Hawthorne Suites, St. Robert, Missouri

Hawthorne Suites

St. Robert, Missouri

For my family visit to Missouri, I wanted to spend as much time with my family as possible since I had not seen them in so long. Well my sister and family lives in Waynesville, and there are not any hotels anywhere in Waynesville. I found one B&B but it really looked creepy. There is a road of hotels in St. Robert right off the interstate which was super convenient. 

I decided to stay at the Hawthorne Suites. I really did not need the kitchenette, but having a fridge was handy. They put me on the first floor in a room right behind the housekeepers laundry and storage area. The room had clearly been fairly recently remodeled with updated flooring, bedding and furniture. The weirdest thing about the room was the bathroom smelled like a wet dog. I don't think the hotel even allows pets. 

My first night there was the 23rd. Apparently, Dec 23 is national Elephant Bowling with roller skates night. The hotel has no real noise protection from the floors above. I have no idea what was going on with the groups that were on the floor above me. Honestly, it sounded like a herd of elephants were bowling while wearing roller skates. The elephants kept falling down. Apparently, the elephants were up until at least 2am. I did get lucky in that the elephants only stayed there my first night and my last night. So I did get some sleep. 

I will point out something that Hawthorne Suites had, that ALL hotels need to have. EASY ACCESS TO POWER OUTLETS!

The night stand in between the 2 beds had a power strip built right in. There were outlets on the desk, under the tv and other places.  With the amount of traveling that I do, I stay in hotels all the time. One thing that really annoys me in when a hotel remodels or is fairly new and yet they cannot make sure there are outlets where people need them. Definitely it was a welcomed surprise at Hawthorne in St. Robert.

Welcome to Uranus!

Uranus Fudge Factory, St. Robert, Missouri

My Sister moved to Missouri in 2014 when her husband was given new Military Orders. Since her living there in 2014, I had never gone to visit her and see where she is living. I decided since the husband was deployed at Christmas, I would fly out and spend time with the family for Christmas. I stayed in St. Robert at a Hawthorne Suites. St. Robert is the next town over from where the family lives in Waynesville. 

I saw the Uranus Fudge Factory when I was driving it. I thought it was hilarious. When my sister had to work on Dec 26, I decided to take the kids to Uranus Fudge Factory.

They DO actually make fudge there. But the store is more of a general store for tourists. Just about any typical tourist item you can imagine is there for sale. It is in a small shopping center with other "Uranus" businesses. There is a small circus / freakshow museum, an escape room and even a small playground for kids.

The best part?

When you walk in the door, Everyone yells "Welcome to Your Anus!"

If you are anywhere near St. Robert, you have to stop by. If for no other reason, then to say you tried Fudge from Uranus!

WOW - World Of Wonder - RIO Hotel - Las Vegas

WOW

World of Wonder

RIO Hotel & Casino

Las Vegas

What is the most constant thing in Las Vegas? Change. As soon as you get the hang of where certain shows, restaurants and clubs are located, something will change. Especially with shows. Shows definitely come and go, they also move from venue to venue frequently.

The show WOW World of Wonder started in 2017 I think, maybe early 2018. From the previews, I knew I definitely wanted to see it. It is currently at the RIO where the Raiding the Rock Vault show used to be. At one point, RIO had Raiding the Rock Vault, X Rocks, a tattoo parlor owned by Counts Customs, and the KISS Rock N Roll mini golf. RIO was sort of going for a Rock n Roll kind of theme. Maybe trying to attract a certain age group or certain crowd. 

Raiding the Rock Vault has moved to the Hard Rock and X Rocks has moved to Bally's. WOW World of Wonder is a thematic, show performed in a sort of half round, multi level stage. The center is water and it changes. The show is not high flying and performing water tricks as some of the other shows. But it is definitely a dramatic, elaborate show. It tells a beautiful story and it is fairly easy to follow.

The story encompasses pirates, mermaids, sea creatures, fantasy, dreams, love and adventure. I would definitely recommend it for all ages. It was not something that was "too advanced" for kids maybe ages 5 and up. It is a fantastical roller coaster ride. There are few shows in Las Vegas that I would pay to see again within 6 months, WOW is definitely one of them. Don't miss it when you are in Vegas.

La Reve - The Dream

La Reve - The Dream

Several years ago, (I think 2014) the season finale of Face Off was held at the Wynn in Las Vegas. The finalists had to create make ups for their final that would be worn in the show La Reve the Dream. Ever since seeing that episode, I was super excited to see the show. La Reve is super popular and sells out every night. It is consistently rated the Best Show in Vegas. Due to its popularity, it is very rare to find any discounts for the show online, or in person, even in the off season. Since moving to California, my husband and I have been visiting Las Vegas frequently, so I knew eventually we would get to see the show. 

My husband was deployed and I got an email offer from the Wynn hotel. It was a package that included 2 nights, 2 buffets, and 2 tickets to La Reve the Dream for about the price of the 2 hotel nights. I got a friend to go with me, and we took Wynn up on their offer. 

The show was every bit of amazing. The theater is in the round, with performers on the stage and in the air. Honestly, there really isn't a bad seat. It is truly a show where there is action every where. We were sitting sort of in the middle and we saw everything without an issue. Those who choose to sit closer to the stage might have an issue.

If you are going to be spending time in Vegas, you definitely need to check out the show. It is an amazing show that takes you through a beautiful journey. The show goes through love, dreams, happiness, challenges and sends the viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotions.

The acrobats and performers are extremely talented. The show takes place in and out of the water, and high in the air. Prepare to be thrilled and see the best show of your life.

Heroes and Villains Fan Fest, San Jose, CA

 

Heroes and Villains Fan Fest

San Jose, CA

December 1, 2018

 

 

 

Fan Conventions, or "Comic Con" are super popular these days. I think it is a combination of the fans going to any length to see their favorite celebrity in person and celebrities either trying to stay relevant or trying to reboot a career. Some of the conventions are super small, and some like the notorious Comic Con in San Diego are ridiculously huge.

 

 

After getting a ton of emails, I randomly decided to get tickets to Heroes and Villains. I have always been a huge fan of Arrow and Flash, so I felt like I just HAD to go.  Unfortunately for me, San Jose is a hike, so the cost of the convention was also airfare and hotel. But it was worth it!

 



 

 

 

The Heroes and Villains Convention was also in combination with a Walker Stalker event, which is a fan event for those fans of the Walking Dead. I've watched one episode of the show, so I am definitely not in the fan category for that show. I was there to see everyone from Arrow and Flash.

 

The panels were pretty good. The Flash panel was quite funny with Robbie Amell crashing and joining when his booth time was up. There were some good questions, and some typically bad questions. Overall, it was a good convention.

 

 

 

I feel like for the size of the convention center in San Jose, I figured the convention would actually have been bigger than what it was, especially with the Walker Stalker convention. I was thinking that there was going to be more vendors there. There was a fairly good quantity of vendors, but I guess I was just thinking there would be more.