A Good Time with Great Friends...Oh, and a Super Bowl

Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas...is there any better place to be? It'd be tough to top, let me just say that. The Saints victory was no doubt the icing on the proverbial cake, but the entire weekend was a blast. Anh and I spent Friday night at the Four Seasons which is attached to Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. The rooms occupy the top 4 floors which lead me to believe that the view would be amazing. I'm sure it would have been, if we had been oriented towards the Strip, but sadly we were facing the ugly airport. Oh well, we were only there for a night, and that's about the only complaint I could possibly come up with. You just can't beat the service of the Four Season's staff. They're awesome!

After a meet & greet with the other conference attendees, Anh and I headed off to a late dinner at Aureole in Mandalay Bay. The restaurant is known for it's "wine angels" that ascend a wine tower in the center of the restaurant to retrieve bottles of wine ordered the guests. The higher the wine angel ascends, the more expensive the bottle. Needless to say, our wine angel didn't get too far off the ground. It was the first night! No casino winnings yet! Plus, Anh and I enjoyed the seasonal tasting menu and wine pairing. So, our wine came by the glass. I know...excuses! Excuses!Saturday morning arrived all too quickly. Anh was up bright & early to join his colleagues at the conference, and I made my way over to the Excaliber to meet up with one of our best friends, Brad. Brad is the real reason we go to Vegas. If we didn't go there, we'd never see him because he's a work-a-holic. Although, I'm not really sure whether it's by choice. The company just seems to meltdown when he's not around. Yep, he's that good. Super powers, I tell ya!

By early afternoon, Anh was able to join the party. Brad mentally clocked out for a few hours and took us to a nice brewery off the Strip. I know! Can you believe it? We left the Strip. That NEVER happens. Who knew there was this whole other "normal" side to Vegas. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess I can always pretend that it doesn't exist. Anyway, those normal "Vegas" people know how to make some good beer! Not a big surprise, really.

Eventually Brad's iPhone was ringing off the hook, the text messages were stacking up, and it was clearly time to return to the chaos. We parted ways so Brad could put out the fires, and Anh and I could relocate from the Four Seasons to Aria, one of the new hotels at Vegas' brand-spankin' new City Center. It's definitely not to be missed, but honestly, I was a bit disappointed. Yes, it's flashy and sparkly and glamorous, but it's not really "Vegas." There are no clouds on the ceiling, no gondolas floating through a grand canal, and there was no real theme. It's Vegas dammit! You have to have a theme!

I guess you could say Aria's theme was texture and technology. The designers seemed to play with texture and color. That's a little to artsy-fartsy for me, at least when it comes to Vegas. I want sophistication in NYC or LA, but in Vegas, I want some cheesy murals & over-the-top glamor. That said, the rooms are pretty cool & high tech with automated everything. The lights, entertainment center, and window coverings are all controlled by remote. It's a guy's dream! Me, I used the "Master" switch by the door to turn everything on & off in one click. It was much easier.

Where Aria did impress me was the caliber of it's restaurants. The directory is like a Who's Who of the culinary world. Anh and I had a tough time deciding where to eat, but ultimately we selected Shawn McClain's Sage. It was incredible! The food, the service, everything was top notch. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. The same can be said about Jean Philippe's Patisserie. I wanted to sample EVERYTHING on display. He is truly an artist!

On Sunday, we continued our gourmet dining experience with lunch at In-N-Out Burger. This was our 2nd visit to the chain, and it was just as good as I remembered. They make a good burger, but the fries are a little strange. Our buddy, Farid, explained that our taste buds aren't accustomed to the lack of preservatives. The fries are cut from fresh potatoes, never frozen, and they aren't doused in salt. Ah! I have to admit, I missed the salt. The burger was delicious though with exactly the amount of grease I needed after a late night.

Sadly, Sunday meant we had to say goodbye to our out-of-town friends that flew in for the conference. They were all doing the responsible thing & heading back to work on Monday. Not us! We were going to stay for the big game! After saying our goodbyes, we went and placed a $100 bet on the Saints, and then joined Brad where we had reserved seats at the bar waiting for us. I could seriously get used to V.I.P treatment.

I think, by now, everyone knows how the game ended. What a game! What a season! What a story! Oh, and to top it off, we had a little extra money in our pockets. Well, until we doubled down on the KU game against TX on Monday. (We won that one too!) We bailed on the celebratory chaos & headed off the Strip with Brad to his favorite tapas restaurant, Firefly. So good! But, again we were off the Strip! It wasn't as weird that time because I could still see the high rises. I knew we weren't off in some bizarro universe.

Having broken away from the Strip's grasp on us, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to finally explore The Palms & The Hard Rock Casino. Oh my! This is where the young & beautiful go! And, the old & dirty too...no doubt checking out the young & beautiful. I'm disappointed I've been missing out on this fun. It will definitely be on the next itinerary.

Sunday was by far the most unusual experience of the trip. That's not to say it wasn't fun because it really & truly was, but I never thought I'd find myself in the middle of a nature preserve on a Vegas trip. I guess Brad wanted us to detox just a bit before taking us to the airport because he took us on a little pre-flight day trip to Red Rock Canyon. The desert is beautiful. It's not necessarily the kind of beauty I want to see every day, but the sculptural details of the land is really something to behold.

The weather wasn't ideal for hiking, but since we were pressed for time anyway, the driving tour of the park was perfect. We stopped at a little tourist trap with a petting zoo & lodge to enjoy a tasty drink by the fireplace. It was a great setting for a cold, rainy day in the desert while enjoying our last few hours with a close friend. That's ultimately what made the experience special, quality time with Brad uninterrupted by the iPhone.

All too soon, we were headed for the airport and back to our "normal" every day lives. The getaway was great and exactly what we needed. Too bad Aunt Nguyen was left to deal with our 2 rowdy boys...oh did I mention that they were sick, rowdy boys? That's a whole different story. After a week at home with two sick children, I'm thinking I may be ready to go back to Vegas!