Vegas, Vegas. Aahh...where do I begin. Well first of all it's like a black hole with lots of people and bright blinky lights. Cell phone reception there sucks. I don't remember it being this bad last year but text messages went unsent, calls were dropped and my access to social media was severely limited; which was actually a good thing. When my friend Jana told me she wanted to meet up in Vegas I said sure. She lives in Alaska now, I don't get to see her often. I'm there. Then when I realized she'd be 7 1/2 months pregnant I was a little concerned. Should she even be flying? Is she really going to be able to handle hot Las Vegas at 7 1/2 months pregnant? A lot of pregnant women are waddling by then. Well...not only did she "handle" Vegas but she did it with a hell of a lot more energy then I did. She is like my pregnant mama idol! The girl did not stop from the minute her flight touched down to the moment she left. Me, on the other hand. Not so much.
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| Body Parts at the Bar at the end of the haunted house |
Friday: We stayed at the
Flamingo Hotel. Our room was so cute and the beds so comfy! Their theme color is pink which makes me love them even more. After a five hour drive to Vegas where I wasn't even the one driving I proceeded to take a nap while Jana and my sister Dani went down to the Casino. That night we met up with a friend that Jana and I have known since we were kids and we all went to a haunted house;
Eli Roth's Goretorium on the strip. Every time the chain saw guy came out I screamed and ran. It was pretty fun...if a little cheesy. We got tickets for $15 on Groupon; I would not have paid $25. We had a drink at the bar there but then after that it was still too early to go to bed in Vegas even for us so while Jana went off to gamble the night away my sister and I walked to
Fat Burger for drinks. They play good music, have plenty of outdoor seating and always have a two for one drink coupon lady posted outside.
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| At the Pool |
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| Me and my pretty preggo friend Jana |
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| In front of the Caesar's Palace with Bellagio Hotel in background |
Saturday: We hit the pool at 9am. If you don't get there between 8-9 am and you don't want to spend $350 on a cabana or sit on the concrete don't even bother going until 2pm or 3pm when some of the morning crowd starts to leave. The pool gets packed quick and you have to hunt down lounge chairs. There is the party side with the DJ and bikini clad go go dancers and the more relaxing side that allows children. We did not choose the party side. Every single chair on that side was already taken anyways. After that much to my sister's annoyance I had to take another nap. We went to the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. Express was having 40% off everything in the store. I have never seen that before ever and even though I told myself I should stay away there was no way that I could miss out so I couldn't resist buying a few things. I even got an extra 10% military discount on top of that. Score!! Then it was time for dinner because it's always time to eat when you are in Vegas.
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| All dolled up and sort of ready to go |
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| Giant Margaritas at the Club |
There is a very good chance that this is my last hurrah. Getting all dolled up to go out that night was so exhausting for me that I had to take a break. I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it. I took a deep breath before I put on my make up. I had to drag my butt into my little short shorts and will my feet into those heels. I just can't hang like I used to. We met my sister's husband at Senor Frogs at Treasure Island and we got a buy one get one drink coupon on our way in. When we got inside we discovered that the only option on it was a GIGANTIC margarita on the rocks and it cost $26.00. We went with it. My sister gets one of those suckers every time she goes but it was my first time. I just knew I couldn't drink all of that but by the end of the night it was gone baby gone and so was I! And I love it that it never even crossed my mind to imagine how many calories were in it. We couldn't hang at the club for very long so the two of us left, stopped at the room and changed into flats and then walked back to our favorite hang out Fatburger. Eating greasy delicious french fries while intoxicated is pure bliss I tell you. We didn't get back to the hotel until 4am and Mrs pregnant lady was still out!
