Saturday ended up being an all-day Jimmy Buffett fest, which was exactly what I anticipated. We started the morning off in the best way possible, though: brunch with my cousin, S., and her new(ish) hubby, A. The happy duo lives in Vegas and met us at the Grand Lux in the Palazzo to fuel up in the morning before what was sure to be an epic Buffett-fest. I never realize quite how much I miss my fam until I get to see them again — note to self: must plan family reunion for 2012.

Boat Shoes & I at the Margaritaville Casino!

My cousin, S., works at the MGM so I’m sure she understood the magnitude of the Parrothead Invasion much better than I did. Until April 2011, the only Jimmy song I knew was Margaritaville. It wasn’t until I met Boat Shoes that I started listening to country music (gulp) and Sirius’ Margaritaville station. When he invited me to Vegas to check out the concert I opted in immediately, but really had no idea what was in store.

Prepping for the concert

We threw on our island garb and started the afternoon by heading to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino and restaurant. An entire area was blocked off for the street party in preparation for the night’s concert. I was honestly stunned by the attire — it was like a cult-ish costume party. Never have I seen so many pirate costumes, Hawaiian shirts and margaritas in one area.

Street Party!

After a couple of margaritas and a rather eye-opening run through the Margaritaville store (Jimmy Buffett cookbooks, bumper stickers, margarita machines, shirts, boat shoes, iron ons; the list goes on and on…), we made our way further down the strip where other pre-parties were taking place at the MGM and New York-New York. The Brooklyn Bridge at the NY-NY was blocked off for an island-themed party complete with sand boxes, beach chairs and island grub.

Sweet photo shoot at the NY-NY

After grabbing some food (very necessary) at Gonzalez y Gonzalez in the NY-NY hotel, we made our way to the concert at the MGM and claimed our awesome seats! I never realized quite how intense these fans are. I met but one other girl that was attending a Jimmy show for the first time ever; the others were vets who made Jimmy Buffett concerts an annual event (as evidenced by their ornate head pieces). The show — in large part because of the awesome energy — was great. I’m proud to say that I actually knew more songs that I anticipated and was fairly quick to pick up on the mandatory ‘fins’ movements.

Up close and personal.

After the concert, grabbed one final drink before heading back to the Palazzo to pack. Sadly, and rather moronically, I booked my flight for 630A on Sunday morning which meant I had to be out the door at 445A. Not the smartest move I’ve ever made, but it worked. I was more than a little sad to say goodbye to Vegas, but I had a blast! Now that that’s off my list, I can look forward to a crazy few weeks ahead: my upcoming move to San Francisco (more on that soon!) and my long-awaited trip to Dallas!

Was anyone else at the Jimmy Buffett concert at the MGM? What did you guys think?

Want to see more pictures from Vegas? Click here.

xoxo from Sunny California,

Flying into Vegas

I left sunny Sacramento at around 9A on Thursday and jetted down to the airport to start my early weekend in Vegas! Boat Shoes was already in Vegas making his rounds for the IMEX conference, so I was all set to link up with him at the Palazzo when I arrived early that afternoon.

Boat Shoes & I lunching at FIRST.

After a quickie $7 shuttle ride to the hotel, I got settled in to our stellar suite (side note for those not wanting to throw money away, the shuttle is a mere $7, a cab is around $30 + tip). We quickly changed into comfy clothing and made our way to one of the hotel’s restaurants, FIRST Food & Bar. I was more than a little excited to see a ‘skinny’ drink (the DIY ‘Skinny Bitch’ made with Crystal Light) on their menu so I had to test it out. Imagine my surprise when it came out looking like this:

FIRST's Skinny Bitch

I love that they put the Crystal Light on the side! While the packaging looks a bit questionable (read: like you’re harboring illegal substances), I thought it was clever Vegas-inspired packaging. After re-fueling (note: the blackened mahi fish wrap is a winner!), we headed out to explore the Strip for my first time ever! 

Boat Shoes and I exploring.

There’s no doubt about it – Vegas is totally Disneyland for grown-ups. Much more expensive and debaucherous, but equally mesmerizing. You know the way you feel when you stumble upon Adventureland in Disneyland at 5-years-old and are awe-struck by everything around you as you try to take it all in? Yeah, same thing as a 25-year-old in Vegas. I was immediately mesmerized with the Palazzo as we walked through it: fake blue skies, waterways, gondoliers and a replica of St. Mark’s Square? Who thinks up these things?

Gondoliers inside the Palazzo.

We spent a few hours walking down the Strip, exploring hotels and sipping on some suspiciously delicious margaritas from Margaritaville {margaritas were definitely a trend during this trip}. 

