Why Vegas can be cool

I've wanted to use this post title for a while, but I couldn't find the exact moment. It's possible because right now the weather is stifling and it sometimes (sometimes) feels worse than being stuck inside during the winter in Toledo. It makes sense to be limited when the weather is snow, but not just the sun. ANYWAY...I was on facebook of all places and those annoying ads decided to tell me about Ben Folds coming to Las Vegas! Two days later, we found ourselves here:

This is at one of the pool's at the Cosmopolitan hotel. They apparently drain the pool, raise the floor of said pool, and suddenly they have a concert venue.

This is my (understated) happy concert face.


Here are some of our fellow concert goers. Plaid decided to get drunk early and yell at Ben Folds. I don't know why girl stayed with him, but she seemed used to it. At least I know when Nate yells it's just to make people around us uncomfortable enough to give us some space (it works). The other girls pictured weren't really fans, so I'm not sure why they attended. My sense of etiquette and love for Ben made me want to get rid of these two. When one of them got too close to me, I settled for accidentally clapping too enthusiastically until she moved a little.

Ben! It was general admission, and we made the sacrifice of standing around for a couple hours, but were rewarded with great "seats".

His piano playing always has me amazed, so it was fun to be closer to see more of it. (my piano practicing here at home today will seem really weak, I'm thinking)

After the concert, view from one of the balconies. Vegas has been hard for me to adjust to, honestly. This concert was just what I needed; we had a beautiful night, fabulous music, a great view, and Nathan and I finally got to hear our song (yes, "Luckiest" is ours) together; live. Thanks, Ben.

St Lucia I

Happy (albeit tired) to arrive!

Me staring at nothing while the food was on its way.

Nate smiling at me while the food was on its way.


View from our lunch table.

Sunset.

Before dinner.

After dinner. (yes, we had 3 desserts between us)

Morning beach walk.

Engaged?? No. I found a ring I had lost since November. IN MY POCKET. For those keeping track, I lost Nate's ring in Ohio for about the same amount of time under similar circumstances.

Rained out.

Eating at the pub.

Finding a bat outside the pub.

K. Large mountain. This is what Nate and I signed up to climb. Later we would realize we basically both dared each other to do this without realizing it, but at this point, it was too late. The drive to the mountain caused 3 people to throw up...not a great start.

Me trying to keep up with Cameron, our 17 year old flip-flop wearing guide. He may have been going for a good tip, but he said that both Nate and I looked about 25, max. Cha-ching, Cameron.

Nate and I at the top. It was about 2 hours up and 2 hours down. The view was beautiful, but cloudy. The clouds (and rain) however, were mostly likely my saving grace. I don't know if I would've survived with the sun out.

At the half way point. In the background is Petite Piton (we were climbing Gros Piton).

Happy to be done, back at the resort and ready to eat again. It was a great experience, but I'm embarrassed to note that I didn't walk normally for about 4 days.

St Lucia II

At dinner our last night at Sandals La Toc (our first stop). The dinner was tasty, but I'm still suspicious of what was in it...I blame this meal for my illness. Would I eat it again? Maybe.

At dinner our first night at Sandals Grande St. Lucian (our second stop).

Relaxing and reading by the pool.

Picture of the Atlantic side of the ocean. Taken on one of Nate's solo outings while I was hanging out in bed. The night before I had discovered my stomach was extremely mad about something I'd consumed. I watched a LOT of House Hunters.

Propped up before going out for the evening!

In the ocean. The pools all felt like bath water, so the ocean seemed shockingly cold.

Washed up.
Me while I watched Nate play volleyball. As I watched, I thought everyone sucked. 30 minutes later, they talked me into joining and I realized I did too. It's just hard.

Nate was still a star though. Look at that set!

At Tosconini's, a tasty Italian place.

Working off our calories.

In Nate's case, winning off his calories. I'm about as good at pool as I am water volleyball.

We came back to our room and found this. Mrs. Highley was so happy they cared.

St. Lucia III

Nate and I on the speedboat tour on Saturday. I was grateful for how quickly the boat allowed us to see the island...and that I took Dramamine. Wow.

Halfway through, we stopped in Marigot Bay for snorkeling. I really do love it, but I hyperventilate around for 5-10 minutes, then I calm down enough to enjoy it. Nate of course doesn't need a life vest and can dive without sucking up water into his snorkel. Look how good he looks while doing all that.

Us in front of the Pitons. Please be impressed with the size of these mountains (especially the taller of the two) (See other post).





Nate and I in the mud baths. I pictured dunking myself in sloppy mud, but it was really just a group exfoliating session with lava "soap" as they called it. I felt ridiculous, but our skin ended up ridiculously smooth when it was all over with.


You can't tell my Dramamine has started to wear off, can you?

One of the beautiful pictures as a result of Nate talking himself into a park after it had closed. We got back from our tour late, so he ran around and took as many pictures as they would allow (or until they noticed he was still there) while I hung out by the pool.

Dinner at the pub. The food was so so tasty and the decor was fun.

Walking around the resort while we waited for our bus to take us to the airport.

It became very hot, so we took several breaks, including this one.

One our way back to the airport...I managed a decent shot from the car-finally!