In early May, Nate had the opportunity to present a session at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference in Las Vegas. He really wanted me to come along, and fortunately I was able to arrange my work schedule so we could make it a “weekend.” We took the non-stop Southwest flight from MCI on a Tuesday morning and spent a couple of nights at the MGM Grand.
This was our second time visiting Vegas, so there were a few spots we knew we wanted to revisit. First stop, though, was the conference center so Nate could check in and scope out the room he would be presenting in. It was huge! I could tell he was a bit nervous — this was his first time at the largest conference he’s been invited to speak at. But I knew he was going to do great!
Connected to the conference center, the MGM Grand has several floors of hotel rooms and an expansive casino floor with a number of bars and restaurants. Even after being there for two days, it was easy to get turned around in! We were hoping to check out Chez Bippy, a “hidden” speakeasy, but we were there at the wrong time — it only has limited operating hours Thursday through Saturday evenings.
Exploring Las Vegas Boulevard, a.k.a. the Las Vegas Strip, is an adventure in itself. Lined with resort hotels and casinos, it’ll take you from Egypt to medieval Great Britain to New York to Paris and more all within a few blocks. You could spend hours in any of the expansive upscale shopping malls or casinos alone! While all that’s fun, we enjoy venturing a bit further from the strip as well.
The one place we knew we wanted to revisit was the Downtown Container Park. This open air shopping center has boutiques, restaurants, outdoor activities, and fun art installations. To get there from the strip, you can hop on the Duece, a frequent and affordable bus service that operates 24/7. You’ll take a short walk a few blocks from the downtown bus stop until you see a huge praying mantis made of upcycled metalwork.
On our last visit two years ago, we added a lock to the Love Locks installation, a metal structure near the park’s entrance where couples are encouraged to “lock their love.” You can purchase locks and metal tags in various shapes to write messages on in one of the boutiques. We tried to find ours again, but it must be so popular they have to remove some regularly.
Inside the container park, we enjoyed drinks on the patio outside Bin 702, a wine bar with specialty cocktails and beer. Early May was the perfect time to visit Las Vegas, because the temperature stayed in the 70’s. There were even a few rain showers. We got caught in brief but heavy one when we headed to our next destination! Fortunately, there’s the Downtown Loop, a free shuttle that services attractions around downtown during limited daytime hours.
My cousin recommended our next stop: the Arts District. With antique shops, galleries, and local restaurants, this area of downtown Vegas has a chiller vibe than the Strip. Our focus was finding more drinks and something to eat. We enjoyed some IPA’s and pretzels with beer cheese at Las Vegas Brewing Company, tried HUDL Brewing Company, and then couldn’t resist more beer and the veggie pizza at Nevada Brew Works.
Needless to say, after all that we were full and ready to walk! The rain had cleared up, and we started back toward Las Vegas Boulevard on foot, planning to catch the Duece for our return to the MGM. By that time, the sun had come out, so it was a relief to hop on a bus with A.C. on full blast.
Two nights in Vegas was the perfect amount of time for us. Among Nate preparing for and giving his presentation (which did go well with over 100 attendees!), we spent the rest of our quick Vegas “weekend” playing slots in the casinos, finding more delicious food and drink, and enjoying further walks around the Strip.
We weren’t having much luck with those slots, so it was good we had an excuse to leave town before we did too much damage to our finances!
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