Las Vegas for Introverts
You're probably thinking, why would you ever go to Vegas if you're an introvert... Don't worry I asked myself the same question.
Vegas's airport is convenient for lots of great desert destinations. Our photography group was meeting up on Tuesday to adventure to some of those amazing desert destinations, so with time to kill, we decided to Viva Las Vegas. (Yes, I broke into song complete with jazz hands while writing that.)
Trey and I aren't fans of large crowds, especially boisterous, drunken crowds, for which Vegas is known. We kept most of our trip off of the strip to temper our sanity. On Sunday morning we had early morning tickets for the Neon Museum. The guided groups are kept to about 20 people and last about an hour. The guides tell the history of Las Vegas signage which is like no other. I highly recommend doing this tour to see the evolution of Las Vegas over the years. The Neon Museum takes that extra step to preserve the local history by using the office from La Concha motel as their main office building. I'd most likely go again, if ever in Vegas.
Neon Museum Offices
After our tour, we found the nearest REI to find Trey a water bottle and a few other "necessities"..... like the new librarian eyeglasses strap that I don't know how I've lived without. Its so convenient to not have to search through a bag for my glasses case when I switch from prescription sunglasses to prescription eyeglasses every 5 minutes.
After REI, we found lunch a Five Guys Burgers & Fries. I absolutely love their french fries with malt vinegar. Five Guys happened to be next door to Rolled Ice Cream, so we made a second attempt and scored. By the time we'd ordered our ice cream, the line was out the door (and we were there when they opened). The ice cream was super fresh and rivaled Spun in Austin, TX. (I may need a retest soon).
Chatting over ice cream, we decided to return our rental car to National and use Lyft until we met up with our group on Tuesday. We took our Lyft back to Hiroko's sparkling, crisp, and majestic home where we were staying with AirBnB. My mother would be envious of her cleaning skills... Her house is cleaner than most (READ: probably all) hotels I've stayed in. Her continental breakfast was better than most hotels too... AirBnB's off the strip are a great way to enjoy Vegas and the surrounding area without the crowds, and usually at a fraction of the cost.
After enjoying a siesta and partially fixing my website (no, this does not come naturally to me....), we headed over to the strip to find some food and observe some social interactions. While waiting on a new British friend for dinner, we wandered the Venetian and played some penny slots for complimentary drinks. I'm very risk adverse, so gambling is in no way enjoyable for me. However, I am completely okay with losing $5 in the penny slots so that I can get two complimentary drinks that I'd probably pay $20 for at the bar. The complimentary drinks brought on our appetite, so we flocked to Yardbird for some biscuits with jam and another round of cocktails... (For those of you not from the South, a yardbird is a domesticated, or semi-domesticated if you've met my mama's ducks, fowl that lives in your yard to produce eggs or poultry. Typically, yardbirds are chickens, but ducks and guineas are also common.) Trey and I have talked about those biscuits every day since. Every single day. Maybe I should take up baking.
Yardbird's Menu's Front Page and Napkin Ring
After meeting up with Alan, we wanted to go back to Yardbird, but it was going to be 2 hours before we could be seated. We headed across the path to B&B Ristorante where they could seat us immediately. The food and company were pleasant, but those Yardbird biscuits are still on my mind. By the time dinner finished, it was past my bedtime (9pm) and the party animals were starting to come out so we headed back to our AirBnB.