Vegas Vacation

So it looks like Joe has left me in charge of writing about our most recent and final visitors in Vegas.  I have to say, it worked out pretty perfectly that two of my best lady friends from back home had openings in their schedules at the same time to make a trip out to Sin City.  The first to arrive, a teacher with the whole summer off (jealous), got in last Wednesday.  What also worked out perfectly is that I only had to work one day (Thursday) while our guests were in town.  That being said, our Wednesday night was a pretty low-key night for a Vegas vacation. We hit up our favorite happy hour spot, Gordon Biersch, for some freshly brewed beers, fancy mojitos and bar food that always hits the spot.  Afterwards, we took advantage of something Joe and I will miss dearly when we depart the Can...the hot tub.

The next day I got up at the butt-crack of dawn and headed over to Sunrise to bring home the bacon.  Joe and our lovely guest also had their sights set on butt-cracks that day...at the Double Down Saloon of course!  Where they enjoyed several shots of the Double Down's famous "Ass Juice," which I'm sure Joe has mentioned more than once in his blogging of our Vegas adventures.  Every batch of ass juice is a little different from the last, so according to my two favorite Ass Juice consumers, the first two shots were great...the 3rd tasted like it sounds. Upon returning from work, it was clear that these two needed some food in their bellies, so we made our way to our favorite surfer/hipster/taco-serving dive...Yayo Taco.  You really can't get tacos like this in Philly and this is a place Joe and I will miss dearly.  These scrumptious treats are not only authentic but are served alongside a laundry list of great beers in an environment that begs you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the indie music.  The next morning, our second guest was due to arrive, so once again the hot tub at the Can served as a relaxing ending to a day filled with hard work and ass juice.

Friday afternoon we took a trip to McCarran International to pick up our second Vegas visitor.  A classy lunch was in order after the airport pickup, and Raising Cane's chicken was the perfect welcoming to the lovely Eastside of Las Vegas.  Seriously, folks, this place has the best fried chicken, texas toast and sweet dipping sauce you've ever had... I feel like I'm writing a food blog. I'm probably really hungry right now. Anywho, what did we do on Friday?  We checked our guest into her room at Treasure Island, then we did a little exploring on the Strip. The best exploring we could do in the middle of the day in 105 degree weather, that is.  And the most appropriate accompaniments to our exploring were, of course, frozen drinks and $1 beers (I mean, really... how can you pass up $1 drinks on the Strip?). We went as far as we could in the heat and then decided to find some refuge in the air conditioned tattoo bar at The Mirage.  Ask us about our matching tattoos when we get home.  Just kidding just kidding... or am I?

Later that night we had some home-cooked Italian food and complimentary bottomless table wine (yes, you read that right... living here for 5 months has clearly given me and Joe, the bargain hunters that we are, plenty of time to find the best deals in the city).  Battista's Hole in the Wall, where we first dined when the Kain family was in town, proved to be just as good the second time around. And the accordion player proved, once again, to appeal to our Philadelphia upbringing by playing a classic Mummers song.  And he was totally impressed by my Mummers strutting skills.  After we were no longer so stuffed that we couldn't do anything else but lay down, we decided to play a little game invented on a snow day by Joe and friends...Latin Kings.  This take on the card/drinking game "Kings," is a great way to start a night of tomfoolery, and any moms who received a text saying simply "sorry" last Friday night, now you know why.  Sorry.  Next we were off to the Cosmopolitan, one of the coolest hotels/casinos I've ever been to. Think old Vegas- chandeliers, beautifully upholstered overstuffed booths and somewhere you could truly picture Frank Sinatra hanging out with the Rat Pack, meets new Vegas- flashy LED lights, go-go dancers perched high above the bar and, of course, highly overpriced drinks.  We found a comfy booth in a sushi bar where we drank delicious green tea and cucumber-infused cocktails.  After this, we were pretty spent.  We had big plans to venture out to the Hoover Dam the next day and we needed our sleep. Conveniently enough, one of our two guests had a room with two queen-sized beds a few hotels down...sorry Can...but TI won this one.

