Las Vegas, NV

Tempting....

Our awesome room!

Kitty Glitter! Paige, this picture is for you and Tina!
The view of the pool and the Las Vegas strip from our room.

Originally, our itinerary took us on a much more boring route back East through Phoenix, Amaraillo, TX, and Memphis, TN. That did not seem like a good way to end the trip, so we went back to the drawing board to get a more exciting route through Las Vegas, Breckenridge, and Kansas City (yes, Kansas City is exciting because I've heard about places since 2004 when I met Tory. Much, much more on that in future posts). So on an early Friday morning, we set out to Las Vegas to spend an afternoon at a Vegas pool party.

Laura and I were some of the only people in the world who weren't excited to get to Las Vegas. On my previous trips to Vegas, the plane ride in is one of the most unique plane rides around. Everyone is pumped up to go on a vacation to escape reality and is in a party mood, unlike the normal malaise of a domestic flight.

On this trip to Vegas, Laura and I were getting back to reality. Our trip was almost over and we were heading back East. We realize that our reality isn't normal, since we still have a two week vacation before going home and then moving to Boston, but it was still a sobering reality staring us in the face that we were no longer zig-zagging across national parks, the Pacific Ocean, or the Rocky Mountains.

The ride to Vegas was pretty surreal, and something that is hard to capture on a plane ride in. The drive is through some of the most desolate desert we've encountered on the trip. Turning to the CD player, we realized that we were missing one essential song from the CCRT soundtrack: Viva Las Vegas! Even without the music, there was some excitement in seeing the strip rise out of the desert, seemingly out of nowhere. If Las Vegas wasn't there, nothing would be there.

When we got within city limits, we went to areas away from the strip that I've never been to since I've never had a car while there. First up once downtown Vegas, where the original casinos first sat. I know now why I hadn't been in my previous trips. While they might have had $2 black-jack, if I'm going to Vegas I don't want to feel like I'm at the Micosoukee on Alligator Alley.

After downtown Vegas, we made a quick stop at the "Little Wedding Chapel". We decided on Plan A after much deliberation, and then drove by the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign.

From there, we drove to Hard Rock, our hotel. We used priceline.com to "name our price" once again. (Quick endorsement - this has been great for the trip and is also clutch for finding rooms in hotel-rich areas like Vegas, ATL, etc. By using the "name-your-price" feature, I'm basically able to narrow down which hotel I'm bidding for. In Vegas, I knew I was bidding on the Hard Rock, and got a room for $85/night, when they were selling for $300 at the desk.)

After checking in, the girl at the front desk made a mistake and accidentally gave us a suite. It was awesome and probably bigger than our apartment in Boston next year. It's layout was exactly what I would imagine a rock star partying in. The first room was huge, but only had a big sofa and bar in the corner, with another room with the bed/bathroom. The windows overlooked the pool and the strip. It was an awesome room for Laura and me, and would be the ideal room for a bachelor(ette) party as well.

We tried to make the most of Vegas, and went down to the Hard Rock pool for some people watching. It didn't disappoint. After dinner and a little gambling, we called it a night early as we had a long, 12-hour drive to Colorado the next morning.

We survived Vegas, and even stayed a little longer than planned the next morning to fill out a lease application for an apartment in Boston (yes, we found an apartment. It's awesome. Right in between HBS and Harvard Square, a 3-level townhouse with a private backyard. We're so excited).