I think I stand in opposition to almost everything Vegas stands for — gambling, drinking, staying out late — but I’m always up for sight-seeing, show watching and going out to eat! We took a little weekend trip and even though our flight home was delayed, delayed again then majorly delayed, I think we all still had a great time. I got to see P!nk fly through the air, a robot mix a margarita and the last ever season premier of Game of Thrones on an iPad at 1 AM, so I feel pretty happy about it.
We stayed at The LINQ and it had a lovely little promenade area with shops and you know, In-N-Out, but lots of other restaurants too! Next door at The Flamingo, I got to see some of those pink birds hanging out in the sun. Sounds like a great life, to be honest! We go every time we’re in Vegas, but Gordon Ramsay Burger is just really good and they know how to cook a burger right. We walked over to T-Mobile Arena afterward and WHOA, I was just blown away by how incredible P!nk was. Not only was she dancing and soaring all over but she sounded FLAWLESS. HOW?? That’s a concert I’ll never forget.
The next morning, Joey, Lori and I hit up PublicUs for breakfast, then walked over to the Downtown Container Park — we tried to go last time we were in Vegas but the area was closed off because of some sort of festival — and were delighted to discover it was very nice and most importantly, uncrowded! A jazz band was just about to perform so we grabbed a seat and watched for a while. Then we walked down Fremont Street, got drinks made by a robot, watched the fountain show at the Bellagio, walked through The Forum Shops and made our way back to The LINQ to get cleaned up for dinner.
We ate at Roma and I had an amazing plate of eggplant parm with a side of what was just a simple penne in tomato sauce but somehow tasted better than any other penne with tomato sauce I’ve ever had? Then, the real reason for our trip to Las Vegas: Donny and Marie! In all honestly, I barely know who the Osmonds are, but when your mother-in-law is a major fan and it’s their last year in Vegas, you go! Guys, it was so fun to watch them interact with the audience! Women losing their minds over Donny Osmond is highly highly entertaining and look, I’ll be happy if I’m ever as good in high heels as Marie Osmond is!
Our last full day started with a hike in Red Rock Canyon! I guess I only ever hike on vacation now, but maybe that’s for the best because all of those hikes have been great. The weather was perfect, the scenery was unbelievable and the company was the best. We did what felt like rock climbing to me and Lori is a trooper for scaling rocks like the best of em! There’s something like 26 different trails but we chose Calico Tanks and it had such a cool view of the city at the top. Also, we saw a chuckwalla!
Post-hike, Joey ate In-N-Out and the rest of us did not because we were having dinner soon! But then we got cleaned up and went to THE DORSEY!!!! Aka a cocktail bar inside the Venetian that I had imagined to be on the top floor with big windows facing the outside but was actually a dark ground floor room with a view of… the casino. But there was a library and that seemed very Dorsey-esque. After, we had dinner at Mesa Grill which, honestly, I thought was going to be a lot better. I wasn’t blown away and, with the amount of money we spent (especially since we ordered a total of two drinks!), I should have been blown away. But the highlight of the night was “O” by Cirque du Soleil. I am too old for a 9:30 PM show and maybe felt dozy a few times but WOW, it was the BEST Cirque show I’ve ever seen!
Mostly though, I feel real lucky that my family in-law is such a pleasure to vacation with ♥
Life as Lauren 