Vegas, Baby part VI

It is the story that seems to never end. But today. It will. Finally. Really.

And apparently I left ya'll with a cliffhanger. It's always been my goal to write a serialized set of posts. With endings that beg for more information. But. I have realized. My writing skillz are not that good. But I did it with my last Vegas post. Without even realizing. So. To answer your questions. Yes. Michael got his shirts back. Ya'll can all let out the collective breath you were holding.

After I left Elena, I went to get ready for the conference. And then back to the casino. Down one hall. And another. Around a corner. Ask someone. Turn around. Go to another hall. A different corner. And then I found them! I saw Lula. And people I have only seen online. Like Heather. And Tiffany. And Angie. And Jen. And DiPaola Momma. And Tonya. And Swirl Girl. And somehow. I did manage to have a brain and get a picture with Swirl Girl!

I am not sure what happened to my brain. Cause my camera was right there!

The conference had a short opening. And then we broke for dinner. And then re-grouped for the evening cocktail party. Where there was dancing. And an open bar. Shannon, Lula, Elena, and I hung out together.

Celebrated Shannon's birthday.

And we took lots of photos on Lula's camera while she was off dancing. Socializing. And drinking. The best photo of Michael and I was taken on that camera!

We finally crashed late. And then had to get up early again. While we were conferencing. I left Michael with an assignment. To go to the half price ticket booth and find us something to do in the evening. I was hoping to see a Cirque show. He was armed with a priortized list. And a budget.

So...what did we end up with? No tickets to Cirque. Or to that guy with the puppets who won America's got Talent. Damn budget. But we did get tickets to Anthony Cools' naughty hypnotist show at the Paris. (Did any of you see him when he was on the Millionaire Matchmaker show?) The show didn't start until later in the evening, so after the conference was over Shannon and I arranged to meet for dinner and then do a little gambling. Slot machining?

As part of our room package through SITS, each room got $25 in slot vouchers. Can you believe that Shannon had never gambled? Well we set out to eradicate that. Pronto. Unfortunately. Shannon listened to me. She got her voucher. Dumped it into a machine. And then decided that that particular machine didn't like her. And went to switch. Except that her money did not follow her. It stayed on that machine. Which some floozy took over. And won money with Shannon's money. And left. All before we realized what happened. Oh. Wait. Was that supposed to stay in Vegas?

Shannon and I finally decided to make our way to the Paris to meet Michael for the show. Did I mention that Shannon was joining us. What would you call that? A double date? Triple? A menage? No. Wait. Ummm. Staying in Vegas?

When we got to the Paris, Shannon and I decided to lose a few more quarters in the slots before we found Michael in the line.

For the show, we had front row seats. And I must admit that I was quite surprised that Michael did not volunteer to be part of the show. Evidently he decided that if he paid for it, he'd watch it. And after seeing the show. I am quite glad he remained in his seat. Anthony Cools puts on a hilarious show. It is naughty. Raunchy. And not for the faint at heart. Or those without water proof mascara.

After the show, we set out for a different show - that of the Eiffel tower. We rode up the elevator to the observation deck. And what a sight. At night. With the lights. Vegas is just beautiful.

And finally. Our trip was over. With just a few hours of sleep, we had to check out for our 7am flight. And head back to the real world.

So...what about you? Have you ever seen a hypnotist show? Heard of Anthony Cools? Or forgotten to take a picture that you really meant to take??

Vegas, baby part V

Do you think that I will ever get to the end of this trip? I mean. We went in October. I first started telling you about it in November. Maybe we'll finish in February. And then I'll have to start telling you about the Disney trip we took last September. Did I see you moving to the edge of your seat? Oh. The anticipation.

So. We left off with our visit to the Mirage. And the tigers. And the volcano. And our trip back to our room on the 13th floor.

I was very excited when we got up Friday morning. Cause today we were movin' on up. Leaving behind the regulation hotel room. The perfume soaked hallway. And the 13th floor. All for the fan-cee digs of the Venetian.

We got packed up. Checked out. And grabbed a cab. Cause I was surely not schlepping my luggage on the deuce. And when we arrived.

Oh my. What a difference. I quickly got through the check-in and we headed up to our new room.

We had a suite. With a very comfy bed. And a step down to a living area. Complete with gold sectional couch. We had a couch just like this in the '70s. Who knew they'd make a come back? And the blinds. We had remote control blinds. Flat screen tvs. Including one in the bathroom.