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| Getting on the Vegas Tram at Aria |
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| New York New York Hotel and that awful roller coaster |
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| Las Vegas City Center // Aria Express Tram |
Sunday: When we went to bed Saturday night it was basically a nap because we didn't get to bed until about 4:30am and we were at the pool by 8:45am. Jana actually woke us up. She was all bright eyed and bushy tailed of course. It was hard not to hate her as I jumped out of bed in a tired haze and then felt my head pounding. We found a perfect shaded spot and since we didn't have to sweat like pigs in the sun we were able to stay for a while. A long while. We didn't leave for five hours and I was able to multi task by getting my nap on at the pool. We took the tram from Aria to Monte Carlo to cut out some walking. It was my first time on it. I don't do roller coasters anymore. Especially not ones with a loopy loop on top of really big buildings but my sister wanted to try the New York New York roller coaster so I really had no choice in the matter. It was awful! We basically got jerked around the whole time and I couldn't stop screaming and begging to get off. The sign said it was $7 for a re ride but they wold have to pay me to get back on that thing. We got in our obligatory Vegas buffet that night for dinner at the MGM Grand Buffet. There was so much to choose from and the food was delicious. After two not even very loaded plates of food I was done. I don't think I've ever skipped out on dessert at a buffet but after my meal I couldn't even look at it. By the time we finished dinner it was late; for us anyways. My sister and I weren't even trying to be out that night. Just couldn't do it. I love the water show at the Bellagio so we stopped to see that then just hung out in the room. Jana was not trying to hang out with us worn out tired folks so she hit the casino while we hit the hay.
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| Bally's and Paris Hotel |
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| Bellagio Hotel water show with Caesars Palace in the background |
Monday: Jana had to catch a 12 hour flight back to Alaska so she was gone by 8am but we didn't make it out until around 10:45am. We had gotten so little sleep over the weekend that I just couldn't drag my butt out of bed and I think my sister needed to get some sleep so she could drive. Getting breakfast was a debacle. We thought nobody would want to eat at Denny's. Wrong. It was packed. Even McDonald's was packed. We stopped in at a buffet but the prices were jacked up to about $32 bucks for the holiday so that was out. We ended up back at the Flamingo in one of their restaurants and it was just a short wait. The French Toast was well worth the trouble. Then we hit the road. It took us 7 freaking hours to get to my mom's house!!! From there I had a 45 minute drive to my house so I didn't get home until 10pm.
Tuesday: Exhausted. Juicing. Work. Gym. Boo!!!
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| Just pretending. I didn't spend a single penny on gambling |
I had such a good time with my sister. We always have fun on our little sister trips and I'm so sad that this will be the last one for a while. I think it finally hit me that she's moving in 2 months and I spontaneously burst into tears while we were eating breakfast. Crying in public is awesome. I'm going to miss her so much. It was so nice to spend some time with Jana. Even while carrying around an almost fully formed human inside of her she outdid me in Vegas. She is that same force she was back when we were teenagers. She hasn't changed a bit. But I have. We're the same age but I'm old...and there is nothing like Las Vegas to remind me of it!!
Vegas is great! I love the energy, the lights, the beautiful buildings,
the shopping, the food and the anything goes relaxed kind of vibe. It makes me want to be out and about all night long. You
never know what you're going to see. There was a contortionist on one
corner and Chewbaca on the next. I love seeing everyone dressed to kill
as they head out for a night on the town. Carry around a six pack of
beer in the streets and drink it as you go. Walk down the street in a
bikini and high heels. Or those awful high waisted denim shorts with the slanted cut off bottoms that are universally unflattering for every figure. Why are people wearing these?? Drink from a gold colored bottle of champagne hanging
around a chain from your neck. Yes, they were actually selling those. Do whatever you want, wear whatever you
please because it's Vegas and anything goes.
I may not have what it takes to really "hang" in this city. I never really did. Everything is really expensive and I don't like to spend a lot of money. My outfits never come close to Vegas level hoochie. If I drink even a little bit too much one night I can't even look at alcohol for another 24 hours at least. I don't put on make up and do my hair to go sweat at the pool in 90 degree weather. I need naps. I barely made it out for our one club night, Roller Coasters make me ill and I can't even eat at the buffet like I used to. But even so, I love Vegas and I know I'll be back.
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