Viva Las Vegas!

About a week ago, my sis called my parents and I to tell us that she and her boyfriend were going to be in Vegas. They had a trip planned for a bachelor party but they had just found out that the wedding was called off. Because my sis and her bf had already bought the plane tickets and booked the hotels, they were still coming. Naturally, Vegas is a hell of a lot closer to Denver than Hawaii is, so we decided a visit was in order. My dad already had a trip to California planned, so it seemed like the perfect time for my mom and I to “do” Sin City.

As a whole, I kinda dislike Vegas. It pretty much embodies everything that isn’t me: gambling, smoking, drinking, partying, and late nights aren’t really my style. However, neither Mom nor I was going to pass up this opportunity to see Melissa! I didn’t really do a lot of gambling (I won a whopping $30) nor did we do the club scene. However, there were some major highlights that stood out for me….

1. Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere. I’ve never seen any of the Cirque shows, so I was wicked excited for this. We had originally planned to see ‘O’ at Bellagio but were not able to get tickets. A friend had told me that Mystere was actually his favorite show anyway, so we decided to visit Treasure Island to see this performance on Sunday night.

Y’all, it was seriously amazing! I’m unable to pinpoint an accurate description of the show, but it reminded me of a wicked bad dream…but in a good way! The costumes were insane, the dancers and acrobats were freaking unbelievable, and the entire atmosphere was spectacular. We actually scored amazing seats on accident too! The rows directly in front of the stage were empty (I imagine no one wanted to pay that high price for a ticket!) so a PR man was pulling various people up front just to fill the seats. I observed him doing this, told my mom, and she managed to track him down so he could hook us up. We sat three rows from the stage and I could literally SEE the faces of the performers. Un.freaking.believable!

2. Minus5 Ice Bar. My sister had read about a bar in Mandalay Bay called Minus5 and convinced us all to go. Initially, I thought it sounded like a silly gimmick that conned tourists into spending way too much on a drink. And yes, it was that…but it was kinda cool, too!

That wall behind us, the glasses, and the bench are all ice!

The entire bar is chilled to -5 degree Celsius, or 23 degree Fahrenheit and everything is made out of ice. The walls, the sculptures, the bar, the glasses, the tables, the benches you sit on- everything! They give you some warm clothes to wear while you’re in there, but no one lasts very long. I think we made it about 30 minutes before tapping out. After all, my sis and her boyfriend live in Hawaii now– they can’t deal with these chilly temps!

3. The hotel gym on Sunday morning. I know this sounds absolutely random in a Vegas post, but it really was a highlight of the trip for me. We stayed out late on Saturday night and neither my mom nor I slept very well. We woke up and wandered around our hotel for an hour, and neither of us could shake that “blah” feeling. We were still feeling really sad about Zeke and our bodies just weren’t adjusting to our sudden shift in sleeping schedule. After two cups of coffee, we both decided to head to the gym to sweat ourselves out of our funk.

Rockin’ my Reebok PlayDry tank. The front desk lady loved the neon orange piping!

And you know what? It worked! I ran on the treadmill and did some body strength training on the floor, and felt so much better afterwards! Runner’s high will do it every time 🙂

4. The Boiling Crab. Sang, my sister’s boyfriend, used to live in Vegas so he took us to this delicious restaurant that is located off the Strip. The Boiling Crab serves a variety of shellfish and seafood but the kicker is that it is served on your table– literally! We ordered a couple of pounds of shrimp, a few pounds of clams, some gumbo, and a whole bunch of Snow and King crab. Imagine my surprise when the waiter brought it all out in bags and we dumped it all over the table!

Sang, my sis, my mom, and me

Sang and I built a fort with our shells 🙂

Not only did we eat the seafood off the table, but utensils were minimal. We had one or two crackers for the King Crab, but everything else was eaten with our fingers. This was definitely my type of place!

5. Family Time. As I’m sure you can imagine, it was so nice to see my sister and get to spend time with both her and my mom. I only wish my dad could have been on the trip with us!

Mom and me….I swear, I was sober

All the gals in front of the Mirage

I’ve only gotten to hang with Sang once or twice, so it was great getting to know him better too. Nothing like flashing lights and noisy machines and hookers in heels to make you feel like a little family bonding, you know? 🙂