After we got somewhat situated, I called Elena, and arranged to meet for lunch. Elena and her husband Jarom had flown in for the weekend just to meet me. Sort of. I mean the whole reason we went to Vegas was for the SITS blog conference. Which starts this evening. And Elena came for the party. And mostly to meet me. Maybe.

As we head downstairs, Michael asks me "Did you pack my shirts that were in the closet at the Monte Carlo?" Yep. He really asked me that. Uh. No. I packed my stuff. He packed his stuff. Or most of it anyway. So instead of helping me to find Elena, he heads back to the room to see if the Monte Carlo might still have his shirts.

Elena and I had decided to meet in the lobby. The lobby is gorgeous. There is this amazing domed ceiling.

And this.

Um. Hallway? Between the lobby and the casino. Would you call it a hall? So. I am waiting. And waiting. Then Elena calls. They cannot figure out how to get to the lobby. It truly is a conspiracy. The casinos want you to stay in the casino. Not marking the exits. Or making you go the long way around just keeps you there. May as well have another drink and another quarter in the slots.

Anyway. After a few calls, we finally find each other. And it's like falling back into a regular conversation. In fact, I have felt like that with everyone I have met through blogging. Just picking up where we left off. We had a great afternoon. Eating. Talking. And lots of laughing.

And we finally parted when Jarom had to go satisfy a need for chocolate. And I had to go get ready for the SITS conference...

So...what about you? Have you met people through blogging? Would you go to a blog conference?

Catch up on the trip:

our first night with the Bellagio fountains

walking the strip

visiting Hoover Dam

More schlepping the strip and the Mirage

Vegas, Baby part IV

Where did we leave off? Like a month ago? We went to Hoover dam on the dam bus. Went to a chocolate factory. I think it's a conspiracy. They do not provide lunch...or even an opportunity to lunch. So. When you get to the chocolate factory...you buy. And buy. And buy some more. Becaues you are so hungry. You rationalize that you are getting chocolate for your children. Your mom. Your best friend. And then when you arrive back at the dam bus you eat someone's chocolate. Not that this happened to me or anything. It just might happen. So if you go to Vegas on the dam bus. Bring a snack.

We got back to our hotel around 2. Had a yummy meal in the food court. And I decided that my feet had recuperated enough to go and explore more along the strip. Not to walk along the strip. But to schlep over to the bus stop. And ride the 56 miles to the other end of the strip. We got off at the Venetian with absolutely no idea as to what to do next.We admired the outside and the gondolas. And then walked across the street to the Mirage.

It is an odd thing. When you cross the street. To go from the Venetian side to the Mirage side. Because all of a sudden the temperature drops like 10 degrees. It's cool. And rather refreshing. Considering that we are in Vegas. And it's hot. And we've walked 65 miles just to get across the street. Or maybe it was all a mirage.

As we walked along, the landscaping is really lush. There are all these coves of waterfalls. And it's very tropical. But tropical with airconditioning. How ever do they do that? We finally got into the hotel and decided to go back to Siegfried and Roy's secret garden. I had kinda gotten confused. I was thinking that you could see the tigers for free. But I was thinking of the lions at the MGM grand (which we never actually got to see). Which are free. Siegfried and Roy's exhibit? Yeah. Free? Not so much. So when we got to the ticket window it was truly a decision of whether or not we'd pay the $16 a person to get in or not.

And then we decided. Well. I decided. Made the executive decision. That since we walked 24 miles through the hotel and casino back to the Secret Garden...we may as well go on in. And let me tell you. It was worth it. I wasn't so sure at first. Because we got to the dolphin pool first. And it was practically empty. Because they were in the process of refurbishing it. There were two small pools nearby. And there was a lone dolphin hanging out. But as we progressed further back, there was a large pool. With lots of dolphins. Who seemed to be just as curious about the visitors as we were about them.

They would circle around...eyeballing us. They were close enough to touch. Not that we did. Cause I didn't walk 326 miles to get kicked out.After gawking at dolphins...we walked further back and found llamas. Or are they alpacas? Leopards. Or is it a panther? And white lions. The male lion was just pacing. And roaring. I think he was ready for dinner. (Either that or he was just having a friendly conversation with the lion around the corner as they called to each other the whole time we were there.) And the female. Can you not just see the thought bubble? I think she was ready to put a muzzle on those two lions.

