VEGAS BABY: Vegas 2018

I know what you're thinking: "SERIOUSLY?? Does this chick go nowhere except for Vegas??" I promise this is the last Vegas trip for a long time. Vegas is just really close to Provo, so it makes for a convenient weekend trip. To be fair, this was kind of a working trip for me, as it was the WCC Basketball Tournament. I went with my friends Haley and Ali, which created an interesting group dynamic.

I met Ali in high school when she was the historian for the National Honor Society while I was president. She graduated a year after me and we lost contact when I graduated. We weren't good friends in high school. We reconnected over the summer between freshman and sophomore year of high school when I posted a video of myself and a few friends screwing up a Dirtylicious (dirty dancing) combo. We started going to Dirtylicious together and became fast friends.

In January, she brought her friend Haley along to Dirtylicious. I didn't know it at the time, but Haley wanted to meet me because she had found out I was kind of dating Payton Dastrup, whom she had made out with several times during one of our off times in our relationship. I found out about all of this when Payton invited me to a party and told me I could bring friends. I brought Ali and Haley. When he asked me how I knew Haley, I told him I'd met her that week and asked how he knew her. He told me they used to be NCMO buddies. It created an interesting dynamic, to say the least. I had no problem with him making out with Haley on one of our breaks and Haley and I became fast friends.

Day 1

Ali, Haley, and I drove down to Vegas after our classes got out on Thursday afternoon. We had an awesome time just talking and singing along to our music. We all hung out pretty much every day, so it was just fun to spend more time with them. We had been preparing for this trip by going to the gym together every day and watching what we were eating so we would be prepared to stun the men of Vegas. Every time we walked into the gym, Ali would say, "VEGAS BABY" so we knew exactly why we were there. Regardless, it was a good car ride.

Haley and I at the hot tub

Day 2

I woke up really late on Friday morning. Apparently while I was sleeping, the light was amazing out on the balcony at Boca Raton, where we were staying. Haley and Ali were out there taking a super long video of themselves on selfie mode. They would hold a pose for a few seconds and then move on to a new one. They got a bunch of pictures from the screenshots of the stills this way. It's the absolute funniest video to watch because it is such a ridiculous idea until you see it done and work out with high quality photos.

After their impromptu photoshoot, we went out to the hot tub and took some more pictures. This trip is by far my best documented Vegas trip, so brace yourself for a lot of pictures. We went to the hot tub in the middle of all the condos because the one by the pool already had people in it. Right when you go to Boca, you see a clubhouse. Inside it, there is a steam room, massage room, theater, and massive kitchen/dining room. Right behind that, there's a pool and a hot tub surrounded by cabanas. Because this is a main gathering area, there can be a lot of people there sometimes. We wanted seclusion so we went to the smaller hot tub.

Hash House trip

After our hot tub photoshoot, we met up with my friend Luana at Hash House A Go Go. I know you're absolutely shocked that I, of all people, would go to Hash House. Ali liked it so much that she subscribed to their mailing list and still texts me about it two years later every time she gets a promotion from them. They now have a location in St. George, and I am honestly so grateful for it.

Haley and I on the Strip

After Hash House, we went and walked around the Strip. Ali actually got summoned to the team hotel by her boy toy Kolby, so we walked over there. Haley and I dropped off Ali at the elevator. Kolby was nervous about being seen because it's definitely against the rules for girls to be in the boys' rooms, so he only quickly peeked his head out of the elevator when we showed up. Haley yelled, "Make good choices!" and then we headed back to the Strip. While walking by ourselves, we incidentally caught up with some of my friends from the ROC Board. When we were in a massive group of people, we also ran into Payton as he was running back to the team hotel we had just come from to make his curfew. It was pretty awkward when it was me, him, and Haley all in the same place while my ROC friends asked him to make a promotional video for the ROC Twitter and Instagram asking people to come to the game tomorrow. It was quite a ride.

