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Vegas Trip Report 2017

We left around nine in the morning on Saturday the 18th from Monterey California. We normally head out after work on that Friday night but a friend of ours was having a Pre Thanksgiving party in Tehachapi so we just rearranged our plans by half a day. The result was more traffic than we are used to, but we still made really good time.

The party was nice, lots of great food and great people. We stayed for about two hours before hitting the road again.

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful, thank goodness. We arrived with plenty of time to check in for our one night at the Downtown Grand and grab some food for later before getting ready for the show of the night.

We had never stayed at the Downtown Grand and since the price was right and we like to hit downtown at least once per trip we booked the first night there. It was sheer luck that we found out a few days prior to leaving that GWAR would be playing downtown that night.

I was not familiar with their music, but obviously knew of them from their wild stage antics. My husband had always wanted to see them, but without actually putting in much of an effort to make that happen. So when this landed in our laps, he was pretty happy.

We checked into the room with no problem. The room was cute but quirky. There was no temperature control in the room. There was this weird vent thing that led directly to outside, but no real way to control how warm or cool it was. It turned out to be a non issue for us because we were literally in the room to sleep and shower, but it was just weird to me.

My husband headed out to see the opening bands for the show and I walked down to Pizza Rock to get some calzones for when we got back from the show. I brought them back up to the room and had some drinks while waiting for my husband to text that GWAR was about to go on.

When he did, I walked down to the venue and joined him. We were pretty close, I’d say about third row on the right.

The show was totally worth it. It was loud and I couldn’t understand any of the lyrics, but the theatrics and stage blood that showered the audience was just hilarious and a great time. We got soaked as did the rest of the audience and we loved every minute of it.

As we walked back to our room, people were waiting in line to get into a club. One kid looked at me and said: “Where did you get all the blood??”

I said: “GWAR baby!” and he said: “OH MY GOD, NO WAY!!!” It was pretty funny and proves that to some people, seeing a GWAR show can be a bit of a bragging right.

We were exhausted from the drive and the show so we got back up to the room, ate and hit the bed right after a quick shower to wash the blood off. (BTW, it took a total of two showers and multiple scrubbing to get that crap completely off. Also, the bra I wore to the show is stained forever. I soaked it for two days and it looks like a weird tie dye massacre)

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Day Two

Woke up and showered again. This was the day we were to move over to the Flamingo, but had a little time to kill. We headed over to a dispensary. My husband has a medical card and had visited this particular location before, but since it is legal now this was my first chance to go in and check it out. Pot is not my cup of tea. It makes me feel very out of sorts and not in a good way most of the time so I can only handle the tiniest quantities and generally try to avoid it, but it was really cool to see all the stuff and the whole process of obtaining it.

From there we hit the grocery store next door to get more water, sodas and snacks and finally headed over to the Flamingo. Interesting thing that has changed from last year is they are charging for parking now unless you are a platinum or up member. I guess this is just the way it is going to be from now on with all the big casinos in Vegas. Sucks.

On a plus side, you can see the Bellagio fountains from the top floor of the parking garage.

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Checked into the room early. Our room was not ready but a similar room was if we were interested. It wasn’t as nice as we usually have in the GO rooms off of the Spa tower but getting able to check in early for a slightly less nice room was worth it to me so we said yes.

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We relaxed in the room for a bit. My husband opted for a nap and I headed downstairs to gamble for a few. Didn’t have much luck, but a couple of Buffalo machines kept me busy for a little while.

Tail tucked between my legs, I returned to the room to find an awake and very hungry husband. We decided on Margaritaville for some take out and ventured back downstairs. While we waited a took a few more pics of the surrounding strip area.

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We didn’t do much else this day because we wanted a day to chill before the next couple of busy days.

Day Three 

Hotel room change. We had double booked the Flamingo with a two night MyVegas comp at the Mirage.

Our original plan was to grab some White Castle and hit the wax museum this morning before checking into the Mirage, but my husband’s stomach has other ideas.

I’m pretty sure he has gallstones and has for a couple of years, but he refuses to go to the doctor. Anyhoo, had a flair up this morning and it took until around noon until he felt better.

No biggie as we had no plans on Friday so we will just figured we would move the museum to that day.

We got up, showered and caught a cab to The Mirage. We didn’t realize how close it was so we figured we would probably just walk back when we return to the Flamingo on Wednesday.

Check in was a breeze. I didn’t do the 20 dollar trick but was offered a one bedroom suite for 75 bucks a night and took it. Since this reservation was a Myvegas comp, I had no problem with this at all. The desk clerk said it’s normally 150 for this upgrade but because the week before thanksgiving is a slower time The had cut the price.

At any rate, this suite was bigger than my friggin house. I’m pretty sure I want to live there.

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We enjoyed the room very much but soon it was time to get ready for our 5:00PM reservation for Portofino. We got a 2 for 1 entree comp via MyVegas so we got dressed up and headed out.

