Las Vegas

DH & I planned a mini-get away to Las Vegas, it was cheap & easy for a last minute plan. Sounds simple enough right?

AHA! But you should know by now that NOTHING is ever simple if it involves ANY member of the ktbunch.........

Our flight was scheduled to leave LAX @ 7:30AM Tuesday morning. What I was thinking to reserve such an early flight, I have NO idea. Lucky for us, we got a call the night before that our flight was cancelled & we were rescheduled to the 12:30pm flight. Perfect. Plenty of timeto sleep in a little, drop off the ktbunch where they needed to be & get to the airport w/ time to spare & no extra baggage under our eyes. lol

DH decided he needed to get a haircut that morning. He tried to do it himself but not a smart thing to do when you are in a rush, right? A professional was definitely needed. Well S needed one too so he took him along....of course everyone in the world decided to get hairs cut that morning.

We rushed to the airport to realize we were TOO LATE to check in for our flight---so we missed it!!! We went to the ticket counter to figure something out....the clerk put us on a 1:00 flight & our luggage on a 1:30 flight. Yes, that made me nervous but that's why I packed extra undies in my carry on. lol DH thought we could take our luggage as carry on's BUT you can only take liquids & toiletries of 1oz or less...so his tub of gel wasn't gonna cut it!!!!

We rushed to get through security & were chosen for extra security measures...aka a pat down.

I guess my lack of 'real' foot wear, skimpy top & fitted black jeans might have tipped them off to the threat I was, right? That took some extra time. I regret not asking the officers to snap a pic for my collection. Excuse me sir, you can take a picture of this nice lady giving me a complimentary 'airport massage'? I doubt they would've thought it was funny though.

By the time we were done w/ that we were a bit frazzled & forgot all about the clerks instruction to RUSH to the 1:00 flight & headed towards the gate of what was printed on our tickets. (the 1:30 flight) It was a 'remote' terminal...so we had to take a shuttle to what seemed like a far away, deserted airport terminal in the middle of nowhere.

We arrived only to find out our flight had been switched to a different gate, luckily it was right around the corner. THEN we find out we are on 'stand-by', there was no guarantee we would be ON this flight....BUT our luggage would!?!?!?!

We were # 2 & 4 on the standby list. Nothing to do but wait. Flight was announced as delayed, instead of leaving @ 1:30 it would be leaving @ 1:40.....it eventually left @ 2:30!!! We were being tortured by announcements over the loud speaker informing passengers that the flight was full & if anybody wanted to volunteer to give up their seat in exchange for a $200 voucher. The outlook appeared dim for getting to Vegas anytime before NEXT YEAR!!!

I tried to inquire what would happened if we did NOT make this flight---the clerk politely informed me we'd 'figure it out once we actually missed the flight'. Nice! aarrggghh.

We finally were allowed on & were on our way....feel the tension leaving as the plane rises in the air! About an hour or so later, we were there. We found our shuttle to the hotel & we were almsot witnesses to a brawl between the driver & a rider---their shuttle tix mysteriously became lost & he was adamant that he had given them to the driver. That delayed us all for about 20-30 minutes more!!! Once we took off...another driver informed our driver that the luggage bin door on the back of the bus was OPEN! See how smart I was to pack extra undies on my carry on? You just never know....nothign was lost of ours though. lol

We did not arrive to our hotel until around 5:00 pm...there went a whole DAY!

We were polite to the hotel clerk, gave her a mini-sob story of our flight & asked if there were any rooms available w/ views....I heard a guest next to us ask his clerk the same question & get a very firm NO! But we ended up w/ a 5th floor room w/ a spectacular view out the front, of the fountain show that go on all night, & the Paris hotel directly across, which is lit up beautifully! It was gorgeous.

AAAhhhhh...finally here. We went to go find some food, we were starving by then. We went directly across the street to the 'Miracle Mile' mall where we ran into a time share representative. In exchange for a presentation appointment, they offered us free tix to a Cirque de Soliel show & lots of other comp coupons & food vouchers. When we left, still looking for a restaurant, we were accosted by a different time share rep, offering a shorter presentation & better free tix. So we 'upgraded' to their's instead. lol Cool deal!!!

We finally found a reasonably priced restaurant in the mall w/ some good food. It was in a section of the mall that is designed to look outdoors, the ceiling is the sky & it has an actual thunder & lightening storm & rain in one section. The store fronts are designed to look like an old fishing front w/ strings of lights hanging across the stores & cobblestone flooring, so quaint & somewhat romantic. We ate on the patio. I enjoyed my first martini ever. I chose it simply because it was called Ruby Slipper---I LOVE the Wizard of Oz! It was nice to be an adult & wife for awhile instead of just mommy!

Funny to see a giant circular BAR in the middle of a mall. lol But that's Vegas right? And little bars along the mall sides too.

It was a bit chilly out but the nice & clean & not too crowded.

The next day was spent in a whirlwind of free shows & food. The timeshare presentation was long & boring (although the condos they were sellignwere gorgeous!!!!), we didn't buy any & it was over soon enough, in timeto enjoy our free lunch @ a good restaurant/buffet in the Planet Hollywood hotel.

We enjoyed a comedy/magic show from a guy who was on 'America's got Talent'. We didn't hit all the 'free' opportunities we had in mind but that was ok because we had all these free tix.

We chose tix to an 'improvised' show called Tony & Tina's Wedding. They were selling for $90 EACH! We really wanted to see it. You are an actual 'guest' @ Tony & Tina's wedding & reception. It included an Italian dinner & dancing...just like a regular wedding & reception. We had SO MUCH fun! We ate, we danced, we interacted w/ the actors/wedding party. ALOT of fun. We went intending to have a good time & we DID! Plus I always enjoy being able to 'dress up'. It was @ the Rio. The theme of that hotel is like Mardi Gras.

We were staying @ The Bellagio, it is Meditarranean style/themed. The room was nice w/ a lovely bathroom that had a nice, big soaking tub! I really wanted to be able to RELAX for a bit & I did! ;)

Finally it was time to go home.....Again we were preselected for extra security screening....we had to stand in a line that is all enclosed form ceiling to floor in glass (or that thick plastic stuff?), then stand IN a machine that shoots air @ your body, from ehad to toe. It smells you for 'chemicals'. The guy in front of us was a bit concerned if it would detect 'recreational drug/chemical' use. The security guy assured him it would not, it was simply to detect chemicals that could hurt them. BUT what do they do if they DO detect something.....just take down your ticket information! Ok, that doesn't sound too secure to me, but whatever.

Then again they went through our carry on's, swiping them down w/ more chemical detecting cloths, after they went through the x-ray machine. We also still had to go through the metal detector AND enjoy another complimentary airport 'massage'. Don't you feel so much more secure knowing all this? ;-/

My sil picked us up & dropped us off @ my parents home to enjoy Thanksgiving....but that's another blog.

We had a great time, overall.