Saturday morning, we made the drive out to Boulder City to see the Dam.  Since this was my and Joe's third time to the Dam, we enjoyed people watching in the visitor center while our guests learned from their Dam guide all about the Dam on their Dam tour.  After all that learning and walking around in at least 110 degree heat, some appetizers and cold beers at the Boulder City Brewing Co. were just what the Dam doctor ordered.  Puns.

After the Dam, we relaxed at the Can pool and then had a little BBQ complete with hot dogs, turkey burgers and pasta salad.  Later on, we spent 4 hours showering and hair-spraying away the ozone layer since that's what women do...amiright?  See Joe's latest "Ron Ron Juice" post where he clearly exaggerates this even more than I already have.  As he started to explain, the burgers and dogs were just not sitting right with him that night, and so he called it an early night.  Poor guy.  But as the saying goes, when the cat's away, the mice will play, right? So Snooki, JWow and I walked the strip until we found ourselves at the cigar and hookah smoke-filled world of the Rhumbar enjoying a few delicious mojitos.  We sat there for what seemed like minutes, engaging in girl talk as girls are apt to do...makeup and periods and whatnot...you know.  When we were bored of this we found ourselves, once again, at the tattoo bar at the Mirage, which is great because they not only serve overpriced drinks, but you can get an overpriced tattoo whilst you're ordering your $16 red bull and vodka. After the tattoo bar at the Mirage, King Ink as it's formally known, we just started kinda walking. You know when Forest Gump just felt like running? Well I guess we just felt like walking... down the strip... with no destination in mind... in the opposite direction of Treasure Island of course. We ended up all the way down by New York New York and when we opened the doors to the outside world again the sun was indeed rising. We felt like vampires (not real vampires that would die from the sun... but rather Stephanie Meyer's weanie version of "vampires" from Twilight that merely "sparkle" in the sun). Either way, having to walk all the way back to TI and see the sun rise was... actually kind of cool. We passed by some morning joggers which made us feel GREAT... or not great.  I'm glad I got to see it though. I wish Joe was there to see it too, but he needed his beauty rest that night.

Just a few short hours later, we awoke from our slumber and were in need of a breakfast buffet.  After a potpourri of eggs, bacon, coffee, diet coke, pizza and mango smoothies, we decided the TI pool would be a good spot to relax.  I ended up needing something closer to my regular 10 hours of sleep that day and so I opted out of the pool and napped upstairs. Apparently I missed quite the performance from some 9 year old girls here in Vegas for a dance competition. Apparently it was as cringe-worthy as a Toddlers in Tiaras episode.  I wasn't the only one who needed an extra few hours of sleep and after the pool we all napped, except for Joe, who read Infinite Jest for the 5th time.  Our plan for that night was Fremont street and once our naps were over, we took a bus ride down to good old Fremont Street Experience.  We dined at Mickey Finz where they specialize in seafood and, like everywhere else in Vegas, giant drinks.  Next we walked across the street to the Heart Attack Grill, where we watched two lanky 20 year olds kind of destroy some quadruple bypass burgers (8000 calories, btw). We stuck to our usual at the HAG, drinks. PBR pounders for me and Joe and orange dreamsicle frozen concoctions for our guests.  We enjoyed some free concerts of 80s cover bands as we often do on Fremont and then              walked on over to the vampire-hipster paradise that is The Griffin.  And then we finally made our way back to the strip and sat on the saddle-style bar stools at Gilley's, where they have bikini bull-riding, waitresses in (cl)assless chaps and lots of line-dancing.  We enjoyed our Bud Lights and soaked in the 'Merica-ness of it all. It was here where I first heard the Toby Keith song "Red Solo Cup" that I haven't been able to get out of my head for the past week, so thanks for that, Gilley's. No seriously, though... I kind of like that song.

The next day was bittersweet.  Bitter because we had to say goodbye to our friends and a week that we had been looking forward to for months. And sweet, because let's be honest, all of our livers needed a break after this week and also because it reminded us of how great it will feel to be home again. This bittersweet farewell meant we were a little closer to making our trip back home to Philly. Great week. With great friends. And just a preview to how much fun we're going to have in a few weeks when we're back home with family and even more great friends.  Miss you guys.  See you soon : )