Ali and I with fake beer

We made our way back to the team hotel and picked up Ali before heading back out onto the Strip. We had a grand old time just running around and being dumb. The amount of weird souvenir shops you can find on the Strip is absolutely appalling. Ali and I pretended to try some fake beer, which we thought was hilarious because members of our church don't drink. Eventually, we made our way back to Boca and went to bed around 3am.

Day 3

Saturday morning, we woke up and headed straight to the quarterfinals BYU v. San Diego game. We won handily, so we hoped that was a good sign for the semifinals game between BYU and Saint Mary's, who had struggled against their last opponent. After the game, we went to Raising Cane's. The ROC pays for a few meals every time the WCC Tournament comes around because they want to encourage students to drive down to Vegas and support their team. I helped work and organize that, so we ended up finishing quite late in the afternoon. We headed back to Boca and took a nap.

Game day at Orleans Arena

Ali and Haley had spontaneously decided to go to a Demi Lovato and DJ Khaled concert that night at the MGM Grand. I didn't particularly love either artist and the tickets cost $100, so I didn't end up going. Instead, I met up with my ROC Board friends at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. We were planning to take a group picture there, but we ended up watching a couple get married by an Elvis Presley impersonator instead. It was hilarious. We then ate dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings on the Strip, at which point Ali and Haley were done.

I met back up with Ali and Haley at M&M's World. We walked through there before going to Coke World. They tried the Coke from around the world challenge, where you try sodas from various places around the world and try to guess the country and flavor. I don't love soda, so I didn't try any of them, but they really enjoyed it. We ended the night at Denny's because both girls were starving after the concert, where food is so wildly expensive that you don't want to buy any of it.

We went to the Denny's on the Strip. When we were about to leave, Haley started quoting this video she had seen on Twitter. It was some random Christian video that had kids at a camp chanting, "virginity is cool! Come on come on!" She decided she absolutely had to try it in the middle of a crowded Denny's on the Strip in freaking Vegas, the capital of one night stands. So we left to her chanting, "VIRGINITY IS COOL!" at the top of her lungs. It was an adventure to say the least. We were all cracking up because everyone in there had been so confused as to what had been going on. From there, we headed home.

While we were walking to our car, Haley jumped up to touch a low point in the roof. When she came back down, she immediately crumpled to the ground and we knew something was wrong. She had dislocated her knee. Because this had happened to her before several times, she just popped it right back in and kept going. It was quite exciting, but her knee did give her a few problems the rest of the trip.

Haley and I at church

Day 4

We woke up really late and then headed out to church. We hit 1pm church and watched a baby blessing. When we were taking the picture I've attached, someone from Vegas asked how we could be out in this cold in short sleeves. For us, it was a treat to have it be 75 and sunny, but for them, it was freezing cold! We went to Hash House A Go Go for lunch/dinner. Luckily, the portions are big enough that they can count for both.

We spent the rest of the day chilling back at Boca. It was nice to have a really lazy day after moving at a ridiculous pace for not only the past couple of days of our trip but also the semester. I am a firm believer in making sure you get enough down time to operate, even if I am sometimes not very good at executing my own plan.

Back at Boca, we stayed up really late because we hadn't really done anything exciting during the day. We ended up finding a crazy burst of energy around 1am, and Haley and Ali began to sing some Demi Lovato songs from the concert at the top of their lungs and dance. Neither of them are fantastic singers. My voice was hoarse because I had been sick for a while, so I didn't join in on the festivities. I just sat back and watched the amazing performance I had been given. You'll notice Haley on the bed doubling over when her knee popped back into place when she stood up all the way. It was very exciting stuff. We finally headed to bed exhausted and happy from the endorphins.

Carlo's Bake Shop

Day 5

We started off the day watching Ali welcome home her sister via FaceTime. Her sister had been on her mission and was coming home that day, but Ali was in Vegas with us. It was actually a blessing in disguise because then when she got home, she was able to call complete dibs on her sister's time because she hadn't seen her in literally 18 months.

