It took us quite a while to get there, as there was a road-closing accident on 152 (Pacheco Pass) so we had to turn around and take 101 South down to Paso Robles and then take 46 East. We just barely made it to Mesa Grill on time for our reservation.

The Aladdin was really nice. When we got there, we found out that they upgraded us to a panoramic suite for free. The suite was great, especially because it faced the Bellagio, so Nicole could watch the fountains of Bellagio.

As far as food, Mesa Grill was a bit of a disappointment and Rosemary’s Restaurant, a little place 15 minutes off the strip, was excellent – one of the best meals we’ve ever had. Every course was excellent from the Parmesan soufflé with wild mushroom ragout to the roasted chestnut soup with white cheddar cheese, crispy prosciutto, and shaved chives to the veal tenderloin with french green lentils, sizzled leeks, apple smoked bacon, and sherry mustard butter sauce to the chocolate cream pie with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and caramel drizzles and the complimentary assortment of petitfours.

Avenue Q was a great show. Definitely recommended. The Wynn was OK although it was a bit too ritzy for my taste and was super hot and uncomfortable – I couldn’t wait to get out. The Terrace Pointe Cafe there was pretty good for an after-show bite, although all we had were soup and salad. Pretty good food and expensive but not outlandishly expensive.

As far as gambling, I think we lost only around $11. We really had very little luck at all, so after putting some money into the machine and getting almost no wins at all, we lost the inspiration and decided to cut our losses.

I got some work done on my widget (both in the car and in the hotel) and we also listened to a number of audiobooks that we’ve gotten recently including Freakonomics, The Tipping Point, and part of Blink.