VEGAS | During COVID-19

A city known for parties galore, excessive drinking and entertainment for everyone. What to do when all of these activities are shut down? Make your own party!

I think it's safe to say that I am the type of person that thrives on a good time. The experience of meeting strangers from different walks of life and making new friends with any and everyone is fun for me, and debatably annoying to absolutely anyone else. #sorrynotsorry So when it's time to celebrate my 26th Birthday, of course Vegas was my first choice.

The great thing about booking a trip to Las Vegas during this time, is how ridiculously cheap everything is. I love staying at Planet Hollywood for the simple fact that it was recently remodeled within the last few years and is centrally located in the large maze of getting too and from places. I went ahead and made a reservation with the understanding that the hotel was not opened yet (because of COVID) and worst case scenario, we would be placed in one of the Caesars sister properties. With that being said, our reservation was moved to the Paris hotel next door and was even cheaper than staying at Planet Hollywood...$129 for two nights. SAY WHAT! Because of the reservation being moved, we had access to the Caesars Palace pools which was fabulous! The Paris hotel was simple and easy to navigate. It wasn't my favorite place to stay, it was a chill alternative for the situation we were dealt.

While I enjoy partying into the wee hours of the morning with my girlfriends, it's not something Jeremy and I bond on, so this was the perfect time to go and experience Vegas from an "adulting" perspective. We took full advantage of pool time, dranks, and good food for the two nights, three days that we spent there. As much as I would have loved walking 5 hours to the Caesars pool, there is something about convenience that makes me content. The Paris pool was perfect for just that. It also made that decision of staying put easier knowing our hotel room was stocked with booze (from the Walgreens next door) to make for a cheaper day drinking experience. After having far too much fun enjoying people and the glorious affects of Vodka, we felt the need to shower up, walk around and snag some In-N-Out to sober our souls.

The older I get, the more I can appreciate a budget during the unnecessary vacations. Did we really need to go to Vegas for a Birthday that wasn't significant? Na, but I wanted to...so we did! My reasoning was that had we gone with option B, which was Colorado Wine Country, I probably would have spent more moolah there on booze, hotel, Uber and food. SAVE THAT COIN and buy you something you can use everyday.

Usually when I vacation, I have a check list of where I want to eat while I'm there. My one and only must go to place was Hash House A Go Go. This place. DAMN. SO GOOD. IF you've never had it, it's not your fault you don't know what's good. I'm here to fix that for you. You haven't had breakfast until you've had this perfect representation of a hangover cure. Jeremy had never indulged before either, so don't feel bad. I was trying to educate him beforehand of how bomb it was going to be....HE WASN'T READY. We ordered two plates to share, which is still way too much food for a party of five, but it was necessary for his first time. Blueberry Lemon Twisted Flapjacks and Andy's Sage Fried Chicken Benedict.

Even though the pictures speak for themselves, I can't help but throw my two cents in. The Benedict was enough food for two large Dwayne Johnson type dudes to split, and the pancake was quite possibly the size of my @$$. THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING. Big girl likes her squats. Not only are they both massive plates, but the flavors of both were on point. I'm not going to saying I'm the girl version of Guy Fieri, but I might as well get hired for the next episode of Triple D cause my reaction to the bites were dramatically similar.

Another enjoyable and free activity that was a required item on my list of must do's was going to the Bellagio and taking in the flower display. If you read my first blog, you know how much I loved my Grandma. This was one of her favorite things to do in Vegas. That woman had the greenest thumb I've ever seen! Although 90% of the things I enjoy doing aren't completely up Jeremy's alley, he was a good sport about it, and even enjoyed it almost as much as I did! Second thing I HAD TO do, see the pink flamingos at the Flamingo Hotel. Them birds is beautiful! Favorite animal ever and they are so sassy. They look at you like they want to peck your head off, and I'm okay with that. The Flamingo Hotel has an outdoor walking path to take you through the birds that habitat there which included not only the flamingos but also different ducks, turtles, a beautiful black swan (that also looks like it wants to peck your head off) and I'm sure other creatures but we lost interest after that.

As much fun as we had stuffing our faces like a Thanksgiving turkey and then taking in the nature-ish activities, I would have to say the best part of the trip was hitting up the Strat for my Birthday dinner. Shoutout to Jeremy for this one. I had previously visited the once known Stratosphere with my girls to ride the rides at the tippy top (which was frightening), but never did I think to go and have a meal with gorgeous views of the strip. He totally surprised me with this adventure and took me there to live lavish through good laughs and a revolving dining room. Legit, REVOLVING. The floor of the restaurant spins a full 360 degrees in 80 minutes giving you the most beautiful sunset and lookout of the old and new Las Vegas strip.

Upon arrival, our table was not ready to be seated so we enjoyed apps and some bubbles at the lounge above the restaurant. We had the best of time sitting up there and taking it all in. After our dinner, we both said, I wish we wouldn't have done dinner and just stayed up top enjoying the happy hour. While the experience of the dinner was fantastic, and I can cross a rotating restaurant off my bucket list, if I were you and didn't have a special occasion, I would plan on visiting their happy hour. The specials were well priced and the options were a good pairing with the drinks offered.

Even though most of the Las Vegas activities we all know and love were shut down, the intimate settings you can take in were well worth the trip. We had a blast, lived it up and enjoyed each others company. I never thought Vegas would be one of the places I could enjoy with a significant other without getting completely obliterated, but yet again, 2020 is full of surprises. I guess I'm growing up!

DON’T FORGET

"Live through love, learn through patience, and accept kindness with gratitude"

:Liv