My Vegas - Lite Trip Part 2

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My Vegas - Lite Trip Part 2

March 3rd – Saturday. Oh, no!!! It is 7:00 am and all these people want to know what we are going to do today. Told them to go away and I would met them in the Monte Carlo café in 45 minutes. Food and service was good. M and I just had toast and coffee, J had oatmeal and B had the smoke salmon plate. I was surprised that the food was as tasty as it was. The Oatmeal was presented along with all sorts of add-ins such as fresh strawberries, raisons and brown sugar. Thank god my record was still in tacked as tour guide. I had warned everyone to eat lightly because I wasn’t a really good lunch today. Trouped out to the car and headed for the A-Bomb museum. I was surprised at how enjoyable this museum was. I really learned a lot which is highly unusual during a trip to Vegas for me. I am not sure how relevant younger people would find it. Everyone in our group had lived through much of this history and remembered the events. Who could forget the duck and tuck exercises under our desks incase of nuclear attack. I was really surprised at how many “accidents” or near “accidents” there were. I think it was well balanced it showing the bad with the good. Admission was $12 for me but the others got a senior discount.

Headed over to Wynn’s for lunch in the Country Club Grill. I love this place every time I eat there. It was busier than I had ever seen it but only had about a half hour wait. I have one word for you – Sunshine Mojito. Fantastic! Had a nice table over looking the Golf course. B %26amp; J really enjoyed the setting. They were really amazed that there was a Golf course on the strip. Lunch was: field of greens salad, 2 ahi salads, 3 Newcastle beers, 1 corona, 1 diet coke, 1 Sunshine Mojito, 1 hot dog, 1 French Dip = $136.84 The names of these items sound like normal items that you can get just any where, but the names are deceiving. Everyone raved about the food except for the hot dog. A hog dog is just a hot dog no matter how you present it. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like the old Westward Ho hotdog. It was a high end hot dog. But still…… with all the good food there, why order a hot dog? As you can guess, I didn’t order the hot dog. Nice leisurely lunch, stroll around Wynn’s and everyone is ready for the next adventure. Oh no! It is getting late. Were can I suggest? Since J was really interested in cactus, I decided we should head out to Ethel M’s factory tour and cactus gardens. It had been many years since I have been out there and was surprised at how much bigger the gardens had grown. The Cactus tour was a success since all the plants that J had been asking what they were, were nicely labeled in the garden. There was also an assortment of birds such as quail and morning doves hanging around. The factory is recycling and cleansing their water naturally. That was very interesting. All this is free and they throw in a free chocolate. Since it was Saturday, no one was working in the factory. Bummer. Ethel M has a new line of chocolates that I have to say was outstanding. I guess that they are trying out a new concept called a Chocolate Lounge. I had read something about it in Business 2.0 magazine. They will be selling these high price chocolate, chocolate drink s, etc and have an area for lounging. The article was saying that they were trying to create a store front that people would like to hang up in. Kind of like a chocolate Starbucks. After a purchase of $20 worth of chocolate, I am ready to leave. Back to the Hotel. Everyone is still full from lunch so it is back to the rooms for a rest.

I thought we could go some place close and that had a large choice in food, type and quantity so chose America at New York, New York. Big mistake. I should have taken it as a sign that they had plenty of empty tables at 7:30 on a Saturday night. First problem was the server whose first language wasn’t English was having a very difficult time providing answers to some of the questions we had about the food. We eventually gave up and order other stuff: fish and chips, patty melt, hamburger and Cobb salad. The only thing that people said was really good was the fish and chips. Well, it was actually the fish since the chips weren’t all that great. Maybe it was in comparison with the great lunch we had or maybe the food was really mediocre. Either way, I am not going back. Back to the rooms and time for my alter ego to emerge. Tonight, it was gambling at Bellagio, Aladdin’s, MGM and Monte Carle. I use to always love the Bellagio but there was something different about it this time. I even thought their flower display was not up to their normal quality. I didn’t last long before I was on to other casinos. I really loved what they are doing to the Aladdin’s. I think it will be great when they finish it but was a little to limiting with all the construction going on. Thanks to a tip here, I knew to go upstairs. The re-design of the casino is coming along great. I love the feel that they are going for. Rolled back to the Room about 3:30 am. Didn’t win but didn’t lose all my money.

