I’m not working on Sunday because we leave for Vegas, so I declared vacation starting. Doesn’t hurt that Matt wanted to go to the bar to get out of the house. Okay, okay, he has to work tomorrow. Whatever. It’s Sunday. It’ll be super slow for him. I hope. 

Cool fact: Not only is there the CapitalOne Lounge at DIA, there are TWO Priority Pass lounges at the Las Vegas airport. So we’re covered both ways! I plan on milking this airport lounge thing as MUCH as I can…

I didn’t work on Sunday, which ended up being pretty awesome – I actually got to watch a football game and see the Chiefs make it into the Super Bowl. I packed, did all the shit I needed to get done, and was ready to go when Matt wa s finished working. 

We called an Uber and were on our way!

Security was ridiculously east, thank you TSA PreCheck! We headed straight for the brand spanking new CapitalOne Lounge. OH. MY. GOD. It was amazing! We ate, we drank, we hung out and bullshitted with the bar tenders… At no additional cost to us. Included with our Venture X card. Amazing. Sitting there, drinking my glass of wine, I felt like we’ve made it. It was as awesome. 

Now, I’m sitting at 30,000+ feet, reveling in the fact that I (finally) truly love flying again. There’s something magical about sitting in this metal tube and being hurled through the air at 100s of miles an hour and getting deposited somewhere new and different and exciting… I can’t WAIT to get to Vegas. Less than an hour to go now!!!

The last thing I expected when we landed was to go out and walk for miles, but that’s exactly what we did. We took an Uber to Caesar’s, found the check in desk (which took a hot minute – these hotels are INSANE), threw down our stuff and hit the strip!

The first order of business was finding some super glue – the heel on my stupid shoe came disbonded and was falling off – which we found at Walgreen’s. We went into the Venetian and saw the outside-inside gondolas in the lobby area. So cool. We saw the Sphere from the outside – also INSANE. It feels like a random projection just hanging out in the middle of Vegas. Almost alien somehow. 

We came back around and bypassed Caesar’s to see the fountains at the Bellagio. I’m so glad we saw them at night. So damned cool. Then we came back to Caesar’s in search of some food – it was well after 11:00pm and we were starving. Some appetizers and drinks at the lounge in Denver hours earlier hadn’t really cut it. 

We ended up at the food court at the Forum Shops, eating burgers at Bobby Flay’s. They were pretty good…

Then back to our room to try to chill out and actually sleep. Let’s see if that’s a thing. 

I actually slept last night! Till, like, almost 8:00 am! Not too shabby, seeing as we didn’t go to bed till after midnight… So excited for today! We have the Sphere Experience, then dinner at Hell’s Kitchen…! Eeek!

We managed to stay in bed til 9:00ish, the decided to look for breakfast. We went over to Eggslut at the Cosmopolitan, when I had a slut and a cold brew. It was actually quite delicious, a poached egg over some mashed potatoes, cooked in a glass jar… Super interesting and delicious!

We wandered the strip in daylight for a bit, then went back to the room to chill. Eventually, we went out for lunch and ended up at Margaritaville, which had a pretty cool view of Caesar’s and cheap shitty margaritas. My chicken Caesar didn’t suck, either, and it was nice to bask in the sunshine for a while. Then it was back to the hotel for a little bit, grabbed a long sleeve, and headed off to find the Sphere! 

The thing about Vegas is, there’s no direct easy way to get anywhere. Everything requires going through a hotel, casino, shopping mall, or all three. So it takes way longer than you think it should to get places. Anyway, we found it, and went inside. 

The first “interactive experience” was pretty meh, although the lasers and holograms everywhere were kinda cool. The AI robots were downright creepy. Not my thing. Eventually they opened up the theater part of it and we found our seats. 

The movie,”Postcards from Earth“ was INCREDIBLE. Just wow. I don’t know what I was expecting, but that was way cooler than anything I could have imagined. Best part was Corona Arch… Just wow. I lack words. Just go see it if you get the chance. 

Then back to the hotel again, and hurry up and shower and get ready for dinner. Tonight is Hell’s Kitchen!

It’s been a dream of mine to eat at Hell’s Kitchen for years, ever since I spent time watching Gorson Ramsay yell at all his chefs about the scallops and Beef Wellington. I finally got my chance. 

They had a three course special, complete with the aforementioned scallops and beef, and topped off with a brownie-toffee-ice cream thing that was to die for. And I went ahead and also did the wine pairing while I was at it. Oh. My. Again with the “there are no words.” Dinner was INCREDIBLE. 100% worth the ridiculous price tag. And thankfully the portions were reasonable, bordering on big, not the expensive restaurant mini plate bullshit. So good. 

Then it was back to the hotel and bed – we were TIRED. 

Just want to interrupt a minute and just say how incredibly GRATEFUL I am for these experiences we’re having and how incredibly special this whole little trip has been so far… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – WHAT A LIFE!!!!!

Woke up a little earlier (and a lot better rested) today. We walked back over to the Venetian for breakfast, which was delicious. I think my omelet had four eggs in it… So full. Was kinda funny – the weirdo next to us was a total dine and dash. At least he didn’t smell….

We came back to the room and chilled for a while. Eventually we went out to wander some more and have some lunch, but we were so stuffed from breakfast that there was no eating for us. Wandering around the Forum Shops we found some much more reasonably priced restaurants, and decided on a much later lunch. 

Afterwards, we went over to the Promenade at the Linq, which was super cool! All these little bars with outdoor seating… But, dammit, we were still so damned full that we couldn’t even grab a drink. Finally, we just gave up and went back to the room again to chill until we actually got hungry. 

A few more hours at the hotel, taking naps and what not, and finally we got hungry enough to get some food. We went back over to the Forum Shops to the one Italian place that had a happy hour and had a glass of wine and some pizza. Then, back to the hotel again. 

I was determined to use the awesome jetted tub in the bathroom, so I filled it up and got in. And could NOT for the life of me figure out how to get the jets to work. Arg!

Eventually it was time to head out again. We went back over to tre Linq and found a bar to sit at for a while. The margaritas were quite good, actually, and not SO overpriced. We had a few, then headed towards Treasure Island. 

We headed back out on the streets where I decided I HAD to have one of those slushy boozy things that everyone was drinking…I got a hurricane, and it was gross and sickly sweet and amazing.  Then, we swung into the Venetian again and found some penny slots. We put in $7.00 and came out with $12.85… Not bad! 

Then on to Treasure Island for Cirque du Soleil. WOW. Just WOW. Crazy amazing. I don’t even know how to describe it. Incredible! What an experience!

Then back to the hotel for some sleep. This staying up late thing is hard. 

We had a lazy morning, going down to the lobby and getting $8 cups of coffee that were just okay…. Then coming back up and hanging out. “Packing” took thirty seconds, stuffing my two shirts into my bag, and reading books til we got antsy. 

We checked out and went over to the Linq Promenade again for lunch – had Mexican. My carne asada tacos were pretty damned good. We wandered for a few more minutes and then went about the business of figuring out where in HELL an Uber would pick us up…

Now, we’re sitting at another airport lounge – not gonna lie, having access to these is wonderful – waiting out the last few hours before our flight home.

An uneventful flight later, we made it! What an adventure we had!

Here’s the link to the video: