I Heart Las Vegas #VegasStrong

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Las Vegas shooting, and I reflected in this Instagram post a while back how painful it's been seeing places that mean so much to me struck by tragic events. I often see online debates about whether to visit in the wake of tragedy, but I believe that it's often after these events that it's the best time to visit. Not only for tightened security, but also to stand in support and solidarity. 

Earlier this year when Mr. Lovebird and I found out Life is Beautiful would fall on my birthday we decided to return to Las Vegas for the 11th time, and it went from being a small birthday celebration to a larger family and friends celebration with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and a few other couples. 

Here's how I witnessed #VegasStrong in action. 

Trip Recap: Lovebirds in Las Vegas x10

I've been back from Vegas for 3 days, and I'm still feeling wimbled and squirreled, but it's well worth it.

Our 10th trip to Las Vegas was AMAZING!

I've broken it down by day . . .

Saturday

First, I have to gush about how much I adore Virgin Airlines - they have *the* best on time performance of any airline I've ever been on! (check out this NYT article about their business model) 

We went straight from the airport to In-N-Out Burger then dropped our luggage at our hotel, Hampton Inn, just across the street. We were assured we could come back late and our upgrade to a suite would be ready (more on that later . . .).

We were then off to the Life is Beautiful Festival!  

It was the inaugural festival, and it was superb - from the vibe of the crowd, the helpful staff, grounds and overall talent and diversity of the acts chosen it's definitely a festival I'd want to go to again. 

Loved the vintage vibe of Downtown Vegas!

Mural by Zio Ziegler

ZZ Ward

The antenna lit up with a huge gas flame suddenly and scared me SO badly after I took the picture on the right!

Eery effect of panoramic camera

Here's my mini-montage of Alabama Shakes, Capital Cities (my favorite group there!) and Kings of Leon:

We also saw Youngblood Hawke, Imagine Dragons, Childish Gambino and Joey Bada$$.

We crashed haaaard when we got back!

Sunday

Super late check-out then off to brunch at Hash House a Go Go. Of course we got the Man vs. Food special again (glorified fried chicken, biscuits and gravy), but this time we split it:

After we thought of doing a couples spa treatment and stopped by a shady looking "massage parlor" vs. the high prices of the resorts and opted instead for just a off-strip mani/pedi for Mr. Lovebird, since he didn't have time for one before we left.

We checked into Red Rock Resort and Casino before Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson One and it was such a relief to just put our feet up for a bit and enjoy our room.

Also, between Saturday and Sunday the temperature dropped considerably and the wind picked up so unfortunately, we weren't able to make it to the pool but at least it was nice to look at!

We headed out a bit early to get to Mandalay Bay for the Cirque show and good thing we did because there were great photo opportunities in the lobby, and we got to pick up a few things at the gift stop including this cute doll for Nia (she LOVES it and smiled so big when we gave it to her!).

Now about the show . . .

I had read Trip Advisor reviews on the show and a couple people who saw it told me their thoughts and based on some of the points the reviews raised and the fact that I've seen a couple Cirque Shows already I give the show 4 out of 5 stars. Out of this show, O (my first Cirque show) and Mystere, Mystere is mine and Mr. Lovebird's all-time favorite. I'm thinking of seeing Ka next time and was so sad to hear the recent news about the only Cirque death which happened at that show.

What was great:

• The choice of songs and treatment of songs - with so many songs to choose from I wondered which would be selected; pretty much all my faves especially my all time fave Human Nature, which I love how they remixed it (I gotta find a way to get it!). I was teased when they did the intro to Will You Be There, but failed to play the entire song. Boooo! I also liked how they broke apart aspects of songs in that way, isolated lyrics without the music to add to the theatrics of the show. It was hard not to get emotional!

• The storyline - I saw some reviewers critique the storyline, but I think it was a good choice following young people on their "MJ quest"

• The performers - The cast was very enthusiastic and on point; their moves were modern incorporating the choreography MJ's known for 

• The venue - Like most Cirque Shows, the venue had a great view from any angle, but this theater wasn't as large as O and we liked the more intimate feel; we were seated on the floor about 20 rows back from the stage; the acoustics were amazing and the temperature comfortable; there were speakers on the back of the seat in front of you, but I didn't hear anything come out of them

• The finale - EPIC (complete sensory overload, but I loved it!)

 What could be improved:

• Incorporate more amazing feats - there was lots of jumping on trampolines and juggling, but I wanted more signature Cirque incorporated into the show which I think they could've done; when I saw the same hat jugglers reappear I sighed, "Again?!" 

