Back at home

Well we made it! Flight delayed by 4hrs but we have made it back to the UK! The M25 then decided to delay us a little more but we arrived back at Westview just after 3pm, so thank-you to our taxi driver!

We thought we had escaped the balloons etc on the car, which is traditional, but we forgot that we had left the keys with Mum and Nik!! So the last leg of our trip was spent with a back seat of balloons!

The weather also welcomed us home, with rain all the way to the south coast!

Anyhow, we are back! Thank-you so much for all our cards and messages, its been really great.

We have not finished! - keep watching the website and we will add some more pictures over the next few days and i will change the website around a bit so you can view the pictures in a number of ways, which might help with you that have slower internet connections!

In the meantime you can visit our full FlickR website at:

www.flickr.com/photos/slinkey/

Just click on the above link. When you get to the FlickR website you can view the different 'sets' of photos such as the wedding pictures by clicking on the links on the right of the page. If you need a hand then let me know.

Mr and Mrs Butler have left the building

Well we are trying too!

We are currently sat in McCarrans International Airport, but nowhere to go! Our flight has been delayed, so instead of leaving at 16:06hrs Las Vegas time we are now due to depart around 19:00hrs Las Vegas time. Not sure why, but its probably the plane that we flew out on!!!!

We have both been very unimpressed with Virgin. More because a lot of people have said that they are very good, rather than anything else. Delays happens and that is part of travel, but they have been very average all around!

Oh well, the wireless internet is free, we have plenty of reading material and nowhere else to go!!

Day 7 - Last Day

Well our last full day in Las Vegas has come an end and we have continued to cram as much as possible in and knacker ourselves out - we should sleep well on the plane back!

Our agenda for the last day included a trip to see the Hoover Dam. Jerry, our tour guide for the trip was a local to Las Vegas so we learnt lots about the area and what you don't get in the guide books!

The Hoover Dam was good, an incredible bit of engineering, and breath taking when you see it for the first time. We did the lightning tour, so spent about half an hour on the tour inside the dam and then about twenty minutes looking around outside and of course taking just a few pics!

To round off our day we did a helicopter ride down the strip at night. It was an incredible but short trip, what made it more interesting was a thunder storm coming in from the surrounding mountains. We had flashes of lighting all the time but the ride was smooth and really good. After we landed the heavens opened and Vegas had a few more drops of rain to help out their 6 year drought!

Day 6 - Thank-you

Just a quick note this evening (your morning in the UK !). Thank-you for all the messages whether via text or e-mail or via the comments, we have got them all and have been reading them. The wife is a little slow at replying to her e-mails at the moment but i will have words. I don't know, she is slow at replying to her e-mails now, what will it be like when she has to cook my dinner as well !!!!

We have had a great day. Helicopter ride over the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon this afternoon and then this evening we went to see 'The Beatles - Cirque De Soleil' which was amazing, hard to explain in writing but amazing!

And its started raining!!!!

Well its just gone 1am for us, and i need just a little beauty sleep as we have an early start tomorrow we are off to see the Hoover Dam up close!

Photos, of course, to follow!

Day 6 - The Day After ....

Ok, first off, the photos are there now, so go have a look! The photo that i have picked to accompany this entry is not Jo's choice, in fact we did not ask for it to be taken but Sammy Davis Jnr said that if Elvis was in the house, then we may as well!! It also made me think that if Elvis was there, then Dad was certainly there in spirit.

Elvis also told us that amongst other's Frank Sinatra and Joan Collins also got married at the 'Little White Wedding Chapel' (not to each other!) so i am sure Dad would approve as well !!

Our wedding evening did not go as planned, but that actually made it even better. We decided to change out of our wedding clothes as it was so hot and Jo decided to wear her Southampton top, and no, i did not force her, i know she has to obey everything i say now (!!!!!) but she did choose to wear it. We headed for the Irish Pub in the hotel and after getting a Guinness we went outside. 30 seconds after sitting down we found we were sitting opposite a couple from Portsmouth who had got married this week as well and the groom was a life long Pompey supporter! For those unaware, Southampton and Portsmouth footfall fans are not renowned to get along! Well we proved them wrong! He did have to go and put on his Pompey top so we ended up sitting in an Irish Pub, with a Saints and Pompey supporter sitting opposite each other in Las Vegas !!! We even had people walking past the pub shouting comments to us.

