Despite the limited vacation time due to our move and me starting a new job the month prior, we still found a way to sneak away for a long weekend to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. Since Chris had never been to Vegas (and I had no interest in returning unless he came along), we went all in. Ha! Neither of us are much on traditional gambling, but they say there is something for everyone...
The timing of our trip ended up being just a few days after the mass shooting from the Mandalay Bay so that had us a little on edge, but it ended up being quite a unique trip altogether. We stayed at the Tropicana and our first order of business after getting checked in was to find some lunch. We stumbled upon a spot called Bruxie - known for chicken and waffles. We were sold.
Our first night, we went to see magician Mat Franco from America's Got Talent. He was just as incredible as he had been on the show. I loved every second of the show. I've always been fascinated with the smooth nature of magicians and enjoyed the humor Franco brought to the stage as well.
We stopped by to watch the Bellagio fountains do their thing after the show. I enjoyed it, but I think Chris would have been fine moving on. He's a good sport though!
The next morning, we kicked off the day with treats from The Dapper Doughnut before making our way over to the Westgate. Betting on sports is much more up our alley than any of the other array of gambling so we had fun placing a few wagers and then enjoying the games. We won a couple bets, but mainly it was fun to watch all the massive screens with every game going at once.
We spent some time in the afternoon investigating and solving a crime in the CSI: The Experience tourist trap. It was a fun way to pass some time out of the hot afternoon sun, but not something we would do again. I think we envisioned it being more like an Escape Room type set up. In reality, it was probably meant for teens or families with middle school age kids. We made the best of it though.
Our main event - One, the Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil show - took place at Mandalay Bay. It was eerie walking over there from Tropicana. There was a huge memorial of flowers on one of the concrete islands in the street and the Route 91 concert signage was still in place, but police tape cordoned off much of that specific area. It was all incredibly sad.
One was a fantastic show. Chris was singing along to nearly every song. It was very high energy and quite enjoyable. The acrobatics in the cirque du soleil shows are phenomenal.
The next day we just walked around the strip and enjoyed each other's company. I managed to talk Chris into riding The Big Apple roller coaster that sits atop the New York New York Hotel & Casino. It was a rough ride, but we did it. When my family visited Vegas many years ago, my brothers rode the coaster while I stayed inside testing my luck at slot machines so I was glad to finally see what I had missed out on all those years ago. Turns out, not too much!
We were both ready to relax for a bit after all that adrenaline. As we walked by the CBS Television City store, an employee asked if we watched much TV. We answered a few questions and before you know it, we were part of a paid focus group. Men and women were separated, but we watched an episode of a new show and answered some questions before we went into rooms to provide vocal feedback. It was a really interesting experience. In the end, I don't think the TV show lasted long on the market. I wasn't surprised based on the feedback in the women's room.
We took our profit from the focus group and decided to have a little fun back at the Tropicana. Chris opted for slots while I tried my hand at roulette. Fortunately, I had a couple of nice folks at the table with me because there is A LOT more to it than picking a number. They definitely helped make it less embarrassing for me...even though I managed to double my money. Chris won a chunk as well so we decided to call it quits and grabbed some dinner before our flight back to Columbus.
We had a great time celebrating our anniversary in Vegas! Not sure it is a place we would be quick to return to for a week long vacation, but we were easily entertained for a couple of days!
Andrea :)
