Vegas Vacation Part 2 of 2

This past weekend in Vegas reminded me of the family vacations we used to take before I turned 21. Those were vacations where I had enough freedom to roam on my own and my mom was so concerned about me being bored that she would give me money to go out...hahah! We drove up on Thursday night and headed back home on Saturday afternoon. It felt like a really short trip, but I am thankful for the time we got to spend with my family. I feel like I don't do that enough. They're a rowdy bunch that likes to have a good time and they remind me of why I miss being a kid.

There was a lot to celebrate over the weekend: my brother (T.J.) turned 22, it was my uncle Vic's birthday earlier in the week, and my cousin (D.J.) proposed to his girlfriend of 8 years (Christina)! It was also the second trip in a row that Albert and I experienced a different kind of Vegas (a.k.a. no strip club and no nightclub). First major difference: we stayed with my family in their timeshare at The Grandview Resort. It's a great place, but the major downside was it was WAY OFF THE STRIP. We had to wait till the sun cooled off a bit to go anywhere and, even then, I got lazy to drive around because it was still triple digit heat. Albert and I were also able to save some money on food because my family would cook breakfast AND lunch...can't beat "home-cooked" Filipino food! We also went bowling (of all things!) until 2am. It may sound boring to you, but Albert and I are people-watchers and there were A LOT of locals there so it was fun to just watch them. I always wondered what Vegas locals do. Apparently, some of them bowl. LOL. 

We had a chance to check out Downtown Las Vegas, well, just the Golden Nugget because Downtown looks too shady to just stroll along at night. My mom and my aunt treated the family to a buffet dinner and comedy show at The Golden Nugget on Friday night for T.J.'s birthday. Buffets are kind of a waste on me and Albert because we can't really stuff ourselves anymore - we're all about frequency of meals rather than volume - but we tried our best. The food was pretty good and my family definitely took advantage of the endless crab legs. My favorite part: dessert, specifically the macaroons and pecan pie bites. You can bet I packed some up in my purse for later :) The comedy show featured Gordie Brown, who made me laugh a couple times but a lot of the humor went over my head since it was based on stuff before I was born. Luckily, I had a drink in hand, so it was a good time for me to sit and chill. Something new I learned came from D.J. and Christina. They were telling us about how Golden Nugget's Pool was featured on the Travel Channel because there is a water slide that goes through a shark tank. I have to admit, I'm curious about the pool because there's nothing like it on The Strip. However, the chances of us staying in Downtown in the future are slim. Check out the link though...it's a really nicely decorated pool (you can tell they put some effort into the rennovation), it's just too bad it's in Downtown.

Finally, I got to introduce Albert to Bachi Burger! He loved it and I loved it, so it's officially on our list of foodie destinations in Las Vegas. If you're into fusion food and are looking for a tasty burger, you got to check out Bachi Burger...mmm, so delicious!

July was all about the travel: Simi Valley for April & Victor's Wedding (hahaha, it's practically NorCal for me), Cruise to Ensenada, Vegas, and Vegas. I think the rest of the year will be about weddings - we have 3 to go to in the next two months and then one more in November. At least they're all in SoCal, so we can fit in other things in between the weddings. I've been wanting to ride some roller coasters, so hopefully a trip to Magic Mountain or Disneyland, or Knott's or all 3, is in store.