We headed off early for breakfast at the Peppermill Restaurant -- if you have ever seen the tv series CSI or the movie Showgirls, you'll recognize the pink and blue neon lighting inside and outside of this place. It serves breakfast 24 hours a day and the restaurant's bar has not one but two happy hours daily: one from 3pm to 7pm and another from 3am to 7am. Located on the older part of the Las Vegas strip, breakfast here means you're surrounded by a good number of local folks, who have quite the panache for discussing their money and drinking copious amounts of alcohol no matter what time of day. While it's a little more expensive, the service is awesome and the breakfasts are huge. Now if we could just figure out who the guy was sitting behind us discussing global warming, his relationship with Al Gore and other such ear perking tidbits......
After breakfast, it was time for souvenir shopping at a joint we had seen on our way to and from the Marriage License Bureau downtown. The place, which is all dedicated to every imaginable Las Vegas souvenir known to mankind, takes up a full street corner in an L shaped strip mall. Tshirts, hats, cars, jackets, mugs, ashtrays, figurines, they got them en mass. There are definitely folks for whom we bought mementos there and we bought a new travel with bags to carry it all. We skipped further down the street arriving at The Fashion Show Mall on the Strip, full of Tyson's Corner type of stores and a kiosk where Jeffy had them him make his long wanted Missing Abducted logo embroidered on a ball cap. Afterwards, we headed over to Mandalay Bay's PBR Fan Zone.
The PBR Fan Zone was set up in a Nascar style marketing manner and it's obvious that the PBR is still getting used to how these things work. Many people we saw complained about parking - some had to walk the equivalent of a mile or so from parking garages just to get there. Again, in a "meant to be" fashion, Jeffy drove up to the on site parking and got a space on the second row closest to the Fan Zone - no walk for us. Luke Snyder, one of the PBR riders, was right in the entrance signing autographs. (How does a small guy looking all of 12 years old like that stay on a bull????) Lots of deals at the PBR Fan Zone vendors - they had to get rid of that stuff or they'd be trucking it home, as we discovered they were closing down at 5pm for the remainder of the Finals. Shopping ensued, and then we found ourselves meandering down the road to Boot Barn, where we'd only been able to spend a little time the day before.
6pm and we were exhausted -- especially me. Went back to hotel and started to crash, but hadn't had anything to eat other than breakfast that morning, Jeffy woke up after our nap (I have no idea what time) and told me he was going out to "hunt and gather" which I assume is man-code for "get something to eat" and he'd be back. I think I closed my eyes and heard him leave and the next thing I knew the door was opening again. I didn't pay too much attention and almost went immediately back to sleep.... except there was this smell in the room. I rousted around and he asked me if I was awake and I think I replied I was, kinda....he then handed me a wax papered sandwich and told me to take a bite. I did... and then I was awake.
This guy that I married, this terrific man to whom I have not given enough credit for thoughtfulness or consideration at times, had just handed me the best hamburger in the world: an In 'N Out burger. I am so hooked I looked up how to duplicate what they taste like when we got back East and I can't adequately convey how truly wonderful they are. Unfortunately, they are not on the East Coast, so I can see us having a yearly trek to Vegas just for them. They are that good. I so love this guy!!!!
It is with a happy and full stomach we drifted off to sleep :-)
