Last time I made a post with the same title, it ended up like this. Let’s just say, that this time around it was a completely different experience.
My friend Gene turned 40 this year and he wanted to do a big throw down in Vegas. I mean, what better place to celebrate getting old, than a city full of young people who have a complete and total disregard for what they do to their bodies! Jess and I were totally game for a weekend filled with crazy entertainment and no kiddos to wake us up in the morning or need a diaper changed or ask how to make a grilled cheese. This was going to be a weekend just for the adults, and after a week on a Disney Cruise, it was well deserved.
Unlike last time, things got started off right. We landed, grabbed our luggage and headed off to the hotel. Since there was such a large group of us staying there (16 total I believe), we all stayed at the same place. We got checked in and were whisked away to our magical room overlooking the strip. Well, you could see the strip from our room, but it wasn’t like The Hangover where you see every conceivable part of Vegas from your room. Everyone else was already out enjoying their day to the tune of some DJ and a few drinks. Jess and I were just enjoying being there, so we decided to hang at the hotel, order some room service and have a meal in peace. No sharing what was on my plate with an 18 month old. I didn’t have to hunt around for a spoon or fork that had been thrown under the table. It was a meal that didn’t consist of chicken nuggets and baby toys. The rest of the group can have their bottles on ice, Jess and I were perfectly fine with our quiet, alone time.
That time however was short lived. The plan was that a few of the group members would go to a Circ du Soleil show, while the rest of us went out to a club of some sort. Seeing as we are not seasoned Vegas travelers, we were up for what ever. As people started stumbling back from their afternoon adventures, it was apparent that they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves at this day club. Somehow the four members that were heading to the show managed to pull themselves together and get out the door in time. I won’t go into full details, but it was a miracle that they made it. And despite making it to the show, all of them slept through about 75% of it. Must’ve been nice to have a $300 nap. Jess and I however got on our party rockin’ attire and were off to begin a night of adventure unlike anything we had ever experienced.
Keep in mind, Vegas is time is a) 3 hours behind Atlanta and b) non-existent. By the time we were out the door to dinner it was already 8/8:30ish. That meant that it felt like 11:30 to us, and we had been up since 6am in ATL. We typically go to bed at this time, but we’re in Vegas and had to push through. Dinner was nice and consisted of some tapas and wine. We met up with some new friends, and enjoyed the calm before the storm. After dinner we walked over Marquee. It was everything like you’ve seen in the movies or TV shows or the pics on the site you just looked at. People crammed into every corner of the building, loud pumping music, black lights, drinks flowing, glow sticks, etc. This place had it all!
A good friend of mine is a regular out in Vegas and so we had a host. Having a host means the difference between waiting an hour in line to possibly get in, and having them let down the velvet ropes to guide you past the droves of people out front. It also means that we had a private table stocked with liquor and mixers. This was our table, we didn’t have to wait at the bar for over priced drinks, we didn’t have to figure out if we should have another. It was all there waiting on us!
We decided to indulge and enjoy what had been provided to us. We also made a point to get to the dance floor for some dancing and laughing, generally letting loose. The DJ of the night was Benny Benassi (Benny Benassi – Cinema – Skrillex Remix), so I was all over it cause I loves me some Dub Step! This went on for the next several hours. At one point the largest bottle of champagne I had ever seen showed up to our table as well as more drinks. Sure, why not?! We’re in Vegas!! A few more hours went by and we decided that it was time to roll out.
It was a bit difficult locating a cab for some reason. I’m not sure if it was the fact that it was 3am and we had been up for 24 hours while also having had enjoyed several drinks and hours of dub step, or what. Either way, in Vegas everything looks a lot closer than it actually is and we made the decision to walk to our hotel. This ended up being roughly 2 miles… at 3am… intoxicated… and Jess was barefoot. By the time we got in bed it was at least 4am. Hashtag. Winning.
The next day we were woken up by some calls/texts asking if we wanted to join the birthday boy for breakfast. This was at 9. In case you are doing the math, that’s 5 hours of “sleep” after a 24+ hour sprint. But we were game! We threw ourselves together enough to wander down to the restaurant and enjoy the company of a couple who as slept through most of their Circ du Soleil, so they were feeling nice and rested! After breakfast we headed back to the room to get on our bathing suits so we could enjoy a day “relaxing” by the pool. Relaxing has a different meaning out there. Rather than a simple day snoozing, it was a day filled with spiked lemonade, meeting even more new friends, gabbing about work and the events of last night. Talking about our children, our families and friends. Swimming in a pool filled with bros. And maybe one or two applications of some SPF 12 just to let the sun know that we meant business… not.
The pool was only the beginning of the activities of the day however. By now it was day two and this was supposed to be the BIG party night. We had, yet another, VIP experience getting into a different club. This time it was Light. Zedd (Zedd – Clarity) was on stage and man was the club hoppin! Again, more bottles, more mixers, more music, dancing, glow sticks, people, tight shirts, and fun! We had more of our crew with us on the second night so it got a bit more rambunctious. But never too much. Just enough to remind us how much of an amazing time we were having. Eventually we made the decision to roll out, this time however we were going to find a cab, one way or the other. But what we wanted more than a cab, was some food. Pizza to be more precise. Surprisingly enough we found Secret Pizza, and I have to admit it was a pretty tasty slice. Then again, it was 4am and we had not eaten in hours, so that may have had something to do with it.
After scarfing down our pie, we found another cab and rolled out to our final destination, the hotel. 5am was a painful sight to see on the clock, but the bed was a welcome sight. To the best of our knowledge we didn’t have anything planned for the next day so we were going to finally enjoy some sleeping in. HA! I got jokes.
Texts started coming in around 9 again and off we were to brunch. Do these people ever sleep?! Food was had and good-byes were said as half the group was flying back that morning. Jess and I were still here for the rest of the day and didn’t have to be on a plane until the following morning. This day we did get our relaxing time by the pool. No shots, shots, shot, shots! No bruhs, creepin’ up ons, no thumping house music in the background. Just a few people, laying by the pool enjoying their last full day in Vegas. We reflected on what all had gone down in the previous 48 hours. Again, talked about kids, work, school, home life, all manner of things that normal adults with kids talk about. It was a good, chill day.
Our final night we headed down to Fremont Street so we could see the light show, have a nice dinner, and people watch. This evening was not like the previous two nights. We simply enjoyed the company of good friends, had some amazing food, and wandered around looking at all the sights “Old Vegas” had to offer. Eventually, we headed back to our room and got into bed at a decent time… midnight.
The next morning we got up bright and early and headed off to the airport. Our crazy adventurous weekend had come to a close. Soon we would be back living the life of “normalcy”. We would be looking at kids menus to see what our boys would have for dinner. I’d be wiping up poop. Work would be had rather than just talked about and things would settle back into place. We had our crazy time. We got it out of our system and we were back to the things that were really important to us. Vegas was a temporary fun, but my boys laughing and playing at home is permanent. We were home and happy.
I’ll never forget that weekend. I hope one day we can go back and do it all over again, but if we don’t, I’m perfectly content with living the life just that once.
Here’s some pics that hopefully help reiterate the craziness of that weekend.
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