Leaving Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas! 7 years went by so fast.

"Buy the ticket, take the ride."

-- Hunter S. Thompson

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Welcome to the first edition of Ruby in Roam! Before I can actually, well...roam, I only feel it necessary to pay tribute to the city I'm leaving behind.

My first blog post is coming to you from an air mattress in the middle of my empty living room. The dog has his body centered perfectly in the one ray of sunlight pouring onto the tile in front of the open sliding glass door.

The breeze is cool and quick, as it often is in early January desert afternoon. My husband works feverishly to finish up his final work assignments at the empty kitchen island – with the exception of the two plants left behind, a stark contrast of green against an otherwise yellow and brown room. All of the furniture, mementos and devices meant to distract us – packed up and headed east on a ship across the Atlantic. The trees rustle, the birds sing, the dog snores, the computer keys dance – this, my friends, is the calm before the storm.

Elton living for the sun rays and cool breeze in our empty house.

For these next several hours, I will relish in the silence and be grateful for the break my body and mind so greatly needs after packing and preparing for a OCONUS PCS (for those who are new at this military life like me, that stands for Outside the Continental United States, Permanent Change of Station). Italy. We’re moving to freaking ITALY. And not just Italy, but Sicily. I’m fairly certain this is some form of cosmic intervention, a result of subconscious manifestation, all the good juju and woo woo and who knows what that has allowed us to be absolutely #blessed with this opportunity. I’m grateful, I’m humbled…I’m freaking out just a little. All I know is that I am very excited to share this journey with you, my gentle readers.

When in Vegas...December 2, 2023.

The serenity that washes over me in this moment is such a stark contrast to what the past 7 years have looked like. Living in Las Vegas has been such a rollercoaster of emotions – through the ups and downs, I am not exiting this city as the same person who entered it. I’ve experienced tragedy, have celebrated like there was no tomorrow, lived through a pandemic, learned how to make wine and got married by Elvis. While the majority of my blog will be about all of our awesome travels as we experience life in Europe, I would be remiss if I did not pay homage to the town that has given so much, taken so selfishly and outright changed my life.

An ode to Las Vegas - where to begin?

My first experience with Sin City was as an awkward 14-year-old, on a Spring Break trip with my parents and sister. Las Vegas was not our intended destination – we had plans to spend the entire week exploring the red rocks and sweeping views of the Grand Canyon. In my mind, we would be slathering on sunscreen before walking down dirt trails, baking under the Arizona sun while possibly hitching a ride on a donkey or two. You can imagine my family’s surprise upon arrival when we saw our anticipated red dirt trails dusted with a thick layer of snow. Our suitcases were packed to the brim with shorts and t-shirts – did we really not think to double check the weather conditions in Flagstaff, AZ in the middle of March? It was the 1990s, so who really knows what we were thinking. Either way, we stocked up on utility gloves and any layers we could find at the local hardware store, one of the only establishments open. We braved about 18 hours at the canyon rim until my dad announced, “Screw this, we’re driving to Vegas.”

Pic courtesy of Library of Congress, since probably any photos taken in 1998 were via disposable camera. I'm also deathly afraid of clowns, FYI.

I remember driving into the city, over the Hoover Dam back when you actually drove over the dam, and immediately becoming mesmerized with all of the lights and buildings I’d only seen on TV and in movies. The year was 1998, so Vegas looked a whole lot different back then than it does now. My parents opted to stay at Circus Circus, one of the gems that exist to this day -yet also a gem I most likely wouldn’t stay in in 2025. The multicolored carpets with winding patterns looked like a clown threw up all over the casino floor, and the rooms weren’t much better. However, I remember it being a pleasant experience. My parents bestowed upon my sister and I, $20 to share and explore the Adventuredome (the attached indoor theme park) alone while they clumsily tried their hands at the traditional Las Vegas gambling experience. Yes, in 1998, our parents dropped us off BY OURSELVES in an unknown rickety indoor theme park in Las Vegas. And we felt like we were on top of the world with our new found freedom. We also survived to tell the tale. What a difference 20 something years can make. Us elder millennials, we’re built different. Apparently, so are the parents of elder millennials. Absolutely no Fs given and somedays, I even like to believe that we’ve all turned out ok.

A younger, fresher-faced Ashley and one of her many now-embarassing selfies.

My second experience with the city came in 2017, as a bright-eyed 30-something’er who packed up her aging Mazda and headed west. Vegas has gone through almost as many adaptations as I have. Upon arrival, everything was new but old at the same time. I had left my life in Florida and an entire collection of best friends and family members for an attempt at a new career, new life and eventually, new love.

The new career went swimmingly – I jumped right in as the marketing director for one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the city and immediately fell in love with the community. I ended up joining Junior League of Las Vegas, mainly to get to know the city on a personal scale, but also to make friends and network. I actually ended up taking a leave of absence in this organization three times due to work, school and most recently, an impending move across the globe (face palm – so sorry, JLLV. I tried). But when I was active within the organization, I absolutely loved the work that we did in the community and also met one of my best friends (on a bus of all places!)

