#20 Go to Vegas — Life as an Americanadian

Jul 15

Jul 15 #20 Go to Vegas

Wow....just wow...Vegas is intense! And crazy hot...but it was all awesome since I was lucky enough to go with six of my favorite people. The seven of us get together once a year as a mini-college reunion but it was our first time as a whole group in Vegas! Luckily they'd all gone to Vegas before and were willing to show me the ropes. We stayed at New York New York which was great- didn't end up riding the roller coaster though (we figured hungover + roller coaster = bad combo).

We quickly got down to business when we arrived Friday evening- after a quick dinner we came back and got ready to go out. All dressed up and ready to go with drink in hand we headed out. Since you can't drink on the street in SF it was pretty cool being able to do that in Vegas...although I kept thinking we were going to get caught.

First stop was XS at the Wynn...gorgeous hotel! Gorgeous hotel full of very drunk people...what could be better? Music was fun but it was crazy crowded.

Next stop was a short walk over to Tryst where Will.I.Am was DJ-ing. It was just as crowded as XS inside but outside there was a pool to soak our very sore feet after hours and hours of dancing...it was awesome.

Next morning we headed right over to the Encore beach club where Will.I.Am was DJ-ing again. This for me was the most 'Vegas' thing we did. It was like 100+ degrees out so everyone is boozing in the pool only jumping out for more drinks or to gamble. Super fun. Not fun? Water was $8 and beer was $9...I decided to go with the extra dollar...there's water in beer right?

After recovering from a day out drinking in the sun, we got dressed up for our final night/morning of Vegas-ing. After dinner (where we had the rudest waiter ever), we headed to the Chandelier bar...sooo pretty! Loved hanging out here sipping on fancy drinks.

We wrapped up the weekend Sunday 'morning' by first hitting up the buffet at MGM then the Hard Rock pool . Yup all the bacon, short ribs, biscuits and mashed potatoes with gravy I could eat....riiiiight before going to the pool. From me to you, little bikini + pre-pool delish buffet = bad idea. Anyways, we also handed out our awards.

Bride-to-be headband for my co-vacation planner

On the left you have 'Best Rally' and 'Best Hooking Us Up' on the right...she was making tons of calls to get us in places for free...love it!

On the left in her stunning shades we have 'Best Team Player' and on the right 'Best One-liner'

And last but not least here is 'Best Dressed' showing off her new coozie. The pool at the Hard Rock is gorgeous...I mean really...look at it! Its like a beach! The fake sand was so hot though it was like 3rd degree burn status but other than that it was great. Great place to nurse a raging hangover.

The airport was super crowded so I got there early for my flight...turns out I was extremely early for my flight since it was delayed 3.5 hours..fail. I put my professional napping skills to the test and was able to grab a couple quick naps despite the hot sun, sound of slot machines going off and airport seat arm trying to lodge itself under my ribs.

Once I got on the plane I was happy though- Virgin America planes are awesome! Cool lights, new seats and...the best part...a TV!!! Totally watched LL Cool J acting his little heart out on NCIS for the entire ride home. The reason I paid a little extra to fly home? So I could check out Terminal 2 at SFO that was just redone. I didn't have much time to enjoy it since instead of getting home at 8 it was 11:30 and I had to go to work the next day. There was a cool thread installation on the ceiling though...if you happen to fly out of Terminal 2, go early because there's a ton of stuff to look at (and good food to eat).