What happens in Vegas…

This weekend is our 25th wedding anniversary (which is weird because in my head I’m emotionally 24 at best) so we decided to take Hailey and go back to where we celebrated our honeymoon…Vegas. Well, Victor and Hailey decided really because Vegas isn’t really my kinda town (too peoply) but then Hailey was like, “We can go to see Meowolf!” and I was a little confused but they explained that it’s a supermarket that doubles as an LSD trip and then I was more confused but then Victor was like, “We can see the weird-ass stuff you always like” so this weekend we will be visiting an interactive art Supermarket, a haunted museum, a 40 foot praying mantis shooting fire out of it’s mouth, and watching Cirque du Soleil (through double masks because we’re vaccinated but I’m still paranoid). Any other suggestions for things we can’t miss? (Weird and cheesy is a plus.)

These are some of the only pictures I have of us together in Vegas because this was a time before smartphones when the only way you could have a good picture together was to ask a stranger on the street to take it and you didn’t even know if it was good until you came back home and took the film to get developed. We’re so fucking old.

116 thoughts on “What happens in Vegas…

Read comments below or add one.

  1. I second the Neon Museum because it’s neat and also outside. We went 5 years ago for our 20th and saw 3 Cirque du Soleil shows, we love them.

  2. The Neon Museum is really cool, and totally under rated in my opinion. It’s close to the strip, and you will see the history of Vegas thru a neon sign graveyard. Take the tour! It’s also outdoors so more COVID friendly.

  3. How about the Pinball Museum? They have a huge collection of pinball machines that you can play! And maybe go to the Neon Museum to see a bunch of old Vegas signs.

  4. I had a friend go recently and she said there’s a Pinball Machine museum.

  5. I’m going to the haunted museum too this weekend!! Be nice to Peggy the doll 😉

  6. INCREDIBLY jealous that you are going to Zak Bagan’s museum! Have an amazing time. I get overwhelmed by Vegas too, but it’s more the casinos that get me (the lights, noise, etc.), so stay out of those.

  7. I recently went to MeowWolf in Santa Fe and it was AMAZING!! I’m so happy you are going! Also, that was my last stop on an epic trip that coalesced around going to Nowhere Bookshop. Thank you so much for the inspiration to see several states I’ve never seen, swim in the ocean, and see the caverns in San Antonio. You’re wonderful staff let me buy a book 10 minutes after closing, and it was signed!!! Best vacation ever!

  8. Seven Magic Mountains art installation. We drove past it on the interstate. It looks like someone stacked colorful huge marshmallows in the desert.

  9. The mob museum and a drink in the Underground! It’s also worth checking out the Road Kill Grill. 🙂 Area 15 (which is where the supermarket is, I think). You can get a Groupon for a private tour with lions and a giraffe who makes art. There’s so much more to Vegas than the strip!

  10. I live in Santa Fe, birthplace of Meow Wolf. You’re going to love it.

  11. The Liberace Museum cannot be missed it’s everything you might think it could be 😀

  12. Love Vegas. What’s funny is that a friend just mentioned Meowolf to me yesterday … guess this is a sign I need to go!

    Tons of good food there, too – my fave is Mon Ami Gabi, at Paris, but I also always do In-N-Out and Giordano’s since we no longer have them here in Michigan (Giordanos, I mean – they opened TWO and then closed BOTH. Grr).

  13. You’re going to Zak’s museum!? AWESOME! I hope you guys have an awesome time. And do tell if you see/feel/hear anything ghosty!

  14. Red Rock Canyon is worth visiting. It’s beautiful. Or take a bit of a drive to Rachel NV and go to the Little Ale’inn!

  15. I love the food scene. Go to Jaleo – it is delicious. Also restaurant reservations are more necessary currently bc of Covid restrictions.

  16. We saw Absinthe (the show at Caesar’s Palace, not the drink). It was insane and hilarious and weird and beautiful. I highly recommend it if it’s still going.

