Watch out Oprah and Gayle, there are two new gals in town and our first destination is a Las Vegas Roadtrip.
A while back we attended the Mom 2.0 conference in Laguna Niguel, and even though less than four months have passed, it seems like ages ago. While we were there we had a chance to have dinner with the team from Kia and we mentioned that we think we would be a pretty fantastic Oprah and Gayle-esque road trip team. Well, apparently they agreed because earlier this month we had a chance to take a road trip to Vegas with the Kia Motors team, along with several other bloggers and YouTubers.
Our trip started with lunch at Kia headquarters in Irvine. We have to admit that we love working with a brand that is headquartered right here in Orange County! From there, the caravan took off to Vegas. This is my third trip to Las Vegas this summer, if you can believe that, and usually I am laser focused on just getting there. This time we spent time enjoying the ride, and stopped to smell the roses.
Our first stop was Penny’s Diner in Yermo. I had never even noticed this place before, but I would definitely go back! It’s in the cutest little Airstream and we had apple pie that was to die for.
From there, Jeff of Out with the Kids convinced us that we had to stop at the Alien Jerky store in Baker for some craft root beers. Never one to turn down a good taste test, we were game. The store is odd, to say the least. It’s basically a convenience store with a club atmosphere, but it was packed with people. You can also find the world’s tallest thermometer in Baker so you can check that off of your must-see list! (You can find our craft root beer taste test, here!)
Finally, we made our way into Las Vegas and the Hard Rock Hotel. I’ve stayed in a number of hotels in Las Vegas, but this was my first time at the Hard Rock and I was pleasantly surprised! We stayed in the HRH Towers, which is an all-suite portion of the hotel. The rooms were huge, comfortable, and we found ourselves on the corner with an incredible view.
Dinner on night one was a casual buffet with the rest of the road trip crew. We solidified our old-ladies-in-Vegas status by heading to bed before 11:00pm. We had big plans for pajamas, candy and Big Brother.
Day two was adventure day. We hopped back into our Sportage and headed for Hoover Dam. I had been there before, but Wendy had not. Unfortunately, we didn’t plan this part of the day well. We were able to park and grab a few photos and then had to head back to lunch. Even on a Thursday the dam was packed! Nearby Boulder City was new to me and as cute as can be. Lunch was at the Dillinger and was excellent.
We both get a bit cranky when we’re hot, so we went to the mall. Shopping is everywhere in Las Vegas, but I’m a big fan of the Fashion Show mall. They have pretty much everything I want, plus air conditioning and giant lemonades from Green Crush. We hit up Sephora, Lush and Nordstrom and I’m kind of wishing we were back there right now!
After a bit of relaxing came the main event – dinner and a show! We had dinner at Culinary Dropout and I can’t say enough good things about this place. The food, the service, the atmosphere all get an A+ from me and I would definitely go back.
The show on the agenda was the Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil show. I had seen this show before, but I think it must have been at least ten years ago. This was Wendy’s first Cirque du Soleil show, but I’m sure it won’t be her last. It was amazing, even better the second time around!
From there it was a final round of drinks and chatting with the road trip crew, a little bit of gambling, and then bedtime for an early start back home.
The drive home was quick and uneventful, full of podcasts, terrible country singing and lots and lots of snacks. We also took full advantage of the seat coolers in the Sportage, something I am seriously missing this week! Personally, I think we need to make this sort of trip happen yearly!
A huge thanks to KIA for hosting us on this trip. We had a blast and are seriously missing our little red Sportage!
