21 will be be able to attend these and dance the night away. Until then, we would have to settle for street dancing.





We danced and danced and had such a great time! Now this is what New Years Eve is all about. I have always said I wanted to go to Times Square in New York and watch the ball drop. Well, we were at New York and we were about to watch the countdown on a screen instead of a ball and it was just as good. The screens up and down the strip had the same countdown so no matter where you looked you could see it.


Then it officially turned 2025!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!






Then the fireworks started. They were all up and down the street at different hotels and they were all synchronized and so pretty. No matter where you looked there were fireworks. The closest ones to us was directly across the street at MGM. Although the palm trees were a bit in the way.






Can you see the different fireworks in 3 different places looking down this way?





It was a great fireworks display and we enjoyed it so much. Honestly we could have stayed in our room and watched it all from above, with probably a better unobstructed view, but it wouldn't have been as fun.


We said we'd actually like to come back every year for this because it was that much fun. Only I think next time we will come after Christmas and stay at least another day after New Years Day. Traveling on a holiday is just crappy. Last year we came home on Christmas Day. This year we would be coming home on New Years Day. After staying up until midnight for the fireworks and having to get up early to get ready and catch a plane, it wasn't going to be fun. Lesson learned.


The sky was filled with smoke and we made our way back to the room.




Here's a video I took of a little before the fireworks and during.






Back to the room where we instantly fell asleep. It was way past our bedtime. At least tonight I was breathing better and my dry throat had subsided.



💤




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