Saturday, May 26-27, 2018
Weather: Sunny and mid-80’s
Steps: Shaun - 10,002, Shannon - 8,552
We got up late this morning because we’d stayed up too late the previous night, so we quickly ate food from the cooler and then began the process of getting the packed boxes to the car. Shaun pulled the car around to the valet, and Shannon waited for the bellman, but it took so long that the parking attendants made Shaun move off to the side. We finally got everything loaded, profusely thanked the bellman, and took the boxes to USPS. After eating at a Mediterranean restaurant, we dropped the rest of the extra food, storage items, and anything we couldn’t fit in our suitcases at Goodwill. It felt very freeing to strip down to the bare essentials, let me tell you.
We had to hightail it back to The Bellagio because Shannon had booked both of us pedicures and massages at the spa, which was a crazy, over-the-top, extravagant Mother’s Day gift. They gave us fluffy, white robes and flip flops and dropped us off in the massage staging area. It was insane, and we spent the time reading about the construction of the Bellagio Fountains from design to installation. It was fascinating to say the least. We also got a higher elevation look at the display in the Conservatory.
After a 50-minute Revive and Recover massage that was frickin’ fantastic, we headed down to the salon for an Elements of the Earth pedicure. Once our feet were as pretty as they’ve ever been in the history of the world (and boy do I feel sorry for the technicians since we’d just spent 3 weeks hiking in the desert!), we were taken back up to the spa area where we got to shower in super cool showers with rain heads and very pretty smelling products. Shannon paid the insane tab for our services, and we headed back to the room to get ready for our dinner at Lago and our Cirque du Soleil showing of O, the water show.
Lago is an Italian tapas restaurant in the Bellagio complex right on the fountains, and we arrived just in time to get a table at the window, which gave us the chance to see 3 different shows while we ate. Between Shannon and me, we ordered 8 different dishes and 2 desserts (a Lemoncello cake thing and a tiramisu that were delicious). It was a fantastic meal.
Our seats for O were right in front of the upper orchestra and against the wall, so no one was in front of us or next to us. It was awesome, but the theater was really cold, and we weren’t dressed for the chill. Shaun ended up buying two scarves to wrap around her shoulders, but they were super cool, so it wasn’t too much of a hardship.
The show was great...everything we’ve come to expect from Cirque du Soleil shows (we think this was our fifth one). The main concepts of fire and water flowed through the show, and the stage dropped and filled with water and then rose which caused the water to empty. It was very freaky because there were divers all over the place, and sometimes they’d dive when there was no water. Shannon’s favorite trick was the two fire spinners, and Shaun’s favorite was the last clown skit where they danced the salsa. It was hilarious!
After the show, we went out to see the fountains at night, and unfortunately their “every 20 minute schedule” went a bit awry. We had to wait almost an hour for the show to start up, but then they ran through two displays in quick succession to make up for the time lapse. It was so beautiful at night, and the place was packed.
When we’d had enough of the fountain show, we just went back to the room, ordered breakfast for the next morning, and packed for our flights. Shannon was leaving earlier than Shaun, so Shaun dropped Shan off, filled the rental car up with fuel, and then dropped it off with no problem. Both of us arrived back home safely, and luckily we had Memorial Day Monday to recover and prepare to re-enter real life.
What can I say to wrap up this epic adventure for posterity? It seems like every place we go is more wonderful than the last place. We pushed ourselves further in our hiking experience, and we learned a ton about geology in general and the formation of this part of the world in particular. The people there were amazing...so so friendly and caring, and we were so well cared for in all of the various lodging types we experienced.
We didn’t see as many critters here as we did in Alaska and Wyoming, so we played the Critter Catch game for the first part of the trip, but we didn’t keep track after the first week or so. There were way more birds and lizards than large mammals, but we really enjoyed the free-ranging cattle that appeared often in unexpected places. My goal to see a California Condor was unrealized, which made me really sad, but we really loved meeting the Gambel’s Quail and the Pinyon Jay. We did have an up-close and personal relationship with a bighorn sheep, though, so that was something to write home about, and the defecating mule deer was a singular experience we’ll always remember. Of course, the ostriches and llamas were unexpected as well, so I guess we really weren’t that deprived when it came to critters after all!
All told, the Grand Circle is an amazing place, and we were only able to see a small portion of it. We were able to check several national parks off of our list, but there are many more to see, so we’ll be back. I’m so glad we were able to see it together because it wouldn’t have been the same without my favorite travel companion. Our next big trip is to the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee, which will be in spring 2020 2022, so stay tuned for another epic chapter in Shaun and Shannon’s Awesome Adventures!
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