March 4th – Sunday. Today was going to be a large brunch at a place that is my husband’s favorite place, Zeffirino. We cabbed it down to the Venation. B %26amp; J were brown away with the Venation’s architecture and design. M was waiting at the door waiting for Zeffirino to open while I showed B %26amp; J around a little bit. If you can picture a little puppy at the door waiting for his young master, you have a picture of my husband waiting for the restaurant to open. He was a little upset because I was 5 minutes late in returning from our look around. Upstairs, with a table over looking the canal and the singing drifting through the windows, we begin our feast. This is a small Sunday buffet with free flowing champagne. They also have a number of items that you order from the Kitchen such as the raw oysters. The group ate lobster, oysters, rack of lamb, filets, shrimp, various fish until we were ready to explode. I didn’t see the bill but I think it was around $55 per person. Everyone agreed that this was not a brunch buffet by a dining experience. Examples, when they clear the used plate, they also clear the used utensils and replace them with new. When my husband didn’t have the specific sauce he wanted for his oysters, they had the kitchen whip it up for him. After a couple hours of dining, it was time to get moving. We walked around the shops in the canal areas and decided that it was time to head back to the hotel. My husband decided that he would send the other two back in a cab and that we could walk back. He had forgotten his book at home and decided he wanted one to read. I told him that we should walk over to the mall and get one there but he decided that we should walk in the direction of the hotel instead. Since he had not been with me on my nightly gambling adventures this trip, we just wandered in and out of all the hotels and casinos so he could see what has changed. With each Hotel, he would get more and more agitated because no one was selling books! We got down as far as the MGM, went through all the places on studio walk and had only come up with books on poker. He was ready to declare defeat. I suggested that we should try New York, New York since a newsstand would fit into their theme. Of course he thought that was a silly suggestion but said he would try since it was on the way. Low and behold, they had a newsstand. I how had a happy camper following me. Back to the Hotel.

After only getting a couple hours sleep for the previous nights, I was pretty tired but afraid that if I took a nap, I wouldn’t get up for my last night in Vegas. Could you imagine sleeping through your last night in Vegas? After a couple hours of rest, it was time for my tour guide chores to resume. Dinner was to be at the MC Brewery. It was an okay dinner that was fairly priced. So much better than the night be fore’s dinner. B had arranged to meet an old friend later that night so I had the evening off from my duties. My last night, what should I do? Gamble of course. It was gambling at the Venation, Wynn’s and Monte Carlo. Back to the cruel fates that greeted me on my first night. All my gambling money was left in Vegas. But it did last until 3:00 am. A fitting end to this trip.

March 5th – Monday. Early up to pack since M said that I needed to be up and packed by 8:00. Appears that he forgot to tell B %26amp; J. They are ready by 8:30. While I am packing, M goes down and gets me a hot chocolate since M didn’t plan to eat until it gets his Barstow In n’ Out Burger. We have In n’ Out Burgers here in town so it isn’t like we are deprived of them. But there is something about the Barstow ones that are even better. Any way, Dropped B %26amp; J off at the airport and became free of my tour guide duties. One last stop at the Zappos.com outlet store on Dean Martin Drive. For those of you have not heard of Zappos, it is this great on-line shoe stores that provides free shipping and returns. I had read about their outlet store and was not disappointed. Didn’t buy anything since they didn’t have the espadrille that I was looking for and I had blown all my mad money at gambling. So we drove into the sun, broke and shoeless. Oh well, there is always the next trip.

A couple of last observations.

- I say more drunk driver arrests on the strip than I have ever seen before.

