Las Vegas Part 1, 2, 3, and the Grand Finale

Part 1

The first official trip of the Destination You Academy for Lora and Lori is officially under construction. There have been times in our lives when we would book stuff, not think too much about the cost. This is not one of those times. I am having my LoraTastic Sabbatical and Retraining Extravaganza, and Lori will have just dropped off her daughter at university.

But that adds to the fun as we get to look around for awesome properties at low prices and have better information for you all!

One big trick that I love to use to save money is to go off-season. Just be sure that you ok with whatever makes the season off. In this case, crazy extreme heat. My ideas for this trip were Vegas or New Orleans. Both would have been a deal, but we defaulted to Vegas because 1. Lori would be out that way anyway, and 2. Humidity. Our hair looks better with less of it.  

We thought it would be helpful to begin discussing this now, in case you're interested in organizing your own off-season extravaganza.

Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our not-so-secret travel adventures! We've introduced the not-so-secret supply and demand strategy by traveling off-season. But sheesh, the business of hotel prices is a big deal! I mean, I used to work at a hotel in Chicago, and back then, pricing was like throwing darts blindfolded. Not anymore! Fancy algorithms, databases, and spreadsheets are now setting the price, I personally don’t like it!

(If you ARE a hotel manager/owner/revenue manager looking for revenue management expertise by someone that likes that stuff, click here to talk to my friend and boss, Captain Chris, at Canyon Creek Revenue Management. He is the best!)

So, let's get down to the good stuff: how to score awesome deals on fantastic hotels without the hassle.

Become BFFs with someone who travels for work. You might be lucky and invited to the hotel while they're off adulting at a conference. Or better yet, have them splurge their hard-earned hotel points on you. It's like winning the hotel lottery, sadly, also about as likely.

You can also get a job that involves traveling and then do the Workcation thing. I am very interested in this concept, and I think will get bigger as COVID-19 gets smaller. So more on this later.

For today, we return to the time-honored tradition of traveling off-season. That's what me and co-owner of this illustrious website Lori and I are doing. We're defying the weather and common sense by visiting Las Vegas in August.

To make the most of Vegas, you either need to be a casino wizard (not likely) or, like me, someone who's content just watching the wizardry unfold.

Bloggers swear by writing to a niche. Well, Lori and I belong to the nicheist of niches, focusing on providing a fair balance between cost and quality.

We're not here for wild party scenes or with a bunch of spring breakers (no offense to the party animals; we were you at one time!). We're all about that win-win situation: a fabulous hotel at a sweet deal, so we can guilt-free pamper ourselves silly at the spa and restaurants.

We have mad respect for the hospitality industry. Lori and I have worked in it, so we get their challenges. We are model guests – kind, fun, and generous – all while showcasing the awesomeness of the hotels we visit. Yadda yadda, attracts more flies with honey than vinegar.

If you've read this far and thought, "Yes, that's me too!" my friend, you're our kind of people! Stick around, and let's boogie. Traveling smart and having a blast. Two more weeks; I can't wait!

So so much more to come!

Viva!

Part 3

Argggg! Too many options! I can't decide! Ok, so here we are in the action; I have a one-way ticket to Phoenix, and one night there. Then driving to Las Vegas and staying two nights.  Keeping our theme at a very bougie hotel. Now, she has two more nights in Los Angeles. As that is on the way home for her and she has lots of friends there.

Hence the options! Do I go with her to LA? Do I stay on my own in Vegas? Lori is not on a particular schedule that week so she can stay with me. She is so easygoing! She is cool with staying a little longer in Vegas or heading out with our without me to LA.

I do have this idea that I want to be in Vegas alone. I know it’s weird. But it’s such a crazy place; I wonder what it is like to soak up the ambiance and do some serious writing. I also live on the opposite side of the country as my friend, so I want to spend time with her. I also think doing more of the desert road trip would be fun. I don’t know if my feelings will change when I get there. As a freelancer, I may get some work, and I should not make big plans for a road trip when I can’t get work done. Also, we are planning a little writers' retreat in December, and the original purpose of this trip was to scope out possibilities. Hmmm.

I'm sure that now you understand the Argggg!

OK so I think I want to follow our plan of scoping out the possibilities. I am going to stay two more nights in downtown Vegas! Old Vegas! Original, 1950s flair. Let’s see how that goes.

Ok, so it’s been two hours since I wrote that, can you believe it? Two hours fucking around and not getting much done, but I did decide and book one room for Sunday night. LOL! In Downtown Vegas a place I have always wanted to stay. The Golden Nugget. One night cause I figure that we can handle one night if it sucks. LOL! But I am already in love with the property. Now I have to wait till Lori gets up to see, what she wants. Cause I’m thinking now we are on Monday, things will be much cheaper, and we can do one more 5-star, or head out. Ok, so I hope she likes it. But for that price, I can stay by myself.

