This year I was fortunate to attend the Miss America pageant with my parents in Las Vegas. We arrived Thursday morning and had a very busy four day vacation. Not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so here is a recap of my vacation:
Thursday:
We started our trip early in the morning by leaving at 4am to go to the airport. Unfortunately, we had a layover in Denver but we still managed to arrive in Las Vegas by 9am mountain time. I have been to Vegas the last two years for Miss America with my Nana and I remember she always told the cab drivers not to take a certain route to get to the strip. I called her when we landed to figure out exactly what to say so we wouldn’t get taken advantage of and when the taxi pulled up I politely but assertively told the driver which way we would like him to drive and to avoid the tunnel please. Well apparently taxi drivers hate it when you tell them that; I learned this lesson the hard way because the whole drive to the hotel he was yelling at my parents and me that he is only trying to make a living. I felt awful. We were worried this was a bad start to our trip; we prayed that the rest of the trip would be better and when we arrived at the Bellagio our day quickly turned around. As we were checking in I asked if we could have a room with a view of the water fountains. The desk clerk kindly said yes but it would be an additional fee. She said she had a room with a partial view for no charge but we would have to wait until later to get into our room. We said we would wait because we were excited to have a view that wasn’t snow. She then said she had a room for us with a full view of the fountains that she wasn’t going to charge us for it because she misses snow!! We were lucky to have had such a kind women check us in and our room was beyond beautiful. Not only was the room itself nice but the view we had of the water show was gorgeous! I would have been fine spending my whole trip in our amazing room but once we unloaded our things it was time to get moving again.
My parents and I decided to go shopping at the Miracle Mile Mall. We wandered around until we met for the Team Miss Minnesota Luncheon at Vegas Burger. Our Miss Minnesota, Siri Freeh, had many people there to support her. We filled up one whole side of the restaurant. It was great to see all of the current title holders and other Miss Minnesota friends. After lunch we wandered some more then went back to our room for a night of relaxing. It was very tranquil watching the water show from the comfort of our room and it was nice to just have some time to enjoy each other’s company.
Friday:
This day started off with my Miss Sweetheart Reunion Breakfast. Representing our state at the Miss Sweetheart Pageant was one of the highlights of my life mainly because I made lifelong friends all across our country. Last year we had a big reunion but this year 10 girls were state title holders and competing for Miss America and only 5 of us were able to meet in Vegas. We had the best time catching up and I was excited to hear that all of us who can still compete are competing again this year. Sending positive vibes to all of my Sweetheart sisters; wishing them all successful years. We also met the stunning Laura Kaeppeler, Miss America 2012 at the end of breakfast.
After breakfast my parents and I spent the entire day sight-seeing throughout the strip. We started at our hotel, the Bellagio, and ventured our way past Mandalay Bay to the Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas Sign. It has been on my bucket list for many years to take a picture under that sign and I am now able to check that off. We went into every casino on our way down. My dad and I also rode the New York New York Roller Coaster. After seeing the sign we explored the strip across the street, stopping at the MGM, Coke store, and M&M store. I am a HUGE tourist and love seeing everything so I had the best time visiting every casino, seeing what each has to offer, and taking way too many pictures!
Saturday:
The day we have been anxiously waiting for- MISS AMERICA!!!!! We started off this exciting day at a Miss America Alumni autograph signing. It was awesome to meet past Miss Americas; they were all so kind and beautiful. After the event my parents and I spent our entire day exploring the Vegas strip North of the Bellagio but we made sure to get back early so we would have plenty of time to get dolled up for the big pageant. Siri looked amazing on stage and in all the Miss America commercials. In the end Miss New York, Mallory Hagan, was crowned our new Miss America. The ironic thing is at our Sweetheart reunion we talked about which runner ups would and wouldn’t take over their state title if their girl had won. Miss New York’s 1st runner up is my Sweetheart sister, Katie Berry, who said that she would take over. I am beyond excited for Katie and I know she will make an amazing Miss New York the new few months!
Immediately following the pageant we went to the Miss America Reception. This is such a fun event where we were able to visit with Siri and the rest of the contestants. I had a wonderful time seeing all of my Sweetheart sisters who were contestants! Everyone looked so elegant and it was a perfect end to a classy evening.
Sunday:
By our fourth day we were all exhausted. We spent our final day in Las Vegas wandering and exploring our beautiful hotel. It was nice to spend a day moving slowly since the rest of our trip was so fast paced. It was also wonderful to really take the time to appreciate the beauty of our hotel. Everything there is so detailed and lovely and I am glad I had the time to notice it all.
