On day five, we had a few things on our minds and on our checklists. They were:
- Hang out at the pool
- Eat at Gordon Ramsay Burger
- Go to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Race Expo
I’m proud to say that we were extremely efficient, hit all of our milestones for the day and still made it back to our room in time to watch The Good Place.
The pool time was a really nice transition time and it got me into vacation mode. We’d already slept in a little and made our leisurely way down there, getting coffee and juice en route. Since he was well versed in the pool scene, Kevin knew which were the best seats and we got ’em!
Kevin credits my brother with introducing him to pina coladas (it happened here) and his affinity for them is alive and well. He is committed to having one every day while we’re here and his streak is intact.
After a few very windy hours by the pool, we cleaned up in our room and got ready to go to the race expo which was being held at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. To get there, we headed over to the back of MGM Grand and took the monorail. (I don’t like to complain about money often, but $5 for a single ride!)
It’s always fun to visit a race expo. It’s a runner’s first glimpse into what to expect and it can set the tone.
This year’s expo was pretty good, I thought. Kevin remembers last year’s being better, but, according to my recollection, this year’s was an improvement. I think he likes it because every year we come here he manages to find the exact same pair of shoes that he loves that is discounted further every time.
We bought race souvenirs and took home some samples, but that was about it. We didn’t even sign up for another race (which we almost always do.)
From there, we took the Toyota Shuttle (a nice perk from the race’s major sponsor) to the closest stop to our next destination: Bally’s. From Bally’s we went on foot to Paris, from Paris to The Strip, from The Strip to Planet Hollywood and into Gordon Ramsay Burger.
It took about 25 minutes to get a table and when we did we were seated towards the back and right beside a TV showing Thursday Night Football.
We’d already known that we’d order chips and curry to start and that I’d have to Portabella burger. Kevin has more to choose from and eventually landed on the Farmhouse. (It was the fried egg that sealed the deal.)
To call what happens here gourmet burgers is an understatement. These are works of art, every piece deliberate and by design, every bite delicious.
We left there wholly satisfied and basking in the glow of a truly good meal. We took a loop through the Miracle Mile Shops where we found my very first Drybar! You may recall that getting a blowout was the one thing I had on my wish list for this trip so I was pretty thrilled. I went in and I made an appointment and then guess what we found on our walk back to our hotel?!? Another Drybar, this one MUCH closer than the first one.
Today is, beginning to end, too to bottom, front to back exploration with not one must do or even one like to do in mind.