After running around in the Vegas heat, we got cleaned up and made our way out for the evening. There is certainly no shortage of amazing restaurants in Vegas and while it’s great to have such incredible options, it also makes choosing really difficult! After much deliberation we decided to eat at SUSHISAMBA, right inside the Palazzo.

Heading out for the evening!

With a 45 minute wait at 9PM, we decided to kill some time at Double Helix Wine and Whiskey Bar(also in the Palazzo). We each grabbed a drink before making our way back to SUSHISAMBA for dinner. (Deal mongers: If you’re a foursquare user, check in at Double Helix to get a ‘buy one, get one 50% off’ deal!)

At Double Helix for drinks!

I’ll admit, I wasn’t 100% sure about SUSHISAMBA before we sat down. Sushi’s always great in my book, but I didn’t get the full concept behind the restaurant. It ended up being a very cool mix of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine and our meal was absolutely stellar. Sushi, sashimi, ahi tacos, chilean sea bass, Alaskan king crab… the list goes on and nothing disappointed.

SUSHISAMBA.

After our SUSHISAMBA run-in, we made our way to Wynn and the Encore to explore the neighboring hotels. Being big piano bar fans, we stopped into the dueling piano bar at the Encore (open from 9P on) and spent the rest of the evening lounging and doing a bit of people-watching.

All in all, an amazingly jam-packed first day in Vegas! Check back tomorrow as I re-cap delicious day two with our continued exploration of the Strip, some crazy good food and some more piano loving.

xoxo,

Wanna see more pictures of Sin City? Click here to peruse my album.

Ready for Saturday! :)

After a somewhat-late night of apartment hunting in San Francisco, I made it home at a reasonable hour, finished packing and am happy to say that I’m at the airport getting ready to board my flight to Las Vegas. [As an aside: the new Sacramento airport is quite the treat.] In three or so hours, I’ll be in Sin City for the very first time! I’m letting the stress of apartment-hunting, packing and moving go for the weekend and instead am focusing on enjoying what is sure to be a ridiculously amazing weekend.

Cheers!

PS. If I didn’t mention this before — though I’m pretty sure that I did — I got my R/T flight from Sacramento to Vegas for around $200. Book in advance with Southwest and you can snag some serious deals + don’t have to pay for checked bags! Score!

I can hardly believe it, but Vegas is right around the corner! I’ll be leaving Thursday and jetting off to Nevada for a long-awaited reunion with Boat Shoe Boy. Like I’d mentioned before, I’ve never actually been to Vegas so I’m beginning to draw up a mental packing list for the trip. Now, I’m only going to be in the city for three days and three nights and while I know the benefits of packing lightly, I have a feeling that I’ll be overpacking for this excursion (the curse of two X chromosomes). Obviously daywear is going to be vastly different from nightwear; plus, with a Jimmy Buffett concert on our agenda, my grass skirt, oversized hats and leis have to make the packing list.

The smaller of the two hats I have to pack! :)

So, for Vegas-ites, or those who visit frequently, what am I missing?! I always feel like I’m overpacking and then realize that I’ve actually just packed incorrectly — too much of the wrong thing and too little of what I actually need/want. The weather’s supposed to be between 86 and 90 degrees this weekend so I assume shorts, wedges and tank tops are appropriate for day time; dresses and heels for at night; bathing suit for poolside lounging.

I still have no idea what restaurants we’re planning on hitting up, but I’m beginning to think about our daytime plans. I feel like every conversation I have about Vegas revolves around nighttime activities, but I know there’s a ton of stuff to do and see during the day.  For anyone else that’s in the same boat (looking for inexpensive daytime activites), I found some fun suggestions but would love some more:

- Bellagio Conservatory– free admission and it’s open 24/7!
- Gallery of Fine Arts  – $15, $10 for students
- Shopping at Caesar’s Forum Shops, at the Grand Canal Shoppes or the shops at Mandalay Bay
- Drive to Red Rock Canyon, take the scenic loop — not on our agenda since we don’t have a car

Also, check out this site (Las Vegas Review Journal) for info on what to see and do during your excursion. As an aside, has anyone seen Blue Man Group? I can’t lie — my interest is piqued!

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOL8-qIYemg]

Love from CA,

Goodbye, Anguilla!

After packing our bags on Monday, we said goodbye to Anguilla at around noon and boarded the boat to St. Maarten. With Boat Shoes’ flight leaving early on Tuesday, he needed to spend the night in St Maarten to make it out in time. Seeing as how I’ve never actually been to St. Martin/St. Maarten, I thought it would be the perfect excuse to spend a solid day there exploring!

El capitan leading the way to St. Maarten.