And then there were the infamous white tigers. They were just gorgeous. And again. So close you could touch them. Not that we did. (miles and miles of walking) But they were amazing. They responded to the calls and clicks. And they were so playful. They would take turns playing tag. Chasing each other all around the enclosure. And then falling into a pile of kitties. And then the next tiger would take a turn being "it."And even when we left (only because they were closing - cause I could have watched them for much longer!) they followed us...perhaps wondering why we weren't going to watch them play anymore!We walked out of the secret garden and went back inside the casino in search of a seat of some sort so that I could rest my aching toes. We people watched. Lamented the fact that we could not afford tickets to see "Love." And then realized that there IS a free show at the Mirage. And it was back outside. To the outdoor airconditioning. By the waterfalls. And that is the Mirage volcano.

I wasn't sure where we should stand because there was more than one big rock area that could be transformed into a volcano. So we stood. Watched the sky get dark. And all strip become blazing with light.We walked. Trying to find the perfect spot. I am sure that it was no more than 2. Or 7 miles. And we waited some more.

And then the show began. With jungle type music. Maybe didgeridoo. Maybe they just borrowed the soundtrack from "Survivor." But the volcano was quite cool. With lots of flames. And explosions.

And then it all went dark again. We hobbled over to the bus stop. Made our way back to the Monte Carlo. And our last night on the thirteenth floor before we moved on up the street.

So...what about you? Where is the best place you have been to see animals? Ever been to a volcano - real or otherwise?

Catch up on our Vegas adventures:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 part 1

Vegas, Baby part III

Vegas, Day 1
Vegas, Day 2

The Dam bus arrives early at the Monte Carlo. Which required me to set an alarm clock. As the alarms of the construction site could not be guaranteed to go off at the correct time. Or again within 9 minutes to constitute a snooze. So we alarmed. Snoozed. Showered. And dressed.

As we went down for breakfast. Alarms actually started going off in the hotel. Fire alarms. With flashing strobe lights. It was very loud. But no one seemed concerned. Not the workers in the food court. Or the bosses in the pits. Well. Those security guards that were running. They might have been concerned. Yet no one said "get out!" Or "run for your life!" So we stayed and had breakfast. In the food court. With the sirens. And the strobes.

We headed out the doors and looked for the sign to the dam bus.

The drive to the dam is really not that long. It's maybe a 20 minute drive. However. There are two things that slow you down. One is that everyone must go through a security check. No commerical vehicles are allowed to cross the dam. When our bus pulled over, an officer from homeland security came aboard so that he could go through all the overhead compartments.

The other delay is simply traffic. There are lots of people that want to visit the dam. And there are even more people who simply need to pass on by. But they get stuck with all the tourists. And then there are the commercial vehicles. Who simply need to pass on through. They are re-routed about an hour and a half out of their way. At least for a bit longer. As a huge bridge is being built over the canyon and will provide a much more convenient bypass.However. That bridge. That bypass. Is about 2 years behind schedule. And part of it blew over this year. More work is a good idea.

So...our bus parked. And sent us on our merry way to yet another line. Another security check point. X-rays. Metal detectors. Body cavity search. And we were in like Flynn. To yet another line. This time to see a dam short film. Short dam film? It was dam fascinating.

Next? You guessed it. Another line. This time to an elevator. Into the bowels of the dam. We rode down to a spot beneath the dam to see the original tunnels that were built to divert the river during construction.

(See the dam in the diagram above? And the "pipes": that look golden, then gray, then blue? The pipes at the top...there is a line that goes vertically through the diagram? We are at the intersection of the gray pipe and the line at the top. Dam clear, huh? If only I knew photoshop and could write on my picture with an X and say "we are here")

Next we headed back up. This time to see how the water is used to turn turbines so that they can harvest electricity. Electricity is the bonus in this project. And makes it so that the dam can operate as a non-profit.

Finally we headed up to the top and the observation platform. It really is a sight to see. Amazing. And so large that I could not capture it all in my lense. And now that I look at it. I realize that we never had the chance to actually walk across the bridge. Or rub the toes of the winged statues. Sigh. Next time.

In the gift shop we found some very exciting souvenirs for the girls. Dam placemats!

And then we were off to the next part of our three hour tour. The Ethel M. chocolate factory. Chocolate samples for lunch sounded like a splendid idea. And going to a chocolate factory at lunch time. When you are starving. Dam brilliant marketing plan.

So...what about you? What US landmark would you like to visit? What is your favorite chocolate?