I Run Like A Girl

Last weekend, Joe and I did something new as a couple… a trip to Las Vegas! Joe, his brother (Dane), and Dane’s father in law attended a flight simulator conference (yes, you read that right), and all 3 of us partners tagged along for some girl time. It ended up being a short but very fun weekend filled with new experiences.

What I cherished the most was quality time with Joe’s side of the family. For the most part, we only see them when we visit Texas, and it was so wonderful to take a trip together and make memories outside of Joe’s hometown. 

This was Joe’s first time in Vegas, and I had visited before as a kid on a family trip. It’s been on my bucket list to experience Vegas as adults. Overall, the weekend was pretty tame (just how I like it) as we found great food and entertainment and focused on quality time. 

Day 1: Exploring The Strip + magic show

We arrived late Thursday night, and so Friday was our first full day. I got the best night of sleep without both cats around. 😉 Joe and I worked remotely that day, so the day was spent at our hotel. We stayed at the Horseshoe Hotel which was a budget-friendly option right on The Strip. I did get out for an early morning walk before the heat got too crazy. 

In the evening, Joe and I went out for some exploring. Given the heat (it reached 110°F during the day!), we maximized our routes to stay inside as much as possible, which brought us through some cool passageways throughout the hotels. I remember as a kid, we visited all the luxury hotels as that is a main activity here. We walked through the Bellagio which had a cool botanical garden exhibit. 

We had dinner at the food court at the Cosmopolitan. Then, Dane and his wife, Brittany, joined us! We had a sweet reunion as the last time we saw each other was over the holidays. As much as we love their little ones, it was really nice to be with each other as just adults as it unlocked a whole new energy and we could all be 100% ourselves. 

After dinner, we had something fun planned…a magic show! At this point, Brittany’s parents (Wendy and Bradley) also arrived and joined the fun. Shin Lim, the winner of America’s Got Talent season 13, had a show in Las Vegas, and I was really excited to catch him. I suppose it’s a good time to reveal that I am a major magic nerd. I spend a lot of time on YouTube watching magicians and learning how they do their tricks. Despite this secret interest of mine for many years, I had never seen a magic show. Seeing such a talented magician at my first show was honestly a dream come true. 

The show was absolutely phenomenal and a huge hit with our group. We were all at the edge of our seats watching Shin perform trick after trick. I was nerding out observing his incredibly impressive sleight-of-hand (he’s an expert in SOH with playing cards). He even got the audience involved as we all got playing cards and did a group trick together. That blew my mind away.

Shin had an opener, Colin Cloud, who specialized in mentalist magic (a.k.a. reading people’s minds). I thought he was a wonderful entertainer and incredibly convincing, but there’s a consensus in the magic community that mentalist magic is all a hoax as it involves planting people in the audience. This was a highlight of the trip and something I would 100% recommend to anyone visiting LV!  

After the show, Joe and I walked back to our hotel. Nighttime in Vegas was a whole different scene as the heat calmed down and everyone was out for a good time. We enjoyed the lights on the Strip and the energy from the nighttime crowd. It took a little bit of adjusting to the Vegas vibe as there’s really no place like it – between people drinking out on the streets, smoking cigarettes indoors, and easy access to escorts, it’s truly the place to indulge in all your fantasies. 

Day 2: Ladies bonding time + family dinner + Bellagio fountain show

The next morning, the boys were up early and headed to the flight simulator conference. It was sweet getting texts from them throughout the day as they were in heaven visiting all the different booths and learning the latest technology for flight sims. What a coincidence that three members of the family have a passion for aviation. It made me so happy to see Joe enjoy himself there.  

Meanwhile, I met up with Brittany and Wendy for some girl time. We met up at Caesar’s Palace to walk around and grab lunch. Caesar’s Palace had unique architecture and décor that transported me back to the Roman Empire. I loved exploring all the different themes of each hotel. 

We ate at the food court at Caesar’s and chatted nonstop. It was so nice to have some quality time with Brittany and Wendy as we had so much to catch up on! Brittany and I have always had a special bond and I really treasure the friendship we’ve developed over the years. Her mom is such a hoot and I had the best time over lunch. 

We passed by Dominique Ansel Bakery at Caesar’s Palace, and we had to stop in for a treat. Dominque Ansel pioneered the “cronut,” aka a donut and croissant in one. Flashback to my NYC days when I would wake up at 6am to wait in line for cronuts :P. I ordered their popular frozen s’more and a cronut to bring back to Joe (although I ended up eating it myself 😊).

After exploring Caesar’s, we decided to head over to the Flamingo Hotel to check out their wildlife habitat featuring live flamingos. It was fun to walk through another hotel and get a small bit of nature. We saw flamingos, fish, and the cutest duck family. 

After an afternoon of exploring, we headed back to our hotels for a little break before dinner. We all met back at the Cosmopolitan for dinner at Blue Ribbon, one of Dane and Brittany’s favorite restaurants. This was another highlight of the trip as we enjoyed incredible food and each other’s company for several hours. A truly wonderful time. 

Afterward, we walked off dinner on the Strip and caught the fountain show at the Bellagio. I remember the fountains were a highlight of my childhood trip to Vegas, and it was just as fun as an adult. The fountains and lights went along with the music, and it was a really neat show. We loved it so much, we saw it twice! 

We had our final moments hanging out on the Strip before saying goodbyes as Joe and I had an early flight back to San Francisco. 

What a fabulous weekend filled with new experiences and valuable quality time. This trip was a huge success and one I’ll remember for a while. 😊