  17. Happy Anniversary! When we go to Vegas, we always see “Big Elvis” because it’s just the cheesiest show there. At Harrah’s, and free, but they kinda want you to order something to drink to watch, which is okay because it’s so hot there you’ll be thirsty, anyway. Of all the Cirque shows I’ve seen, Mystere is my favorite because of the Taiko drums that totally rock you to your soul, so I hope that’s the one you’re going to see. But they are all good. My husband likes “O” because of the naked boobies.

  18. The Haunted museum is great! Also I second the mob museum recommendation. That was really cool.

  19. Congratulations on your anniversary! Just had our 40th in May which is so creepy. I’m not sure I’ve matured past 23, at the most! My ridiculously old children don’t think I’m out of my preteen years 🤣 Mostly I refuse to adult, one of my daughters even got me some items with a saying on it about not adulting. If you get a chance we enjoy Old Vegas sometimes. And I agree about the casinos, plus non stop smoking! Hailey is beautiful. Oh wait, that’s you with Victor.

  20. Happy Anniversary!!!! Have fun at the haunted museum and avoid the dybbuk box because it’s just silly. 😉 (for the record I’m a ghost fan and paranormal believer, I just find the dybbuk box a bit over blown)

  21. Since its your Anniversary, make sure to take a lock to add to the love locket in Container Park. If your seeing the praying mantis, you’ll be right there! Heck, just sitting and people watching fills my weird meter!

  22. Lots of others have said it and I will confirm with my opinion: Neon Museum is great! And I have heard the pinball one is good too.

  23. The Haunted Museum is right up your alley, and the Neon Museum is beautiful at night. I love Vegas, we all need to enjoy it now because the entire area is going to run out of water eventually.

  24. Happy Anniversary! My fave thing in Vegas (maybe of all time) was La Reve,,,water-based Cirque-type show. Sadly the last reviews I read said it’s not as spectacular as it used to be but it was so awesome then! Safe travels…

  25. First Happy Anniversary! See the Neon Museum at night, there were fewer people when I did that in 2019. Also, I was disappointed in the Haunted Museum – enjoyed it but was just rushed from room to room after standing in line for like 2 hours. I would have loved to just wander and really look at everything.

  26. We renewed our vows in Vegas at the drive-thru wedding chapel. It was very un-peopley, fun, and lets your kid have “proof” you are really married because they give you a certificate from an ink-jet printer. We even bought new $10 rings for the occasion.
    My husband did one of the rides at the top of the Stratosphere, but I made him sign a will first. I think a showgirl witnessed it.
    And if you venture towards Siegfried’s and Roy’s private zoo, you should know it’s stupid expensive, but it is (was?) next to a clothing optional pool which was all sorts of intriguing weird. Have fun!

  27. Congratulations on 25 years! You and Victor look like teenagers in those photos.. it makes me want to go look at my own honeymoon photos. Lol. I’ve only been to Vegas once, but I love the show I took in (Phantom of the Opera) and the light show on Fremont St. That was worth seeing. I look forward to hearing what you do!

  28. Oh, an add-on to my earlier comment – if the Crazy Horse Saloon girl squad statue is still there, you can take pictures with the statue (it’s outside and free), and buy a commemorative bottle opener. We are all about weird adventures in our travels. You need to add tallest thermometer to your next list.

  29. Have fun! I also need you to know I was trying too hard to pronounce “MeowWolf” like “Beowulf” in my head until I got to the comments. (Also, I get to see some of my family for the first time since Thanksgiving 2019, so yay vaccines!!!)

  30. I was just in Vegas in May and the meowolf OmegaMart was a TON of fun. It is at Area15 and there are fun sculptures out front and a lot of stuff happening inside as well. I’ve heard the Neon Museum is cool, but didn’t get the chance to go. Have a fabulous time and Happy Anniversary!

  31. Pinball Hall of Fame! They just opened their new location in the strip this year. It’s awesome and a non-profit so you okay games get loads of entertainment from it and get to know that after all the bills are paid the left over money goes to charity. When we eventually make it back out to Vegas it’ll be my family’s first stop!