I hope she wants to do one more 5-star. So, in that case, I have two options, both 5-star, one by the airport, a spa, that looks like a nice pool area, Green Valley.
Or Vdara, which I like because it's also one of the cheaper options and has some kinda underground walkway. Cause I’m all about staying cool 😊

Funny, I think that’s the thing about travel and travel buddies. You can really get to know yourself and your friends by looking through and picking options.

Well, darn! Flights from Vegas are 200 more on Monday than Tuesday, so I will consider that a free night. So back to me on Priceline to see what I can do about a room.

Now that I am looking at this again, I know why I am so confused. I never really put all this together, but all the hotels in Vegas (on the Strip) are other hotels. They take the top floors, add a few extras, and make it a new 5-star. I'm not sure what I think about that. Now that I look it up, I guess it's nothing too new. The Points guy says:

"This hotels-within-hotels idea is quite common for many major Vegas hotspots -- you can find a Four Seasons hidden within the massive Mandalay Bay resort or the trendy Nobu Hotel residing on the upper floors of Caesars Palace. These "secret" hotels present an exciting option for Vegas travelers since there's typically nothing boutique about the massive, glitzy casino resorts lining the Strip."

Weird, but whatever.

I chose the cheapest 5-star options, which I wanted to try anyway, Vdara. I'm unsure if my friend can stay the extra day, so I wanted a property with a lot going on so that I have restaurants and general fun nearby if I am on my own. I wonder if it will feel like a letdown after the four seasons or a step up after the golden nugget?

See, they say travel teaches you lessons; I am learning that your point of view is everything. Up from the Nugget or down from the Four Seasons? Time will tell.

(Update)  Lori said she is leaving me on Monday, so I will have the Vdara all to myself; that's good. I always wanted some time in Vegas to experience it as a solo traveler.

OK the next part of this is about our first-hand experience in Vegas.

Part 4 The Grand Finale!

I decided to have a little fun with this!

I took my very quickly edited first draft. Then, I took my story and plugged it into Chat GPT. I told it to write a beautiful and fun blog post but keep my style.

Here, for your reading pleasure, both versions combined. I did fix up some of my bad grammar and spelling. There is no reason to give anyone a headache for a Chat GPT experiment.  

The robots' words are in bold, mine regular, although it was unnecessary to differentiate it that way. You will know. Let me know which version you like better here or on the Facebook page.

I had to laugh at myself for writing 1,463 words before I got to the actual trip! But then again, isn’t some of the fun of traveling the planning, packing, and thinking about what you want to do? It is for me. Anyway….the headline is the trip was perfect! I mean not one thing I didn’t like or wouldn’t want to do again. Speaking of 1,463 words, I wrote all of them and left out an important part of the story: when I met Lori in Phoenix. She was dropping her kid off at college, so I flew to Phoenix and drove to Las Vegas.

Embarking on a journey that spanned more than a thousand words, I found myself laughing at the irony of writing so much before even setting off on our Vegas escapade. But then again, isn't the thrill of travel often entwined with the anticipation of planning and packing? I wholeheartedly subscribe to that sentiment. And so, without further ado, let's dive into the heart of the matter: our perfect trip to Las Vegas!

Before the glittering lights and spinning roulette wheels, a serendipitous encounter with Lori in Phoenix set the wheels of our adventure in motion. Amid college drop-offs and the vast expanse of the desert, we journeyed from Phoenix to Las Vegas, a drive that held more wonder than we ever imagined.

I wanted to talk about two things I learned doing this. The drive was amazing! I mean amazing. You think oh, you are just driving through the desert. OH no! As I write this, I think to myself, I can’t believe that I consider myself a rather well-traveled person and didn’t know how wonderful, inspirational, and beautiful is the desert southwest. Thirty percent of the United States is desert. How can it be such a big part of my country, and I don’t know anything about it?

Case in point. We were about halfway there and realized we didn’t eat. This was a lonely part of Route 66. Towns were far apart, and there were not a lot of dining options. So were were shocked and delighted to find a Chicago-style hotdog restaurant in a town called Wikieup, Arizona.

But oh my god, they were very Trump people. Like violent, supposedly funny depictions of sexual violence against Democratic politicians and gun references. Like if your crazy Trump-supporting, racist uncle first came to life and then turned into a restaurant. I was torn. First, I believe people can think what they want, (although I was not ok with the call to violence reactionary signs.) But the lady who took our order was kind and wonderful and so was the food.  So even though I was very uncomfortable, it was a great lunch.

The open road revealed the hidden treasures of the desert, painting a landscape that varied from rolling hills adorned with blossoms to awe-inspiring rock formations reminiscent of Gaudi's Barcelona. In the midst of this picturesque journey, we stumbled upon a Chicago-style hotdog haven in the town of Wikieup, Arizona. Amidst the quirky decorations, the clash of political imagery caught us off guard. Nevertheless, a kind server and delectable food turned an uncomfortable encounter into an unforgettable lunch.