- I also liked the posters they had around that responsible gambling included not letting your children be unattended

- The biggest concentration of Porn slappers was around the Venation

- The time share was the least aggressive than I have seen in years

- There are some really sad looking hookers out around 3:00 am on the strip.

My Vegas - Lite Trip Part 2

Zappos in Las Vegas.....does it get any better? OMG !!

I am sooo excited. I LOVE Zappos. I just rec%26#39;d 2 pairs of shoes from them.

Is the store big? Was there a good selection?

ANOTHER reason to go to vegas...yeah!!!

( Yes, I get this excited about things)

Oh, sorry....Thanks for the TR

Sorry you had to be the ';cruise director';. That is my title in the Red Hat Society chapter that i am in....so I totally understand that you have to have an agenda ready and your choices make or break someone%26#39;s day.

They don%26#39;t seem like a very friendly bunch to hang with.

Loved the reports - I can sympathize with playing tour guide - the bonus is you get to see Vegas through new eyes, thou I always feel like a mother duck being followed by a group of ducklings. Hope your next trip goes your way.

Exellent trip report! Great writing. I laughed a couple of times as I can totally relate ';giving people a purpose for their day';. That%26#39;s why my husband and I love to travel to Vegas alone or with strong warning to anyone who is with us.

Also - Can I imagine sleeping through my last night in Vegas? OMG - We did it a few years ago on our anniversary! Talk about panic when we woke up in the morning. (we did change flights and stayed an extra day)

I too was surprised at how good the MC Cafe was! I thought they had a great selection of food and everything we%26#39;ve eaten there was really good!

By the way - what do you play? Did anyone else play at all?

Thanks again for sharing the details of your %26#39;lite%26#39; trip.

Thanks for writing the TR. Sounds like you did have a fine time even though it was a Lite trip. I hate that ';but where do you want to go?'; bit!! I do have to go to the Atomic Museum - that sounds interesting. If you ever get a chance- go see Ethel M during Christmastime. It is really beautiful- they put something like 300,000 lights on their cactus! Hope you get to do everything YOU want to do on your next trip without having to worry about what another couple wants to do.

It probably wasn%26#39;t as bad as it sounds but Vegas is sacred to my husband and I. To be so close and not to get to do the things I love to do there (including sleeping in) made me feel like I was pressing my cute little button nose up to the window of the big house having a party. Poor me, out in the cold. They are really nice people. Why they selected Vegas? my husband and I both haven%26#39;t figured that out. Hopefully, i will get a good offer in the mail and return soon. Are you listening Wynn%26#39;s?

Sweetsherry - The Zappo store is really different since it is a real outlet store and not just a company store. The racks are like Nordstrom rack but with boxes. Like a shoe pavillion%26#39;s sale area. I think they are fairly new since they were still working on lights. there are no mirrors so you only get the upper view of the shoes. But oh my god, what shoes. There were so many I wanted but didn%26#39;t need. Can that be a true statement? Must be the lack of sleep. It was the size of like an Adias outlet including their clothes area. It is permentaly on my Vegas list.

loveland. I play slots and Pai Gai. My husband normally plays video poker and Black Jack but he only played for a couple of hours before his brother arrived. His brother played slots and blackjack at a couple of nights but his wife kept questioning him the next day about the money. It wasn%26#39;t really much. Just a couple of hundred.

vp03 - Ethel M sounds lovely. We are going to move to outside Kingman in a couple of years and will put in on my list of Christmas stuff to do. But until then, I refuse to go back to Vegas when the weather is not over 100 degrees. i just love those hot, hot days and nights.

Do you have the address for Zappos or a cross street? I would love to go there!!

I remember the address of Zappos. It was 7770 S. Dean martin Dr. I think the cross street was blue diamond. I also found a coupon in one of those Vegas throw away magazines.

zappos yay!!!!

sounds like you guys had a great time!!!

just wondering what was in the sunshine mojito, or atleast what it tasted like was in it! lol

zits