  32. I hope you have a lovely time in Vegas. I went to the Mashantucket Pequot casino for a comic book convention and we had lunch and walked around the casino and that was plenty of enough anxiety producing crowds, lights and sounds and fun confusion for me. I do love their museum, though. Give me a nice quiet museum any day of the week.
    If you and Victor and Hailey ever want a really great experiential vacation go to the States of Illinois and Wisconsin and check out all of Chicago’s museums and zoo and aquarium and the Brookfield zoo and then hop on over to The House On The Rock in WI. I loved their attractions almost more than I ever did the ones in NYC or Boston, and they were far less crowded and cleaner and less overwhelming.
    The House On The Rock in WI is TOTALLY right up your alley of interests. Photographs can’t really do it justice, and it can’t really be explained properly, but it’s the most fantastic experience I’ve ever had in a museum. It’s very hot in summer, so I suggest visiting in the fall.

  33. No idea if it’s still running, but we had a blast at an interactive mystery dinner called Marriage Can Be Murder

  34. I lived in Henderson near Vegas for 7 years and hated it. It’s way too hot. But places I did enjoy were Mt. Charleston (once when it was 110 in Vegas, it was snowing on Mt. Charleston in June or July. I was dressed for summer in a dress and froze my ass off at my friend’s wedding). The lodge at the top has great food and a million hummingbirds feeding at the feeders. It’s also not crowded. The cabins up there are fun to stay in too.

    The Southwest Diner and Begays’s Indian jewelry are great places to visit in nearby Boulder City, which is small and not crowded either.

    Be safe.

  35. Go to the marshmallow making factory tour – cheesy & tasty & surprisingly cool!!

  36. The Cosmopolitan hotel is full of art, and you don’t have to be staying there to wander all the floors and goof on some amazing work. And yes – the Neon Museum.

  37. Happy Anniversary! I loved the flamingo habitat at the Flamingo Hotel on the strip. They also have swans, hummingbirds, parrots, and other birds. Also Akhob, a very cool color-art-installation at the City Center Louis Vuitton store. It’s open to the public, but you have to ask to get in. Also get an umbrella drink at Frankie’s Tiki Room!

  38. Dear Jenny,

    As a great many of us here are long-term fans of yours and as I love your writing style both in your blog and in your books (Well, I have only purchased one book so far but I am saving up to buy more and when I say ‘writing style, I mean Style! and the way you so masterfully and brilliantly use ‘run on’ sentences which I find really really really charming and somehow soooo ‘Texan’ and of course I am a native Texan and so damn proud to be such, which brings me along to the point of this comment, if there even is a point…oh yeah: Congratulations on your 25th anniversary.)

    I can say I have been married 25 years too, just took my combing of four different women/marriages to accomplish that milestone. *heavy sigh*

    And to quote Tom Hanks, playing Charlie Wilson in ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’, (RIP Charlie), the late, greatest Texan Congressman (Lufkin) who ever drew Texas air into his lungs…. To quote Charlie,

    “I LOVE LAS VEGAS!”

    This humble commenter, moi, Loves Vegas too Charlie and Jenny and anyone else who cares to ask or know.

    Again, Heartfelt congrats from Commerce, Texas and me now.

    Commenter’s note: I tried to do the ‘run on sentence thang’ but no one does it better than you my Dear Spirit Blogging Animal!

    Viva Las Vegas!

    Yer Long-Time Fan, and I must reiterate: Congratulations! to you and your husband.

    –Lance

    And Viva—Las—Vegas!!

    https://texantales.com/2021/06/25/shonnie-the-bikers-wife-part-viva-las-vegas/

  39. Husband and I got married in Las Vegas on Christmas Day 23 years ago (Elvis walked me down the aisle :-D) and we “honeymooned” by camping in the Mojave Desert for a week, then saw Wayne Newton and meandered around Fremont Street. On our 10th anniversary we went back and visited “our” chapel and also the Mob Museum – where we spent THREE HOURS because it was such a great experience. Highly recommend it! Vegas is one of my favorite places, mainly for the cool experiences and the people watching. I never gamble, but I enjoy the buffets 😉 Have a great time!

  40. Well, Hailey definitely knows what she is going to look like when she grows older, from your honeymoon photos. Looking in a mirror!

