Well… where do I even start?

LATE last night I made it home from an epic four day weekend with the silver gold stackers in Las Vegas. The first thing to say about this… it never would have happened (once let alone twice) without @summertooth. Summer is the instigator, activity planner, chauffeur, reservation maker, mischievous, lovable mastermind behind the entire Las Vegas adventure. The warmth and fun he exudes on the blockchain, plus the friendships he has forged, are the entire foundation for this annual meetup.

So thank YOU Summer again for a fantastic time. You’re the best! 🥰

This year joining in the fun (besides myself and @summertooth) were: @enginewitty, @fat-elvis, @brian.rrr, @silverd510, silverd’s girlfriend, @davedickeyyall and @bethvalverde. Most folks got to Vegas on March 23 (I was a day later) and left on May 26 or 27. But we did manage to jam a ton into a short time.

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We visited the coin show (twice).

I got all of this!

^{One New Hampshire Goldback, and six one ounce pieces of silver. Checkout the two bars in the lower right. A luchador and and a happy holidays puffin! AMAZING! Special thanks to Fat E for the puffin spotting. That bar made the show for me. 😃}

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We explored Fremont Street during the day.

The last time I visited Fremont Street was at night. At night this oldest part of Las Vegas is filled with people enjoying the overhead light show. In the day… it’s dingy and kind of empty except for some rough looking “showgirls” trying to sell photo opportunities to dazed looking visitors. We saw two get into a brawl with a group of four or five tourists. I have no idea what set the whole thing off, but the showgirls ended up chasing the tourists down the street, grabbing at them aggressively, yelling and smacking each with some kind of sex paddle. It was definitely a vibe….

^{The gang enjoying some bbq before the showgirl brawl.}

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We visited the Mob Museum.

The Mob Museum, which was established in 2012, is located in Las Vegas’s old federal courthouse and post office. The building originally opened in 1933, then was sold by the feds to the city of Las Vegas in 2002 for only $1! The stipulation being the site had to be preserved.

In addition to a gift shop and exhibits on mobsters, executions, gruesome murders and cartels, the museum also featured add on “experiences”. We chose the distillery tour, which was set in a prohibition era underground. On the tour we learned all about bootlegging and moonshine. We even sampled five different moonshines that were distilled on site. They tasted like college… 🤣😂

^{I was all smiles BEFORE the moonshine.}

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We had a room party, played Yahtzee, and exchanged some gifts.

^{“2023 Glitter bags” curtesy of me to everyone, a dachshund coin from Witty, a Regina starter pack including silver shot from Fat E, a copper bitcoin wallet and Flamingo Hotel silver strike casino token from Summer, a lady prospector round from Brian and a buffalo round from Silverd.}

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We spotted some creatures…😄

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We took in the sites!

^{The New York New York, Las Vegas sign and arch, The Luxor, The Venetian, The Paris, The High Roller, the Bonanza Gift Shop, The Stratosphere and the “Bliss Dance” sculpture.}

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We ate ALL the food.

Las Vegas is a total eat fest covering everything from casual to celebrity chef fine dining. We had bbq, nachos, pizza, Ghirardelli sundaes, MGM Grand breakfast buffet, hueavos rancheros, fish n chips, fancy dinner, chicken wings… oh and now we all have diabetes. 🤪😂

^{I did not eat/drink this… but kind of wish that I did.}

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We gambled.

I don’t think anyone came out ahead. I definitely did not come out ahead as Fat Elvis and I lost whopping combined $6 on the slots. 😄

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We laughed.

At each other and at a comedy show! 😄

Saturday night we went to Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club in the LINQ Promenade. The venue was in a really awesome location filled with restaurants, shops and nightlife. It felt less like Vegas and more like an entertainment district. The headliners at the club were Nikki Carr and Michael Yo. Both of whom were edgy and hilarious.

After we spent some time in O’Shea’s casino gambling, watching beer pong and drinking “Anthony’s (delicious but overpriced) world famous lemon drops” Lucky me, I was staying in the Flamingo Hotel and Casino (right next door), so when the night ended (at 3am) I was a short elevator ride away from bed.

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We got high.

High in the sky that is! Silverd’s girl, @fat-elvis and I braved the heights on Las Vegas’s High Roller ferris wheel. It was awesome! The Ferris wheel is 550 feet tall, and is the world’s tallest because of the platform it is built upon. The ride takes 15 minutes to the apex (30 minutes total) and offers spectacular views of the Las Vegas Strip, suburbs and the desert beyond. Thanks to a discount from my hotel, tickets only cost $15.

But then I spent $60 on the souvenir photo package! 🤣😂

^{I love these photos soooo much.}

^{Adventures high above the ground.}

^{Feeling cute. 😄}

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We I took a lot of selfies with these two!

^{@summertooth, @fat-elvis and I were the last three in Vegas. We spent yesterday having a last wander, riding the monorail, having a few drinks and eating some tasty (and not tasty food). They were great company on the last little bit of our Vegas adventure.}

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We felt the love.

Hive is a funny place. When I joined Steemit in 2017, I had no clue I would make actual friends. Who makes friends on the internet? What started as post comments moved into Discord chit chat. Eventually a few of us took the leap and met in real life. Then we had our weekly pandemic group voice chats. And now here we are six years in and on our second vacation together.

You never know where you will find your next friend. I will always be grateful to the blockchain for bringing these fellows into my life. They’ve made me laugh so hard I’ve ALMOST peed. They’ve given hugs when my eyes have welled with tears. I am so lucky to know such unique, funny, clever, caring, kind, mischievous, smart ass, thoughtful, goofy, emotionally intelligent, fun loving individuals.

Viva SGS!

^{My fave photo from the trip.}

I can’t wait for our next adventure together.

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