We had to stay for a few pints, rude not too!! and then we went for dinner and a wander - we decided not to go to the show, we have another show to go and see this evening.

On our agenda for today is the Grand Canyon!

We also opened all our cards this morning, thank-you all for the cards, and the maid also says thanks for all the confetti that is now on the floor!

New Signing to the Butler Family

I am pleased to report that the Butler family have a new signing as of today!!

Mrs Butler joined the Butler clan at just after 14:45hrs Las Vegas time, today, 19th September 2007!

We had a fantastic time, Jo looked really stunning, everybody was really nice to us and the minister who married us was fantastic and made it feel very special.

For those of you wanting to see the dress pictures - they are coming! Sammy Davis Jnr took our photos - yes our photographer looked like Sammy Davis Jnr, it was not intentional, he just looks like him! They are being developed at the moment and we hope to have them back in about an hour.

Thank-you so much to everybody who has sent us messages via the website, e-mail and text - we have got them all, and we will try and reply over the next few days.

And a special thank-you to Mum and Nik for the champagne, balloons, card and strawberries (covered in chocolate!)

We are now going to go and have a drink, before going out for a meal and to watch Cirque Du Soleil.

The Saints top is Jo's new top, and the 9 is for her birth date - and yes we do know that they drew this evening :-(

Day 5 - The Big Day!

Day 5 - Wednesday 19th September 2007, and our big day has arrived.

Its just gone 7am and we are both up, i have just done the coffee run and Jo is in the shower. Mental note - its the wife's job to get the coffee from now on!

We are just off to get some breakfast (all you can eat pancakes is on the menu this morning!!!) and then i am off to the shopping mall to get my suit, only joking! Just looking for some cufflinks that play 'Elvis' when you press them .. well that's what i have told Jo!

Jo is off the Spa/Salon for a touch up! of the makeup and hair variety - apparently the touch up of the other variety comes after the wedding!!! (sorry mother!)

We had a good evening last night, Mamma Mia was good, although it could not match the West End. Jo enjoyed her frozen margarita although she might be feeling it a little this morning!

Photos will follow later ...

Day 4 - Who told the press?!

Ok come on, own up, who was it!?

We went to the county court this morning to get our wedding license for tomorrow. Tommy our taxi driver took us from the hotel to the court. We turned the corner to find all the press camped out, outside the courthouse. Now who told them that we were getting married tomorrow!!!

Well ok, it might not of been us, it could be the fact that OJ Simpson was due in court to see if he could get bail! Not sure if it has made much of the headlines in the UK, but over here its big news that OJ has been arrested again!

After dining half way up the Eifel Tower at lunchtime we are off to see a show this evening - Mama Mia!

Las Vegas @ Night

A short clip of the strip just outside our hotel at night

Day 4 - Don't be worried!

Now, i know a few of you maybe worried that i was having withdrawals - for those of you unaware, i have a slight addiction to 'Apple' not the fruit variety, but the electronic gadget variety. Which Jo is very understanding about (although i am sure that is a wifely duty ??!).

Well stop worrying, we found the Apple Store yesterday. Ok, so we might have had to walk 3 miles along the strip, and we might be aching a lot this morning, but we found it. And i was very good, i did not spend any money - not for wanting too, but the new iPod Touch was not in stock .. but hey, we have a few more days to revisit!

So Day 4 for us, one more day until the big day and we have decided not to walk so far today! In fact first job of the day is to get our wedding license or we won't be doing anything tomorrow - but its ok, the wedding bureau is open 24hrs a day - only in Vegas!

Bellagio Fountains

Our video of the Bellagio Fountains - no doubt it will look even more spectacular in the dark - watch this space!

Day 3 - Tired feet, we've walked the strip!

Well its Monday evening here, so i guess most of you are tucked up in your beds in the UK. We have had a great day exploring the strip but we are feeling it a little now. Jo vanished about an hour ago and has just turned up again - she found the spa and had to have a manacure and massage just to check the facilities out !!!

Highlights of the day so far have to be Caesars Palace and the Bellagio Fountains. I was expecting to find that Caesars Palace to be a bit tired as it's the only name that i really know as a casino but we were amazed. It is massive and very impressive.

We are now taking it easy in the hotel room (well i am) Jo is trying to get an outside line to phone the wedding chapel, which is proving a little more difficult than you would expect!