  41. Happy Anniversary!

    Meow Wolf started here in Santa Fe, NM with author, George R. R. Martin as a backer. It’s cool, interactive art. It is very (over)stimulating to the senses, so be prepared.

  42. Resort World just opened and my sister works in the cafe. If you want to hang out with a couple of goofball corgis, message me and I can bring my boys to meet you somewhere (yes, I live in Vegas.) Advanced warning – they shed like its an Olympic event and they’re going for gold. Prepare for hot and probably not humid for you, but humid for us – humidity will be over 15% (our normal is 7%) all weekend, temps 105 or higher.

  43. Ice bar, Beatles Cirque du Soleil show, dinner at the Eiffel Tower with a view of the water show.

  44. Next week is also our 25th anniversary, except we’re going on a road trip with our youngest son to visit colleges. On the upside, we’re driving to Boston and there’s lobster. 🙂
    Happy Anniversary!

  45. I’m a local and second the Neon Museum. The Mob Museum is so good, three stories detailing to the two sides of the law. I also love the gondola rides at the Venetian and Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. I haven’t don’t the dolphin exhibit at the Mirage but heard it’s great!

  46. Haven’t been to Vegas in years, but the Venetian used to have wonderful free things like opera singers and human statues (and, of course, you could pay for a gondola ride.) And Caesar and Cleopatra used to make appearances at Caesar’s Palace, don’t know if they still do that. Obviously the Dancing Waters at the Bellagio is a fun free thing, it’s one of my favorites!

  47. I just saw Meow Wolf in Santa Fe! It’s definitely sensory overload. We had to ask for directions to get out. Wild. I hate Las Vegas, but it’s worth it to see the fun stuff! Enjoy!

  48. MeowWolf is unreal… I went during my big US trip, a reader took me to see the original site in New Mexico. A warehouse full of craziness… the best I can describe is like an interconnected series of movie sets, all bizarre and a bit twisted, full of secret doors and special effects… there’s some kind of story theme running throughout, but that was way too much to grasp. Highlights for me were the future-world, with sliding Star Trek doors and a yeti in a suspended animation tank… oh, and the fridge in the kitchen of an otherwise conventional house… which turned out to be a secret passageway into a trippy psychedelic forest! Epic stuff, and well worth a visit. Take heaps of photos! It’s the only way you’ll be able to describe it to anyone…

  49. I agree with all those that mentioned the Neon Museum. It is so neat to see all the old signs, etc. If you’re going soon… make sure you bring water, it’s hot!

  50. I will be there the weekend after to see Bruno Mars in concert. Definitely the Neon Museum. If you want to take a drive the Valley of Fire is worth the trip but bring bottles of drinking water.

  51. Another vote for the Neon Museum. It’s super neato as long as you can do it at a time that isn’t miserably hot. If you’re up for road trips, I thought Red Rock Canyon was cool (but I’m from NC, so the desert was well and truly a novel sight for me). And a bit further afield you could check out Rhyolite. It’s a ghost town and also super neato.

  52. The Penn and Teller Magic Show at Rio is lots of fun. They tell you it’s a trick, they show you how the trick is done, and they still get you in the end. Happy Anniversary!

  53. Neon Museum!

    Last time I was there, we play at the KISS glow in the dark mini-golf place, and ended up having more fun that I usually do while playing mini-golf.

  54. So many good comments – I live just outside of Vegas. Agree with the Neon Museum, although it’s *very* hot here right now, so morning is best. Avoid anything outdoors in the afternoon. Mob Museum is great, but it’s kind of small and all indoors. May not be the most Covid-avoidance friendly place. Seven Magic Mountains definitely. Also outdoors, so same caveat about heat. It’s only funded through the end of this year, so not something to miss.

    Happy Anniversary!

  55. Another vote for the pinball museum. It may not be quite as weird as an LSD supermarket, but it’s really neat!

  56. Happy anniversary! Have a wonderful time!

    I know being amazed at the time that’s passed, I just had my 37th anniversary at the part time job I took just to tide me over till I found my career. Hard to believe they’d hire a 2 year old to work in a grocery store isn’t it?

