I am not going to lie to you - this was an AWESOME day.
For as long as I've known my husband, he has talked about wanting to see the Grand Canyon. It's on his bucket list and it's really the only place he's ever asked to go to. Well...we made it happen on this trip. We took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon with a champagne picnic lunch in the canyon. How freaking cool is that??
So a limo picked us up at the hotel and I have to tell you, I kind of enjoyed the envious looks we got from the people around us! It felt very decadent! We picked up another couple and then we were off to the air strip. Our helicopter held 7 people - including the pilot - and honestly, I thought the ride was smoother than a plane! Totally impressed.
Neither of us - hubby or myself - had ever flown in a helicopter so we were a little nervous about how we were going to be. For me, it's a heights thing. For him, it's just the overall feeling of flying in something so small. But like I said, the ride was incredibly smooth and there was so much to see that you sort of forgot to be nervous.
Although I did almost cry in the first minute when we made a turn and I realized there was nothing for me to hold on to! But I powered through the fear and just went with it.
We saw Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam and when we crested the rim of the Grand Canyon, the soundtrack turned to the theme from Indiana Jones! It was awesome! I looked over at my husband and he totally had tears in his eyes because this was a fulfillment of a life-long dream! We landed in the canyon and had 30 minutes to walk around, take pictures and eat the lunch they had packed for us. I wish that time - overall - had been longer. An hour would
have been perfect. We took so many pictures and just stood there in wonder that we ended up shoveling down our lunch in order to get back on the helicopter in time.
On the trip home, we flew right over the Strip and saw all of the hotels! So really, I could say in all honesty, that I saw everything! Seeing it from above was pretty damn cool. Actually, we saw so much on the flight that it was hard to take it all in. While wearing the headset, you listen to a running commentary on the sights and every once in a while, the pilot would chime in and share points of interest with us. In between the dialogue, music played. So it was both informative AND entertaining! The pilot said we'd be able to hear one another talk if we spoke into the mic, but I didn't hear anyone but him! Back at the airport, we got a wonderful plaque with our picture in front of the helicopter as a souvenir - and it is now sitting on our mantel in our living room!
And because that wasn't a magnificent enough day, we went to dinner with our friends again (LOVE them!) over at the Venetian at Carnevino - Mario Batali's restaurant. We had the best steak dinner! Funny story - we have the same anniversary date! Found that out last year when we met at the RT Convention in Dallas! So we went out to celebrate - especially since we had our hubbies with us this time - and even though it wasn't the "official" wedding date, we thought it would be cool to celebrate together. We were dressed up and really, it just felt like we had stepped into someone else's life for the day! It was a little "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"! But hey, it was only for a day so why not?
