What some well-known people have to say about Vegas:"Vegas means comedy, tragedy, happiness and sadness all at the same time." - Artie Lange
"With everything it has to offer, Las Vegas is an obvious destination for tourists, as proven by the over 40 million visitors the city welcomes per year." - Jon Porter
"There's just no quiet in Vegas." - Barry Manilow
"Nevada's one of the most conservative states in the Union, but you can do what you want in Vegas and nobody judges you." - Drew Carey
About a month and a half ago, my company sent a memo to all of its employees informing us that we each had to take a week off and (here's the kicker) unpaid. I'm not going to lie. It was quite a blow to take. I can't say I didn't see it coming, given the state of the economy and how few people actually pick up newspapers nowadays since virtually everything is online. That said, I decided to turn lemons into lemonade. How so?
Before I found out about the furlough, Aaron and I discussed taking a trip to Vegas for my 25th birthday in May. I had already put money aside in a separate "travel" savings account and began accruing vacation time in order to take the time off from work in May. Well, we decided to bump up the vacation a bit ... quite a bit in fact ... to March 19-21. We were able to save nearly $200 by bumping it up a month and a half. I know, it seems like a short amount of time to spend in Sin City, but when you are a Vegas Virgin (as I was), it is easy to cram as much as possible into your first trip to Las Vegas.
Of course, before we left, I planned accordingly. Thanks to the powers of Google, I was able to find a number of free entertainment in Vegas to make the trip a bit more reasonable and exciting. Afterall, Aaron and I aren't really huge gamblers. After some research, I put together an itinerary, knowing that we were limited on time. We hit most everything on our list, except the Sirens of TI show at Treasure Island, Volcano at the Mirage and Tao at the Venetian. It's not a big deal though. I do plan on going back and will need some new discoveries the next time I arrive.
Here are just a few highlights from the trip:
Off the plane from San Jose to McCarron Airport and turning $1 into $1.60. High roller. ;)
My first drink in Vegas was a water. My second, this yard-long margarita.
Watching the Viva Vision Canopy show at Old Las Vegas on Fremont Street. I will be spending more time here next time.
The Bellagio Fountains were fun to watch during the day ... but AMAZING at night.
It was pretty easy to find yard-long margaritas, but this is 88 0unces of PURE ROCK!
Watching the best free show in Sin City at the Venetian.
We didn't have a chance to go to the Tryst Club at Wynn, but we did experience the hotel's beauty, including this gorgeous waterfall.
Zumanity was everything I thought it would be ... and more. The right amount of sensuality and comedy. Incredibly skilled performers. Everything you could ask for in a show.