  57. My husband and I eloped to Vegas and Honeymooned there. We go back each year for our anniversary and some years more than once. All the Cirque shows are great as well as Mac King comedy and magic. Mob Museum is super interesting. Dining there is world class. So much to see and do and you don’t have to gamble to have great fun (unless you want to of course).

  58. Definitely check out the National Atomic Testing Museum. It is super interesting! And you can test radioactive Fiestaware with a Geiger counter. 🙂

  59. Fremont Street – yes, it’s full of people – but find a quiet spot and sit and people watch. Serious it’s the BEST. And, there is sometimes big burning man sculptures around the area. If you have a car you should go to Valley of Fire – breathtaking. Frankies Tiki Room is a cool off-strip bar that is tiny.

    I’ve never been, but there is an atomic testing museum that is on my “next time” list.

  60. Oh wow, have fun!! I hope you’ll post a lot of pictures, especially of that weird supermarket. (Young-you and young-Victor are adorable!)

  61. I’ve lived in Vegas &/or Henderson for the last 28 yrs. The Neon museum is cool, Red Rock Canyon is amazing to see (you can hike, do some bouldering, see petroglyphs or just enjoy beautiful scenery. The Ice box canyon trail there is shaded & much cooler than the rest of Vegas.) Blackout dining is a restaurant where you dine entirely in the dark (menu is vegetarian & food & experience are great!), Area 15 is an interactive, immersive art experience with many different trippy, rave like exhibits that you can get tickets for (Van Gogh Experience, etc.), but entry into the main part & public art is free. Tom Devlin’s Monster museum in Boulder City is super cheesy & fun. If you go to Boulder, check out Hemenway Park that over looks Lake Mead & you may catch Big horn sheep. Also, lunch at the Dillinger is great! They have amazing burgers (The sticky burger has peanut butter & bacon! It sounds weird, but is delicious! The dillinger burger has bbq brisket, bacon & cheddar! So good!) Techatticup mine in Nelson, NV has a little ghost town you can tour, a mine you can also tour, taxidermied animals, old rusted cars & is fabulous for photo ops! Many movies & music videos were filmed there. If you continue straight past Techatticup, the road dead ends at the Colorado river. You can see some large, nature created, penis shaped rocks on the right hand side of the road on the way to the river overlook. 😂 Nelson is near Boulder City, so you could do it all in one day. Pawn Stars is small & very busy & not worth the trip. The marshmallow factory tour closed years ago. The downtown container park (where the giant, flaming grasshopper is) is super cool. The Bodies exhibit at Luxor is really neat if you want to see the inside of human bodies in various, artfully dissected forms. I know this is a lot of info, but I wanted to give you a fair amount of options.

  62. There is a Titanic exhibit at the Luxor that I was glad I visited. It had many retrieved artifacts, recreations of ship areas, and a giant piece of the ship itself. The mood was somber and a little creepy, and very unlike most of the strip.

  63. You’re so old? Please . . . I was in high school when you were born, and I’m still figuring out what to do when I grow up (already being retired is a plus, but all this arthritis and going bald and so on just means I’m having a rough late adolescence.)

  64. I’ve seen this one. It ends with “and that’s why we can never go back to Vegas.” 😂😘 Happy anniversary you crazy kids! Have a fantastic time!

  65. Love the Neon Boneyard – all those old signs.. I found this for you too: The Erotoc Heritage Museum “ Thousand of artifacts related to human sexuality including the world’s largest sex bike.” I’d leave Hailey at the hotel. 😂

  66. When you are in the Freemont/Container Park area (where the Praying Mantis is), go to a restaurant/bar that is on the corner of Freemont and Las Vegas blvd called “Park on Freemont “ YOU, out of all people, CAN’T MISS THIS! Weird art and taxidermy galore! Go to the back garden past the large painting of two horses mating and see if you can find the secret teeter totter (you may have to ask). On your way out, make sure to stop in the women’s restroom to see the freakiest baby photo, and the “bloody Mary” sign on the mirror.

  67. Honestly…it is TOTALLY worth the money to get a reservation at the hotel’s private pool. (Not nearly so peoply.) We just did chairs, no cabana or anything, but our attendant was AWESOME about making sure the sun umbrella kept me and my red-head skin in the shade.

