Taking on New Adventures

We needed a trip to Las Vegas to keep up with our Tier Credits at MGM. Plus, one of our favorite times to be out there was in December of 2019. We loved all the holiday decorations at the casinos and wanted to see what they had this past Christmas.

We booked a room at the Aria, since the rates were good and it’s our favorite place to stay there, and started planning the trip. In true “Chuck and Kay” fashion, nothing works out the way we planned. Due to some work trips he had to make, plus some uncertainty on one for me, we waited pretty late to book our flights. He ended up needing to come from a work trip in Boston while I found a flight that got in the night before our hotel stay was to start at a much cheaper rate.

Off to more planning I went. I remembered an email I got the week prior advertising a $79 room at the Cosmopolitan during the week. This was ideal since I was flying in late Wednesday night and had to work on Thursday. The Cosmo is right next door to the Aria and would be easy to walk between the two during downtime on my workday. All booked up, Chuck and I made a few dinner reservations ahead of the trip and got to packing.

The day I was supposed to fly out, New Orleans was getting its second major weather event of the year. No, it wasn’t a hurricane, but we were in the path of some pretty severe storms that would eventually lead to a tornado. It was scary for a few hours, but fortunately we had no damage at our place and the storms cleared out right before I needed to leave for the airport.

I made it to the airport as the wind and rain subsided, and our flight to Salt Lake City was on time. After a short layover and some time spent de-icing the plane, we were off to Vegas, landing a little after midnight.

Because it was so late, I was able to get my bag and into a cab pretty quickly. Arriving at the Cosmopolitan, I had a short wait to check in and then was given the key to my room. I really was shocked when I walked in. They had upgraded me to a beautiful corner suite, with balcony views of the Bellagio (and fountains) as well as the Strip! It was awesome! And I was so disappointed I’d only be in my room for less than 12 hours. Ha

But I was able to do a couple of work calls on Thursday morning from the room and take some beautiful photos from the very chilly outdoor space before heading to the Aria, where we’d be staying the rest of our trip.

I lucked out with an early check in at the Aria (shout out to my Gold status at MGM) and made my way to the 32nd floor and a room with a great view of the mountains. We are not “Strip view” people. We really love the peaceful views of the mountains. And this room was great for that!

After another quick work meeting, I headed downstairs to Javier’s. We were recommended this place years ago, but it was under renovation one time while the other times we tried to go, just didn’t work out. But I cozied up to the bar, ordered a margarita and a small appetizer, and enjoyed my chips and salsa. I definitely want to go back for a full meal sometime in the future.

After lunch, I followed the sounds of a live singer to the lobby bar. I grabbed a seat, drank a couple of glasses of Veuve and enjoyed one of the more interesting and talented musicians I’ve heard in a while. Shame on me for not getting his name but I hope to find him again. His best song was a rendition of Incubus’ “Wish You Were Here”. It was amazing and also the reason for my second glass.

I walked around some, but it was really cold out so tried to stay inside the casinos and hotels as much as possible. I knew I had an early call on Friday so ended the day with some pizza from Moneyline and watching football in the room.

Friday morning, I walked to grab some coffee and a pastry from the Patisserie downstairs and did a few emails and calls from the room. I did some walking around the hotel and at Park MGM next door to get in some steps and also grabbed a quick bite at Eataly for lunch.

Chuck landed around 1pm and we met up when he got to the hotel. After he unpacked and did a little work, we made our way to the bar downstairs for a cocktail and to catch up. He was finally in Vegas and our pre-Christmas vacation was in full swing!!

More to come on how we spent the rest of our weekend, which, as always, had some adventure, a lot of walking and great food.