I hope you like pictures of Las Vegas.

The second (and last) full day of our Vegas vacation began how every bachelorette party should...with brunch. I'm not sure which saintly girls woke up at the crack of dawn to buy/cook everything, but I'll be eternally grateful for that breakfast feast. Fruit, bacon, breakfast casserole, toast, donuts, cheesecake, and mimosas were all devoured outside while overlooking the pool. It was absolutely glorious. Brunch was followed by a quick lingerie party for Hannah, then everyone got ready for a day of casino-hopping. Or so we thought.

Just as we were about to leave for the Strip, we got a phone call from one of the girls who left early to inform us that there was an active shooter situation near the casinos. Someone had shot two people (killing one) before barricading himself inside a bus on the Strip. Thus began a four-hour standoff with the police...and a whole lot of hanging out at the house for us. I'm not complaining - this was our situation.

Once the shooter was finally taken into custody, we hightailed it to the famous Welcome sign for a quick group picture before stopping at New York, New York for some gambling. We did, however, run into Elvis at the Welcome sign, which is always a treat. What's a trip to Vegas without running into someone who gets paid to look absolutely nothing like Elvis?

Due to the incident earlier in the day, we found ourselves in a bit of a time crunch, so we rushed home to change before heading back down to the Linq for our last night out. As an incredible thank you to us, Hannah bought us tickets to ride the High Roller, the massive ferris wheel on the Strip, before dinner. Even better, we were in a pod with a bartender and an open bar, so we spent the next half-hour drooling over the stunning views of the city with drinks in-hand. Oddly enough, many of the casinos turned off their lights midway through our ride in honor of "Earth Hour," but that actually made for some even prettier, very unusual Vegas views.

After the ride, we hustled through the Linq Promenade to get to Caesar's Palace in time for our dinner reservations at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. The southwestern fare was absolutely delicious and I was able to try some red chile barbecue duck and goat cheese queso fundido before tearing into my chicken and black bean quesadilla. I know what I like, guys...and what I like is quesadillas. After dinner, we ventured over to the Bellagio in hopes of seeing the fountains, but they had already finished for the night. Instead, we meandered around the ever-changing, breathtaking lobby, which had a Japanese spring theme this time around. Thanks to our antics the night before, we decided to call it an early night. So early, in fact, that our Uber driver made fun of us. Another sign I'm getting old.

The next morning, several of the girls had to leave early, so those of us with later flights decided to get brunch on the Strip. This also gave us the opportunity to see the Bellagio fountains before heading home, which is always okay in my book. With our luggage in tow, we watched the fountains dance to "Singin' in the Rain" before heading across the street to Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris. My phone was dying, so I wasn't able to get any pictures of the place or the food, but I assure you - it was wonderful. Also, the room had a perfect view of the fountains across the street, so I was in my Vegas happy place. I did, however, manage to snap a picture of a Trump impersonator on the street...or maybe it was the real Trump. Who knows at this point?

Hannah, her sister, and I went to the airport together, so we spent about an hour rehashing the trip before going our separate ways. I've been to Vegas many times before, but there's just something about going with best friends that makes it even better. I can't wait to celebrate with this pretty girl next month when she ties the knot!

#VivaLavelle

You know how I know I'm getting old? It's Wednesday and I'm still recovering from my weekend. Oh, and I don't even drink.

This weekend, I packed my bags and traveled to Las Vegas for a dear friend's bachelorette party. Even though I took Friday off work for the occasion, the weekend seemed to fly by and I was headed back home before I could even double down on my hand. Just kidding - I don't gamble, either.

So, why does a non-drinker, non-gambler like me love Vegas so much? Let me show you.

Since I arrived so late on Thursday night, the action didn't really start until Friday morning. There were 12 of us in total, so rather than try to stay somewhere on the Strip, we decided to get an AirBnB about ten minutes away. This turned out to be a brilliant decision. We paid a fraction of the price to have an entire house to ourselves - complete with an in-ground pool, gorgeous patio area, massive kitchen, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a washer and dryer, a pool and foosball table, plenty of common areas for us to congregate, and no neighbors to annoy.

Since the weather was nice on Friday, we decided to hit some pools on the Strip. First, we ventured to the Aria, but after a while, some of us decided that the vibe there was a bit too low-key. The Aria also has a "club-like" pool called the Liquid Pool Lounge, but we weren't too impressed with it, either. There was a DJ, but the highlight of pool was definitely the giant duck floaties.

At this point, half of the group broke off in search of a more happenin' pool party. We found it at the Marquee Dayclub at the Cosmopolitan. The pools at Marquee are actually housed within a greenhouse-like dome, so we were instantly overwhelmed with both stifling heat and sound waves. A DJ was playing at the far side of the dome while jets of mist and bubbles periodically shot out over the crowded pools and bars. We settled in and I commenced with some excellent people-watching. I'll leave the rest of the afternoon to your imagination because, as you know, what happens in Vegas sometimes does stay in Vegas.

After some much-needed rest and recovery (and pizza!) back at the house, we rallied and headed back to the Strip for Frank Marino's Divas at the Linq. Although it's a close call, this drag show, which is actually the longest-running show in Vegas at 31 years, may have been my favorite thing we did all weekend. Performers in drag came out and impersonated/lip-synced along with some of the most famous female singers of all time, including Madonna, Cher, Diana Ross, Adele, Liza Minnelli, Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, and Celine Dion. In between performers, the host would come out (in a different, elaborate outfit every time) and do a stand-up routine for a few minutes. It was incredibly entertaining and the crowd was super energetic. My favorite performance of the night, however, actually came from the host when he lip-synced along with Charles Aznavour's "What Makes a Man" while slowly undressing, taking off his wig and makeup, and changing into pants and a button-down shirt. It was incredibly thought-provoking and definitely gave you more of an insight and appreciation into the art.

Once the show was over, we made our way back to the Aria (via monorail and taxi) because Lil Jon was doing a concert at Jewel Nightclub. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Vegas for a bachelorette party, I highly recommend it - You get to do so many things for free. After a short wait, we found ourselves on the upper level of the club, jockeying for position along the rail that overlooked the lower level. Eventually, Lil Jon came out and commenced a two-hour show where he played countless hip-hop and rap songs, including his own, from the DJ booth. Oh, and it wouldn't be Vegas without two scantily clad dancers there to top it off.

Unbeknownst to us, we were actually locked down inside the Aria for a while during the show because four idiots wearing pig masks decided to rob a jewelry store in the Bellagio using sledgehammers. You never know what's going to happen in Vegas and that trend definitely continued into the next day of our visit...