So my advice, get a great car with great air conditioning and eat a good breakfast so you can make it to Kingman, and then you will have more choices for vintage American Route 66 lunch.

As our car carried us through this shifting desert canvas, I marveled at its diversity—each turn brought a new vista, each moment a fresh revelation. For fellow desert adventurers, I recommend a reliable car with stellar air conditioning and a hearty breakfast to fuel your journey to Kingman, offering an array of vintage Route 66 lunch options.

So the rest of the trip was uneventful in the most beautiful way. Then we took a rather large curve, and just like they say, Las Vegas seemed to appear out of nowhere. Just sitting there on the horizon as out of place as a gambling mecca in the middle of the desert.

Almost exactly the same time as we rounded that hill, the car and both of our cell phones started screaming with alarms. Even though no drop of rain was coming down, and we could only a not-intimating rain cloud or two on the horizon, they called for massive rain/floods, biblical-type typhoons. I don’t know. None of it made any sense to me. Being from the Midwest, I know what an impending storm usually looks like. This was not it.

Some heavy raid did come. But it was very short. At the most inopportune time, just as we were navigating our way to the Four Seasons, some asshole left their car parked right in front of the door, so we unpacked in the rain right at the end of the overhanging thing so we got a bit wet. But no big deal.

Oh! You noticed we are staying at the Four Seasons? Yeah, the section title IS bougie Travel, so we were honor-bound to stay at one of the best places.

Our final destination materialized like a mirage on the horizon—Las Vegas, a bustling oasis seemingly misplaced in the heart of the desert. Yet, even as we embraced the city's vibrant chaos, unexpected weather alarms pierced the sunny facade. A peculiar desert rain shower left us slightly damp but undeterred as we navigated our way to the Four Seasons, our bougie haven for this excursion.

I watched some promotional videos from the property, and they said that when people walked into the hotel, they could see people exhale as the stress left their bodies. They would look up at the most beautiful lobby, and the people relaxing and having a drink as they do what hotel people do. I felt this to my core.

Our original intent for this trip was to lounge by the pool, rest, talk, and eat great food. That’s it. We did not desire any touristy displays or learning about the local food culture; I wanted to experience Vegas at the end of August.

All 111 degrees of it.

This was a working vacation for me, so I did a morning shift the first morning. Lori had a wonderful visit with a friend who lives locally.

Walking into the Four Seasons, I understood the concept of exhaling stress—a lavish lobby, people sipping cocktails, and an atmosphere of serene relaxation enveloped us. While our initial plan involved poolside lounging, the capricious desert weather rerouted our intentions. With adaptability in mind, we dived into the heart of Las Vegas.

That evening, we were all about enjoying the ambiance of the hotel. The reason that Lori is a great travel partner is that we can have fun doing anything. That we walked through a very unassuming door with an unassuming sign that said Mandalay Bay. Just like a scene in Alices Wonderland, if Alice had been a gambler.

I can’t get enough of all there is to see there. So much creativity! A never-ending essay question: What happens if you have millions to spend to get people to play the machines? The machine and gambling psychology is a story that better writers than me have tackled.

I can gamble! I will go for some fun if that is on the agenda for the evening and have friends here in Chicago that enjoy a dinner and then an hour or so on the machines. However, the trick to frugal Las Vegas is to keep that in check. The one time Lori and I did try a machine, our five bucks were gone in a couple of minutes. Good that we were not positively reinforced. We decided we would much rather feed our addiction to bougie hotels and gourmet food. But no judgment! There are many ways to stay at a decent place and eat good food cheaply so you can spend your vacation dollars on whatever floats your boat.

We also saw a show. I’m pretty sure it is a law in Vegas that you must see a show at least one time per visit. Happily, Lori picked a great one. We saw the Cirque du Soleil show LOVE at the Mirage. Again, I see no reason to reinvent the writer's wheel. So here is some info on Love from the Love people and a link to more information.

The Beatles LOVE pays tribute to the band's artistic achievements, using real and fictional characters to explore the song's themes. The Beatles LOVE features several scenes inspired by the poetry of the song's lyrics with 60 performers who excel in aerial performances, extreme sports, and urban and freestyle dance.

Experience The Beatles LOVE today! The Beatles LOVE is one of our six incredible shows playing in Las Vegas.

Even though Lori is a Vegas aficionado and expert, she had never been to downtown Vegas! So I felt it was my duty to take her there. After some exhausting research (one post on Reddit), I chose the Golden Nugget.