After watching the reunion, we began what has now become one of my very favorite Vegas activities: the ultimate Vegas dessert tour. Basically you just start on the north end of the Strip with Carlo's Bake Shop inside the Venetian and then eat one treat from all the famous places on the way down the Strip.

At Carlo's Bake Shop, I had a cannoli. Normally I am not a big cannoli person, but this was TO DIE FOR! I had a chocolate covered one, and it was absolutely delicious. I don't really like chocolate that much, but I didn't even care when I ate this cannoli. The covering, delectable filling, and crunchy outside coating all went together even more perfectly than I could have possibly imagined.

Gelato flowers at Amaretto

Our next stop was the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM at the Linq Shoppes. The cupcake itself wasn't my favorite, but the ATM part was super cool. Essentially you just choose the flavor you want and the frosting, and the ATM spits out a cupcake. It's really quite amazing. I had a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting (a classic). The girls and I split it, and none of us thought it was up to par. I would probably go back though just for the cupcake ATM experience.

Our final stop (because we ended up getting too full of just sugar) was Amaretto. Amaretto is known for making flowers out of their gelato. It was super interesting to watch the employees craft these flowers from gelato. I had lemon and raspberry gelato and it was unreal. Mostly I think I just really love gelato.

On our way back to Boca, we drove by the team hotel and saw the team bus getting ready to leave for the game. Ali wanted to send a video to Kolby, but she was driving so she had me take it. I couldn't resist saying, "WOWWWW" in the background. With my super deep and throaty voice because of my cough, it's honestly quite hysterical. We got quite a few good laughs out of it.

We headed over to the BYU v. Saint Mary's game at Orleans arena then. Pre-game, I got to go up into one of the suites with the rest of the athletic marketing employees. Normally, I sit in the same spot for all the games. Payton liked to watch me while he warmed up (that sounds super creepy, but it wasn't). Once, Haley counted that he looked at me 17 times for more than three seconds in just a five minute period. We thought that was hilarious. Apparently, Payton really wondered where I was pre-game because I eventually caught him watching me even while I was clear up in one of the suites eating. When I came back down for the game, he made eye contact with me and asked if I was all good. I'm not sure why I wouldn't be, but it was nice of him to check in, especially because I hadn't seen him in so long.

Our last night together

We watched BYU handily defeat Saint Mary's by 12 that night in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament. It was a really fun game to be at because we normally lose to Saint Mary's, so it came as a surprise when we unexpectedly won.

After the game, Haley and Ali had to leave because they couldn't miss school on Tuesday. We thought we would be driving home together, but I decided to stay for one last night because I wanted to watch BYU play Gonzaga for the championship the next day. They dropped me off at South Point with the rest of the ROC Board and headed home.

I went midnight bowling with the ROC Board before we all eventually got tired and made our way back to their hotel. Athletic marketing had paid for their whole week's stay, so that was really nice. I got to room with some friends.

Day 6

Our final day in Vegas, we went to some super sketchy Thai place in a strip mall for breakfast before heading over to the game. BYU got absolutely smoked by Gonzaga and lost by 20 points. We were down by as much as 32 at one point in the game. Payton played really well though, so it was fun to watch him come into himself a little bit.

After the game, I rode home with my friends Meg, James, and Chandler from the ROC Board. We drove home overnight and made it back to Provo around 3am. On our way back, we got into some pretty deep questions. At one point, Chandler told me, "Kjerstin, you're like the Jesus of the ROC Board because you always save us and do what no one else wants to do." I had a good long laugh over that one. Mostly, it was just a really amazing trip with some of my best friends.

Life Lessons

Always eat at Hash House A Go Go.

If you even kind of like dessert, take a dessert tour of Vegas. You won't regret it.

Take time to relax and be yourself without the stresses of life.

Stay where your kind of man can see you at all times when it's game day...?

Don't accidentally meet up with said man when you're in a large group of friends, including the girl he made out with while you were on a break.