En route to St. Maarten

Heading to Marina Royale for lunch & shopping. :)

With the whole crew in tow, we posted up on the French side where we did a bit of shopping and grabbed lunch at La Belle Epoque. While there are a few shops that are reasonably priced, my general conclusion was that the shopping wasn’t really intended for travelers on a budget (but then again, is traveling in the Caribbean really intended for the money-conscious at all?). Still, I always find it fun to peruse and get a feel for local style. No surprise here, but St. Martin definitely reminded me a ton of being in France!

Mojitos at La Belle Epoque

After our lunch with the fam, we said our goodbyes and headed over to the Dutch side of the island, where we posted up at the Sonesta Maho for the evening. After exploring the area and taking a dip in the pool, we got cleaned up for our last night in the Caribbean.

Ze French side -- St. Martin

The beach + our hotel, St. Maarten

Our hotel couldn’t have been more convenient. It’s a mere $5-7 cab fare to the airport (less than a 10 minute drive) and it sits across the street from Tantra and next to a number of fun eateries. After a bit of indecisiveness, we ended up eating at Cheri’s Cafe where we ended up with entirely too much food and a Reno-style singing/dancing act.

Cheri's Cafe

Grabbing dinner in St. Maarten.

Entertainers at Cheri's

Watch a small clip here:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFS1GJWsHcE]

Despite the fact that it was a bit on the cheesy side, the performers were actually pretty good and it made for an entertaining final evening. After dinner, we made our way to Soprano’s, an awesome piano bar right across the street. The music was awesome (I forgot how much I love piano bars!) and made for a perfect ‘name that tune’ venue.  After a few drinks, we made our way back to the hotel to say goodbye to the Caribbean for good.

Despite the fact that the flight home the following day was long (10ish hours in total + layovers), it was a smooth journey and I was safely back at home and sleeping by 1230A. All in all, I was happy that we decided to spend the last day in St. Martin. I was able to see a different facet of the Caribbean and decide for myself the vibe that I enjoy most. Granted, I didn’t spend a great deal of time in St. Martin/St. Maarten so it’s not fair to make a real judgement call here, but from what I was able to experience, I would take Anguilla over St. Martin any day! Anguilla definitely tops my ‘Prettiest Places in the World’ list. I’m just crossing my fingers that I can make it back there one day for round two!

Lots of love from US soil,

Flying into St. Maarten

Aside from a minor lack-of-sleep issue, we made it to St. Maarten on Friday according to schedule. We were shortly shuffled through immigration and found a taxi driver that shuttled us across the island. After a rather interesting journey, we found Boat Shoes and the boat crew to cruise across the waters to Anguilla.

G & K en route to Anguilla

Boat Shoes & I heading over to the island!

Within thirty-ish minutes, we were in Anguilla, going through customs and grabbing our first rum punch of the day.

Rum Punch!

Running on little sleep, a protein bar and a coffee, the rum punch hit me pretty quickly. After checking into the Frangipani Beach Resort and sipping on our second round, I was definitely ready for some real food! Being that the rest of the crew was supposed to arrive on Saturday, Boat Shoes and I went to dinner at Jacala on Friday evening for a romantic island kickoff. While the service was pretty average, the food was definitely delish (the seared tuna is definitely a winner). After refueling at dinner, we made our way to Elvis’ Beach Bar to finish off the night.

Elvis' Beach Bar

Despite the night’s not so pretty ending (note: their shots are out of control; one might be okay, three is most definitely not if you want to remain coherent), I thought this was one of the coolest little spots. The location, the people and the general environment are just incredible.

Hanging out at Elvis'

Luckily we were able to sleep in the next morning so I was able to mostly recover from the night. All in all, amazing first day/night in Anguilla. With a tie-dying adventure, a trip to Scilly Cay and August Monday still on the agenda, I couldn’t be more excited for the week ahead!

xoxo from Anguilla,

I’m currently sitting at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, a mere 3 hours and 45 minutes from paradise. The clock says 645A but my body is still rather stubbornly on California time.

Current status:

Caffeinating.

I’m lucky enough to have booked a flight with another couple that’s heading to Anguilla + Boat Shoe Boy’s brother and his friends. While the first leg of our trip was pretty tame (lots of sleeping going on), I’m thinking the next leg will be a little more active once all of these 20-year-old boys get their 3A fill of chicken strips and fries.

Refueling.

Off to grab some food and then headed off to St. Maarten. Almost there! So excited for some gorgeous beaches and our first night out in Anguilla!

