2011 catchup: #vegasbaby
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2011 catchup: #vegasbaby
Ok. So I just spent the last hour looking over my blog because I had an idea that I might have missed a few things in 2011 that I meant to post about.
Never do that, people.
Not only did I realize that I have definitely missed more than a few things – in fact, I missed some big ones (and maybe a couple of months ENTIRELY) – I also found things on my blog that I had completely forgotten. So, of course, I Evernoted them.
Did you catch that? I Evernoted my own blog.
I don’t even know what to say about that.
Still – I came away with the need to go back a catch a few things from 2011. Starting with a little trip that I was lucky enough to take at about this time last year.
To VEGAS.
I’d never been before, but had grown up hearing about it from my grandparents. They used to go every year, and I remember asking them all about it. At one point, my grandmother told me that it wasn’t a city for children. Immediately I got a mental picture of an entire city, surrounded by a wall with a guard at the entrance who would check your age before you were allowed it. I’m really not sure how old I was before I realized that I made that part up.
Needless to say, I’ve always been curious about the place. So when Paul Strack, Amy Bradley-Hole, and Bryan all were headed out to speak at a conference there, I decided to tag along.
You may remember, this happened first. And then we got on a plane and headed west.
Seriously, it was like the sky was even trying to be Vegas. Show-offy. Gorgeous. I took about a million pictures through the tiny window. I’ll spare you those.
And then, whirlwind Vegas. I think we were there about about 48 hours. And of course, there were all the things that I expected there to be that make me cynical about humanity in general – but here’s what I didn’t expect:
Lots of Las Vegas is really beautiful. Like who knew a mall could look like this?
Or that while shopping, you might stumble across an art gallery that would take your breath away? Yes, I was scared to take pictures. Click the link, they’re wonderful.
Or that you could eat dinner underneath the Eiffel Tower?
(Free artsy photography tip here. The more extreme the angle you can get, the more interesting the picture becomes. Also, diagonal lines are your friend. You’re welcome.)
If you are ever in Las Vegas, please eat here. Sit outside. Look across the street at the fountains of the Bellagio. Do it for me.
That meal, and so much of what I quickly learned about that crazy town, I owe to Amy. She lived there (and worked in the hospitality industry) and knows the city inside and out. I met Amy through twitter and her blog, and while I had known for a while that I liked her, this trip cemented it. She’s stuck with me now, largely because of what happened next. We headed to see Cirque du Soleil LOVE.
It was simply astounding. Our tickets were about $100 and worth every penny. I would do it all over again, because there is too much to see – to much to gasp at, too much going on – you can’t possibly catch it all.
Afterwards we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to leave. We hung around the little shop and amazing lobby with all its mirrored surfaces and rainbow floors until everyone else was gone.
It was at the point where Amy and I ended up lying on the floor, giggling and trying to get just one more shot of the fabulous ceiling that I knew I had a friend for life.
Look close. That’s us.
The next day, we headed home to kids and jobs and a broken wrist for Bryan. Ah, everything back to normal at the Jones house.
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Last January, Las Vegas. This January, Evernoting myself. Maybe it’s time to book a trip.
Loved this little bit of time travel!