A few years ago, I met some old friends up in Vegas. It was a great time and I really enjoyed it. This year, we did the same. Chris hit me up earlier in the year and gave me the details. I booked the hotel and spent the next 8 months looking forward to the trip.
Weds, the 14th, I got up early and headed in the wrong direction. I had to contact the Post Office for a package that was marked as delivered but not at my door 3 mins later when I checked. I dropped off a shirt to get cleaned along the way, got the Post Office sorted out, and got on the road. The overall trip was quite pleasant. It was the first one in the newer Accord and the car rides and feels great. I took my time on the way up and stopped for a bit in Kingman to grab some food and stretch. I finished the drive into Vegas but still had a lot to do.
The first stop was The Joint. I found a great chiropractor, but she moved. She shared the clinic that she was moving too and told me to hit it up if I was ever in town. I took her up and got my back put in place. I then headed the long way to the hotel. I made a number of stops along the way to do a little shopping and look for a new backpack. I lazily made my way to the hotel and got checked in. I was put directly across from the room that I was in last time. I got everything out of the car but was hungry. I drove over to Ondori, got dinner, bet $80 at The Orleans, and then drove back to the room. I got everything unpacked, got caught up on things, and got to bed.
I woke up Thursday and got aligned with the gang. They had landed and were grabbing something to eat at the airport. Chris said he would let me know when they were over. I had a lazy morning and just relaxed. I had a feeling that everyone was here and headed down to the lobby. They were here but the rooms were not ready. They all brought their stuff to mine and we caught up for a few hours. They then got checked in and got squared away. We agreed to meet at my place and grab Ondori for dinner. It was amazing and we ordered way more than we should have. We spent a while just enjoying the meal before heading out. The gang wanted snacks, so we hit the gas station and loaded up. We all hung out at my place for a little while longer eating cookies and ice cream. We called it a night around 8:30. They were beat and I was in a food coma. I stayed up a little while longer and then got to sleep around 10:30.
Friday was pretty nice. I got up early but had some time to lounge around a bit. We all rallied at my place and then headed to Ameribrunch Cafe. We ate there last time and it was amazing. We drove over and got a nice meal after a small wait. The food was absolutely amazing and we all really enjoyed it. From there, we hit up the Punk Rock Museum to check out the Motorhead exhibit. It was cool to check out, but the parking was a real bitch. After about an hour, we headed back to the hotel to get some time to chill. I decided to head out for some additional shopping and found some Magic stuff that I needed. We had tickets to Jay and Silent Bob but needed to charge up ahead of time. We hit up Le Thai Two and it was amazing. Fantastic food, great cocktails, and a great ambiance. We then headed over to the show. It was lackluster at best. They arrived late and the stories were not great. We saw it through until they wrapped around midnight. We headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
Saturday got us off to a late start. We got to AmeriBrunch again but the wait was pretty long. We decided to walk Freemont Street again. I broke off to get some pressed pennies for my nieces and then looped back with the gang. We got a huge meal and I could not finish mine. The third pancake was boxed up for breakfast the next day. We then hit Area 15 and got a couple of drinks and played games in the arcade. It was great and I was able to score extras of the metal cups that they use. We decided to head back to the hotel and grab a few hours of downtime. Just before the hotel, I hit something in the road that cut my tire open. I got the spare on (Thanks Dave!) and got into my room. I found a Discount Tire that could take care of things quickly and got back to the hotel. I got a power nap in that made me feel like I transcended time. We headed over to the Cornerstone Steakhouse for dinner. Good News: The food was great and we had a good time. Bad News: The linked PDF is 9 years old and the prices are 30%-40% lower than they are now. Either way, we got fed and headed over to see Penn and Teller. That show was amazing and I am glad I got to see it. We headed back to the hotel again for the final time. I was staying on another one, but it was their last night. I said goodbye to everyone and headed up to grab some sleep.
Sunday was pretty quiet. I slept in got some rest that I wanted. I ate my leftover pancake and decided to make a run of things. I plotted out a clockwise loop that would take a couple of hours to complete. I went all over looking for some additional Magic stuff at a few stores. I made my loop and it was nice to be out and be driving. I decided to grab something to eat at Sapporo. The food was great but I ended on a plate that I was really not into. I stopped at the store on the way back and grabbed a few last minute things. I then headed back to the hotel to close out the day. I had a few beers, watched some videos, got everything packed, worked on the site, and relaxed. I ended up calling it an early night so I could grab some additional rest.
Monday was pretty straightforward. I was up early but fell back asleep until the alarm went off. I got things down, got checked out, and was on the road at 9:15. I stopped for Subway in Kingman and then finished the ride back to Phoenix. Since I was on the west side anyways, I did make a few shopping stops. I also grabbed my dry cleaning and got things sorted out with the Post Office. Once back at the house, I got unpacked, did laundry, and did the dreaded work catchup before heading to bed.
The weekend meant a lot to me. I saw great friends and made new memories. We hit up places we’ve enjoyed together before and found new ones. I found some cool stuff that I was looking for and picked it up. I was able to wind down and relax which felt great. We did this trip 2 years ago, I hope it is no longer than that before we are here again.
