Day 6: PORTLAND WE ARE IN YOU!

I can't believe it, but we're finally in Portland! We were up bright and early this morning and got to leave with a gorgeous sunrise.

View from our room

The landscape today was probably the most drastic change we've seen. It went from rocky, desert-like mountains, to lush, green cliffs and mountain streams. The route wasn't direct by any means, and took us almost completely on scenic highways. There was a surprising amount of wildlife so close! We ran across at least 4 groups of deer on the side of the roads, along with lots of furry little things that we couldn't identify.

Welcome to California!

Looking for Oregon.

At long last, we hit the Oregon state line.

After miles and miles and hours and hours, we FINALLY came to a stop at our friends' house in south east Portland.

SO EXCITED!

Mileage, time, and mpg for the whole trip.

We're completely exhausted, and very ready for some down time. We're heading to our favorite local restaurant (Fire on the Mountain) for dinner, then out for drinks. It's official guys! We're Portlanders! :D

Day 5: Craps, In-N-Out, and the closet under the stairs.

I never thought there would be a day that felt longer than our first, but today proved me wrong! Jared and I both ended up falling asleep pretty early, so we woke up early. We didn't end up gambling last night, so we headed across the street to Circus Circus. They had a pretty good buffet, despite what a lot of reviews said. We killed some time before our "how to play craps", then jumped right into the fray. I'd been looking forward to playing craps for a few months now, because I'd been studying how to play it. When we walked up to the table to play, I was being called up as the new shooter. It took us a little while to get a hang of placing the chips, but apparently I was a pretty good shooter! When all was said and done, I ended up winning $27! We both agreed that we'd love to go back with a bit more money and time.

The craps table!

High flying circus in the upper part.

We ended up leaving Vegas a little later than we planned, because we got caught up in the game. Jared was a little worried about us having to make the 7 hour drive through the desert at night, but it ended up being perfectly fine. We did run across a quite a few random near-ghost towns, which was really strange. Between those and the vast amounts of empty desert, it was a little creepy. But it was really gorgeous when the stars finally started to come out!

Pit stop!

Really wanted to buy some!

Ghost town.

Tiny little town.

Sunset in the desert.

 After a VERY long drive, we managed to make it to Reno without incident. After hardly eating all day, we were starving though. The light at the end of the tunnel was In-N-Out. I haven't had it in over 3 years, and was ecstatic! Another thing I'd get to have Jared experience for the first time!

Hello, beautiful!

Double double, animal style!

 We're staying at the Ramada, which is kind of in a sketchy area. Our room reminds me of Harry Potter's "cupboard under the stairs". It seems almost like a servant's quarters, because it's down this little hallway set back right next to the elevator. And the room number was written on tape.

A little creeped out, but it ended up being comfy!

 So now, we're full of burger and ready to crash. ONE MORE DAY!

Day 4: Vegas, baby!

Heads up! This post has a ton of pictures!

Jared and I've had a pretty exciting day today! We were up bright and early so we could get to Vegas as soon as possible. The drive from Gallup was absolutely beautiful. It went from large, flat scrub land to red, rocky cliffs.

One great surprise was that we got to stop at the Hoover Dam! My mom had told us that it was a must see, and it definitely was! We didn't have time to take the tour, but we had a great time taking pictures on the bridge.

Beware of bighorn sheep!

After another half hour drive, we finally made it into Vegas! We're staying at the Riveria, which is at the top of the strip. For $60 a night, it's absolutely fabulous! I did the "$20 trick" at the front desk, and it worked! They upgraded our room from a classic room to a luxury, which was a really great surprise.

Our view of the pool from the room.

You could see the Trump and the Encore!

Gorgeous room!

After checking in, we headed out and hit the strip. The only hotel/casino that I really wanted to go to was the Venetian, so we hit that first. Talk about breathtaking! If I ever hit the lottery, I'd love to spend the night there.

They had some beautiful lobbies!

Leading to the hotel check in.

Performers in the piazza.

Gondalas!

For dinner, we had Serendipity 3, which was a first for both of us. It was very delicious, but very expensive for what we had. Buffalo chicken strips, a foot long hotdog, and a frozen hot chocolate is in no way, shape, or form worth $50. But we were there, and decided we needed to splurge a bit.

Frozen chocolate yum!

After dinner, we watched part of the water show at the Bellagio, grabbed a 32 oz. alcoholic slushie from the Paris, and played a few slots before Jared started feeling a bit sick. So instead of going out to gamble tonight, we're going tomorrow. Can't wait to play craps for the first time!