It's time for our first trip ever to Ikea. I assumed it would be a large store, but I was expecting large to be like Bed Bath & Beyond. It was more like an amusement park for shopaholic decorating adults! We knew it was going to be awesome when we walked through the door and heard "we hope you enjoy your day at Ikea".
Ikea is insanely huge! If we had wanted to just run in and buy one specific item, we still would have been there forever, lost in the maze that is Ikea. Whenever we thought we were nearing the exit from our little adventure, we'd find ourselves in another section of the store. First, you go upstairs, where you wander from room to room, like in a model home. Next, you're in some sort of crazy cafeteria, which is surprisingly jam packed with people. If only Sexy Nerd and I hadn't eaten before we got there! After the cafeteria, you travel back downstairs where all of the items you saw upstairs, (ALL of the items - from bedding and rugs to countertops and fabric) is available for purchase. After you find what you want to buy, you expect that the next stop will be the cashiers. No. The next door you walk through takes you into a Costco-like warehouse!
Of course, Sexy Nerd and I had to have a souvenier. Behold, our "Kristaller". Photos of it installed above our tub are coming soon!
Seriously, I would move to Tempe to be closer to Ikea. We'll be back there after Christmas, though I'm a little worried about how many people may be there after Christmas. If anything, it will make for an amusing blog entry!
Later on, I did a little research into the practicality of moving to Tempe (I told you I was serious!). Do you know what I discovered? The average high temperature in July for Phoenix is 105.9 degrees. 105.9 is the average!!! Maybe I'll just be patient and wait for Ikea to come to Albuquerque.
Anyway, it was time to hit the road again. There are some beautiful places you pass on a road trip.
Sexy Nerd and I decided to take the long way into Las Vegas, instead of driving over the Hoover Dam. We learned our lesson the last time we used the Hoover Dam "shortcut" - we were stuck in The World's Longest Traffic Jam for hours with no options for turning around. We did joke about how unfortunate it would be if we drove out of our way, only to be caught in another traffic jam.
Then we saw smoke up ahead. Could we really be so unfortunate as to be delayed by a semi truck on fire TWICE in 2 days?
I think the photos speak for themselves.
Actually, we arrived after the fire was out and were able to drive right past the truck. Phew!
Back to the lovely scenery. And the bug-encrusted windshield of the Alero.
Here is where we intended to stop for lunch - Joe's BBQ in Wikieup. Wikieup, you ask? Yes, Wikieup.
We had stayed at Ikea longer than planned, so we decided to save Joe's BBQ for the next roadtrip. If you're ever in Wikieup though, it's suppossed to be good.
We finally arrived at our hotel, Fitzgeralds, on Fremont Street. The stress of driving all day mixed with the anticipation of all the fun we were sure to have in Las Vegas had been too much for Sexy Nerd. Clearly, it had fried his brain.
Weird.
Very weird.
The hotel elevators were too slow (we had to gamble NOW), so we opted for the stairs. Eight flights of stairs? Piece of cake!
*As to why Blogger rotated this photo, I will never know.
Taking the stairs isn't the most glamorous way to get into the casino.
Ah, sparkly!
In our memories, Fremont Street was a lively, fun place to spend a night. However, as you can guess from the kind of people behind me in this photo, our memories may have been a little fuzzy.
Tomorrow night we would be staying on the strip. We decided to make the most of old Vegas for the time being. Paaaaarty!
Until 10:51pm, when we were paaaaaartied out and went to bed. All those elderly people down on the street must be nocturnal.
Ikea is insanely huge! If we had wanted to just run in and buy one specific item, we still would have been there forever, lost in the maze that is Ikea. Whenever we thought we were nearing the exit from our little adventure, we'd find ourselves in another section of the store. First, you go upstairs, where you wander from room to room, like in a model home. Next, you're in some sort of crazy cafeteria, which is surprisingly jam packed with people. If only Sexy Nerd and I hadn't eaten before we got there! After the cafeteria, you travel back downstairs where all of the items you saw upstairs, (ALL of the items - from bedding and rugs to countertops and fabric) is available for purchase. After you find what you want to buy, you expect that the next stop will be the cashiers. No. The next door you walk through takes you into a Costco-like warehouse!
Of course, Sexy Nerd and I had to have a souvenier. Behold, our "Kristaller". Photos of it installed above our tub are coming soon!
Seriously, I would move to Tempe to be closer to Ikea. We'll be back there after Christmas, though I'm a little worried about how many people may be there after Christmas. If anything, it will make for an amusing blog entry!
Later on, I did a little research into the practicality of moving to Tempe (I told you I was serious!). Do you know what I discovered? The average high temperature in July for Phoenix is 105.9 degrees. 105.9 is the average!!! Maybe I'll just be patient and wait for Ikea to come to Albuquerque.
Anyway, it was time to hit the road again. There are some beautiful places you pass on a road trip.
Sexy Nerd and I decided to take the long way into Las Vegas, instead of driving over the Hoover Dam. We learned our lesson the last time we used the Hoover Dam "shortcut" - we were stuck in The World's Longest Traffic Jam for hours with no options for turning around. We did joke about how unfortunate it would be if we drove out of our way, only to be caught in another traffic jam.
Then we saw smoke up ahead. Could we really be so unfortunate as to be delayed by a semi truck on fire TWICE in 2 days?
I think the photos speak for themselves.
Actually, we arrived after the fire was out and were able to drive right past the truck. Phew!
Back to the lovely scenery. And the bug-encrusted windshield of the Alero.
Here is where we intended to stop for lunch - Joe's BBQ in Wikieup. Wikieup, you ask? Yes, Wikieup.
We had stayed at Ikea longer than planned, so we decided to save Joe's BBQ for the next roadtrip. If you're ever in Wikieup though, it's suppossed to be good.
We finally arrived at our hotel, Fitzgeralds, on Fremont Street. The stress of driving all day mixed with the anticipation of all the fun we were sure to have in Las Vegas had been too much for Sexy Nerd. Clearly, it had fried his brain.
Weird.
Very weird.
The hotel elevators were too slow (we had to gamble NOW), so we opted for the stairs. Eight flights of stairs? Piece of cake!
*As to why Blogger rotated this photo, I will never know.
Taking the stairs isn't the most glamorous way to get into the casino.
Ah, sparkly!
In our memories, Fremont Street was a lively, fun place to spend a night. However, as you can guess from the kind of people behind me in this photo, our memories may have been a little fuzzy.
Tomorrow night we would be staying on the strip. We decided to make the most of old Vegas for the time being. Paaaaarty!
Until 10:51pm, when we were paaaaaartied out and went to bed. All those elderly people down on the street must be nocturnal.
