Celebrating Ironwoman Betsy's Accomplishment in Las Vegas

I got off to a bit of a cruddy start on Monday morning.  My flight was supposed to leave at 7:45 am.  We cruised on over to the runway and the pilot took us back to the gate because of mechanical problems, so that delayed us about 2 hours.  Fortunately we made up about 30 minutes in the air and I was also the first person dropped off on the airport shuttle service.  My Grandma Esther met me for brunch at the Sao Paulo Cafe at the Rio.  We had a chance to chat and catch up, so that worked out well. 

My friends got in shortly after me and we got all settled.  The Rio is dog friendly, so Sasha got to party it up in Vegas.

Casino sign... you don't see this very often



After everyone met up, we headed to the New York-New York hotel to buy our Beatles Love tickets and gamble/ride the rollercoaster.  I chose the gambling option and I had some good luck at the blackjack table.  I tried a friend's $10/$30/$50/$70/$100 betting strategy (which was crazy for me because I'm such a risk adverse, conservative accountant).  I had a good run, and I just couldn't bring myself to bet the $70 (and, of course, I won that hand).  But I was up $115, and I stopped while I was ahead.  Then we took Claire, Ironwoman Betsy's daughter, to Claire's to get her ears pierced (second hole). 

On Monday night we went to the Mirage for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (probably due to my over-enthusiastic cheers for the BLT pizza on honey wheat crust) before the Beatles Love show.  I'm not a huge Beatles fan (it's okay music, but not something I intentionally turn to on the radio or Pandora), but it was entertaining.  After the show we headed back to the Rio and ordered some drinks at the bar.

Heading to the Mirage



We got up earlier than I expected on Tuesday morning and Stacy and I took Sasha (Shawna's dog) for a 5.4-mile run on the strip.  We were definitely the only runners with a dog.  It felt good to workout, but the top of my left foot was really tender (and it still is).  Our inner fat girls came out to play at the buffet afterwards... nothing like a mix of Mexican, Italian, Chinese, etc.  Then we headed downtown for some gambling at the Four Queens. 

Cute pre-taxi BFF shot

 

The gambling festivities began with a shot (not the best picture of some of us, but I'll go with it).

We had a lot of fun at the craps table (once I learned to play and stopped whining about not understanding) and about zero luck at the blackjack table.  I ended up losing the previous day's winnings, but I consider that success (especially considering the amount of "free" vodka sodas Shawna ordered us). 

Tuesday night was Betsy's celebratory dinner at N9NE Steakhouse at the Palms. 

The four-course menu

 

 

The Instagrammed food

 

The prettified BFFs

I blame this face on the unlimited wine



 

Group expresso shot

 

We hit the craps table again that night.  I had a really crappy roll to start and then I ended with a great rolling streak to win my money back.  I discovered my new favorite game, for sure.  It was a fun, activity-packed 48 hours in Vegas (and KUDOS to IRONWOMAN BETSY!!!).