Breakfasts; Buffets; More Basketball

Not sure which team's fan this tackily-decorated vehicle belonged to, but it was sure an eye-catching eyesore every time we walked past it on our way in and out of the casino to forage for food.

The buffet system in Las Vegas as we once knew it no longer exists. So many of the buffets have closed down. Take, for instance, the buffet that we used to enjoy in the very casino we were staying--The Orleans--which is where the arena hosting the WCC Tournament is located. Used to be so convenient for us!

We used to be able to go right down from our room to the breakfast buffet each morning and load up on food before our first session of two women's basketball games. 

Then we would go out once each day to a buffet at another casino which would be our other meal of the day and then hurry back to The Orleans to watch the two men's basketball games. 

Now, with the buffet closed down entirely at The Orleans, and people standing in long lines to get into one of the restaurants for breakfast, we went out every morning to eat breakfast. Not nearly as convenient for us!!

We got into the MGM Grand Buffet for an early dinner the first day shortly before it closed down for the day. It makes me wonder what all the people in the casinos do for regular dinner when the buffets are closed so early.

We were searching the internet to find which buffets were actually open and the hours they were open. It appears the information we read about the Bellagio was not correct. The buffet was closed when we arrived for our early dinner. SAD!!

But happy for me because we [I] got to enjoy a [very] quick walk through the hotel and the Bellagio Garden to see what theme was depicted there. 

Glen was in a hurry to find another place to eat, but [patiently] waited for me to snap a few [rushed] photos as we [unleisurely] walked through the display.

The Year of the Tiger was being represented at the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens with a festive Lunar New Year display to share the culture and stories of China and Asia.

We ended up going back to The Orleans and ate at a restaurant there. We got seated right before a line started to form. This allowed us to be back in the arena in time for the evening session of basketball games to begin.

Glen would have liked to see BYU as champion on both sides of this bracket chart, but alas--neither team won the champion spot. Gonzaga won both the Men's and the Women's Bracket Championships.

The Wynn was one of the few that had a later buffet dining option. It was a beautiful setting, not too many people there, beautiful food displays, and we must say we enjoyed our delicious meal.

My favorite displays were in the dessert section. There's Glen standing at the rotating ice cream station.

Yes, we did find room in our tummies for some dessert. LOVED that meal and that dining experience!!

We ate at a different breakfast restaurant every day. We went to BabyStacks Cafe one of the mornings in honor of Sarah who requested that restaurant on her birthday. The strawberry pancakes were DELICIOUS!!!

Our last dinner was at the All-American Bar and Grill Restaurant in the Miracle Mile Shops attached to the Planet Hollywood Casino.

I realize my rendition of our Las Vegas trip included lots of food information and photos. That's the part I enjoyed about the WCC Tournament. Now if Glen were giving his rendition of our Las Vegas trip, he would give you play-by-plays on every one of the basketball games we attended.

If you prefer Glen's version--contact him personally and he will fill you in on all that I missed reporting about.

We left home with no snow on the ground and the temperature warming up to feel like spring weather. We came home to a LOT of snow on the ground, in the trees and bitter temperature making it feel like we're back in the depths of winter.

We came home to a snowless driveway thanks to Grant who had used our snowblower to clear the snow off both his driveway and ours. With that much snow, we are pretty sure he was happy to use a snowblower instead of a shovel.

It appeared to have been a very heavy snow as we noticed we had several broken tree branches on the ground and more broken ones still in the trees.

We are thankful for all the moisture. We are mostly thankful we were in a sunny place when the snow was falling!