When you're on vacation in Las Vegas...

As a former resident of Las Vegas, I have a tip for those of you planning a visit. If you're planning to get drunk and stupid, you need to know that following traffic laws might save your life.

If you ignore traffic laws and cross against the lights, you stand a very good chance of being hit by a car. And no, holding up your 3' tall drink as you stumble in the path of fast-moving traffic won't make motorists feel your drunken vibe. In fact, it just might piss them off enough that they will run you down. And guess what else? If you are crossing where there is no crosswalk or crossing against the light, the motorist who runs you over won't even get a ticket.

My husband and I just spent a week in Vegas for RollerCon and I could not believe the way tourists just wandered out into traffic. Often, everyone would be waiting and then one dumbass would decide to go in spite of the don't walk signal. This would inspire a group of others to follow, despite the fact that two lanes of traffic were heading towards them.

Believe me, coming home in a body bag will totally be a vacation buzz kill, so just wait for the walk symbol.

More Las Vegas food highlights

Janie and I got new haircuts for the Black and Blue Ball on Friday and then stopped at Firefly, our favorite tapas restaurant, for lunch. We started with the crunchy bread and almond butter and a couple of mojitos. I like the sangria better, so I switched to that for the meal. We ordered a big bowl of salad and a big bowl of pasta. We tried to get Bill to come over and join us, but he was busy taking a nap. Smart man--it was a late night!



Our last stop of note was my all-time favorite restaurant in Vegas, The Roadrunner. Unfortunately, the blender was broken, so I was unable to order my usual, a mango margarita. I only pouted briefly. Ron and Janie joined us. Ron had the buffalo meatloaf, Janie had the Dr. Pepper tacos (very juicy and delicious), Bill tried the brisket (underwhelming, though the smashed potatoes rocked), and I stuck with an old favorite, the smoked turkey and avocado wrap.



We stayed at Paris and tried a couple of restaurants there when we couldn't face traffic. The food was excellent, but pricey. I highly recommend getting away from the Strip on your next trip and venturing out to where the locals eat. Just don't act like an annoying tourist!

Las Vegas food highlights

One of my favorite things about Las Vegas is the wide variety of restaurants. I'm not a big-city kind of girl, but I love eating out and appreciate good food. I planned to do a daily food blog live from Vegas, as there are so many wonderful eateries, but Internet access was sporadic and my free time surprisingly limited. It was a hectic week, but we did make time to get away from the Strip and revisit some of our favorite restaurants.

Our first stop (directly from the airport) was Memphis BBQ. No need to look at the menu--it was brisket sandwiches and apple blossom tea for both of us.


Next up was our favorite breakfast place, The Original Pancake House. Portions are GINORMOUS, so it is a good idea to share with a friend. Unfortunately, Bill likes meat and I prefer veggies, so he never wants to split anything. He had a basic egg and sausage breakfast and I had an incredible baked omelet with lotsa veggies. And fluffy buttermilk pancakes and fresh-squeezed OJ. Then we had to go take a nap and digest a while...

The other Divas in town for RollerCon joined us for dinner at Sammi’s Woodfire Pizza. I had, you guessed it, a grilled veggie pizza. Yummy!

More to follow...