Roadtrippin

We walked into an indoor/outdoor mall called Neonopolis. Unfortunately, most of the neon was off.

My mom and Eddie were VERY disappointed when we got to the Ultimate Sports Card Shop because apparently all day they thought the driver was saying Ultimate Sports CARS shop. 🤣🤣

Next door to the card shop is Toy Shack. There were a lot of newer toys but I still saw quite a few older toys that I remember from my childhood.

One of the coolest things we got to see was the worlds most dangerous toy; The Atomic Energy Lab. It was only on the market for about 9 months back in the 50s. The kit included plutonium, uranium and a Geiger counter! It’s a wonder that was ever on the market at all!

This was the last stop on the Annie Banannie tour and it did not disappoint! I highly recommend this tour for anyone who has 5 hours free during the day in Vegas!

We arrived at American Restorations where we were immediately dropped into the gift shop. We were told if we bought anything from the gift shop, Rick would sign it and take a pic with us. I’m not even sure if I know who Rick is, but I bought a shot glass!

We got to sign the wall in the shop which was pretty cool. There wasn’t much to look at, but then we got our pictures taken with Rick before getting back on the bus.

Next/Last stop – Ultimate Sports Cards and Toy Shack.

The pawn shop was a lot smaller than I thought. It looks huge on TV, but it’s much smaller in person. I knew Eddie and I were going to have to buy something there, you know, just because. Just as I was about to start negotiating for a custom Groot figurine, Eddie found something he HAD to have! He found a framed picture of the cars from the movie American Graffiti.

In case you didn’t know, Eddie spent the past 3 years building a custom 32 Ford, just like the one Millner drove in American Graffiti. Of course Eddie’s has a lot more bells and whistles, but it’s inspired by the movie car. This framed picture of the cars from the movie also includes the official prop license plate that was on the 32 in the movie!! It’s like this frame was waiting at the pawn shop for Eddie to come in and buy! Eddie is literally on cloud 9 right now!

In the same parking lot as the pawn shop, there’s a BBQ place called Rick’s Rollin Smoke BBQ and it happens to be rated #1 BBQ in Nevada. Our tour bus driver had samples of the chopped brisket waiting for us when we arrived. It was so good Eddie and I ended up buying a sandwich to split!

We saw Chumlee’s Candy Shop. My mom went in while Eddie, my dad and I were eating BBQ and drinking beer. We all figured my mom was going to buy something from the candy shop but she said everything she wanted would have melted on the bus.

While we were driving to the pawn shop, our driver drove us by the Little White Chapel! There were at least 3 people getting married as we drove by! If we weren’t already married………

Next up, American Restoration

WOW!! The inside of Counts Customs was like looking at the inside of Eddie’s brain! Cars, bikes, cool lights, etc. This tour is awesome!

Next up- The Gold and Silver Pawn Shop from Pawn Stars!

This morning we drove to the Tropicana Hotel and Casino where we were picked up by a tour bus. We’re doing a reality tv tour. I thought this was the best tour to book as the tour company is called Annie Banannie Tours! Basically we’re being chauffeured around town in a mini coach bus with my name of it!

The first stop was to Acrylic Tank Manufacturing (ATM), where the show Tanked is filmed. We walked in the building and were greeted by The General!! We took pictures with him and got him to sign our ID badges.

We got to see all the parrots from the show and even caught a glimpse of Redneck as his was painting a custom insert. There were fish tanks everywhere and some pretty cool fish displayed.

I also took a pic of the ATM in ATM. I thought it was funny!

Next stop on the tour is Counts Customs.

We had a 10pm tour at The Neon Museum. When we first arrived it was still 104°! Still, no humidity so it’s not totally unbearable.

The Neon Museum features signs from old casinos displayed outdoors on over 6 acres of property. We saw a show called Brilliant where over 40 vintage signs were brought back to life using projection mapping. This technology really made it look like the neon signs were completely lit up in its original state. Not a single one of the signs actually functioned!

