Llama in Las Vegas

This will definitely not be one of my most popular posts, opinion-wise. I’m okay with that. 

Vegas.  

There are about 20 years between my first and last visit to Las Vegas. The first time was a trip I had won through work. I took my best friend and as a broke single mom, I was thankful and made the most of it. 

This time. This time is different. 

I accompanied my husband on a business trip for a conference. It was our anniversary week so we decided I would tag along. I envisioned hopping on the monorail, checking out the different hotels, finding cool food, and then meeting up with him in the evenings. 

It was a little different than that. 

My brain fog and fatigue (for those keeping track, those are leftovers from having covid – and no, I will not capitalize that life-changing scourge) joined me, so I was a little slow in doing much of anything. I hesitated to have conversations for fear I’d sound like I didn’t have a brain. 

So, I grabbed food from the food court. It was decent. Bobby Flay’s burgers are quite yummy! 

Unfortunately, the food court is right next to the casino and I had not realized they still allowed smoking. So, after spending a few hours there while waiting for our room to be ready, my allergies kicked in. Any other meals from the food court were eaten in my room, but the damage was already done. 

Did I mention the noise? There was no quiet place to go while we waited for our room. 

We asked. 

One person even said, “No one comes to Vegas for quiet.” She was right, I’ll give her that. 

As for going out and about, we finally went looking for dinner on the third night. Many places are closed now. The closest buffets were not budget-friendly. They had descriptions that included words like “upscale” and “gourmet.” I knew that wouldn’t fly with my meat-and-potatoes spouse. 

So we wandered through the hotel to the one connected to it. Through another smoke-filled casino and crazy-loud pub until we finally got outside. Right in front of us was Gordon Ramsey Fish & Chips.  Perfect we thought! 

It might have been great, had there been any place to sit. We consoled ourselves with thoughts of “Well, how good could the fish be in the middle of a desert?” and moved on. 

The next place was a hotdog shop. No one was inside. We took that as a bad sign and moved on.  

Finally, we came across Margaritaville. The one restaurant I went to on that first trip, so many years ago. It was perfect.

Yes, I know…this sounds very “Goldilocks.” “That restaurant was too crowded.” “That restaurant was too empty.” “This restaurant is just right.”

Well, it was! 

Walking back was a conundrum. Should we go back through all the noise and smoke or walk outside on the crowded sidewalks? 

We chose the sidewalks. They were creepy. 

While my husband, who is 6 feet tall and walks twice as fast as I do, held my hand and made a beeline for the hotel, shorter folks were approaching me and trying to give me things. I was able to avoid one, but he got uncomfortably close anyway. The other was a woman who touched my arm and offered me something for good luck.

I said no thank you, and kept walking while she kept talking. 

He never saw a thing. 

I was ready to go home. 

Now, don’t get me wrong…there were some positives: 

I got some work done without the distractions of home. (That’s wicked easy to do when you’re self-employed.) 

I had a cool view of the Mirage and Venetian as well as some nearby mountains. (and the backside of a Denny’s, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Outback – all viable dinner options had we not found Margaritaville)

I met someone from my husband’s company who is very nice (and she maybe reading this, but that’s not why I said she’s nice). 

I remembered my travel slippers and used them a lot since I spent so much time in the room. (Yes, that’s a link to Amazon. If you click it Amazon will take note. I’d appreciate it. If you actually buy a pair through clicking, they’ll even give me a little commission! There’s no obligation, of course, but I do love them!)

The best part, of course, was that I was able to spend the week of our anniversary with my husband. That, in itself, is priceless as we approach the 2nd anniversary of his heart surgery. 

Will I go back? Only if he has another conference and asks me to tag along. 

Looking forward to sharing more adventures, 

Llama