This weekend trip incurred a lot of "firsts" for me:
- first time going to Vegas with friends (instead of family, like my previous half-dozen trips there)
- first time going out barhopping on the Strip at night
- first time splashing in a hotel pool
- first time wearing a 2-piece swimsuit in public since I was a kid
- first time wearing short skirts/dresses that I can no longer wear because they're only appropriate in Vegas anymore
- first time taking any sort of "dancing" class-- and it was a pole-dancing class, of all things!
- first time dancing in the middle of a group, and not off to the side where nobody can see me
We started off early Friday morning to pick up our rental van and load it up. The drive there was smooth and traffic-free, and we arrived with plenty of time to check in (we all stayed at Harrah's, right smack-dab in the middle of the strip) unpack and rest before heading out for dinner and drinks. We used the first of our Vegas Insider Card deals: 2-for-1 entrees at Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon (formerly the Barbary Coast). It was the last time all 6 of us (Allan & me, Joe & Tabitha, Amir & Priyanka) would be together the entire trip until the very last day. We then headed off to the Imperial Palace for some karaoke! I wanted to make sure I got to sing in case I lost my voice again, like last time. Tabitha and I opted to do Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman" together, paying $10 to have it recorded on DVD. Alas, it was not to be-- about 4 songs before our turn, a pair of girls got on stage and sang the exact same song!! We felt so robbed! Unfortunately, they were good, too, so we didn't exactly want to follow with the same song so soon afterward. Maybe if they'd done a poor job, we might've still stuck with it. So we scrambled to find an alternate, and wound up doing Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" instead. A bit harder, and some of the notes got too low for me, but we'll see what the actual DVD looks like when I get a chance to watch it, and maybe post it :-)
Saturday morning Allan and I started our day with breakfast at the Harrah's buffet. All of us received 24-hour buffet passes with our room reservation-- allowing us to visit any buffet at 7 of the Harrah's properties as much as we wanted within a 24-hour period. I then headed off to Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin) to meet up with Tabitha for our "Stripper 101" class, where we learned lap-dancing and pole-dancing techniques. The class was a lot of fun, and the pole-dancing portion was actually harder than it seemed-- a lot of balance, coordination and concentration required. We left the class wishing we could find a bar with a pole in it, to practice our newly-learned moves ;-) After lunch, Tab and I made our way to the pool at Flamingo while our husbands rested in the rooms. It was crowded in the water-- no surprise, as daytime temps soared to 105-110 each day, with "lows" dipping into the 80s. But in the shade the water was cold and refreshing and kept us cool for our half-block trek back to our hotel.
Dinner at the Caesar's buffet was delicious, and worth the half-hour wait in line to get in. Afterward, the "night out" began: Allan, Amir, Priyanka and I started out trying to find spots at the Venetian, but all of them were two noisy and crowded for our taste. We exited the hotel in time to catch the "Sirens of TI" show across the street. The scantily-clad pirate wench dancers were too far away to see, but we got a nice view of the fireworks show at the end. We tried to cross the street to get to Treasure Island itself but wound up having to go further north, past the Wynn/Encore complex, in order to do so. By the time we made it to TI, we were pretty tired from all the walking, and flopped down at the first quiet spot we saw-- the Isla Tequila Bar, which was actually pretty nice and comfy! We finished off the night with a trip to Caesars Palace, again bypassing the noisier bars/clubs and opting for the comfortable Seahorse Lounge, which offered not only a nice view of the aquarium with interesting sea animals, but made for great people-watching. It was 3am by the time we decided to call it a night. I can't remember the last time I stayed out that late!!
Sunday was another relaxing day. I tried to take Allan to the Flamingo pool but we were turned away. Guys really get gypped in Vegas-- girls get in free for everything, whereas guys have to pay. In the evening we got all 6 of us together again and drove to downtown Vegas, where we had dinner at the Firefly in the Plaza Hotel. It was a tapas bar, and the food and drinks were awesome! Since we didn't have reservations, we didn't get to sit in the main dining area (not without waiting, anyway) overlooking Fremont St, but we ended up with something better-- comfy sofas in the lounge area of the restaurant, which made dinner even more relaxing and enjoyable. If ever there was a must-eat place in Vegas, it's the Firefly. We caught the light show and then went into the Golden Nugget, where we found a nice cozy booth of sofas inside their Rush Lounge-- just in time for the live entertainment. It started off pleasantly and mellowly (is that a word?) enough-- Tabitha took a nap on Joe's shoulder and Amir recharged himself on the casino floor. By the time he got to the lounge, Tab was awake, and with all of us refreshed, we finished off the night with some group dancing in the middle of the lounge. What a way to end our last outing in Vegas with a bang! :-)
We got home late Monday evening, exhausted but happy. What a trip! I had originally intended to return to work Tuesday, but a few weeks ago, Amir wisely cautioned against it. So I took Tuesday off, and am I glad I did! I needed the extra day to recharge and rest and recuperate. Even today I'm not 100% there in terms of being at work, but it would've been much worse yesterday.
One last thing: early on in the trip, I decided to order the same drink wherever we went, so I could compare how the different bars did it. I started it off with a purchase at the Stripper Bar, where we got free drinks included in our Stripper 101 class: Vodka cranberry. It was delicious-- sweet, not too tangy, and barely a taste of alcohol (a testament to its smoothness). I ordered more at the Isla Tequila Bar, the Seahorse Lounge, the Firefly Tapas Bar and the Rush Lounge. They were all pretty good, but by far my favorite was the one from the Stripper Bar. Close second was the one from Firefly, and only because it was a tiny bit tangier and had the slightest hint of alcohol detectable. And no matter what, ALL of the vodka cranberries I got at the various Vegas bars were much better than anything I've ever gotten at a local bar here in Santa Barbara! :-)
Ah, Vegas. There's always something to see and do there, no matter how many times you've been there. And with friends, it's double the fun! :-) Here's to the next trip, hopefully while our coupon book and Vegas Insider Card are still valid!
It was SO much fun!!
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