Good morning!! I went to Las Vegas, NV this past week. It was for a work conference, but it was still fun and more of a work vacation??

Vegas isn’t, or wasn’t, a place on my imaginary list of places I’ve ever wanted to go, but if it was, I can check it off now. I can at least say I’ve been, if nothing else.

After being there, obviously some parts… not so great and not something I want to see 😂 but they have some creativity that is just insane. Like the buildings??? Huge. Literally everything is huge and so ornate.

Here’s a breakdown of my trip!

I arrived late afternoon on Sunday with a coworker. We went by Uber from the airport to the hotel. Everything was new – new airport, experiencing Uber, going to the fanciest hotel I have ever stayed in… The Mirage.

The traffic was insane though. Formula 1 racing is in town this weekend, but the time I was there, they had roads blocked off and were in the process of blocking off more and putting up all the fencing and rafters. Plus, the Sunday we arrived the Vegas Raiders (NFL) was playing at Allegiant Arena.

Mobile check-in is like a thing of the future for me, but was super easy!! So glad I didn’t have to wait in the loooong check-in line at the main desk. I got to my second floor room though and the key card wouldn’t work… like, really? I had to walk allllllll the way back down to the front. What a time. They ended up giving me a new room, but it was an upgrade to the seventh floor. I got two beds and possibly a bigger bathroom! Lol. I was able to pick which bed I wanted to sleep in, but I picked the one furthest from the door because I had a better view of the room and outside.

After I settled in, the three of us (my manager, coworker and myself) met up and went to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen located in the hotel. We’ve had the frozen pizzas at home, but we don’t have those restaurants in Oklahoma. It was delicious!!

After that, we walked around some before getting ready for a full day of sightseeing on Monday.

Monday, we woke up and met for breakfast at a little place called Snacks on the lobby level. I got a blueberry muffin that was so soft and amazing. We checked into our conference after finding the conference center at the far end of the hotel that I might add is like a mall, casino and dining hall, PLUS THEATER… all in one. It’s literally nuts.

We went walking around and caught an inexpensive Uber – a.k.a., my manager’s husband and his boss. LOL. They joined us in Vegas and worked remotely. They also rented a car. It was really fun!! They took us around and walked with us for a while. I was able to see some cool views, felt like I was in New York at times – although I’ve never been, I’m using my imagination here – and then we went to T-Mobile Arena which is where the Vegas Golden Knights play. I was so excited! I thought about buying more merch, but settled for two shirts I found on clearance – easy to pack and also easy on my budget.

Monday evening, there was an opening reception for the conference. Walking around meeting some vendors and people. They had some small snacks and drinks available. It was pretty chill.

Tuesday was full of conference sessions. We first had a conference provided breakfast, followed by a keynote speaker. We had the sessions with lunch served around noon. Wednesday was much the same with sessions ending earlier and people packing up and heading home.

Both days, my manager and I went walking in the evening just to sight see. She’s been several times and knew of places to go.

We also got to see this giant sphere (pictures below) which we ended up driving RIGHT BY on the Uber to the airport, but this was probably my best picture captured.

Aside from this one as we left on our plane, LOL.

Thursday morning, I woke up and finished packing. Most of my things were packed on Wednesday because I knew if I waited til Thursday morning, I’d be late getting around.

It didn’t hit me how ready I was to be home until it felt like I was never going to get there. The morning dragged on and on. The morning was spent eating breakfast, waiting and catching an Uber to the airport, going through security – which was easier in this big airport compared to the small one at home… – and sitting at the terminal for a couple of hours. There was hardly any organization for people to line up. Everyone just crammed up. It was delayed for a quick and simple seatbelt repair. We had to wait in a line of airplanes later, all waiting to take off. The ride home was rough. A lot of turbulence and then we made these sharp terms which I, as a non-pilot, think were unnecessary and could have been avoided. I was shook. That was the only time, out of the four flights I’ve been on in my life, that I was scared. That didn’t really happen til we got closer to home and we were getting closer to the ground. I was like If we’re going down, like down in a bad way, wouldn’t the pilot have made an announcement like he did about the turbulence?????

I seen my city below the clouds and I was so, so happy.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my recap! I have mixed feels about Vegas, but it was definitely a great experience and would go back to see a Vegas hockey game, because hockey life and they have a great production when the team comes out onto the ice. They outdo themselves in that city. 🙂