Ramen Queens of the volunteer food drive.

The new life was awesome as well – Vegas has so much to offer in terms of entertainment, which I quickly took advantage of but more so in the terms of discovering new restaurants and hangouts over shows and casinos. Side note: if you’re traveling or moving to Vegas and are a self-proclaimed foodie like myself, as well as someone who doesn’t need to pack their time full of tickets and shows and lines and tourists and slot machines, I have my personally curated list of some of the top things to do while in the city. Disclaimer: you're getting the raw notes version from my phone, so excuse any typos or weirdly worded comments! 90% of this list consists of restaurants or bars, because that’s just how I roll. If you can get down with this, then we would likely be friends.

Vegas visitors were the best, because you truly get to experience the city as a tourist. Here are some of the greatest ladies ever known who came to see me, as we explored (and people watched) on Fremont Street.

Vegas truly is a big little city. The population of the Vegas valley reaches almost 3 million, yet I feel like it’s one of those places where everyone knows everyone. The grease-palming mentality is still strong – a holdover from the days of The Ratpack, the mob or maybe a combination of both. The city will leave you starstruck with the lights and glamour, yet there is a simplicity to what Vegas is and what it stands for. Elvis is everywhere and that will never get old to me. Having lived in New York City in my early 20s, I feel as if Vegas is, on a smaller, dustier scale, a direct offering of a combination of cultures, cuisines, beliefs, backgrounds and ways of life. It has helped me grow and has opened my mind to a variety of new experiences.

From the archives: first known photo of E and I, circa 2021.

The new love? Eh, let’s just say it took me almost my entire stint here to end up with the best love; in the meantime, however, I found the bad love, the worse love and the worst love (stories for another time). However, going through the trials and tribulations were absolutely worth it to eventually end up finding the best love of all time – in Vegas terms, I hit the jackpot. More about E and our very modern day meet-cute story can be found here.

Bottom line: Vegas is worth the visit. It’s not even a half bad place to live if you’re looking for a desert escape. If you’re a military family and you get the news that you’re getting stationed here, it’s a great location, even with kids. Beyond ‘The Strip,’ there are a multitude of things to do if you want to escape the tourists losing all of their money on the blackjack tables.

One of my besties visiting me at "Big Daddy Mountain" (aka Red Rock Canyon). We may or may not have lost the trail at one point.

There are some beautiful spots for outdoor adventure seekers, like Mount Charleston and Red Rock Canyon. I was shocked when I moved here and realized just how many hikes were available in the area. It’s a great base for day trips to spots in California, Arizona and Utah (Sedona is highly recommended). The Arts District in Downtown Vegas was probably my favorite hang, with its eclectic bars, coffee shops and restaurants (and is home to what is my absolute favorite eatery on the face of the earth – no lie – Esther’s Kitchen. Chef knows what’s up over there. In fact, E and I love it so much, we made it our Vegas post-nuptial dinner location). Do yourself a favor and make a reservation, get yourself some sourdough bread, try ALL the spreads, order a specialty cocktail and try any one of their homemade pastas. You’ll thank me later.

One of the best things to happen in Vegas ;)

So, my ode to Vegas is simple – thank you for the good times, the lessons learned within the bad times and for being exactly what you were meant to be. For our next journey, we will be heading east with a U-Haul; our luggage for the next three months before our household goods arrive across the Atlantic; a massive dog crate; a 65 lb. husky mix named Elton that will go into the massive dog crate; McKee the ponytail palm named after my late grandfather; Dinklage the little disco-potted plant named after Peter Dinklage; some family heirlooms; and what’s left of our sanity. As we watch Vegas disappear in the rearview mirror, our Great American Roadtrip ™ will take us through the majority of the southwest into the southeast, and up towards Delaware (where we stay with E’s parents until our big flight to Italy takes place).

Just this past week alone, we’ve had a potential oil leak in the truck (our only vehicle) we’re driving east, a cracked windshield in the rental car while the truck was getting fixed, a lost truck title, the threat of wildfires depleting the gas supply in Nevada, receiving news that housing is 100% full on base so we will need to find something off-base as quickly as possible, receiving news that lodging is 100% full on base as well so we may have to find a hotel that will accept us and a dog immediately upon arriving in Sicily…and the fun has just begun! It’s my first move with the military, and I know this is probably amateur hour compared to other family’s PCS experiences, but I thought it would at least be fun to write about it!

I’ll see you all in about a month, with news on how our drive east goes, how our flight with a dog over to Europe goes, and how that Navy Lodge efficiency life is treating us during our first month or so in Sicily. Or if it’s still full, who knows where we will end up for the time being. Cheers and here’s to the great adventure!

Peace out, Vegas!