I saw a few reviews raise the point that the show wasn't a Cirque show but instead a Michael Jackson themed Cirque show. Ummmmm, are they serious? It's called Michael Jackson One - what do you expect?! Also, someone said they wished Jackson 5 was included and yes, it actually was and just enough IMO. Finally, I agree with one reviewer who wanted to get up and dance: I did too and danced as much as I could in my seat without embarrassing Mr. Lovebird! 

Monday 

We woke up eager to hike, but the strong winds and cold temperatures kept us from going and instead we just ate breakfast on-site at Red Rock before checking out. They have a 10a.m. check-out normally (so early!), but we got it extended to 11a.m. and got to enjoy a bubble bath!

That afternoon we went to see Gravity in IMAX 3D at the Palms Casino. We had last seenThe Dark Knight  there at a 2a.m. showing (I fell asleep O_o) so an afternoon show was much better. 

That movie . . . WOW! One of the best I've seen all year, and it's stayed on my mind since. Mr. Lovebird makes fun of me when I talk about my childhood obsession with space travel (I adored the movie SpaceCamp and poured over the pamphlets for actual space camp as a 5th grader), but this movie reminded me why I loved anything space-related as a kid. Of course being the nerd that I am afterwards I had to immediately look up inaccuracies of the movie and was pleased to see while there were inaccuracies the pros say it was well done. Annnnd I have to report that Mr. Clooney still looked good even in a space suit!
 

After our movie we checked into our last hotel - Elara on the strip. It was a challenge figuring out parking due to lack of signage and the entrance is on the 3rd floor of the Miracle Mile shopping center parking lot (for future reference!). This was another free room via travel points and the customer service, cleanliness, style and view of our room on the 27th floor was great - we'd definitely consider staying here again!

Next it was time for dinner. . .

We went to  our favorite Vegas restaurant: Lotus of Siam. We're loyal to their crispy garlic wings and Tom Yum soup, but per Yelp reviews we also added an appetizer and main: nam kao tod (a fried, crispy rice with lime and herbs) and seafood drunken noodles. I didn't try Mr. Lovebird's drunken noodles but stuck with my Tom Yum that lit me on fire in a good way!

Tuesday

There just wasn't enough time and space in our bellies to eat at all the places we wanted so we just grabbed a bite at a cafe and took a short nap before returning our rental car and flying out. Thankfully the wind died down, and we had another on time flight and were back in NYC and in bed by midnight! 

Oh and about the Hampton Inn issue, it turned into a mini-squeaky wheel situation. I tweeted them about giving up our room then having to wait for the supposedly last room available to be cleaned for us at nearly 1a.m. and they responded along with the manager to Mr. Lovebird separately to apologize and we're awaiting the rewards points we used for the room to show back up on his statement . . . *UPDATE: the points were successfully returned to his account!*

Anyway, I'm still getting over jet lag and catching up on everything, but the morning after we returned I took that state personality test that I've seen floating around social media and guess what result I got?

Nevada.

Guess I'll be back Las Vegas!

Wordless Wednesday Pt. 2: Las Vegas x10 Edition

Vegas x10

Two days. That's what separates me and Mr. Lovebird from our 10th trip to Las Vegas.

Yep, 10 trips!

If you're a regular reader, you know how passionate we are about Vegas and compared to our past 9 trips this trip is going to be quite different. Like I've said before, what I LOVE about Vegas is that the city changes so constantly that you will never run out of things to do and you can create a completely different experience each time. 

So what are we doing differently this trip? Here's a preview . . .

Red Rock Resort & Casino - waaaay off-strip

Staying in 3 different hotels (and all for free!) - sounds crazy, I know, but between Mr. Lovebirds' hotel rewards from his frequent business trips and comps from our last visit to Las Vegas we're going to be shuffling around a bit; I think it's going to make for a unique experience as we'll get to enjoy the best of both worlds: being both on and off the strip

{via}

Attending the inaugural Life is Beautiful Festival - we scoured the Vegas events calendar a while back and saw this music, art and food festival happening this weekend; initially we weren't going to go as only 2-day tickets were available which was more than we'd want to commit to. The first day line-up was more appealing to us anyway so we put it on the back burner. Once I saw on Twitter they opened up limited single day tickets we jumped on them! The festival takes place in Downtown Vegas, where we were going to spend our first day anyway so it works out

{via}

Seeing Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson One - It's been many years since we've seen a Cirque show in Vegas and we've heard such great reviews about this one; as huge MJ fans I know it's going to take everything in me not to hop out of my seat and start embarrassing myself dancing

Not climbing these, but they're pretty!

