2017 Las Vegas & Hoover Dam with Tara

From San Diego to Slot Machines: A Spontaneous Vegas Escape with Tara

Some adventures are meticulously planned. Others begin with a simple text: “Hey, I’m coming to Vegas. Let’s do something ridiculous.” That’s how my best friend Tara turned my work trip into a whirlwind of neon lights, blackjack tables, Cirque du Soleil acrobatics, and one unforgettable night of rooftop golf swings.

I was in San Diego, wrapping up a few things before heading to Las Vegas for CiscoLive 2017—the annual mega-conference for networking professionals, developers, and tech enthusiasts. It’s a week of keynotes, breakout sessions, product demos, and enough acronyms to make your brain short-circuit. But when Tara heard I was headed to Vegas, she decided to jump in for a spontaneous getaway. And just like that, the trip took a delightful detour.

💻 CiscoLive 2017: Geeks Gone Wild (Professionally)

Held at Mandalay Bay, CiscoLive 2017 was a techie’s dream. Over 28,000 attendees gathered to learn, connect, and marvel at the latest innovations in networking, cybersecurity, and cloud wizardry. The keynote speakers were top-tier, including Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins and a surprise appearance by Bryan Cranston, who delivered a hilarious celebrity keynote that had the crowd roaring.

And the Customer Appreciation Event? Headlined by none other than Bruno Mars. That’s right—Cisco knows how to throw a party. Bruno lit up the stage with “24K Magic,” “Uptown Funk,” and enough swagger to make every IT professional in the crowd forget about server latency and just dance.

🏌️‍♂️ TopGolf: Cisco Reps Know How to Party

One of the unexpected highlights came courtesy of my Cisco rep, who invited me and a guest (Tara, of course) to their TopGolf Las Vegas Customer Appreciation Night. Picture this: a rooftop driving range with panoramic views of the Strip, glowing targets, and a DJ spinning beats while people in polos and lanyards tried to remember how to swing a club.

We showed up ready to mingle and ended up having an absolute blast. Tara nailed a few shots that made the Cisco reps raise their eyebrows. I mostly focused on the sliders and cocktails, but I did manage one heroic drive that landed somewhere near the 150-yard marker. (I celebrated like I’d won the Masters.)

We chatted with other attendees, swapped stories, and enjoyed the kind of laid-back networking that only happens when you mix tech talk with tequila and TopGolf.

🎰 Enter Tara: The Queen of Spontaneity

While I was knee-deep in breakout sessions and Wi-Fi optimization talks, Tara rolled into town with zero agenda and maximum enthusiasm. “Let’s hit the Strip,” she said. “You’ve earned it.”

We started with the classics—Bellagio fountains, a few rounds of blackjack at Caesars, and a frozen margarita that may or may not have contained rocket fuel. Tara won $60 on a slot machine and immediately declared herself “Vegas royalty.” I lost $20 and declared myself “emotionally invested.”

🎪 Cirque du Soleil: Mind Blown

We scored last-minute tickets to KA by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand, and let me tell you—if you’ve never seen acrobats dive into water while suspended from the ceiling, you haven’t truly lived. Tara spent half the show whispering “How are they doing that?” and the other half gasping like she’d just seen a unicorn.

It was mesmerizing, surreal, and the perfect reminder that Vegas isn’t just about gambling—it’s about spectacle, wonder, and occasionally questioning the laws of physics.

🏞️ Hoover Dam: Because Why Not

The next morning, fueled by coffee and questionable decisions, we rented a car and drove out to the Hoover Dam. It was a spontaneous side quest that turned into one of the most awe-inspiring moments of the trip. Standing on that massive structure, looking out over the Colorado River, we felt tiny, humbled, and slightly sunburned.

We took selfies, made jokes about dam engineers, and marveled at the sheer scale of human ambition. It was the perfect counterbalance to the glitz of the Strip—a reminder that Vegas is surrounded by natural and manmade wonders.

🧡 Final Thoughts

What started as a work trip from San Diego to CiscoLive in Las Vegas turned into a memory-packed adventure with my best friend. CiscoLive 2017 delivered the tech, the tunes, and the inspiration. Tara brought the spontaneity, the laughs, and the reminder that sometimes the best moments aren’t planned—they’re lived.

From Bruno Mars to TopGolf, blackjack tables to the Hoover Dam, it was a birthday-level celebration wrapped in neon and friendship. Here’s to more unexpected getaways, more Cirque gasps, and more texts that start with, “Hey, I’m coming to Vegas.”

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