Two Way Monologue

Vegas part I (sorry for the crappy grammar & spelling and lack of links)

So, I'm going to do my best to recall my trip to Vegas. (Note: I'm also going to use this to help me journal for my scrapbook later, so if some details seem goofy...that's me & they probably have pictures to match)

Thursday (03/01/07)...
My friend worked from home. I took a vacation day. Good thing I did because my friend had SO much to do (but he's working so that means I needed to get things done!) I spent the day doing laundry, packing, and all the little house things that need to be done before going on a trip (things my mom always did...like put lights on a timer, set the thermostat, etc) I planned on lounging all day, so I was annoyed that I had to get all of my friend's stuff done. It wasn't MY laundry or packing that took like 5 hours!

I started to FLIP OUT about flying and all the airport stuff at about 15:15. FLIP OUT!!!!!!

Shell & J are picking us up at 15:30 so we can be at Shell's brother's house by 16:00. Giving us plenty of time for traffic, since we need to be at the airport at 17:30 (to be there 2 hours early). Well, we didn't leave here til 16:00, didn't get to Shell's brothers until about 16:45...and TRAFFIC was a bit*h. We got to the airport a little after 18:00. No lines though really, so everything was fine. Except me...flipping out a bit still.

While waiting in the airport, a girl that used to work with me (Maggie), got off the plane we were about to get on.

Get on the plane, all is well. (Is it plane, plain? Signed the girl that can't spell or think or just doesn't care really) We are all buckled in. Starting to wonder why we aren't moving away from the gate. Pilot JJ comes on & says "A light has came on the cockpit. We are waiting for maintenace. We are going to be delayed." SO...we sit on the plane, at the gate for an extra 45 minutes! GAG!! PANIC! Everyone did a good job of dealing with me and keeping me from getting off the plane. My friend held my hand, while J & Shell's brother just kept making me laugh. Once in the air, for the first hour or so, we were on a shaky turbulant flight so the fight attendants couldn't pass out drinks and we couldn't get up to go pee or anything. Landing was fine. It was cool to see the strip all lit up as we were landing. Getting luggage was quick. Its now about 01:00 (Michigan time). The plan is to check in & then EAT!

We took a limo from the airport to the hotel. It was a nice pretty limo with a pretty cool driver. Checking in seemed to take longer then we thought it would.
My friend's Dad made the reservations, so getting them spilt into each persons name took a bit. Check in, rooms are nice. Wash up a bit & meet back with the 6 of us for dinner. We are tired & HUNGRY. Its now 23:00 (Vegas time. All times will now be in Vegas time until I get back to MI) Just hit the 24 hour place (The Coffee House) within Treasue Island. After eating (which took forever & wasn't that good) we walk around the casino a bit. Group kinda breaks up because I'm slow and wanting to see more then most. I hadn't been to Vegas since 1995. The rest of them had been there between Aug 04 & Feb 06. It was about 03:00 when my friend & I got back to our hotel room.

Friday (03/02/07)

My friend's home phone forwards to his cell phone when he's not home. So, at LOVELY 7:00 we are woke up to someone asking about fertiziling the grass. It was okay though, cause we did want to hit Belligo's breakfast buffet. (Its $10 cheaper per person to go on M-F vs Sat/Sun) Get all cleaned up and head down to Belligo. Breakfast was GREAT. Some little lady slipped and fell (and was hurt a bit) while we were in line. It was funny but not funny. I was disappointed with how slowling the staff/emergency team responded. Back to the food...I ate french toast, mushroom & cheese omlet (made right in front of me) fresh fruit, beef tenderloin (and more and more. I wanted my $ worth dammit). Then we decided were going to gamble a little bit while there (since they are part of the MGM/Mirage group, it will all be points on our players club card). I find table games VERY intimidating. I have the concept of most normal games down though.

So I figure I can handle video poker/blackjack. I put in my players club card. Put in my $20. My friend explains (and I watched him play last night) to hit the "bet one" button (so I'll bet $.25) and then deal. Okay..."bet one" and...FU*K! The "MAX BET" button is next to the "deal" button. Woooosh...there goes my $20. Cards deal...and I get a BLACKJACK! Wahooo! I'm ready to be DONE gambling. We were laughing so hard at my silliness. So we play for a bit more & we leave there with my friend down some $ and me up. Beginners luck, I'm told.

We walk along the strip (with the final destination being CVS), looking at things and just having fun. We go into Monte Carlo (also part of our MGM/Mirage gig) so while my friend goes to the bathroom, I'm going to play $.25 slots with the $ I'm ahead. Before he's even AT the bathroom I'm broke. (Back to just the $20 I started with). Hit CVS for much needed things...deoderant, hand sanitizer, and benedryl. Walk back on the other side of the street.

Its an odd concept to me to see all these people walking about with drinks and beers...ON THE STREET. My friend is hungry for a snack...so we head into McDonald's. The girl in front of us has a mixed drink in her hand. Everyone knows the big long glasses of frozen things are DRINKS. Well, my friend gets kicked out of McDonald's for having a beer in his hand. He's so annoyed...yet proud of himself for getting kicked out of McDonald's. On the walk back, I get my picture taken with not 1 but 2 Elvis' (at the same time!) in front of the Harley Davidson Cafe. TOLD YOU, Elvis is ALIVE! We watch the Belligio water show from in front of Paris. Very pretty. Get back to our hotel in time to get cleaned up and meet up at 18:00 with the BIG group for dinner. (6 of us flew together, 12 more flew in on Friday morning)

So, we walk to Margerittaville for dinner. Steph's Mom leads the way...chanting "Viva Las Vegas" every so often. Its going to be 2.5 HOURS for all 18 of us to eat together. We break into 6 groups of 3 and are told 45 minutes. We head to the outdoor top level bar to wait. We find out we can eat out there at whatever tables we can grab. So, Shell & J, Shell's bro & his wife get a table...then Steph & her hubby, my friend & I get a table. It was such a nice night to eat outside...at least, compared to MI. A few people waited for "real" tables inside. After dinner, the 8 of us hit the gift shot & then the little casino next door...O'Sheas. Its a smaller older casino, so it was quite smokey. My friend got snotty about the smoke quickly plus there is a place inside there where you can see people getting tattoos thru a huge store front glass window, which got him all upset (for his own personal reasons). I didn't stay with the group that long. I didn't like him outside alone just standing around. The girls talk about going clubbing later, when Steph gets out of her show. So, just the 2 of us take off for the Ventian. We checked out the Gonadala's, the casino, shops, etc. We had a good time. I found a watch I want. I'll get it soon. Its nice having a connection in the watch business. Makes you kinda snotty about watches though. After that, we head to our hotel room to rest while waiting for the girls to call to go clubbing and the guys go gambling. That was about 23:00. At about 02:00 my friend gets up and turns off the light. We fell asleep in our regular clothes with the lights on. Tired, I guess.

This is getting long...I'll be back with more soon enough. I'm going to try and find a picture of the watch I want. Its SWEET!

God is love!