Sites, Sights, and Strippers

"It's funny how strippers bring everyone together." Until June, those words would have never come together in the aforementioned sentence...but after some giggles, great Australian accents, and gyration...here we are.

Day two of my Vegas vacation started off with breakfast on the strip, a sweep through the Bellagio, and a visit to the Hoover Dam. As a side note, for those of you considering to behold the man-made majesty that is the Hoover Dam, it's a good idea to go before noon...in June. It was 110 degrees. Needless to say, that 20 minutes of viewing was awe-inspiring.

The evening was capped off with a series of firsts.

I had never been to a strip show or seen strippers in person, so when Danielle and I were in the planning stages of our trip, she insisted: "When in Rome".

As ladies of all ages - and a few fellas here and there - started to pile into the arena, Danielle, her mother, and her mother's friend slid into the third row before me. While trying to anticipate what was going to happen next, Dani's mom handed me a stack of stripper ones and told me to "go nuts!" This, of course, prompted a "That's what he said" from me.

The show, I imagine, went similar to how many stripping performances turn out, but...I will say this...considering I wasn't a bride...or wearing a sash or a crown...it was interesting to have so many "performers" thrust themselves upon my lap. Let's just say my hands didn't get to really throw money as they were being forced elsewhere...

Once the bare ballet had come to an end, Danielle and I cashed in on the final part of the Groupon and grabbed some photos with the dancers. While in line, we started chatting with one of the many brides in attendance. She had been called onto stage and blindfolded earlier in the evening and asked to guess which gentleman had been gyrating on her. She guessed wrong and we were laughing about it. Since the night was hardly over, Danielle and I decided to grab drinks from the bar below the club.

At the bar, we had a chance to chat with the dancers. I still laugh thinking about it. After grabbing a beer, we sat with another mother and daughter duo from Canada. This was one of the many trips that the pair took each year. What was particularly memorable was just how bold they both were. A dancer would walk by and they'd invite them to talk with us - asking them how much they make...what their life-goals were...and what the best part of their jobs were. They meant no disrespect. They were just very upfront. It was neat to chat with them about the lives they were leading.

Somewhere along the line, we had gotten the number of the bride - and were "official" friends on Facebook - and started texting. Before I knew it, we were en route to a portion of a bachelorette party we had never been invited to. It was quite a night. The bride was so down to earth. We all gabbed - having met each other for the first time - as though we'd known each other much longer. As it grew later in the evening, her bridesmaids-to-be were ready to call it a night, but she wasn't ready. So, she informed her friends that we were going to walk her back. And just like that, we became friends.

After closing down this bar, we showcased our ability to do cartwheels on the sidewalks and headed back to our hotel, which luckily was the same place.

In the wee hours of the morning and starved to death, Danielle and I had a picnic party on the floor of our hotel room - with our fingers no less - and realized that those hands had just been gracing the boardwalk...what a night.