It was all very nice. The food was amazing. I felt the service could have been a little faster given how few there were in their at that time of night. It took us about fifteen minutes to settle our bill after we gave them our credit card. Also, there was a photographer going around taking pictures of people before their meal and I found that a little obnoxious, but that’s just me. Overall though, we really enjoyed it.

We ordered the Burrata Agnolotti and the Veal Osso Buco. We shared them both and each was equally good.
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Once dinner was done we headed over to the theater to see the Beatles LOVE Circ show. We both got tickets comped by MyVegas and since we had never seen a Circ show, we were really excited!


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The show did not disappoint! I’m really afraid of heights and our seats were in the third tier, so I was a little freaked out at first, but once the show got started I was just in awe! So much talent and the music and effects! Everything was just fantastic!

Once the show was over we didn’t really want to leave the room because it was so nice. Eventually I went down to Pantry to get a midnight snack and was waited on by a fella with a mullet tucked into his collar. Listening to him try and flirt with the chick beside me and seem super intelligent, made me giggle. A lot.
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He couldn’t have been more than 18 if he was a day.

Back up in the room we ate, watched TV and hit the hay

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Day Four

Today was my girls day. My friend Koly was in town as well and she was going to treat me to a Spa day at the Reliquary Spa at the Hard Rock. We arrived around 11:00 and spent a couple hours in the saltwater pool before getting our individual massages and then hitting the hot tub and the pool yet again. I have no pictures because this was all about us and the relaxation. I rarely get to spend this much time with Koly anymore so this was very nice just to catch up and hang out.

Around four we got showered and ready to head over to Harrah’s. We had comp tickets to Menopause the Musical and wanted to get a bite at the Diamond lounge before the show. That is exactly what we did.

I have seen Menopause years ago with my mom. I decided to see it again for two reasons. 1, I am much more closer to the change than I ever was when I first saw it and can relate a lot more and 2, I was excited about the addition of Cindy Williams.

Well, #2 turned out to be a bust as she had injured herself and would not be in the show that night. There was no understudy, and the show was the same as when I saw it before. That tells me that Cindy Williams is probably only there to give sight gags. What I saw on youtube backs that up, but I was still disappointed I didn’t get to see her. I am a HUGE fan of Laverne & Shirley.

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Still, it was a really nice day and I was glad I got to share it with Koly. She actually owns a theater company where we live (it’s how we met) and it was interesting to just be with her in an audience where she or I had nothing to do with the show. Normally she is directing and I’m acting. It was funny when we compared notes after, how we had mentally casted the roles with the local talent we are familiar with in our area and we were both pretty much in agreement. LOL!

We said our goodbyes and I headed back to the Mirage.

My husband had decided to head back over to the Flamingo that day since he had more toys in our room there. He didn’t want to be bored and watch TV all day in the room when he had his guitar and paint supplies over at the other room. He’s not much of a gambler.

I got up to the room and had some cocktails. I went downstairs and played some machines but my luck was just not with me this trip at all. I machine hopped more than I cared to and couldn’t hit a thing. Finally, I threw in the towel and hit Pantry for another midnight snack to soak up the cocktails. Mullet boy was there but this time I was waited on by a large man with a booming accent that kept calling me sweetheart, honey and baby (icky shudder!), at least the fish and chips were good.

 

Day Five

 

 Twas a sad, sad day when we had to leave that beautiful suite at the Mirage, but it had to happen.

My husband had walked over some time in the early morning and joined me in slumber. We woke up early enough that I could take a swim in the giant jetted tub. The funny thing was that it seemed to be pressure sensitive. My husband tried to take a shower while I was in the bath and it wouldn’t turn on. When I got out of the tub to take a look it started up. We let it run and then my husband stepped into the tub and it stopped. Weird.

Anyway, check out was no problem and we headed back over to the Flamingo to slum it the rest of the trip. :tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy:

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As we were walking back, we decided to get the White Castle that we skipped the morning my husband wasn’t feeling good. We walked over to Casino Royale, got a sack full of burgers and headed back to the Flamingo.

This day (Wednesday) was a planned relax day. We played some gamble and while we didn’t have much luck, we at least broke even this time.

Dinner was Chinese food from the food court. Hey, I said we were going to be slumming it.

 

:)Day Six

We slept in this morning and then made our way over to the Oyster Bar at Harrah’s to use our Celebration Dinner. We printed the voucher back when we were in town in May, but never got the chance to lose it. As we were packing for this trip, we couldn’t find the voucher. I was pissed because that is a hundred dollars worth of food, but couldn’t be too upset because it is “free”. At the last minute we found it hidden in a crossword puzzle book. :rolleyes:

This was Thanksgiving Day, but it wasn’t crowded. I imagine most people were hitting the buffets for traditional holiday food. We got the Lobster Bisque in a bread bowl and the OB’s Pan Roast to split and then we also got the Seafood Risotto and the Bourbon Street Jambalaya for take out for dinner that night. I’m not a huge fan of seafood (a cardinal sin when you are from Maine) but I did enjoy everything. The bisque was AMAZING!

