In Defense of Another Vegas Weekend
“You guys are going to Vegas again?”
After four trips to Las Vegas over the past two years, we’ve become the “Vegas couple” among our family and friends. We’re currently planning our fifth trip, so we’re not exactly helping our case.
In our defense, Vegas is simply… so easy and fun.
We both work full-time, and we love a weekend getaway that requires minimal planning. All we have to do is buy plane tickets, book a hotel, and go. The Las Vegas airport is a short Lyft ride from the hotels on the Strip, the popular stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard where so much of the action is. We usually book tickets to one concert or show before arriving and figure out the rest once we’re there.
That’s about the extent of our planning. It’s absolutely wonderful.
At the Venetian, where we recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary
And once you arrive, there’s so much to do right outside your hotel door: concerts, comedy shows, acrobats, arcades, museums, live bands, and immersive experiences. Even wandering through the ridiculously elaborate hotel lobbies is an experience.
Some of our favorite experiences have included seeing Maroon 5, Tournament of Kings, and Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE, plus wandering around Fremont Street.
Maroon 5 was our very first concert together
Chai in disbelief that he actually hit the jackpot (see the green light!)
We were seated in the front row at the Laugh Factory and were nervous about becoming part of the show, but luckily, we were spared
On our most recent trip, we saw Backstreet Boys at the Sphere. Chai is a big fan and saw them in India over 15 years ago, so he loved getting to see them with me this time. We also finally got to see a dueling pianos show, which I’d always wanted to do.
Backstreet’s back!
Dressed in white along with our fellow Backstreet Boys fans!
And then there’s the food.
There are so many restaurants concentrated along the Strip that we can usually find something we’re excited to eat while wandering around. Our favorite pizza find is Luchini at MGM Grand, which has the best mushroom pizza in our humble opinion.
Now that we’re in our 30s, we also appreciate how much we walk in Vegas, especially between all that eating. Chai easily gets over 15,000 steps a day, while I get over 20,000 with my shorter legs.
We’ve taken our parents to Vegas, too, and they now understand the obsession. Between the shows and the slot machines, they found plenty to enjoy.
On one trip with my parents, we rented a car and ventured beyond Vegas to visit the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. Seeing the canyon in person was incredible, and my parents loved it. They were especially grateful to Chai for handling the entire drive — more than ten hours in total. They already loved Chai, but after this trip, I think they love him more than they love me (for the record, I offered to drive, but he insisted on doing it all himself — I did help with navigation).
Chai wanted to make sure we got a good photo — he wasn’t doing that drive again anytime soon.
And then there are the casinos.
We get the appeal of slot machines now (and how casinos manage to keep you playing). They’re bright and colorful, with dramatic sound effects and flashing lights that make even a $1 win feel like a big event. We like wandering around looking for machines with low minimum bets — ideally 50 cents or below — then sitting down to see how slowly we can lose our money.
Back home in Seattle, weekends come with errands, cleaning, and sometimes more work. Even when we’re together, there’s usually something we need to get done.
In Vegas, we get a whole weekend to just hang out together. We see a show, find something delicious to eat, and walk around until we feel like sitting down. We stay up and talk and laugh, then walk some more.
I think that’s what keeps bringing us back. We have fun there, and we get each other’s undivided attention for a little while.
So yes, we’re going to Vegas again.
Until next time!