Friday, November 20, 2015

Vegas Shenanigans [WRS Meet Up & Red Rock Canyon]

You know what 'they' say... What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas... Well, that is pretty much the EXACT OPPOSITE of what happens when you get a bunch of social media enthusiast runners together... But I wouldn't have it any other way!

In case you are late to the party, let me catch you up: A few of us crazy kids decided to take on the #SD2LV challenge. That included the Silver Strand Half Marathon in San Diego (more specifically Coronado) Sunday morning, jumping on a plane and flying to Vegas to run the Rock 'N' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon Sunday afternoon. [PS The links will take you to the complete recaps. I know I say this a lot, but you do NOT want to skip reading them or at least skimming through to check out all of the great pictures!]

A few of the pictures from the Silver Strand Half Marathon

Out the plane window on the way into Vegas

A few of the pictures from the Rock 'N' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon

Now that you are caught up, let's get on with it! Sunday night there was supposed to be an unofficial We Run Social get together around 9pm. Well, with four girls sharing one small hotel bathroom and not getting back to the room after the race until 8pm, we knew we weren't going to make it. After we all showered, we ended up walking to a nearby diner (Peppermill) and scarfing down some food (I had been living off Clif bars and Gardettos for the day so was ready to get some "real" food in my tummy - like grilled cheese and french fries). When we were all falling asleep at the table waiting for the check we quickly realized we were going to have to call it a night.

The MAIN EVENT for Monday was the We Run Social meet up.

Source

I had seen some of the WRS crew at the race the night before, but was looking forward to having a little more time to chat and hang out with everyone. The word on social media was this was the event to be at, but I wasn't sure how many people would actually show (especially because it sounded like some folks were heading out of Vegas Monday morning and would miss the meet up).

Sure, we probably have some "nice" shots, but this crew is all about THE FUN, so I liked this picture the best!

This is a picture of Jeremy getting a selfie with the WRS Crew in the background

And this is what it looked like from his phone
Source

As you can see, the turn out was HUGE! Even though the water show wasn't going on (I guess it didn't actually start until 3pm), the pictures we got were EPIC! (Not to mention, with the crazy winds Vegas was still having, I think we would have been soaked by the time we got the shot.) I was able to chat with quite a few of my friends and even make some new ones! The turn out was so great that I didn't get a chance to talk to everyone, but I guess that's a good problem to have :)

If you don't take a picture, it didn't happen, right?! Gotta document all of the friendships!

After hanging out in front of the Bellagio and then at Serendipity, some of us moved into the Cesar's Palace food court for lunch. We hung out for a bit and then everyone had to part ways (either to catch flights, check out of their hotels or go about their "real" lives).

JJ and his son made it for the tail end of the Meet Up

The last of the crew

Shelby's mom was worried that the five of us wouldn't get a photo together
so we made sure to snap this one before we all parted ways and sent it to her

Just because the WRS fun was over, doesn't mean the party was over. Shelby's parents were nice enough to open their home to Kara and I, so once we dropped Megan off to catch her shuttle we made our way off the Strip. Both Kara and I were flying out Tuesday morning, so the three of us decided to have a little last minute adventure. We drove over to Red Rock Canyon to check out the scenery.


As you can see from the picture above, which was taken on our way TO Red Rock Canyon, the sun was already setting. We decided it was still worth Kara's $7 entrance fee (we joked about it, but I am so glad she forked over the money that I was too frugal to pay because it made for some AMAZING views and memories).

Below are just a few of the many pictures we took on the 13 mile loop through the park. The wind was howling, it was a tit bit nippily, but we had a BLAST!

Red rock

The wind and I fought, but don't worry... I WON!
Every parking area we came across I would jump out and try to get a great shot

Just give us iPhones and selfie sticks and we are good!

The views were absolutely amazing!

For some reason I got the sense that Kara and Shelby were laughing AT me instead of WITH me during our adventure ;)

Like I said, we had a great time! And then, because my ladies know me well, we were off to eat #AllTheChipsAndSalsa (and two-for-one margaritas) at a yummy Mexican restaurant by Shelby's parents. It was delicious and a perfect way to end our trip together.

We joked and said that the park entrance fee was the best $7 Kara spent all day...
Well, the 2-for-1 margaritas were the best $8.99 I spent all day!

And just in case you wonder what the "behind-the-scenes" looks like ;)

Tuesday morning came early (I swear I am still catching up on sleep and it is FRIDAY), but I wouldn't have changed the whirlwind of a trip for anything. Shelby's sweet mama drove to the airport on her way to work (Kara's flight was later in the morning and I didn't want to force the ladies to get out of bed at 6am).

You can see the red rocks in the distance as we left Vegas

And just like that, my adventures in Vegas had come to an end. It's crazy to think that the majority of us met online because of this crazy passion we call running. The running community is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! They are MY TRIBE and I am so glad they have accepted me with open arms!

What are your thoughts on selfie sticks? [I used to be against them, but look at the shots we might have missed without it!]

3 comments:

Unknown said...

So much fun! Great to see you this weekend. I think I'd love to get out to Red Rock next time I visit Las Vegas. It looks beautiful.

Duchess said...

I've been sort of anti-selfie stick myself...but finally decided to get one for my tweenage daughter for Christmas this year.

Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes said...

So fun! I wanted to go to the meet up after the race too but by the time we got back and showered it was so late. I almost forced myself to go just because I was dying to meet you guys, but it didn't happen. Kind of glad now since you didn't end up being there!