December was the month of colds. We did travel to Houston, San Antonio, and Seattle for Christmas, but there wasn’t enough to talk about. Beginning in January— it’s all about Grant’s birthday. The weekend of January 5th-7th which has been discussed for months — finally arrived. Grant painstakingly crafts his birthday to fit as much craziness in as possible and for everyone to maximize the time they are with each other.
There were 12 of us this year that made the trip to Vegas. Last year, I vowed to not let Grant book the flight on Frontier. So of course, in November he ran to me and said look I booked everyone’s flights on…FRONTIER. Ugh. Thankfully, everyone has learned that this airline requires a tiny backpack and there were not any issues this time around. The plane took off, landed, and there were no issues. We flew one of Frontier’s new planes and got upgraded to the exit row. Ironically, Alaska Airlines, which is who I wanted to fly had to cancel flights because of a haul breach. Big scandal that I am sure is going to have lasting implications.
Everyone was staying at a different hotel so we all scattered to our hotels. We did reconvene for our adult entertainment that Grant scheduled. A guy or the ones who like guys and a girl or the ones who like girls. It was awkward, funny, and some of us did better at the ring toss than others. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so there will not be any pictures shared of this one. Plus Vanessa made us delete all of the ones with her in it.
After that hot mess of an activity, we Ubered our way to Area 15 and went to the Lost Distillery. Lost Distillery is a rum distillery with some very strong rum and acrobats, magicians, and other random performers everywhere. As someone who doesn’t drink— the drinks were strong and I was feeling it after only one sample. We wandered around and watched the performers.
After everyone had more than enough, we went to our last event of the evening at the Strat for Rouge. Rouge is a sexy burlesque show with some comedy. Maybe it was that I was still feeling the alcohol, but the comedy was not landing. There were several ushers who kept coming by making sure that I was still awake, which I found to be the funniest thing about the experience. I guess slouching in a chair is a good indicator of intoxication.
The next morning some of us got up and we went to Boulevard of Broken Dreams at the Hard Rock Hotel. A 90’s grundge performance with music from our era. Grant forgot that we got the ticket with the food so we stopped to get food beforehand. When we got there and were given food— we were a little shocked but picked at it. It was not the best food so the pizza and chicken we had elsewhere was great. Also, the Sabarro on the strip stinks and is rude about water cups. The Raising Canes on the strip was exceptional so please support that business instead!
Once that ended, we didn’t have much time before our next event, the Blair Witch Escape Room. We generally try and do an Escape Room or something silly like this each time and this one did not disappoint. Our little actor in the room was all into it, doing flips, running into doors, etc. After we completed it in near record time we asked if he was an acrobat and he said “Nope, just into my job.”
The next stop was dinner and we went to SuperFrico. This place was a letdown. First, the food was extremely overpriced. $50 for a chicken parmesan and $22 extra for a side of pasta. The restaurant was supposed to have live entertainment, but it was lacking. The only cool thing was that I met someone with the same name as me— Luke Martin. He was the manager and hooked us up with free shots. A nice gesture. We also got free salad and appetizers because the waiter never brought them out. Not a great experience. Also, they were jerks about not sitting us together.
After dinner, we went to a speakeasy called Ski Lodge. It was right next to the restaurant and were let in with no problem. The drinks were good and so was the S’more fire that we got as well. Nice nightcap for sure.
The last big event for the trip was to see the new Awakening show at the Wynn. This was an over-the-top show that had some of the best sets and costumes that I had ever seen at a Las Vegas show. Each seat had its own speaker system and you felt like you were there. The story was subpar, but it was beautiful to watch. After the show, everyone dispersed for a good night's sleep.
The next morning we got up, all met up at Lotus of Siam, and had some yummy Thai food. We all Ubered from the restaurant to the hotel…our flight was on time, no issue with the bags, and we made it home without any issues. Unfortunately, Levent flew Alaska so his flight was canceled so the lesson of the trip was that Frontier sucks, but its not the worst!