I had a wonderful experience and it was great to spend some time away with my parents. It was also great to see old friends and meet new ones. Attending the Miss America Pageant makes me even more excited for my time leading up to the Miss Minnesota Pageant. Five more months! ;-)
Until next time,
Samantha Phillippi
Thursday:
We started our trip early in the morning by leaving at 4am to go to the airport. Unfortunately, we had a layover in Denver but we still managed to arrive in Las Vegas by 9am mountain time. I have been to Vegas the last two years for Miss America with my Nana and I remember she always told the cab drivers not to take a certain route to get to the strip. I called her when we landed to figure out exactly what to say so we wouldn’t get taken advantage of and when the taxi pulled up I politely but assertively told the driver which way we would like him to drive and to avoid the tunnel please. Well apparently taxi drivers hate it when you tell them that; I learned this lesson the hard way because the whole drive to the hotel he was yelling at my parents and me that he is only trying to make a living. I felt awful. We were worried this was a bad start to our trip; we prayed that the rest of the trip would be better and when we arrived at the Bellagio our day quickly turned around. As we were checking in I asked if we could have a room with a view of the water fountains. The desk clerk kindly said yes but it would be an additional fee. She said she had a room with a partial view for no charge but we would have to wait until later to get into our room. We said we would wait because we were excited to have a view that wasn’t snow. She then said she had a room for us with a full view of the fountains that she wasn’t going to charge us for it because she misses snow!! We were lucky to have had such a kind women check us in and our room was beyond beautiful. Not only was the room itself nice but the view we had of the water show was gorgeous! I would have been fine spending my whole trip in our amazing room but once we unloaded our things it was time to get moving again.
My parents and I decided to go shopping at the Miracle Mile Mall. We wandered around until we met for the Team Miss Minnesota Luncheon at Vegas Burger. Our Miss Minnesota, Siri Freeh, had many people there to support her. We filled up one whole side of the restaurant. It was great to see all of the current title holders and other Miss Minnesota friends. After lunch we wandered some more then went back to our room for a night of relaxing. It was very tranquil watching the water show from the comfort of our room and it was nice to just have some time to enjoy each other’s company.
Friday:
This day started off with my Miss Sweetheart Reunion Breakfast. Representing our state at the Miss Sweetheart Pageant was one of the highlights of my life mainly because I made lifelong friends all across our country. Last year we had a big reunion but this year 10 girls were state title holders and competing for Miss America and only 5 of us were able to meet in Vegas. We had the best time catching up and I was excited to hear that all of us who can still compete are competing again this year. Sending positive vibes to all of my Sweetheart sisters; wishing them all successful years. We also met the stunning Laura Kaeppeler, Miss America 2012 at the end of breakfast.
After breakfast my parents and I spent the entire day sight-seeing throughout the strip. We started at our hotel, the Bellagio, and ventured our way past Mandalay Bay to the Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas Sign. It has been on my bucket list for many years to take a picture under that sign and I am now able to check that off. We went into every casino on our way down. My dad and I also rode the New York New York Roller Coaster. After seeing the sign we explored the strip across the street, stopping at the MGM, Coke store, and M&M store. I am a HUGE tourist and love seeing everything so I had the best time visiting every casino, seeing what each has to offer, and taking way too many pictures!
Saturday:
The day we have been anxiously waiting for- MISS AMERICA!!!!! We started off this exciting day at a Miss America Alumni autograph signing. It was awesome to meet past Miss Americas; they were all so kind and beautiful. After the event my parents and I spent our entire day exploring the Vegas strip North of the Bellagio but we made sure to get back early so we would have plenty of time to get dolled up for the big pageant. Siri looked amazing on stage and in all the Miss America commercials. In the end Miss New York, Mallory Hagan, was crowned our new Miss America. The ironic thing is at our Sweetheart reunion we talked about which runner ups would and wouldn’t take over their state title if their girl had won. Miss New York’s 1st runner up is my Sweetheart sister, Katie Berry, who said that she would take over. I am beyond excited for Katie and I know she will make an amazing Miss New York the new few months!
Immediately following the pageant we went to the Miss America Reception. This is such a fun event where we were able to visit with Siri and the rest of the contestants. I had a wonderful time seeing all of my Sweetheart sisters who were contestants! Everyone looked so elegant and it was a perfect end to a classy evening.
Sunday:
By our fourth day we were all exhausted. We spent our final day in Las Vegas wandering and exploring our beautiful hotel. It was nice to spend a day moving slowly since the rest of our trip was so fast paced. It was also wonderful to really take the time to appreciate the beauty of our hotel. Everything there is so detailed and lovely and I am glad I had the time to notice it all.
I had a wonderful experience and it was great to spend some time away with my parents. It was also great to see old friends and meet new ones. Attending the Miss America Pageant makes me even more excited for my time leading up to the Miss Minnesota Pageant. Five more months! ;-)
Until next time,
Samantha Phillippi