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Part I:  On the day of my birthday, we went to the Huntington Dog Beach for the first time. Chef was super excited in the car!

 He barked at a lot of the other dogs and hated the water, but enjoyed the view.

As you can tell from his nose, his favorite part was digging in the sand.

He even dug up a snail!

 We can't wait to go back!

And meanwhile, Chef couldn't wait to come home and relax in bed.

Part II:  I took the day off on Friday so we could get an earlier start to VEGAS!  It was one of those trips that we had talked about here and there, so we finally got the chance to make it happen!  Chef and I accompanied Josh to work in the morning because he had to finish some things up before we left.  I was a little worried (ok...a lot worried...or panicked) that we wouldn't make it to Vegas in time to drop Chef off at the Petsmart doggy hotel which closes at 9 PM. But like always, Josh reassured me that he would make everything work out.  Chef was obviously relaxed about it and fell asleep in my lap for half of the car ride.

I called Petsmart twice during the ride to update them on our estimated time of arrival, and they were very accommodating.  Thankfully, Josh got us there 15 minutes before it closed!

Then it was off to Caesar's Palace for dinner at Bacchanal.  The line closed at 10 PM, and much like Petsmart, we made it 15 minutes before closing time!  It actually worked out very nicely because we only had to wait a few minutes for our table, and the dining area was very comfortable since a lot of people were done with their meal by then.

I really liked the presentation and decor, and we couldn't wait to dig in to the crab legs, oysters, crawfish, brisket...my mouth is watering. 

Look at how cute those baskets of fries are! (left: fried chicken and sweet potato fries, right: waffle fries)

 

And these cute mousse-filled chocolate covered waffle cones on a stick! Adorable!

The only disappointing part was that since we were there towards closing, they didn't announce when they were putting the food away so I missed out on the macarons and the full variety of other dessert items. But I got my fill of oysters which was the most important thing.

Then we checked into Excalibur and I hit the slot machines for the first time!

 (Obviously this picture was taken the next morning)

The next day, we visited as many casinos as we could.  Josh drove us around so we didn't have to worry about walking...otherwise, I don't think I would have made it throughout the day.  He even carried my heels around in his backpack in case I wanted to look a little fancier, but I ended up just wearing flip flops.

The last time I was in Vegas, we stayed at the MGM Grand. 

Sightseeing Paris from the car.

After grabbing a quick lunch at the food court and strolling through Luxor, the first on our list was Circus Circus. We purchased our tickets to see the 9:30 show of Mystere (a little on the bizarro side, but really entertaining and mind-blowing), won a few prizes at the arcade games, and caught a glimpse of the free Carnival Midway acrobats show.

Picked up our tickets at Treasure Island and walked around Mirage.

Then headed back to the hotel to change for dinner.  Initially, we were going to get the Buffet of Buffets, but since it was Easter, the seasonal pricing wasn't very practical. Plus, we only really wanted to go to Bacchanal and the Wynn Buffet (which isn't included in the pass) so we decided against it.

The Wynn was so pretty! And the bathrooms were nice and clean haha.

It doesn't look as cool in the photo, but that white wall was a waterfall.

Again, we beat the dinner rush even though it was 6:30.

  

Prime rib, lamb, veal, and ribs.  The stand-out star?  THE PRIME RIB!!!  Melt. In. Your. Mouth.  I didn't take any more pictures because I was too busy savoring every bite and getting two giant platefuls of crab legs — and I mean GIANT.  I have to say, I enjoyed the crab legs more at the Wynn than at Bacchanal.  More flavor and meatier.  Slather on some butter or a few squirts of lemon juice and I will attack!!

After Mystere, we walked around the Venetian, caught the last part of the free Sirens of Treasure Island show, and drove to the Cosmopolitan.

The Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal.  We walked over it and snapped the following pictures from the top.

I couldn't wait to see the Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan, and it lived up to everything I had imagined! Three floors of pretty, twinkling pink beads!!

There were a few other things on our agenda like watching the Bellagio Fountain show or eating frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3, but the timing didn't work out.  Next time!

To end our exciting weekend, we visited the slot machines at Excalibur one more time.  I had the magic touch on one based on The Godfather, and I even won $17.40 at one point, but we decided to go big before going home and I lost it all haha.  But it was a really memorable way to end an unforgettably fun trip!!