Hiking - I've never done it, but Mr. Lovebird did on his Vegas trip with his BFF a couple years ago and said it's a must; we'll be trekking across the Red Rocks very early so we don't pass out from the heat


Then of course are the regular things we do . . .

We love to eat in Vegas!

• Renting a car - hands down the best way to experience Vegas! 

• Eating at In-N-Out Burger, Lotus of Siam, Ellis Island (the sourdough bread and root beer brewed on-site is AMAZING) and Hash House a Go Go

• Swimming - the Vegas temps are in the 80s, and I totally lusted after Red Rock's pool last year as a Blogalicious conference attendee (we stayed off-site) and can't wait to indulge!

• Checking out Bellagio's seasonal display (Mr. Lovebird rolls his eyes at this but indulges me anyway!)

• Late night bowling - we bowled at Red Rock last year during Blogalicious and can't wait to check it out again! In years past we've gone to Orleans

(And to answer the frequent question I keep getting: nope, Lil Lovebird is not coming along!)

Do you have a favorite travel destination you keep returning to? Tell me about it!

How the Love Birds Do Vegas and Blogalicious - Pt. 4

Missed the previous recaps? Check out Pt. 1, Pt 2 and Pt 3.

Yes, this is the final installment on Blogalicious! There was so much between attending the conference and enjoying Las Vegas as a vacation that I wanted to share as much as possible with my readers. If you haven't noticed I'm very passionate about the conference as well as the city of Las Vegas!

First, I wanted to share more about the Hard Rock Hotel. We were given a free stay there and really enjoyed it - Mr. Love Bird stayed there last year when he went to Vegas with his BFF, and he kept raving about it. The bed was super comfy! Thank you Hard Rock for the awesome room:


A strange incident happened in the elevator when we saw an empty glass and white powder nearby. Suspect. A guy was in the elevator and heard me comment to Mr. Love Bird about it and he exclaimed, "What I wouldn't give for coke right about now!" Oooookkkk.

One aspect of the Hard Rock Hotel I've always liked is the memorabilia they have, rock and roll decor as well as the awesome music they always have playing the background. 

This huge photo of Dave Navarro was in the ladies bathroom

Loved the cymbals as sconces in the hallways and the Rolling Stones photo in our room

Another strange incident happened at the check-in desk where a guy was so gone he toppled over trying to reach his ID he dropped while standing in line. There were a few guys standing in front of him and neither them nor the attendant behind the desk noticed. It was the most bizarre thing! He just slowly crumpled to the ground, managed to get his ID, stand up and conduct whatever business he had to do then keep going.

It always seems like Mr. Love Bird and I witness things like that wherever we go!

Back to the conference, I think taking a more laid back approach vs. trying to cram everything in made the experience much more enjoyable for me. A few key snippets I don't want to forget:

• I really appreciated Catherine of Her Bad Mother and Babble Editor pointing out during the Community Jam Session that not everyone wants to be a professional blogger - I've noticed a huge trend with many making the assumption that all bloggers are aspiring to do it professionally, and that all bloggers are into monetization and turning their blog into a business. So glad this was recognized!

• If you do want to go the route of monetization, I appreciated Mario Armstrong's point to think of yourself as a media company

• It's making me think of writing a much bigger blog post, but I appreciate McDonald's presence there to continue to discuss their push on under 400 calorie items - so many bloggers get upset with some of the bigger brands' presence at conferences and partnerships with bloggers, but as someone coming with experience in media and marketing, there's nothing wrong with a brand working to change its image and improve; kudos to McDonald's for working on this!

• I was especially struck by seeing so many middle-aged and older black bloggers at the conference. This made for such a rich experience and perspective on how I see myself blogging long term. I really enjoyed my conversations with older bloggers!

• As with any conference it definitely is what you make it, but I think having an awesome platform and team to start with definitely makes it easier. I want to thank Justice Fergie and her team for such an awesome time! 

• A word about swag: it definitely wasn't the focus. There were more health and beauty products with a few larger giveaways/contests for cash, gift cards, electronics throughout. I really liked not having the focus be on swag! I think post-conference everyone was most excited about the Nature Made gummy vitamins. Mr. Love Bird and I can't stop eating them! We also like our Crest 3D White Strips, and I'm loving my Eucerin lotion for extra-dry skin especially now that fall is here and my skin is not adjusting well.

Here are a few pictures from the official photo album of the conference. Thank you to Eric Payne Photography for capturing these moments!

Rocking my sister's flower at tea and probably saying something profound ;-)

Super focused at Mario's talk that spilled out onto the terrace

Getting my buffet on!

