Miss America 2012

I have hardly been home during the month of

January so I haven't gotten much blogging done.

I spent a whole week in Las Vegas for the

Miss America Competition.  Here I am with

Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan.

Theresa was the youngest ever Miss America

crowned at the age of 17.  She was also the

only contestant from Nebraska to ever win

the title of Miss America.

You couldn't meet a sweeter, nicer, more mature

young woman.  Every person I saw her engage 

with felt her warmth and sincerity.  Truly it was 

a delight to get to meet her.

I was there with our Miss Orem who

will be competing in June for Miss Utah, 

Hannah Harkness.  Hannah was one of my

Young Women and she and her family invited

me to attend Miss America with them.

Here she is meeting Teresa.

I would not say that I am someone interested

in pageants, but I have now twice had the

opportunity to attend Miss America with

young women in my neighborhood, this year

with Hannah and in 1996 with Miss Utah, 

Amanda Moody.  In both cases it was a lot

of fun to see the whole process following 

the competition all week long.

A lot of time was spent trying on formal gowns

at the trunk shows where girls can get competition

gowns at a discount.  Hannah chose a Sherri Hill

gown and got to meet Sherri, the designer.

Not a gambler, I had a lot of fun shopping

for shoes and clothes

and eating, eating and eating.

I had never heard of Hash House A Go Go!

Don't you just love that name.  Their motto is

"Twisted Farmhouse Food".  I don't know about

twisted, but exceptional and huge definitely describe

their portions.

Biscuits and gravy with mashed potatoes,

Pork tenderloin benedict with a BBQ cream sauce (absolutely killer),

Coconut and mango pancake (18 inches across),

Chicken and asparagus skillet with a biscuit that

must be 4 inches tall,

and my dish, Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles. 

I had heard and read of this Southern classic dish so

I just had to try it.  Wow!  This is a must try.  If

you are in town Hash House a Go Go was a foodie

paradise.

Another recommendation would be Mon Ami Gabi

at the front of the Paris Hotel.  Outside seating will get

you front row seating to the Bellagio fountains across

the street but you have to wait for those seats and

they are crowded from the moment they open until

they close.  We ate inside.

Your meal starts with this wonderful warm bread

that comes in their signature paper bag. 

We sampled all kinds of things.  I loved these

waffle fries as an appetizer.

The famous French sandwich, Croque Monsieur - yum.

It's a good thing we walked everywhere with all of

this eating going on!

Miss Wisconsin was crowned Miss America 2012.

I had to give a loud cheer having been born and

raised in Wisconsin. 

Miss Utah won the swimsuit and physical fitness the

first night so that was fun too.

It was a treat all the way around and I was so glad to

be invited.  A big thank you to my friends, the Harkness family.

It was a very fun and educational week where

Miss Orem learned a lot about the Miss America

pageant and we had a lot of foodie and shopping fun.