Vegas!!

November 11, 2012

Since half of my job involves leading new student orientation on my campus, I have the privilege of being part of the National Orientation Directors Association. It is a WONDERFUL organization that I hope to be part of for many, many years. For the third year in a row, my supervisor has supported me in attending the national conference. You may remember my posts about St. Louis and New Orleans from the last two years. This year's conference was in VEGAS, baby! Can you even believe it? A conference. In Vegas. I know, I know. Did we accomplish any learning at all? Yes, yes we did. Did we also enjoy Vegas....in good, appropriate fun?. You better believe it.

For the first time ever, my dear friend Abby was able to attend with me! It is NOT every day that two dear friends get to travel to VEGAS for work. It was awesome!

We flew out of Greensboro literally before the sun was up, and arrived in Vegas at 10:30 am! I happen to think that it was great to get there with a full day ahead....Abby may disagree, ha. On the plane I had this major epiphany.....LAS VEGAS HAS "IN N OUT" BURGER!!! The flight attendant confirmed, and I literally then counted down the minutes until we were off the plane. Y'all, I fell in love with them while I lived in California for two years after college. I love them, I love them, I love them. I also love the fact that it is a Christian company and literally posts verses underneath their cups and plates. It kills me that they are not on the east coast, yet. I'm working on it! Who knows, maybe I will retire one day and open one in Charlotte. Hmmmm. Anyway, my sweet former assistant, and now dear friend, picked us up from the airport and humored me by taking us straight to In N Out!

Flying over the Rockies.

AHHHHH!!!!

I don't have any other words. If you ever go, you MUST order "Animal Style."

Love this lady! So glad to call her a Salem sister and friend.

After devouring our food, we drove down The Strip in traffic, where Abby proceeded to be all-but-proposed to by middle aged men walking on the sidewalk. HAHAHAHA. My favorite quote was "You are my type. No, really, you are my type!" Hilarious. We spent the afternoon checking into the conference and exploring our hotel. In pure Vegas form, the Paris Hotel is spectacular!! Clearly it felt like literally walking the streets of Paris!

We then explored The Strip and enjoyed walking through many hotels.Yes, Vegas is crazy, full of bizarre things, but the architecture is incredible!!! I truly adore walking The Strip, and I love the hectic pace.

The next day we joined the conference side trip to the Hoover Dam. The Dam is truly incredible, particularly when you think about the fact that it was built by human hands over many years. The water that it provides to much of the west coast is astounding.

In two places at one time, baby!! (Arizona/Nevada border)

537 feet below ground!!!

It was then time for the opening banquet!! The food was okay, but the room was breathtaking!!

The three days of conference sessions were wonderful. It is always inspiring to network with colleagues from around the country, and to be reminded that we are not alone in our joys, frustrations, and successes in our work with first year students and transfer students on our campuses. The people in this organization are some of the most positive and encouraging people who I have met in some time. Like I said earlier, I really do hope to be in this organization for a very long time.

And along the lines of networking, I enjoyed hanging out with two friends who I met at the conference two years ago, Carrie and Jessica. Abby and I hung out with them throughout the conference, and we had such fun adventures, including seeing Bradley Cooper filming in front of Caesar's Palace and getting VIP passes to The Palms! When the fun came to an end, I actually felt a little bit in mourning!