My friend, Colleen, invited me to join her in Las Vegas to celebrate her brother's birthday. I had never met her brother but I decided to go. I had always wanted to visit Vegas and never had the chance before this. Colleen invited other friends and it began to get exciting. Glen, the new man in my life decided to join us and I could hardly contain myself.
Of course, women never have the right clothes no matter how much they have. A trip to Vegas gave me a reason to go shopping. New lingerie, a few blouses and new comfortable shoes and I was nearly done. Since we would be in Vegas for Easter, I picked up a few things for a surprise Easter basket for Glen.
The Saturday night before I was to leave I drove to my son's house for the night. He lived much closer to the airport and it gave me a great excuse to visit him. We ate and watched a movie together. In the morning he drove me to the airport.
For the first time I encountered electronic check-in and with a little help from a nice gentleman, I found it wasn't nearly as difficult as I feared. I flew Northwest this time and found I needed a seatbelt extender for a mere 3 inch gap. The attendant was very discreet about bringing it. There was a surprise this trip. Instead of bringing sandwiches and a drink, they sold sandwiches for $7.00 on this flight. I opted for a Coke and didn't bother with the sandwich. I did note that the sandwiches looked much fresher and more interesting than the usual coach fare. My seatmates seemed to be newlyweds as they held hands and snuggled most of the flight. Since they were quiet I slept a good portion of the trip. The young man was very nice when I asked to keep the armrest up and I tried to remain quiet and not shift into his seat space.
On arrival in Las Vegas I stayed in my seat until most of the passengers deplaned as I had to collect my cane from the overhead. Sometimes it rolls to the back and I have to ask the attendant to get it for me. This has never been a problem and the friendly young attendant climbed onto a seat to find it for me. Glen called at the time I was getting off the plane and agreed to meet me at the baggage claim. The airport in Las Vegas is easy to navigate and I found him with no problem. We collected my suitcase and headed out to the car he had rented.
I'm afraid I acted like the typical tourist as he drove through Vegas. Glen had been to the city many times so was amused by my gawking at the buildings and the sights. Here were all the casinos I had seen in the movies and on television. I ooohhhed and aaahhhhed my way down the strip to our hotel, the Sahara. We went to our room to unpack and get settled.
Our friend, April called to meet us for lunch in the cafe. As we sat and talked a few more of our friends joined us and the group kept growing as the meal went on. We eventually broke up and some of wandered off to see the casino. There were ten to 12 of us when we gathered again for dinner of seafood buffet. Everyone talk and laughed as we all tried to catch up with the lives of each other. After dinner we again moved to the casino where we found an area where we could have some drinks and talk some more.
Monday morning Glen and I went to the cafe for breakfast. We were soon joined by two friends who came in late the previous evening. Before long the breakfast group had grown to 13 people. Colleen's friend had gotten an extra room for us to gather in. Everyone added to the goodies, soda and beer. Over the five days of our visit this room contained anywhere from two to 20 people, all sitting or sprawling around chatting, eating and drinking but always laughing. The group ebbed and flowed as people joined friends for gambling, others went sight seeing, some took afternoon naps.
Monday evening was the birthday party for Colleen's brother so we dressed for dinner and met everyone at Paco's Tacos. There were twenty of us for dinner and confusion reigned as we all jockeyed to take photos and find seats. We celebrated with the birthday boy and passed around his joke gifts. Colleen is a creative woman who gifted everyone with a gift pack which contained several items but best of all was a whoopee cushion. It had been years since I had seen one and now I have my very own. Part of the group headed to the Voo Doo Lounge at the Rio Hotel. Glen and I opted for the group heading to Fremont Street to see the light show. After gazing upward in amazement at the show we headed back to the car for another tour up and down the strip to see all the hotels lit up. Again, ever the tourist, I gawked like a hick who had never left home before.
Tuesday morning was a repeat of Monday morning but the group expanded to 16 or so. We made some phone calls to friends not in attendance and passed our cell phones around so they could speak with everyone. I spent some time in the party room while Glen went gambling at other casinos with Colleen's brother and her friend. When the men returned we dressed for dinner and met the group at Battista's Hole in the Wall for Italian food. There were eight of us for dinner. Back at the Sahara I found the nickel slot machines just my speed while Glen headed to the blackjack tables.
Many of our group left on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning so Glen and I spent a solitary breakfast in the buffet. After breakfast we bought postcards to send to various friends who had not been able to make the trip. This was a special day for us to spend together as I had always wanted to see the Hoover Dam and Glen had offered to show it to me. This is a side trip I would recommend. I have seen the dam on television but nothing prepares you for the immensity of it or the amazing engineering that went into its construction. The single fact that surprised me the most is that there is no reinforcement in that huge construct. It was a warm sunny day and the drive was pleasant. We stopped to look at Lake Mead and before returning to our hotel we stopped at the Mirage Hotel to see the open-air home of Siegfried & Roy's royal white tigers.
Back at the Sahara we took a nap and then showered before heading back to the casino for more blackjack and the slot machines. We went to the House of Lords restaurant in the hotel for dinner. This is a small, quiet place well suited to couples. The service was excellent as was the food. Afterward we returned to the casino and I found a slot machine with a poker theme and was satisfied to keep playing with nickels, slowly losing but having a ball. When Glen tired of blackjack he came over to sit at the machine next to mine for awhile. I had slowly lost my $10 and within minutes, as I explained to Glen that his strategy was flawed, he won $50 in nickels. So much for my expertise. We laughed as he cashed out and called it a day.
Thursday morning found us alone at the breakfast buffet as all our friends had gone home except a couple who had spent the previous evening seeing Celine Dion. We took our time packing up and went down to the casino for one last go at winning our fortune. We stopped at a souvenir shop so I could buy a T-shirt for my neighbor who had fed my dogs while I was gone. Glen took me to the airport and continued on to complete a family visit before heading home a few days later.
My return flight was also on Northwest and even though it was the same style plane, I didn't need an extension and had several inches of seatbelt to spare. I held my breath as I found my seatmates to be a young 4-year-old and his mother. Yikes! This could be a tough flight. He was armed with a Game Boy and plenty of games. By the time we took off he was asleep. When he woke up he was a very well behaved young man and I found he had traveled a lot in his few years.
Upon arriving at my home airport I was met by an airport staffer and a wheelchair. I was going to brave it out and try to navigate the huge airport on my own but this fellow was insistent so I relented. He whisked me from place to place and I arrived at the baggage claim in record time. My son's roommate picked me up in my van and we went to my son's where I spent the night before heading home the next day.
I would recommend Las Vegas as a vacation destination. I was able to have a wonderful time on a limited budget and determined beforehand how much I would risk in the casino. The hotels are spread along a strip of such a distance that it really isn't someplace you can cover in a walking tour. As a person of size I took note of the accessibility for those of us who use canes and wheelchairs and there were plenty of escalators and elevators. One of my friends with a heart condition rented a wheelchair at the hotel for $15 a day as the distances inside the hotel can be daunting. I am looking forward to visiting Vegas again as my friends are talking about making it an annual event.