Thank you to you all for your messages - keep them coming! We will keep you updated and post as many photos as possible. There are a few more on the site now and if your having problems viewing them you can also look at them from FlickR direct by going to this address:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slinkey/

Day 3 - Starbucks 24hrs!

Refreshed and ready for our first fully day in Sin City!

Both had a good night's sleep (apart from the roller coaster, that was suppose to stop at 11pm, but i am sure i heard it at 4am - or its the drains (or Jo!!!)).

No coffee making facilities in the room, but no worries - Starbucks is 24hrs on the casino floor and believe it or not there were still people playing the slots!!

Take a look on our FlickR page as we have uploaded a few pics that we took yesterday evening, more to follow later today.

Plan is to take it easy and just find our bearings today - so a little wander, a little gamble, and maybe a little shop with some liquid refreshment!

Thanks for the e-mail Nan - we will keep an eye out for the Marina Hotel on our wanders today.

Day 2 - Las Vegas!

We are here!!

Not the best of journeys. Firstly we taxied out to the runway and then the captain told us we had a valve that was closed which should be open!!! So back we went - it was fixed quickly but we were delayed by about an hour and a half. In that time we used a ton and a half of fuel going from the terminal to the runway and back!!!

Once we were on our way it took them half the flight to get the in seat entertainment system working, not that it worried us too much as i was watching my iPod and Jo was finishing off Harry!!

We can't says that Virgin lived up to our expectations - the flight was ok, but not great, certainly not better that First Choice, and no where near the standards of Emirates. Possibly because it was a charter flight and not a scheduled one, but not what we were expecting - although it was ok.



I next have to report that Jo is no longer a virgin on Virgin Atlantic!!! Now what do i mean - no, i don't mean the mile high club - i mean that that the landing at Las Vegas, or the approach was really bumpy and it upset Jo's stomach and for the first time on a flight she had to use the emergency bag!!! Once she was off the plan apart from feeling a little giddy and a headache she is ok - just not the welcome to Vegas we were expecting.

Anyhow, we are now at our hotel, and New York, New York has so far lived up to expectation. The lobby, casino floor is unbelievable. The room is good although its going to take some getting use too, a roller coaster flying past your window every so often!!

Both tired now, so going to chill, have a little bit of food and rest .and then .. watch out Vegas, here we come!!

PS - Nice to see O J Simpson is still in Vegas with us !!!!

Day 2 - Gatwick

So we are through the security and now sitting in the departure lounge and through the wonders on modern technology i can sit here and 'blog' away while Jo keeps up to date on her 'Harry' adventures !!

The hotel was really good and we slept well. It was a good feeling this morning just being able to walk through the terminal with no cases and go straight to the departure lounge. Its very busy here this morning (Gatwick South Terminal) and from what we saw last night a number of flights have been delayed.

I have indulged in the gadget duty free purchases, Jo has so far resisted!

Our flight has just appeared on the screens - VS043 is getting ready to go ... wait for us!

Day 1

Well our trip has started!

Stage one was the trip from Southampton to Wargrave and then Wargrave to Gatwick. Not forgetting the drop off of the other two members of the family (Gadget and Gizmo!) with 'Auntie Pat' for there 2nd holiday of the year ... spoilt cats or what !!!

Trip to Gatwick was good (thanks Nik for the taxi service).

We are now checked in, fed and watered and our bags are with Virgin! Not much more to do now apart from taking it easy and get in the holiday mood.

As we already have our boarding cards we dont have to be at the gate until 9am tomorrow morning, although we enjoy that part of the journey, milling around the departure lounge, so no doubt we will go through security early and have a wander around the shops and get some breakfast in the terminal.

South Coast

Another trip out today, again not too far, but nice to get a bit of 'sea' air!

We traveled to Dorset today, to be exact Bournemouth. After a quick stop at CastlePoint we headed for the centre and our intention was to walk along the beach until we found a pub. Mmmmm well that was the plan, it just so happens that a pub found us before we found the beach!

Anyhow, a nice lunch and then a walk to burn those lunch calories, well, that was the plan, but again, we found the car before the beach!!

So we went to the coast, and did not even see the sea! Oh well there is always a next time. Maybe we are getting in practice, seeing as we will be in the desert in a few weeks time and won't be anywhere near the sea?!