Alas, evidence of my failed attempts at hula hoop exist

Was there anything I didn't cover that you want to hear more about or any questions? Let me know in the comments below and hope to see some of my readers next year at Blogalicious!
 

How the Love Birds Do Vegas and Blogalicious - Pt. 3

Missed the previous recaps? Check out Pt. 1 and Pt 2.

Sunday, September 30

Mr. Love Bird and I woke up early with plans to get in line at the Tix4Tonight booth at Bill's Gambling Hall so we could score tickets for a Cirque Du Soleil show. We got there only to find out that Ka, the show we wanted to see, was off that night and we considered the Beatles show Love, but they only had single seats for about $130 each (CRAZY!). Instead we opted to get tickets for the Mob Attraction at the Tropicana on recommendation of the Trip Advisor trip report I mentioned in my how to do Vegas post. (Mr. Love Bird things I'm crazy, but in the car leaving Bill's I totally saw Channing Tatum running shirtless on the strip with his wife. I checked his Twitter to see if indeed he was in Vegas at the time but didn't see any recent updates. Perhaps it was just leftover fantasies after seeing Magic Mike!)

Since we spent so long in line we I checked the conference schedule and I was going to miss the Eucerin sponsored breakfast with dermatologist Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton (I later heard that it was amazing so I'm bummed I missed it). I arrived and milled around for a bit chatting with fellow attendees then attended Driving Traffic to Your Site with Tonya R. Taylor. 

Just Tonya's presentation and Mario Armstrong's alone were well worth the trip to Blogalicious let alone all the other awesome aspects of the conference! Tonya packed in so much useful information. At first it was a bit overwhelming as she was fast-paced, but she was great about answering questions and well-organized. My fingers were flying on my SIII capturing notes and pictures of key slides in Evernote (I adore that app!). She took us through 3 key goals of how to get found, get leads and get sales (not necessarily $ but other forms of value). She also had a blogger in the audience who had been working with her for a year who I spoke with after who gave a glowing testimonial of Tonya's services and how she had helped her grow her blog.  I stopped Tonya afterwards to tell her how amazing her presentation was. It's definitely worth checking out her site!

Harriette Cole gives closing remarks {Image Credit: Eric Payne Photography}

To close out Blogalicious we went to lunch where Harriette Cole gave closing remarks: TMI? Connecting and Being Authentic Without Oversharing. This really resonated with me as I've now started using Instagram having moved from being primarily a Facebook user, then a heavy Twitter user. I get frustrated seeing others abuse social media by overposting and I often wonder if I'm sharing too much. Harriette joked about those people who status update everything their child does. I definitely try not to be one of those people!

The most important take-away Harriette made was 4 key questions she told us to ask before we post anything to social media:

1. Is it true?
2. Is it kind?
3. Is it timely?
4. Is it necessary?

That's a wrap!

With the awkward Sunday flight times available out of Vegas, I noticed the audience had thinned out significantly. I took some time to chat with a few bloggers I hadn't had the chance to meet and speak to Harriette Cole as well. I made sure to thank Justice Fergie for such a wonderful conference and while she and her team didn't disclose yet where Blogalicious 2013 will be, it doesn't even matter cause I will be there regardless of where it is!

Our view from our table on the terrace at Yard House

Mr. Love Bird and I finally reunited after dealing with spotty cell phone service at Red Rock and had a comped pre-dinner snack at Yard House. It was a great way to decompress and talk about how we wanted to spend the rest of our time in Vegas before our Monday night flight back to NYC.  



We over-indulged a bit and ordered jambalaya, lobster, crab and artichoke seafood dip and topped it off with macadamia nut cheesecake with raspberry and caramel sauce. It was delicious and we were a little stuffed afterwards!
 

Next, we made our way to the strip to check out the Mob Attraction at Tropicana. Mr. Love Bird hadn't really spent a lot of time at that end of the strip - I had when I went to Vegas one year for my birthday with my girlfriend and we stayed at the Excalibur (btw I wouldn't recommend staying there, but it was free so hey!). Tropicana's had a serious upgrade since I was there and we enjoyed walking around the property for a bit. . .

The impressive registration desk

At last we got to the Mob Attraction. Apparently they said it only takes 90 minutes to go through. Not for history nerds like Mr. Love Bird and me! We spent 2 hours there and would've spent more but as it was nearing closing time they practically had to kick us out. It was an interactive experience and a museum all in one and I think that format made it such a great attraction! 

This scene had holographic actors!

I was surprised so many artifacts had been saved!

