Surprisingly enough, 2 out of the 3 times I have been to Vegas have been with my mom. We have forgone nights out at Coyote Ugly in favor of Cirque Du Soliel shows, hotel lobby tours, dancing to Boom Boom Pow while we pool hopped in one pieces, and eating mac and cheese while watching the Bellagio fountains.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there was a time when I wore a sparkly dress from Forever 21, enjoyed birthday cocktails with humans on stilts and tutus at a day club (yes this is a thing) and slept through dinner reservations- nearly missing our show. Both times have been equally rewarding and memory (?) filled.
Dressing comfortably when traveling with Betsy is an absolute requirement. She suffers no fools when it comes to achy feet or tight pants, because you should have thought about that before you left the house. Her rule of thumb for many trips, most especially Vegas, is “anyone can go to Vegas”. When you think about it, most of the places you travel are not the Ritz in Palm Springs. If there’s a chance you’ll see a middle-aged man drinking Bourbon in a Hello Kitty Costume who expects you to pay him for a photo (looking at you, New York, Orlando, etc.), then you can be sure you won’t stick out if you decide to tie a sensible sweatshirt around your waist.
Without further ado, here is what made it in my bag for our trip:
Dr. Scholl’s Madison slip ons: These shoes are made of lamb wishes and butterfly kisses. They make me feel like not a regular mom, but a cool mom. They have great support and are made of nice stretchy suede. They get dirty, but I hope they never ever wear out. Ever.
Ponchos/Leggings: This outfit was on repeat all week. I swapped out pleather leggings for the evenings, and rotated different t-shirts and dressy tops for the fancier evenings. I also traded out sneakers for these low booties for our concert (because, sensibility). Vegas was mostly warm and dry but it definitely got chillier at night, so this was perfect!
MOISTURIZER: I cannot stress this enough. During our first trip, we were totally blindsided by the dry air and spent hours tearfully trekking to Lush for lotion samples. We wised up this time and packed lots of coconut oil, travel lotions and the ever-amazing Trader Joe’s Head to Toe Balm. We were also huge fans of popping by Sephora on the strip to sample the moisturizers and facial sprays.
Emergen-C: My mother and my husband are very… germ aware. My love of Emergen-C was drilled into me for many years, and multiple friends have tales of being served Emergen-C mimosas while paying me a visit. I like to steal plastic condiment containers with lids from fast food places in the airport and shake up a quick shot before and after flying.
Travel Water Bottle: These bottles are the best because they flatten out and take up very little space, but you have it handy to fill up in airports or at water fountains. It even has a little clip on it for bags or pockets!
Bucket Bag: I actually purchased mine on Amazon (mine was similar, it’s gray and has a top snap!) before our Europe trip last year. I love all the free space for water bottles, light sweaters and small purchases. It also has one zipper pocket inside where I usually stash my card holder and valuables.
I’ll share a brief recap of the mischief we got into later in the week. I’d love to know any cross-country travel essentials or hidden Vegas gems I’m missing out on!