We’re going to Vegas baby!

Last April, Marty and I were supposed to go on our first real vacation together, just the two of us, since around 1994. That’s almost 27 years ago!

January 2020, we booked an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico with a premium liquor package. There were lots of gluten-free friendly restaurants in our hotel. The hotel’s executive chef would have met with us and discussed our dietary restrictions. 

We were both excited that we took the plunge and put down $3,400 bucks for the airline tickets and hotel. We had been saving up this for a long time. I was nervous about spending the money because what if something happened and we couldn’t go. Then COVID Hit. 

During the lockdown in March, I was in denial at first, thinking we would still be able to go on April 20. Slowly, I began to panic because we used Priceline…no refunds. Marty tried to call Priceline, but they would only talk to you 48 hours before your scheduled departure. I was pissed, sad, angry, and sick to my stomach that we wouldn’t get our money back.

I saw someone on a Facebook post that said vacation booking agents were giving refunds due to COVID. Holy shit, I almost did a backflip! We still had to wait a couple of weeks to talk to someone, but now there was some hope. 

All booking agents did the right thing and reimbursed everyone’s hotel money. United Airlines gave us a credit that had to be used by the end of January 2022. At least we had plenty of time to plan a new vacation; little did we know how long Covid restrictions would still be in place.

With half of 2021 over, we knew we needed to book something or lose our $1,000 airline credit. Going overseas was out because COVID was still bad in many other countries. I had my heart set on Paris for a long weekend, but it wasn’t worth the risk, and the Eiffel Tower is covered in scaffolding for repairs anyway.

We put together a checklist of must-haves for our vacation, Our checklist needed to include the following: guaranteed hot and sunny weather, a hotel with a beautiful pool, close enough to restaurants and bars that we could walk to, and different things to see and do. Las Vegas checked off all those items. 

Marty called Priceline, and we held our breath while we waited to see if we could use our airline credit; we could! Happy dance! We looked at prices and dates for both flights and hotel deals. Surprisingly, we found a great deal for $137 a night at the 5-star Venetian Hotel. We decided we would stay 4 nights in Vegas and one night in Albany the night before our early morning flight. Plus, we could keep our car at the hotel for $5 a night; the hotel is right across the street from the Albany Airport.

I wasn’t going to write about our trip because I didn’t want to jinx it. September weather in Vegas is ideal; there are tons of gluten-free friendly restaurants and bars everywhere. The pools and the hotel is gorgeous. We can walk over to the Paris Hotel, see the Eiffel Tower replica, and explore the Paris “streets.” Our hotel is modeled after Venice, complete with gondola rides.

Yes, Vegas can be kitschy and cheesy, but it can also be the perfect escape we need desperately. We want to lounge by the pool during the day and hit the town at night. We don’t gamble, but there are tons of shows and events going on. I think the Van Gogh Immersive Experience will be there when we are…I’ve been wanting to go so badly, hoping to see it in Paris or NYC. Hopefully, I can see it in Vegas.

We’ve planned our trip right before Oktoberfest season, but with a lot of hard work and planning ahead on our deliveries, we should have no problem pulling the trip off. We have never completely closed the business in the four years we have been in business. I have no problem having my phone on “Do not disturb,” but I will have to force us not to take business calls or reply to emails or social media messages; it will stress us out and ruin our trip.

So I am super excited, to say the least; it’s less than two months away! “We’re going to Vegas, baby!” Yay!