Jan
21
A million billion thank yous to those of you who suggested seeing Absinthe while we were in Vegas. We went to the show on Wednesday night, and the only way I could have possibly enjoyed it more is if the wooden folding chairs for the audience hadn’t been quite so unforgiving. It was absolutely worth my bruised spine, though, because holy shit what a show. I’m not even sure how to describe it — a bunch of Cirque-style acrobatics performances combined with hysterical comedy routines? Bawdy, politically incorrect as all hell, and jaw-droppingly impressive. We loved it so much we totally bought the goofy overpriced commemorative photo.
Definitely go see that if you have a Vegas trip planned, and I also recommend dinner at SUSHISAMBA at the Venetian. It’s Japanese/Brazilian/Peruvian food, and while fusion places sometimes make me feel like that David Sedaris essay about Manhattan restaurants (“It’s hard to be a good sport when each dish seems to include no fewer than a dozen ingredients, one of which I’m bound to dislike. I’d order the skirt steak with a medley of suffocated peaches, but I’m put off by the aspirin sauce”), our meal was pretty much spectacular in every way.
Our room at the Venetian was ridiculously opulent, with a bathtub I’ll be dreaming about for years. God, it was such a treat being on our own for a few days, the luxurious surroundings and plethora of food options were just the cherry on top. I want to say that I missed the kids so much I couldn’t wait to come home … but. Well. That’s not quite. Oh, YOU know.
Jan
8
People have strong opinions about Las Vegas, have you noticed that? I guess it’s kind of like Disneyland, some people love it and want to go there all the time, and some people would rather have a piping-hot biscuits-n-gravy enema.
I’m firmly in the pro camp when it comes to Vegas. It was an enormously exciting destination during my twenties, and then there was this amazing year when JB and I picked up and moved there. We’d only been together about six months, and neither one of us had ventured very far from our hometowns in Oregon, so the whole thing felt thrilling and a little terrifying and utterly exotic and I loved every minute of it.
We rented a cute house in the suburbs — I can still remember the address: Aspen Knoll Drive, Henderson — and spent our weekends bouncing around the Strip and hiking in Utah. We got engaged there, at midnight on Y2K. We didn’t stay long before job situations shifted and we packed everything back up in a U-Haul (in sweltering August weather, which I do not recommend) and relocated to Seattle, but it was a wonderful adventure.
(I like how the standout moments from our recruitment trip involved the gloriously cheesy Race for Atlantis ride and a titty bar.)
JB and I haven’t been back as a couple since we moved, but we’ll be there all next week on a combined work trip (JB has a trade show) and vacation. I know better than to think that visiting Las Vegas now will be anything like it used to be, but I can’t wait to see it again. If only for kid-free hotel room, which sounds like a nearly unimaginable luxury right this minute.
Also, I’m taking suggestions, if you want to share your favorite Vegas show or restaurant. I’m thinking about getting tickets to “O,” although I can easily imagine us doing nothing much more than wandering around people-watching then blissfully crashing for the night at 9 PM. I guess a few things have changed in the last fourteen years.
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