  68. We went to Vegas a few weeks ago! Omega Mart was amazing. You will need hours in there though. Make sure you “boop” and read everything, wear comfortable shoes, don’t wear a dress if you want to use the slides and bring a sweater. Area 15 has a ton of other stuff to do including VR and axe throwing.

  69. Vegas local here! Meowwolf is super cool and trippy; I loved the Haunted Museum and you will get a little creeped out (but manageable). Agreed that the Neon Museum is cool, but make sure you go at night for the full effect! The botanical gardens and the fountains at the Bellagio are beautiful and totally free. The Cosmopolitan is pretty and modern and has secret art vending machines that are fun. The Artisan Hotel has a great, spooky, goth vibe you can check out for dinner/drinks.

  70. Please go to the Cosmopolitan and find an Art-O-Matic machine! They are old cigarette vending machines filled with tiny pieces of original art for $5 each! There are several different artists and mediums represented in each machine. One of the pieces I got a few months ago was a tiny handmade and painted clay vase filled with tiny paper flowers. I gave it to my daughter and she loved it!

  71. My husband and I also celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this year (on July 6). We are twins in the wedding department!

  72. ME! I live here. But also echo Pinball Museum. Haunted Museum and the Writer’s Block bookstore. Drew owns it and he is the most amazing literary guy I know outside of libraries here. Check out Frankie’s Tiki Room for cocktails. Or just for decor. There’s always the taxidemry warehouse as well. There’s also an ice bar in Mandalay Bay which I have always wanted to see but haven’t. Have fun in our cheesy little town.

  73. Oh! And the Bodies Exhibition at Bally’s. Real. Human. Cadavers. And they’re posed doing interesting things.

  74. Ugh ugh ugh, I want to go to Meowolf so bad. Any of them. Here in Oklahoma City, we have a smaller scale art-installation-acid-trip-experience company inspired by Meowolf, called Factory Obscura. It’s pretty damn neat. Would recommend if you’re ever here.

  75. I love the pool at Mandalay Bay. Not weird unless you look at all the swimwear on display;)

    But it has a huge wave pool, lazy river and great cocktails. Hailey will love it and you can find a quiet tree to sit under!!

  76. See a close up magician. They are held in small rooms but absolutely amazing! Just your style.

  77. The light show at Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino is ridiculously cheesy and hilarious. It has animatronic animals, fountains and weird laser pictures that are animated to things like Cotton Eyed Joe and Benny Goodman’s Sing Sing Sing. It’s…I can’t even begin to describe the experience

  78. At Meow Wolf , get into the story line. Ask employees what happened to Walter, and find all the places he speaks to you in the exhibit.

  79. visit Hash House a Go Go for the most ridiculously delicious chicken and waffles

  80. Oh, check out the Burlesque Hall of Fame! I haven’t been to see the new location yet, but did get a personally guided tour from Dixie Evans (RIP) when it was still at her home in Helendale, CA back in the day. The collection is wonderful, especially if you love theatrical history, lovely ladies, and shiny stuff!

  81. Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden at the Mirage. You can see dolphins, tigers, and lions all in a fairly shaded area. The Valley of Fire is an amazing state park. Probably ridiculously hot this time of year but definitely worth a drive through. Springs Preserve is a nice place to get off the strip. And I second or third the people watching thing. I’ve always wanted to go to the mob museum but my brother is not a museum kind of guy and I travel with him once a year to visit our father. none of these are weird but they are wonderful.

  82. When just seeing the thumbnail image of this post I thought it was Hailey. They look just like you (unless they’d deem it an insult, in which case you look nothing alike at all)

  83. You could have seen MeowWolf in Santa Fe, it’s original home. Less peoply. Just sayin

  84. Happy anniversary, Jenny and Victor! You have been longtime partners on my various road trips, one of which I am on now and nearly drove off the road from cackling with the colon cleanse chapter. Keep on loving each other and sharing your hysterically beautiful life together!

  85. I agree with all those that mentioned the Neon Museum. It is so neat to see all the old signs, etc. If you’re going soon… make sure you bring water, it’s hot!

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