Belated Adventures OUT of the North Pole

Somehow I keep thinking that I have nothing to write about, but I continue to have things or experiences that I pass up writing on because I think it's "too late."  As in, Jared and I spent a weekend in Chicago in late March and had a blast, followed by a week in Las Vegas spent languishing in the sun after we thought we'd never see it again.  I took tons of great pictures in both places, and then nothing.  I get to doing other things, put off writing (although I love it) and then several months pass and I think I've missed the opportunity.  Well, too bad if this is random and way past any relevance it may have had, but...I do what I want. (and Jared is out of town for three weeks, so I'm bored and can only watch Netflix so much with the dog)

So, a few months back, back when the snow hadn't let up and I thought I would never be warm again, Jared and I decided to book a trip during the school's spring break. Somewhere warm. We researched online, and found a great deal through Allegiant Air out of Appleton (a town about an hour away) and compulsively made the purchase.  Five days in Las Vegas, where sunshine and warmth exist in abundance. (Can you tell us weenie southerners aren't cut out for northern winters? ugh.)

Anyway, around that time one of Jared's former classmates and good friend Drew invited us to Chicago to see a show he was in, so we rolled it all in to one awesome trip, starting with Chicago the first weekend of spring break.  We ate tons of good food (tapas, swedish-style breakfast, classic Chicago-style pizza, etc) walked through Millennium Park (yes dear, I told you the "bean" was a real thing) went through The Art Institute, as well as the Lincoln Park Zoo.  And of course, we saw 25 Saints, the fantastic show that Drew was in.  We had such a blast, and can't wait for another opportunity to go back! Awesome town.

That Sunday afternoon, we drove almost all the way back home, and made it to Appleton for our flight out that evening to Vegas.  We were completely exhausted, and unbelievably exhausted by the time we actually got to Vegas and checked into our room at The Mirage.  We slept off our travel fatigue, and spent the next almost week eating awesome food (have you figured out the way to our hearts yet?) saw Ka and Love by Cirque du Soleil, went to the Hoover Dam with our friends the OBriens, and generally enjoyed sunshine and...not working. ha. We had such a good week. If only sunshine, enjoyment, good food and relaxing didn't have to be so directly tied to how much money you spend...we'd do this more often.

So, that's how we saved our sanity from the crazy long and cold winter up north. Although random and way after the fact, it was write-worthy (although admittedly my writing on this particular post is pretty sub par) but, be grateful I didn't go back and do a post on last summer's family vacation to Colorado (although the pictures were awesome, so you're missing out.)