Amidst work, exploration, and a fantastic show, Lori and I experienced the multi-faceted essence of Vegas. We encountered the allure of casinos, the excitement of shows, and the charm of Fremont Street. Our stay at the Golden Nugget transported us to a time capsule of 70s glam, proving that even outside our comfort zone, travel enriches our perspective.

I wanted to keep our bougie theme. But again, according to the Reddit Vegas community, downtown does not have anything that would be considered bougie. The closest is Circa, which did look nice, but I chose the Golden Nugget because, from the pictures, it had that Old Vegas feel that I thought would be fun. And it so soooo was!

First of all, given what we were used to on the strip, we felt like we fell into deal heaven! Things were so much more reasonable! Parking was free, the food was great and affordable, and our room rate with taxes and everything was around $165! But the real reason to go to the Golden Nugget is that it looks like someone pushed the stop button on time somewhere in the early 70s, and you could bop in and out of the time machine any time the mood hits you.

The color scheme was orange and brown, punctuated with swirly handrails of silver. The occasional fainting couch in a bar of sparkly white tabletops. High ceilings and mounted skulls of the local fauna. The exact thing you would find delightful if you were a mid-level executive in the catalog business in 1975.

We, again, often got lost in the maze of the building but enjoyed the people-watching show.  You must make a new neural pathway for this new thing entering your brain. You can judge it, enjoy it, be afraid of it, or all of the above. But it is all there for you to process, and it is that very processing that makes life wonderful. You have to marvel at the differences, sameness, and even the icky stuff. And wow, I am going overboard!

Anyway. We had a wonderful time discovering, talking, and walking Freemont Street. Again, I booked the hotel because of the beautiful pool, which was still closed. I do not know why; it wasn’t raining, but the news talked about hurricanes, typhoons, and rain. I realized that rain is a whole different thing in the desert.

Sadly, it was time for Lori to continue her adventure. She wanted to hit LA on her way home to see some friends, and I wanted to have a Lora day on the strip. So I went to The Vdara.

In the final stretch of our journey, Lori set her sights on LA, while I embraced a solo stint at the Vdara—a haven of comfort and productivity overlooking the iconic Strip. From extravagant public spaces to impromptu city exploration, Las Vegas served as an unexpected playground, proving once again that the essence of travel lies in embracing the unknown, marveling at the differences, and crafting new neural pathways through the mosaic of experiences.

The only thing that is a little tricky at the Vdara is getting there. I do not know how anyone got anywhere on the strip pre-mapquest. You always seem to be going in the wrong direction. So many times in an Uber or cab, I thought we were getting kidnapped, only to be impressed by the driver's knowledge of backways, parallel highways, and such.

So the big sign says this way to Vdara and Aria. So we followed the sign and stopped at a drop-off place. I still don’t get how these places work, they all seem to be parts of a whole, but we stopped where we were supposed to stop, and a worker at the Aria was bullshitting with some people, so I walked up and said, is there where I go in for the Vdara? And she said no, you are at the Aria. I asked how do I get to Vdara, and she lazily pointed. So we went around another little curve, and there it was. So if you are going to Vdara, and the sign says, Here is Vdara, keep going a little bit to the next property.

All the front desk people were wonderful at the three properties. But this lady at Vdara was especially fun. We actually talked about my trip so far, and she was very interested in why someone would want to stay at three different places in one trip. The room was by far the most traveler-friendly in that it was huge! A beautiful view, kitchenette with a refrigerator, small electric stovetop, and sink.

It was one of the most reasonably priced of the 5-star hotels, and as I mentioned, it was off-season, so I really got a good deal. The kitchenette does not give you anything to cook with! I guess it’s not all that necessary. I just needed something to make tea. They don’t have teapots for the stove, so they brought me like a basic pan. So I heated up my water in a pan and poured it into a coffee cup. Not bougie, but very workable. Also, there is a 24-hour,  snack shop with fancy sandwiches and really fancy bakery right by the hotel's elevators. This was part of the trip where I really wanted to pump out some work, so I appreciated running downstairs, getting a sandwich, and returning quickly. My desk looked out over the strip. Back towards the Four Seasons. It seemed very poetically bookend-y.

Also! The hotel connects with the Bellagio. Some say this place has seen its best days, but I wholeheartedly disagree. These guys know how to do public spaces! It’s worth the plane fare to walk around the Bellagio, and as you know, it is just the tip of the iceberg. There is also a free tram that leads you around to some other properties. Not the main Vegas train. This one is specific to Vdara and Aria. I didn’t take it as I was still mad at the Aria bellhop bitch. I can be stubborn like that. Now it's time to let the robot do the grand finale of the grand finale.

So, my fellow adventurers, as you contemplate your next voyage to this desert wonderland, remember the art of adaptability, the allure of bougie indulgences, and the joy of stepping into the unknown with open hearts and open minds. Vegas, with all its eccentricities, beckons you to dance amid its enigmatic desert embrace.