"The Vegas"

For some reason, 2009 has turned out to be the year of "The Vegas." Since January, I have been to Las Vegas three times. It's a little ridiculous, but there was always justification for going, of course! The first trip I made this year was with my friends Jocelyn, Natalie, and Holly. Jocelyn is from Tulsa, OK and we knew each other through a mutual friend. She got in touch with me via the facebook and it's been really nice to have another southern friend out in LA. Natalie and Holly are also from Tulsa, however, we didn't know Natalie until we got to Los Angeles. Holly currently lives in Tulsa, but lived in LA to go to school at FIDM. 

From left to right: Me, Holly, Jocelyn and Natalie. In total it only cost us $80 to stay there, and then I won $200 at the craps tables...Success!

My second trip to Vegas came about when my room-mate Jennifer had a trip planned to meet her best friends from high school. I wasn't planning on going, but it was going to be Easter weekend and I really didn't want to be alone! We went with her friends Lauren and Amanda. Amanda lives in LA as well, so the three of us drove down on Friday morning and met Lauren who flew in from Washington, D.C. I was the only one who had ever been before so I was the official "tour guide" of the weekend. We stayed at Planet Hollywood and it was really nice! Jennifer and I also met one of our favorite "celebrities!" For any of you who watch Chelsea Lately, we met Chuey, her assistant. They film Chelsea Lately in Santa Monica, so Chuey gave us his card and said to call him any time we want to come to a taping. I'll probably take him up on that!

Okay so the third trip to Vegas was two weeks after this trip, and I went to meet Mom and Dad since they had won a trip there. Jennifer went with me too and we stayed at the Venetian. I had never stayed there before and it was so nice! We didn't get in until late Friday night because Jennifer had an acting class, so Friday wasn't too eventful. On Saturday, we got up and had breakfast, then dad went to the Motorcross races. (Or whatever they were, I'm not really sure!) Jennifer and I went to the pool for about an hour and FRIED! Then mom, Jennifer, and I just went walking around Vegas. We ate at Cut by Wolfgang Puck that night and the meal was amaaazing. You'll have to ask mom about her 3-year-old Japanese cow that she ate. We also went to see David Spade who happens to be one of my favorite comedians. He was hilarious! I would love to write a stand-up show and get to do what he does every night. On Sunday, mom and dad had to leave to catch a flight, so I dragged Jennifer to the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor. I had seen a Titanic exhibit before, but this one was a little different. In the beginning you get a ticket of a passenger and in the end see if you lived or died. I was a woman in first class so I was just sure I would survive, but I didn't. I got a little teary-eyed at one point when they had people's personal belongings and their story of why they were on the ship. Sometimes you forget that those people were real and they were mothers, fathers, children, and friends. 

So the best part of that trip would definitely be the trip home. For some reason, the traffic coming back from Vegas was three lanes, bumper-to-bumper, not moving. I could hardly keep my eyes open, so we pulled over in Primm, Nevada to rest. Since the traffic wasn't going anywhere, Jennifer called to see about how much a hotel room would be. $19.95 a night! Gosh that is CHEAP! We figured we'd just buy a room and wait until about 9pm to start driving again. If you've ever seen Primm, it's like a mini-Vegas. There's three cheesy hotels with casinos and an outlet mall. It's Redneck heaven. We checked in to Buffalo Bill's "resort" only expecting to stay for a few hours. There was a man in the elevator who brought his own cooler to the casino. Another man was walking down the hall carrying a "tallboy" and passing gas very loudly. I hope you have some kind of mental picture of this place. We ended up staying there until the next morning around 5am and drove back to LA. I don't think I've ever been happier to leave a hotel in my life. To go from the Venetian to Buffalo Bill's is quite a culture shock! If you ever get the chance to visit Primm, Nevada...don't. As for Vegas, I think I'm all Vegas'd out for a while!!