I was memorized by the neon boneyard. It was the coolest place. I’m so hooked on all the lights out here. I’ve been walking and a sparkly, flashy slot machine catches my eye and the next thing you know I’m walking by myself or walking into things. For my own safety, I have not been allowed to walk along or drive on the strip at night.

While we were on our tour, we saw a HUGE bug! At first I thought it was a scorpion, but it turns out it was some kind of beetle. It was cool to see it running around outside, but I think I’d die if I saw one in my house! I wonder if the heat makes the bugs grow bigger out here.

Tomorrow we’re going on a reality tv show tour. We’re really looking forward to it, but we have to get some sleep first! We’re going to need a vacation from our vacation! 🤣

We had a blast checking out different hotels and casinos today. We went to Mandalay Bay to check out the shark reef. After that, we took the tram to the Luxor.

I’ve been wanting to go to the Luxor since I was in 7th grade. I remember being in my wood shop class at Nathan Hale Middle School. For whatever reason, the teacher never left us make anything out of wood. Instead we played with kenex and watched documentaries. I vividly remember watching a documentary about the Luxor and it having the brightest light shining from the top. I’ve wanted to go ever since.

I’ve heard that the rooms are in need of renovations and upgrades, but the interior of the casino floor is spectacular! We went to the BODIES exhibit and the Titanic exhibit. They don’t let you take pictures in either exhibit, but they were both really interesting.

When we finished at those hotels, we went over to the MGM hotel and casino for a quick bite to eat at a Wolfgang Puck Burger place. Food and drinks were great!

Finally, we were off to see Ka by Cirque Du Soleli. It doesn’t happen often, but I was at a loss for words. Eddie was pretty speechless too! The stage was totally insane. The performers were literally flying around above our heads. I don’t even know how to describe it. If you haven’t seen it, you should add it to your bucket list!

We slept in and started our morning at the Las Vegas Hollywood Car Museum. It’s actually a Dezer collection. My parents visited a Dezer collection car museum in Miami, FL about 7 years ago and my dad has not stopped talking about it ever since. Apparently this guy owns every single movie and TV car ever! The museum in Miami is WAY bigger than the Vegas one and it’s on our list of places to visit.

The museum was very tiny, but had a bunch of cool cars packed inside. Some of my favorites included the batmobiles, the stretch limo with the hot tub in the back and the Rhinestone Roadster.

We went to dinner in the Miracle Mile Shops. The shops are attached to the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The mall looked similar to Caesars Palace with the ceiling designs and facade. There was even a rain storm in the middle of the mall floor! There was lightening and I stood right under it!

For dinner, we went to Pampas Las Vegas Brazilian Steakhouse. Guys kept coming to our table with spits of meat. It was amazing and delicious!

Right now we’re sitting in the Saxe Theater waiting to see Vegas! The Show! I’m very excited to see this show. It seems like one could spend a whole month in Vegas and still not see all the shows! It’s a little discouraging.

Eddie and I started out our morning by listening to a presentation about Wyndham Timeshares. We weren’t going to buy one, but they gave his free breakfast, tickets to a show, tickets to two attractions and a $25 voucher for dining. It was a great deal and they salesman was hilarious so we actually had fun. To make it even more fun, there was a guy in the group named Jeff and every time the host said his name, eddie looked over for his pet cactus! 🤣

After the timeshare presentation, we met up with my parents at The Mob museum. It was so interesting to see what the mob was like in Vegas. We started off by going into the Speakeasy. Eddie got an Old Fashioned. His drink came as a glass with ice with a cherry. The glass came on top of a book and the waitress told Eddie his drink came with a little “light reading”. When he opened the book, he found a bottle with his drink in it.

We took some hilarious pics! Turns out, I can’t stop talking and would be a terrible mobster. Eddie tried to electrocute me in the chair, but I got my revenge and sent him there too.