Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Wearing a dress sure gets you more attention...

So this last weekend was the 2nd Annual Girls' Weekend to Vegas. This year we stayed on the Strip at the Monte Carlo and it was totally worth it. With the number of friends and family I have in Las Vegas, I've only ever stayed on the Strip once in my life. So this was a treat. We had a lot of plans for our short weekend there - two shows, relaxation time by the pool, the Bellagio fountains, shopping at the outlets, a compulsory run to Trader Joe's, and of course... winning it big! All was accomplished except the Trader Joe's run. We were just too tired and hot by the time it came to go, so we passed. Plus, do I REALLY need dark chocolate covered soy nuts?!

So Friday, we left at about 2pm and headed down south through some beautiful green country. I love the mountains and their color in late spring/early summer. At times, I just feel like I live in the middle of the Alps. Only, if I were in the Alps, I'd be on vacation and most of the time I'm not on vacation... but this time I was! Wahoo! After a wonderfully entertaining car ride replete with gales of laughter, divulging of secrets, catching up on love lives, and singing to our hearts' content, we arrived in Vegas. We checked into the Monte Carlo with enough time to get situated and change our clothes before we headed off down Las Vegas Boulevard to the Wynn where we were scheduled to meet my friend Brooke.

The lovely little Brooke-let works at the Wynn and was able to get us tickets to Le Rêve. She's tokia nuostabi drauge. Might I just say I experienced an extraordinary amount of sensory overload that night?! Le Rêve, a gymnastics/synchronized swimming/ballet/musical/circus on steroids, was simply incredible to watch. This Cirque de Soleil type show is set in 1 million gallons of water on a stage that has many platforms, which are periodcally raised and lowered. Though never far from the action, since the show is set in a theatre in the round, I spent most of the show on the edge of my seat. Okay, so not literally, but most definitely figuratively. The athleticism and grace, which these performers possessed was second to none. I wish I could have an ounce of their strength. Dangling hundreds of feet in the air, hanging on to your partner by a slippery ankle and then gracefully falling into a stage of water, though a repetitive feat, was stunning to watch. I read somewhere that each member of the cast must become scuba certified before performing in the theater. I can definitely see why when half the dancers spent a good portion of the show with their upper bodies under water like synchronized swimmers. Simply phenomenal. True to its name (Le Rêve means The Dream en Français), Le Rêve invaded my dreams that night. Who wouldn't want to dream about having such a physique and the stamina to go along with it. Hats off to the performers!

Saturday morning we slept in, then spent some good quality time relaxing by the pool. Okay, so it was relaxing, but the temperature was sweat-inducing and nearly heat-stroke worthy. But I'm still alive. Phew. I spent most of the time fully submerged in the Lazy River. That afternoon we took an hour and speed-shopped through the Las Vegas Premium Outlets, where we picked up a few necessities. Yes, these items were necessary. That night Tony n' Tina's Wedding at The Rio was on our agenda. As Beth aptly stated, The Rio was like a brothel in disguise and actually made me understand Las Vegas's nickname "Sin City". We had fun at Tony n' Tina's Wedding, where we were among their wedding guests. After the show we headed back to the Monte Carlo, happy to be out of the trashy Rio, to spend some time in the casino. We ended the night with more gales of laughter after closely examining our pictures from the wedding. Good times.

Sunday we got up and headed home. I had such a fun time and I've decided we need to make our annual girls trip a semi-annual deal. I'm thinking we keep the Vegas tradition for the spring and in the fall it should be another new destination. Jackson Hole maybe? I've never been there. I just love these girls, so it doesn't matter the destination as long as we get to spend a good weekend together. And one of the best things about these girls? They love me in spite of:

1) the fact that everything I touch turns to gold (apparently)
2) my repetitively singing "Her name is Rio"
3) my huffiness while asking if they can move over, please
4) my incessant bed-sheet dancing escapdes

Good friends. Good times.

6 comments:

Andrea, Mrs. said...

That sounds AWESOME!!!! I'm so glad you had a blast. How many of you went? Who went?

Joe and AnnMarie said...

Emery, great blog. Most interesting, too. Can't wait to see you. I hope it is soon...reading your blog made me miss you all the more.
AnnMarie

Sherine said...

Oh my annual girl weekends are so filling!! Great idea two double the fun twice a year:)

Anonymous said...

Em, where's the explanation to the title of this post? Glad you had sooooooo much fun. As you know some of my best times have been in LV! We must go together sometime.

Unknown said...

So when you commented on my blog, I thought you were a random person, until I just went and saw that you'd posted pictures and I realized it was you! :) Sounds like you had a great weekend in Vegas.

by Kimberlee St. Clair said...

Gosh, I've been to Vegas many times...never much fun....Next time, I'm taking you with me...you know where to find all the fun! I want to do a girls weekend, can I invite myself along?