Refueling in Times Square

Sunday provided us with just a few hours of sightseeing in New York. We decided to explore as much as possible, leaving enough time to make it back to Penn Station for our bus ride back to DC. We jumped on the train downtown and exited 42nd Street to check out Times Square. Yes, it’s touristy, but seeing as how we are tourists, we found it only fitting that we check it out. We grabbed coffee from Starbucks while I pondered the price of real estate in the area. (Seriously, how much does Hard Rock pay for that location?!!)

Times Square

Radio City Music Hall

Rockefeller Center

Pretty flags at Rockefeller Center

From Times Square, we headed to the Rockefeller Center to scope out the area and watch the ice skaters. By the way, how gorgeous is the Rockefeller Center this time of year?! From there, we headed up to the MoMA en route to Central Park. Now, I’m sure the MoMA would have been cool, but seeing as how they charge for entry ($20 for adults, $12 for students), we opted out. After seeing so many amazing museums in London and DC (for free!), the idea of paying for a museum seemed a bit lame. Instead of spending time (and money) there, we headed to Central Park to catch a glimpse before parting ways with New York.

We headed back uptown quite early, grabbed our stuff and made our way back to Penn Station to say farewell to the city. It was an incredibly (incredibly!) quick trip, but so amazing. Even in the short time we had there, the energy in the city was palpable. It’s really a unique mix of posh, fast-paced Type A personalities and a grittiness that adds an inexplicable level of charm. I’ll definitely be heading back there in the future, but with more time to explore and with more money to spend. Not only is there incredible shopping, but there are so many amazing plays and musicals going on at any given time plus an unrivaled array of eateries and lounges; in short, too many ways to spend a lot of money very quickly. As a budget traveler, though, I’m proud to say that we spent very little money on this trip. Despite temptation, I spent a grand total of $50 on accessories and goodies and we kept food and coffee spending to a minimum. NY is hard to do on the cheap, but it can be done!

See more pictures from New York and DC or explore my photo gallery to see pictures from other amazing adventures.

xoxo,

I’m patiently waiting at San Francisco International Airport after an early morning wake-up call. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised with SFO this morning. Within the first 10 minutes, I had checked a bag, gone through security, and secured a plug to charge my laptop for the flight. So glorious.

I always have this internal debate with early morning flights: forego the coffee and food and attempt to sleep en route to make up for the abysmal sleep from the previous night or pump in the caffeine and get sufficiently excited for the week ahead while watching some movie from 1994 on the plane. I’m still not sure which option is best this morning. My eyes tell me that they need more sleep, but my stomach and brain are telling me that they’re awake and want food/caffeine.

Since I find the planning part of adventures to be half the fun of a trip, I have a few things planned for the week that I’m ridiculously excited about. After exploring the Smithsonian’s website, I’m set on hitting up at least four of their museums plus the National Zoo. Also (while this is super touristy), I just booked a tour of the White House for next Monday, which I’m pretty excited about. Also on the agenda: a mini LSE reunion! With a number of friends now making their home in DC, I’m planning on catching up with at least a few friends while I’m in town (plus a few whilst in New York).

Annnnnd, boarding has begun…. I’m off!

See you on the East Coast,

There are only six short days until I’m sitting on a plane somewhere between San Francisco and Minneapolis en route to DC. Being that I’ve never been to DC before I was trying to figure out the most cost-effective way to get from Dulles to my friend’s apartment. IAD, which is actually in Chantilly, Virginia, is a fair hike (maybe 25 – 30 miles) from my final destination in Central DC (much like Heathrow would be to Covent Garden).

For anyone that’s in the same boat with tranposrtation, here are a few options that I’ve discovered:

1) Cab it. Certainly the most costly, but it does get you from Point A to Point B without the headache. You don’t have to worry about switching for the right metro line or wondering how to get from your metro stop to your final destination. A cab to central DC will cost roughly $55 plus tip.

2) Airport Shuttle. There’s a SuperShuttle offered that runs about $29 each way. The shuttle’s shared but it’s an easy way to get from the airport to your destination without having to navigate public transport.

3) Bus/Metro. My friend introduced me to handy Bus 5A (Dulles Line) which takes you from Dulles directly to the Rosslyn Metro stop. This is the perfect option because it’s inexpensive and it’s actually pretty straight forward. The fares for bus and rail times are listed here, but it appears as though the bus runs about $1.70 each way and the rail is a touch more depending on the distance traveled.

For anyone that’s planning on being in town for an extended period of time, the SmarTrip card seems to be a solid option. From what I can tell, it’s similar to London’s Oyster card and offers a reduced fare when you use it to ride.

I can’t believe my trip is already here! It’s really (really!) insane how quickly time flies. While I still need to pack and fully prepare, I am so excited to catch up with my friends and check out the city!

xoxo from California,