After spending New Year’s in Vegas a few years back, I vowed to never do New Year’s there again. However, my mom wanted to get away from Los Angeles for the New Year and, of course, Vegas is always her first choice.

Las Vegas on New Year’s Day is not my scene whatsoever. The big crowds, the abundance of inebriated people who don’t know the meaning of personal space, and people doing drugs so openly – not my cup of tea.

We arrived at our hotel at 6pm and by 7pm we made our trek out to The Strip. At that point it wasn’t so impossible to get parking and a spot on The Strip for the countdown to 2016. We grabbed a quick bite at Panda Express at the Miracle Mile Shops, and set up shop out front of Planet Hollywood.

The weather was like no other for this Los Angeleno – hitting the low 30’s before the clock struck midnight. When midnight finally hit, four sets of fireworks went off for at least five minutes. It was quite amazing I have to say. It totally gets you in the mood to take on 2016 head-on.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Year’s.