All of life is a chance: 08/01/2014

If you ever want to get out of Houston for a couple hours, I highly recommend taking a trip to Frazier's Ornamental & Architectural Concrete. It's at the corner of 290W (heading to Austin) and Hwy 6 (heading to college station). The place is huge, full of all sorts of statues for your garden. They seriously have a statue for everything - animals, religious, mythology, fairies, etc. We specifically went to look at bird baths but I couldn't help take pictures of some of the more weird and random options.

The patriotic section

I wonder if the HOA will allow me to put this on our front steps?

Strike a pose!

These remind me of the old school Aunt Jemima syrup bottles

Why would you want a statue of a shoe shine boy?

What the? Very creepy!

Mr. Fox looks stoned

These lamas are very zen

I would be bored too, sitting there all day

I like the look of concern the statue in the background has for Elvis and Mozart

This place totally made me think of weeping angels. Don't blink!

Right down the street is a great farm stand called Dilorio's. They are known in the region for their great local watermelons. Hempstead, TX used to be the top shipper of watermelons to rest of the USA back in the 40s. Dilorio Farms provides all the watermelon snacks for the Watermelon Run for the Fallen in Hempstead, TX. That's where I had my first taste of their delicious watermelon and knew I had to stop by their farm stand since I was in the area.One of my favorite things about living in this region is the great fresh and sweet watermelon.

Lastly, since you will be on 290 heading back to Houston, you may want to make a pit stop at Buc-ee's for a bathroom break. Now, as a Wawa fan, it's just not the same. But Buc-ee's is a Texas favorite with their crazy beaver merchandise, homemade jerky and fudge, and excellent restrooms. The giant Buc-ee's in Waller, TX also has a ton of Texas themed gifts and other merchandise. I've purchased a few things to send to friends up North. But the more I stop at Buc-ee's, the more I miss Wawa - especially the Wawa coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and most of all their hoagies. I'll just have to make another trip back to Philadelphia soon to get my Wawa fix.

In February 2014, I went to Las Vegas for the first time. It was an interesting experience for sure. Here's a short rundown of some of the things I did while there.

Vegas sign on Freemont St

First things first. Go for a weekend trip only. I made the mistake of taking the first flight out on Thursday morning and the last flight out on Sunday evening. I was exhausted. And ended up coming down with an awful cold/sinus/allergy bug that eventually turned into bronchitis a few days after the trip. My recommendation for my next trip to Vegas is to fly in Friday afternoon and fly out Sunday afternoon. Pack it all into a short time period. The longer you are there, the more tiring and overwhelming it gets - and more expensive. Plus it didn't help that I am allergic to cigarette smoke so I'm sure that contributed to the overall feeling of meh.

Here's some of my favorite things I did in Vegas:

1. Gordon Ramsey Steakhouse. We decided to book dinner there on Thursday night for my birthday. We made the mistake of making the reservations at 8pm. After being up since 3am due to an early flight, we were all beat. And it didn't help that they were running behind so it was another 45 minute wait and they were rude about it. I was not happy about that. I liked the decor of the restaurant. However, the waiter was hard to hear and apparently was not happy that we were not big spenders ordering bottle of wine etc. The food we did get was amazing though. We ordered ribeye steak and and side dishes of mushrooms, truffle mac&cheese and mashed potatoes. The best part was the desert of sticky toffee pudding. It was outstanding. I would go back but make an earlier reservation so we could better enjoy the food and atmosphere.

Steak!

Best birthday desert ever!

2. The Qua spa at Caesars palace. I decided to splurge on a massage for my birthday. I went around 8am on Saturday morning which was a good idea because the place got very crowded after 10am. By being there that early, I was able to enjoy the various steam rooms and pools in quiet and peace before my massage. The massage was fantastic, worth every penny. I ended up spending a half day in the facilities, took advantage of the tea and shower facilities. Everything was very neat and well organized. I wish I could go back every month.

3. Park on Freemont is this great little local restaurant in old part of Vegas. We sat in the cute little outdoor patio and enjoyed locally sourced dishes. The place had a bit of an eclectic hipster vibe to it - completely catering to the cool local crowd and not really the tourists looking for cheap casinos and drinks down the street. I loved it. Get the mac&cheese balls, chilaquiles, and the Texas tuxedo bloody mary. It was a nice change of pace from the overly touristy restaurants.

The quirkiness of Park on Freemont

4. If you need a quick snack, stop by Payard Patisserie in Caesars Palace. Some of the best almond croissants I've ever eaten.

5. Another great snack place is Cocolini's gelato in the Venetian. I got a single scoop in a cup and it was yummy to eat while wandering around the casino.

6. Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson One show was fantastic. I love Michael Jackson's music. And I've never been to a Cirque show before. I loved seeing all the acrobatics and dancing choreographed to Michael's music. It was really well done and made me want to listen to all his albums again.
And speaking of Michael Jackson - that was our favorite slot machine. If you won, it played his music and he would dance on the screen. It was fun. That's where I spent most of my money :)

7. I loved watching the fountains at the Bellagio. I could watch that water show every day for a year and still not get tired of it. Plus the Bellagio did a great job decorating the inside for Chinese New York and I loved the Chuly glass exhibit.

Bellagio celebrating Chinese New Year - Year of the Horse

Bellagio Fountains

Chuly glass exhibit

Since it was my first trip to Vegas, I was a little overwhelmed with the size of the place and all the options of what to do, where to eat etc. I didn't understand how crowded it would be and that it takes forever to get anywhere or you have to wait 45 minutes to eat breakfast or wait in line for 2 hours to try to go dancing. We spent a lot of time walking around and people watching which was good fun. Now that I understand the layout and feel of Vegas better, I feel the next trip will be more enjoyable.