Happy New Year everyone! A lot has happened since I last wrote on Christmas eve. Mom, Dad, Amy and her boyfriend Mason came over and we watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Pizza Hut was had by all, and it was a nice evening.
On Christmas Day, Mom, Dad, and Amy came over in the morning for our annual gift exchange. It was a very nice Christmas this year. We got Mom a brand new digital camera (5 megapixel Sony) and I was fortunate enough to receive a very nice jewelry armoire. Amy got a nice set of pearls, and Andrew some CSS books and French CDs he’s been waiting for. Dad got some nuts (a traditional Dad gift) and some neat gadgets for around the house.
Christmas afternoon took us to Aunt Denise and Uncle Cecil’s house for Christmas dinner and a white elephant. I contibuted a Hello Kitty Waffle Maker, to which Andrew combatted with a Body Art Airbrush kit. His won the most popular gift award, being traded immediately to the max right after it was opened. We ended up at the completion of the evening with a kitchen appliance trio and a pasta kit.
After that, it was time for me to load up the Envoy and head out to Las Vegas! Six hours on the road and I was checking in at Mandalay Bay. They were nice enough at 2am to upgrade me to a House of Blues room on the 34th floor.
Monday morning, I got up and went to the airport to pick up Kathleen (my sister). We were ready for four days of fun! We started off the vacation by meandering our way down Las Vegas Boulevard all the way to the Aladdin. A cab ride back to Mandalay Bay later, and we ate at Georgio’s Italian Restaurant.
Both exhausted, we crashed for 13 hours before starting our next adventure. Tuesday morning we drove south to visit the Hoover Dam, which Kathleen had never seen. They’ve changed the roads quite a bit since 9/11 and now you have inspections BOTH ways in to the Dam, not to mention dual traffic controls over the dam, and it takes forever to get across now. What a pain!
We drove back into Henderson and went to the Galleria at Sunset Mall for a while. I needed new shoes because all I brought were tennis shoes. We then made our way over to Wynn Las Vegas, the newest hotel, and parked to walk around. Then we headed over on foot to the Venetian to see Bluephoria! That’s the new Blue Man Group show. Correction: That’s the same Blue Man Group show, at a new hotel. Well, almost the same. I’m a HUGE BMG fan, so don’t get me wrong – but anyone who has already seen their show will be sorely disappointed if you think it’s going to be different. It’s a mix of Charles Playhouse, Luxor and Complex Tour all into one show. They maybe throw in two or three bits that I had not seen before, but unless you are a die hard BMG fan, take your $126.50 per ticket and see the next show I speak of.
After Bluephoria, we walked back to Wynn and took our car back to Mandalay Bay. We had 8pm reservations at Aureole, which is why I needed new shoes! It’s considered “Fine Dining” which means, expect it to take at least 3 hours and cost a minimum of $100 per person. The meals there are a set price at $75 each for a first course, main course, and dessert. This does not include drinks, and believe me, they give you plenty of time to order drinks. In fact, you get your first set of drinks before you even receive a menu! Later, the wine menu that comes is electronic! You use a stylus to scroll through and see detailed information about each wine, its vintage, flavoring, variety etc etc. This is the restaurant with the four-story wine tower with the Wine Angel who flies up and down on a rope to get your wine from the tower. It is awfully cool. Of course, not a single person ordered a wine from the tower while we were there, so the waiter asked her to go up there and wave to me just so I could see her. After all, that’s the only reason I wanted to eat there!! It was pretty neat though. She goes a lot faster than I thought she would.
We retired for Tuesday evening after that. I won’t even bring up the waiter again (you’re welcome, Kathleen!). Wednesday morning we ate at The House of Blues for breakfast, which was pretty yummy. (I won’t mention that waiter either, Kathleen!) Then we drove up to the old strip and walked up and down, in and out of every casino there. We paid homage to the Poker Hall of Fame at Binion’s, and then drove over to the Stratosphere. A half hour wait later, we were smiling at Joe and Andrew (our husbands) over the webcams on top! How cool is that?
After getting our kicks on the 109th floor (and witnessing a wedding up there, as a matter of fact) we drove on to the Rio Hotel and Casino. A bit more shopping later, and a little bit of slots, then we were in line to see Tony & Tina’s Wedding. Now, I don’t want to spoil the show for you, but if you enjoy audience participation, YOU MUST GO SEE THIS SHOW! It was FABULOUS and HILARIOUS and worth every single penny of the $78.95 price. Just be prepared to participate! I got yanked in on the first dance by one of the ushers. Then a few moments later, Kathleen and I both got snagged to cabbage patch with the Priest (who was getting drunk). A while later and Kathleen was waltzing with the groom’s father. The sister of the bride (a nun, ironically) asked us if Demetrious (a groomsmen) “said anything” about her… but she’s married to Jesus, so not that it would matter, but she was curious… The whole thing was frickin HILARIOUS and I would see it again in a heartbeat. It’s not for the timid or politically correct, I must say!
Once back at Mandalay Bay, Kathleen dropped me a rather large bill and asked me to win her back some of the slot losses. About 45 minutes later after a round at a $15 blackjack table, I won her back $75 of the cash she had lost so far on the trip. With her slot winnings during that session, she was back up to even. Not too bad for four days in Vegas! I left for home the next morning down only $30 for five days. That’s the cheapest trip to Vegas I’ve ever had!
Thanks to my sister Kathleen for showing me such a wonderful time in Vegas, and introducing me to the Green Apple Martini. Yum!
Love ya, sis!
Happy New Year to everyone!
