After what has seemed like a very long time since I was last traveling, my calendar is looking pretty awesome coming up over the next few months.
But, before we get to that, the first trip planned is Vegas!
Travel Plans: Vegas, baby. Vegas!
Since Vegas is so crazy cheap, I scored a sick deal using my travel tips (guide coming soon!), I decided to extend my time there.
The plan is really two fold. The first part is going to be devoted to a bit of exploring, taking photos, and relaxing.
I’ve got a car rental the first few days to drive out to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, two places I have been dying to see forever.
I am ignoring the obvious and oh so trodden path to the Grand Canyon, instead, hitting up Zion which is actually less visited and closer so seems pretty obvious to me.
The second part of the trip my friends are arriving.
We’ll be doing Thanksgiving dinner in the New York, New York Casino (just how the Pilgrims had imagined) and then doing what people in Vegas do: drink, buffet, drink, gamble, drink, dance, pass out, wash, repeat.
Hence my plan to do all that important stuff early in the week.
My Best Night in Vegas
It’s funny when people normally think of Vegas it’s all about the slots, the clubs, the dolla dolla bills. And when I was there last month, there was certainly plenty of that.
But, there was a lot of downtime too.
We did clubs, and fancy dinners, and gambling till 4 am.
My favorite night, however, was probably our most laid back.
Enter the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Located just off The Strip, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is well worth the visit. We loved hanging out in the casino since they had a ton of really cool memorabilia scattered around.
My UK based friends loved seeing Johnny Cash’s Guitar, Michael Jackson’s Jacket and a display from Guns and Roses, taking me back to my junior high school days.
Jenny McCarthy’s Dirty, Sexy, Funny
The real reason we were at the Hard Rock was to see a two night comedy show that was being put on by Jenny McCarthy called Dirty, Sexy, Funny.
We didn’t really know what to expect going into it, but I have to tell you the show was awesome.
Jenny was really funny, at the start of each new segment she showed a short 2-3 minute video that was more like a comedy sketch, and highly entertaining.
She captured a ton of totally true jokes about dating, I loved her online dating sketch, it was hilarious.
And, my Boston fan girl swooned when she pointed out that her boyfriend (always a New Kid in my heart) was sitting about 3 rows in front of me.
Being a woman powered show, the ladies were awesome.
Many of the typical topics were covered like men, dating, and marriage, but each comedienne managed to spin her jokes in totally different ways.
It was also cool that the comediennes were so different. Each had her own delivery and style of joke, I really enjoyed each one.
I’ve been to a bunch of comedy shows in New York City and always enjoy the experience, and this show certainly rivaled the best I’ve seen there. My friends and I were still cracking a bunch of the jokes at the end of our trip a few days later.
The venue for the show, called Vinyl was nice too. It was small and cozy, so it provided a much more intimate feel and the crowd had plenty of chances to interact with the comediennes, which is one of my favorite part of comedy shows.
These ladies did not hold back from trading barbs with the crowd, the quick wit was hilarious.
Hard Rock Hotel’s Pink Taco
After the show we headed just a few feet away over to Pink Taco.
If you haven’t heard of Pink Taco, you need to visit, since in my book it’s a Las Vegas institution. The venue is chill and laid back but with great Mexican style food.
Our group was all about the buckets of beer to start and then we got a mix of appetizers to share and some of the larger entrees like the taquitos, fajitas and the famous pink tacos (which were really, really good).
The restaurant was the perfect spot to end after the comedy show. We spent at least an hour and a half just hanging out, repeating our favorite jokes and enjoying the food and atmosphere.
Next time you’re in Las Vegas, absolutely spend some time at the Hard Rock Hotel. I plan on hitting the pool up on my next trip, since it is supposed to be really amazing.
I’ve also heard that Jenny McCarthy is trying to bring Dirty, Sexy, Funny to New York. Hopefully it’s true, since I’d totally go and check it out there as well.
What are some of your favorite unexpected nights on vacacation?
Im heading to Vegas myself soon. Great info
Gotta love the girls trips! I’m going to save this for the next time our group want to head out for a ladies vacation, thanks 🙂