The Rest of the Vegas Story

The rest of the Vegas story. I am not feeling very wordy lately and so I will give ya what I got.

The mornings Bill and I had to ourselves since the kids rolled out of bed between 12 and 3pm. When I would refer to “Morning” it was accepted I meant after people got up. Wednesday we decided Lions and Roller coasters were in order. We grabbed the train/light rail thingy down to the MGM and went over to see the Lions after a fabulous lunch at ‘Wichcraft (sandwiches) then over to the NY NY for Roller Coaster time. Jello shots on a hot afternoon sounded good to everyone so we grabbed those on the way back to change for the evening outing.

That evening we were headed off to Cirque de Soliel. After looking over all the restaurants in the area for dinner I decided the Kahunaville looked interesting. Me being the tour guide for the week I figured I would throw suggestions out and if someone had a better idea we could discuss, if not we didn’t all stand around the lobby going “Gee I don’t know, what do YOU want for dinner?”

Kahunaville was perfect. The drinks were fabulous and the atmosphere was cheesy Hawaiian style. The meals were divine. There was Pina Colada chicken, Stir-fries, and excellent salads.

The nice thing about the restaurant was it was directly across from the show room for Mystere. The show was excellent minus the child and his grandmother in the seats behind us that were talking at full volume through the whole show regardless of the shushing of everyone within 10 rows. Side note: I don’t mind children where they belong. A late evening showing of a Cirque de Soleil in Vegas is NOT where they belong. I don’t begrudge the little buggers yapping at the theater during a Pixar film but if you want to take your kid to the ballet, the theater, or Cirque teach them to keep their trap shut for at least 20 mins at a time. If it had been oohhhs or ahhs it would have been one thing but talking about stuff completely unrelated to the show in $130 per SEAT shows is a bit annoying. Thank you very much.

Back on target. The show was cool and I think everyone enjoyed it. There were a couple parts that made me go “WTF?” but I loved the trampolines and the gymnastics and the drums.

Thursday was “Ladies Day” The ladies and Harvey went to the spa and got massages. Harvey decided to skip the facial since he is fully bearded and he didn’t really feel hip on wear makeup and so while the ladies continued their treatments he wandered. We had massages, facials, and full makeup treatments. This took the majority of the day. That evening was Thunder from Down Under. We had decided to do a package deal and so the Limo picked us up at the hotel at 6. We then went to dinner at PF Changs in the Planet Hollywood hotel and then the limo carted us off to the show at the Excalibur where we had front row seats to the show.

The Boys (minus Harvey who decided it would be interesting to go with the ladies) spent the day playing in Poker tournaments. After the show the Boys met us at Excalibur to discuss plans for Friday. This is where things become funny. I had planned to a T the entertainment for the full week minus Friday. I wanted to leave cushion in case people saw something while we were there that they HAD to do. So remember what I said before about dinner? We had 7 people standing around the casino going “Well I don’t know, What do YOU want to do?” I sat back in a slot machine stool enjoying the chaos. There were a number of options. I finally piped up and said the only thing I wanted to do was go to the M&M store and get a new t-shirt. For those that know me I LOVE the M&M shirt I bought in Vegas 3 years ago. It is now a larger size then I generally wear and so I wanted to get a new one. It seemed several people wanted to go to the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay and so we set a ridiculous time to meet Friday morning of 10am. Grin…

Friday morning 4/6 of the group was ready at 10. We decided we could mosey over to the Mandalay Bay while the other 2 got ready. We took the train thingy down to MGM, wandered through the Excalibur into the Luxor. We all stood in awe of the Luxor and I realized that if I had been in the Luxor on my previous trip I would probably have paid the extra to stay there this time. Then on to Mandalay Bay. By the time we arrived at Mandalay Bay the other 2 parts of the part had taken a cab and arrived as well. We went to the Aquarium which was very nice. Not the best aquarium I have ever been to but superior to the Seattle one. They have an area where you are under water and it is built to look like you are inside a Pirate Ship complete with treasure. It was neat and Adam took lots of pictures. They had the most amazing collection of Lionfish I had ever seen and so on the way out the magnet I selected for the trip was a Lionfish.

After the aquarium our group split off as some of us wanted to go to the M&M store and others decided to go to the Pinball Museum. I wish we had had more time, I would have loved to have seen the Pinball Museum. My group wandered back through to the Luxor and we had lunch at the much anticipated Tacos and Tequilas. Since it was so early in the day they did not, in fact, have any Tequila temptresses. We did all buy different types of Margaritas (Apple, Watermelon, Original, and I forget) I decided very quickly that it is NOT tequila that I do not like it is BAD Tequila. Good Tequila is quite tasty, especially when mixed with the proper juices.

The M&M store was fun and we got to see the new 3D movie which was cute. We grabbed new shirts and the boys got boxers (I will have to get a picture of these) and we wandered through the heat (107 GACK) back to Ballys where we got on the tain thingy and returned to the hotel. The group got together that evening and did our one trip to a buffet. We went to the Gold Nugget because it is on Fremont Street and it was not nearly as good as it was 3 years ago. Bill and I were sad. The kids (including Bill) got to play with their DIY straws. This was a lot of fun and other people at tables near were very jealous.

After dinner we watched the Fremont Experience. It was 70s music in honor of Woodstock. They played American Pie and a Queen one that was several songs. We then headed back to the Bellagio to watch more fountains. We walked through the gardens at the Bellagio and enjoyed the giant frogs and ladybugs made from flowers. Then for a midnight (1am) snack at the BLT in the Mirage (we had seen them on Food Networks, Chef Vs. City).

Saturday we did not have to leave for the airport until 5pm so we wandered over to the Lions and Tigers and Dolphins (oh my!) exhibit at the Mirage. When we were at BLT Burger the night before (having luscious Roasted Marshmallow Milkshakes) we noticed a sign that said “Baby Jaguar” so of course Lex and I knew what we needed to do. We got great pictures and some fun video of the baby and the dolphins. We went back to the hotel and played some Craps. Bill had to teach us since none of us knew what to do. We lost only $40 between the 4 of us that played. Then I played some more electronic Roulette and won back more then the $20 I had lost at craps. Without the $20 I lost playing Craps I would have brought home twice what I gambled. If I was gambling much that would sound really neat but in essence I won $30. Better then losing though. We then headed back to go to the airport and head home.

It was a great trip. I think everyone had fun. I love Vegas and look forward to going back again. I just love the food and the shows and the fun.