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When we headed back up to our room at the Flamingo, housekeeping was servicing our room so we dropped the food and headed back downstairs. At this point all the smoke and dry air are really messing with my sinuses, or I’m getting sick. Either way, standing in the smokey casino is not my favorite thing to do at that moment. I hit the sports book to place a bet for a friend and then we decided to hit the Habitat to kill some time.

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I’d like to report that the night ended with a wonderful gambling session that recouped our losses, but I can’t. Well, I mean, I COULD, but it wouldn’t be true.

I’m just glad we planned more things to do this trip than rely on gambling because it obviously wasn’t happening for us.

 

 Day Seven(the final full day)

We had left this day free because we didn’t know if we would just be completely exhausted or if we would need an extra day to fit something in we skipped.

Turns out the only thing we really skipped was the Wax Museum. We had originally planned for Afternoon Tea at the Bellagio when we started making plans, but decided to save it until next year since we plan on staying at Caesar’s and it would be closer.

We hemmed and hawwed a but and decided to hit the wax museum. We hadn’t been in years and I had a MyVegas comp for a free ticket, it was within walking distance, so why not!

Madame Tussade’s is always good for some cheesy fun photo ops.

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So that was our afternoon, we stopped at Casino Royale and got our players cards on they way back. They offer a promotion that after you lose your first 20 bucks with them, they will put another 20 on your card to use in a machine. Which they did.

To use my “extra” 20 we finally found two Buffalo Gold Machines available. I was puttering along, getting a bunch of small bonuses and feeling good. Not huge wins, but small payouts that were adding up.

The person in the third machine got up and was filled by a woman that stuck in her twenty bucks and immediately pulled in two huge bonuses in a row. As my mother would say: “She sucked all the luck out of our machines!” She ended up cashing out 400+ that I could see and we sat there and played ourselves down to cashing out at least 20 dollars ahead. 🙁

Feeling defeated for gambling this trip, we headed back to the Flamingo. On the way Hubs said he wanted Chipoltle, but changed his mind as soon as he walked into the place. It wasn’t dirty per say, but compared to the one we have her in Monterey, it wasn’t exactly sparkling clean either. Undecided on dinner, we went around and around and eventually decided on Johnny Rockets in the food court. He wanted In & Out, and while I am a huge fan, we have those chains here on the west coast and we don’t have a Johnny Rockets. Also, we got the fries from Nathans Hot Dogs, because they are bomb.

That night we were tucked into bed pretty early. We had plans to meet our friend D and F at Eggworks for breakfast at nine in the morning so we had to get up early and then get on the road.

Day Eight

Hubs had another gallstone attack this morning. He asked me to take the first shower, which I did and then he asked me to message D & F and ask if we could move breakfast up an hour. They were cool with it and I let him “sleep it off”.

He woke up feeling much better around eight thirty. I had done the rest of the packing and made the first run to the car while he hopped in the shower.

Checked out and the only snag was the parking. Flamingo is charging for parking now but it’s supposed to be free if you are a higher card member. I tried to pay at the kiosk outside of the parking garage and it wouldn’t take my diamond card. I called for assistance and was told that we never should have taken a ticket when we first parked and that all we had to do was insert our diamond card when we exited. This was NOT was I was told when I checked in and specifically asked about parking.

At any rate, I met my husband and that car and we tried what I was told at the exit. It still didn’t accept my card and had to call for assistance again. We read her the numbers on my card and she released the gate. There was another car parked at a separate exit stall that was there longer than we were that I suspect was having the same problem. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it was an irritation. If you are going to charge for parking, get your crap together. My card was a working card as of that morning, there was no reason why it shouldn’t have scanned.

Anyhoo, we hit the road and met our friends at Eggworks on Flamingo. I had never been before but it was really good. Our friends got there first which was good since it is a fairly small place with lines out the door, and they were able to snag us a table. Great food and good company, but soon it was time to hit the road.

Side note from last year: Last year we met a bunch of friends in Vegas for the four day weekend. Hubs and I arriving early and them all driving out on the night before Thanksgiving and leaving on the following Sunday. We left on that Saturday to beat the traffic and it was glorious. From what we were told from our friends, depending on when they left the traffic on Sunday was horrible to downright insane.

Last year, we also left around eight in the morning and drove straight home.

This trip because of Hubby’s attack and the breakfast, we didn’t get on the road until eleven in the morning. Right around check out time.

While there were a couple of accidents listed on the Waze app, the only other thing I can figure is that all the people who sat in traffic on Sunday of last year, thought they would get a jump on it this year and leave on Saturday. Traffic was insane!

Not as insane as a friends had it last year on Sunday, but easily the worst WE had ever seen it. What normally takes us 7.5 hours to drive home took us about 10. I was not a fan. Next year we are leaving at the crack of dawn.

At any rate, we got home and rescued our dogs and slept all the next day.

Overall it was a very good trip. Getting to live like high rollers for a night with a suite, a fancy dinner and a show was just amazing. I loved it. But I’m glad to be home and have a little more structure in my life.

Until next time…

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About Me

 

I am a 50 something married woman living in California.
I enjoy music and traveling, watching crap movies, snuggling with my two adorable dogs and trying to be a good person.

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