That's right, ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about Las Vegas, Nevada! Our recent weekend rendezvous!
Brian had a work conference that had him staying in Vegas from Tuesday of last week through the weekend. And you bet, when the opportunity arose for me to join him, I hightailed it out of Ohio and headed to the much brighter, warmer, and louder city to meet up with him and enjoy the weekend out of town! (You really can't beat 'work vacations'.)
I left Columbus on Friday morning and arrived in sunny Las Vegas that same morning. Brian was busy at his work conference...doing what he was supposed to do...while I rested up at the hotel. I figured with the three hour time difference and all I might as well catch up on my zzz's. (Did I ever mention I'm not the greatest nap taker in the world?) Nevertheless, when Brian finished his show we met up at the Luxor, where he had been staying all week, and mapped out our evening. We decided to check out the swanky new hotel and casino called The Cosmopolitan which opened only three weeks prior to our arrival, and go from there. We had been told about the grandiosity and luxury that this hotel encompassed but it was something that could only really be witnessed by being there in person! The energy, the excitement, the extravagance that this hotel boasted completely outdid itself in our opinions! Everything from the meticulous details of the decor to the names of the restaurants were so stylish and superior compared to some of the older casinos, and the entire atmosphere really left one feeling young, refreshed, and rejuvenated! It quickly became one of our 'go to' places to hang out. (Um, yeah, technically we were only there for three days...)
Nevertheless, that night we had dinner at STK, a steakhouse at The Cosmopolitan, and grabbed a drink at the Book and Stage while we awaited the Fitz and the Tantrums to perform. However, since my napping skills did not prove to be my specialty in grade school, and since I was still on the east coast time (aka, three hours ahead), I literally hit a wall at around 9:00 pm. (The glass of wine at dinner probably didn't help...) And just as I hightailed it out to Las Vegas that morning, we hightailed back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep. We had a busy rest of the weekend planned anyway and both wanted to be well rested. I don't remember anything but my head hitting the pillow and drifting off to la-la land! (Clearly, I wasn't born to party...)
The next day, Gary, Jackie, and Maya, wonderful friends of Brian's that went to college with him and their lovely and extremely talented and funny daughter, picked us up from the hotel and took us out to Red Rock Canyon where we were able take in a bit of Vegas 'off' the strip, go hiking, and enjoy lunch in the smog free, smoke free, alcohol free, noise free wilderness of Nevada. (It was a national park, folks. We didn't just drive to the middle of nowhere and plant ourselves on some rocks. There was some thought put into it!) It was a beautiful area, and for some of us who have grown up on the east coast and are used to east coast mountains (ah hem, me) it really was stunning to get a little taste of what 'out west' looks like. It has a completely different feel. There aren't many trees that prevent you from seeing far distances when you are in the heart of the area like I noticed with the east coast. There's a barren no-man's land that goes on for miles that makes you feel like it hasn't been touched since Native Americans traversed through it before you see large, beautiful peaks protruding from the Earth. It's really a beautiful area, and we really enjoyed being able to spend some wonderful quality time with some wonderful friends! And, on the way back from Red Rock Canyon, we got to stop at the infamous Las Vegas sign and, of course, get our picture taken!
That night found us energized from the 12+ hours of sleep
And the show! The show! Absolutely marvelous! The superior talent and exquisite thought and preparation that go into each and every production from Cirque de Soleil is beyond belief. It is inspiring, stunning, imaginative, and completely beautiful. The show was well worth the ticket price and, without a doubt, one of my highlights of our entire weekend!
And, since The Bellagio was right next door to our new fave hotspot, um, The Cosmopolitan, duh, we headed over there again to see if we could manage to keep ourselves awake to see the band who was also playing again that night! Fortunately, we managed to stay awake and enjoyed a fantastic show with an energetic, upbeat, awesome band! Their stage presence was just captivating and they played a great selection of songs!! We were having so much fun that night and it was only 10:30 pm! (Early by Vegas standards!)
We managed to play a few rounds of roulette at The Cosmopolitan before we decided to take our game playing a bit closer to home. We took a cab from The Cosmo to Mandalay Bay which is connected to the Luxor so that we could walk back to our room when we were ready. We met the most grounded cab driver who took us back to our hotel. He spoke very highly of his wife, and love, and told us in the simplest of terms that he believed, 'family is the most beautiful organization created by human people.' It was powerful, thought provoking, and really quite pleasant after leaving a place that doesn't really scream 'family' all the time. We enjoyed our cab ride back to the hotel and thanked our driver for his insightful revelation!
The next day we enjoyed lunch with Gary, Jackie and Maya again before I had to head back to Ohio. It was an incredible trip! It was so much fun! And it was absolutely wonderful to be able to get away to such an exotic place for the weekend. We will surely have to plan something like this again!
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