This rotunda had rooms upon rooms of information - I LOVED it!

There were recreated rooms using the gangsters' original furniture and even home movies

Loved these oversized portraits

Everything was such high quality and so well done - it kinda reminded me of Universal Studios. After getting through the improv with the actors (we were given assignments and told to pose against green screens with various scenarios told to us), there were documentaries to watch, artifacts to look at and more.  

One more funny thing to share . . . We couldn't help but purchase the silly pictures of us against the green screen. 

When the police officer pulled up the picture of me with the shawl over my head he nearly broke character cause we were all laughing so hard. I didn't understand the context of the picture before I posed. They told me we had just got off the boat at Ellis Island (there was an actual boat!), so I wrapped my pashmina around my head thinking back to high school documentaries I had to watch on immigration! Silly me!

Anyway, I highly recommend the Mob Attraction and would go back to spend even more time there. It wasn't crowded when we went, and it felt like we had the place to ourselves. I had a feeling the staff thought we were strange and probably watching us on the surveillance cameras saying, "Who are these dorks?!," but I didn't care. I was enthralled! (Mr. Love Bird and I even watched Casino when we returned home so we could identify who was who based on what we saw at the Mob Attraction. Did I mention we are nerds???)

New York, New York across from Tropicana

Once we were done at Tropicana we walked across to check out Excalibur (the castle) and Luxor (the pyramid). Mr. Love Bird was as skeeved out by Excalibur as I had been when I stayed there years ago and found the Luxor dizzying inside. Looking up kinda makes you nauseous, but it really is one of the coolest structures on the strip!

By the time we got back to the hotel Mr. Love Bird was exhausted and fell asleep way too early - well in terms of Vegas time, but I finally prompted him to get up and get a late night snack with me at In-N-Out Burger right before they closed at 1a.m. (and yes, Shake Shack is better).

From there we hung out on the strip finally made it back to the hotel so we could rest up and enjoy our last day in Vegas . . .

Monday, October 1 - Tuesday, October 2

First thing Monday we had important business to attend to . . .

A breakfast buffet!  

At least one buffet is a must while in Vegas and we went a bit off-strip to the Gold Coast's buffet. We ate there on a previous trip, and it didn't disappoint. I loved my veggie omelet! We rested for an hour then spent about 30 minutes at the pool - it was SO hot, but the pool is something I usually miss out on during my Vegas trips so it was on my must-list this time!

Next, we had to check out and mail my swag box home. Thank goodness for flat-rate shipping at the post office. I was able to fit everything in one box for only $15 and it arrived super fast in only 2 days!

Our flight was at 8:30p.m. and we had a rental car to return of course, but there was a huge hiccup: I discovered the day before that my driver's license had gone missing. I had it last at Lavo Friday night so I called back there and other places I remember showing it, but could not locate it. It was odd because the pocket of my camera bag still had all the contents there but that (cash, bluetooth and house keys). As a result I called the airport to see what I'd need to do and they said we'd have to get to the airport extra early so I could cleared for security. Thankfully because it was a domestic flight it wouldn't be too hard to get through.

Mr. Love Bird was kinda bummed about having to cut our visit at the Hard Rock short (he was having a good run at blackjack!), but better safe than sorry and we made our way to the airport. 

I couldn't find the farewell sign in the Virgin terminal, but I think this was a ploy to make us stay!

The good thing about making it to the airport so early is that there were lots of open upgradeable seats available. Mr. Love Bird turned on his charm with the ticketing agent and scored us FREE extra leg-room seats for the SFO>JFK leg of our trip. YES! 

Next, was the security challenge. Before we left for Vegas I swapped some accessories with my sister Ariane and asked her to bring my BJs ID she had borrowed. Thank God I did that because it was the only picture ID I had on me and it got me through security! 

With the extra time, we relaxed, had dinner and then took off. I slept most of the way from SFO>JFK and was so thankful for the extra room although it was more for Mr. Love Bird who's 6'8."

One last word about Virgin - they were not playing with boarding times! Everything was super on time and each leg of the flight was a breeze. We'll definitely be flying again!

We got in Tuesday morning and my sister-in-law Nnenna arrived with Nia to pick us up. Nia was under the weather I think with her molars. She wasn't overly excited to see us but said, "I'm sick mommy. I need medicine," and it broke my heart. I squeezed her extra tightly and we made our way home.

Once we got in we had a super long family nap! Overall it was one of the best trips this year, and we Love Birds were happy to be reunited at last. 

Next up, final thoughts on what I learned, tips/tricks and a few more pics to share . . .