I woke up at 3 am for a 6:10 am flight. When you factor in the time change, that's 1 AM Pacific time. The only thing I learned from the flight? Sierra Mist is not as good as Sprite. We landed around 10 am and walked into a 65 degree day after a week of 30's in Chi-town. and Anthony picked us up. We drove to the Hilton Vacation Club, which is on the north side of the strip and a block east. So we get in the elevator. Now we're on the 11th floor. And I look at the floor buttons on the elevator panel. There is no 13, it goes from 12 straight to 14. I guess it was because they thought 13 was unlucky. Here's the catch. The buttons go B, 1, 2... So in reality, the "14th" floor is still the "13th," isn't it? We had two rooms next to each other, which was great since everyone could now have their own space.
So we drop off the luggage and drive out of town to the east side of Vegas. We met both of Anthony's single uncles who moved there from Maine. I must say between Anthony, Jim, and Bruce, I was engaged in more political discussion in two hours than I have been in two months. Sure, the Illinois governors are frauds, but Nevada's governor was a lawyer for the mob! So from Bruce's house, we drove over to Memphis Ribs for some stellar BBQ. That magic dust was one fine spice. Eventually, he dropped us off on the middle of the strip around 4 pm. The first thing I noticed was how many construction sites there were all along Las Vegas Blvd. It was a hotel, a construction site, a hotel, a construction site and so on for miles. The lights had not come up full yet, but it was easy to feel the energy and spirit.
We went into NY, NY first. The outside was incredible. The Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Cyclone, and the Chrysler Building are all out in front. The job they did on this (as well as Paris with the Eiffel Tower) is incredible. Inside, you have your casinos, clubs, and restaurants like with every major Vegas hotel. But the feel is like Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan and the food court is designed just like Greenwich Village. We ate at Il Fornaio for some Italian. We sat outside the restaurant and we had a great view of the casino. The liquor is where the get you. Though the food prices may be reasonable ($15 for a pasta bowl), it is tough to get wine for under $10 a glass. Fortunately, I stuck with some Ginger-Peach iced tea.
By the time our meal was over, we had been awake for 19 hours so we decided to take the monorail home. Now it runs north and south on the west side of the strip. We were on the east so we had to walk across. Only 15 minutes later, we got there. And of course, you had all the foreigners flooding the streets standing in lines handing out flyers, snapping the flyers on their wrists to draw attention, and trying to hook you up with "callers," shall we say. I really wish they could find something better to do with their time than sell that kind of crap. It is a shame they can do that legally. Anyway, back to the point. This monorail is a nice concept, but a joke in planning and execution. Now in my hotel guidebook, I read each ride was 3 bucks and you could get a 10-ride for $25.00. Seemed fair at the time. Turns out you have to walk two blocks west and through casinos to get there and every ride is $5.00 no matter how far you are going. So for Mom, Dad, and I to go one way, it costs about the same amount as a cab. I just don't see the point in the extra walking. After the second day. we were all but done with the monorail with one exception... I fell asleep around 11 pm. A long day, to say the least.
On Monday, I hit the hotel gym for an early morning workout. Pretty good facilities. They have a universal gym, but unlike most universals I've used, this one was actually usable. So on Sunday night, we had noticed these 1/2 off ticket booths along the strip. Turns out you can get discounted tickets for certain shows on the day of the events. We talk a 15 minute walk, walking through the Riviera along the way, and arrived at the booth. We were hoping to see Wayne Brady, since we're both fans of Whose Line. Unfortunately, his performance was cancelled, evidently because he got sick. So scrambling fast, we brought a pair of $65 Craig Ferguson tickets for $33 each. And we noticed they offered a few dinner discounts and we took 40% off at Pampas, a Brazilian steakhouse in the Planet Hollywood hotel. To top it off, we took a pair of Hoover Dam tour passes for Tuesday.
From the booth, we walked to the Fashion Show Mall. Unfortunately, we had already walked about three miles by this time and Mom's feet were already causing her tremendous discomfort. Before the mall though, we stopped into the Wynn and Encore hotels, designed by Steve Wynn. Put it this way, the guy is getting through the tough economic times just fine. If you like flowers and butterflies, this is your kind of hotel. Absolutely gorgeous, but if I'm fair about it, very bougie. (This is the first time I've ever used that word in print!) Anyway, we went to the mall and had lunch at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba for some Spanish Tapas. The service was slow as can be (and it wasn't too busy), but the sangria wine was marvelous. Filled with fruit and ice, and a sweet tangy taste. We split a chopped salad, garlic shrimp, and some stuffed mushrooms. Great food. Then came a bunch of shopping, which proved fruitless for me. I'd have liked to find a Tommy Bahama shirt for under 50 bucks, but granted, this wasn't exactly an oulet chain.
Then, we took a cab to the MGM to get the Ferguson tickets and we got the third row, about 10 yards from the stage. Not too bad. I think the MGM is fancy, but really a fine place. While we walked through the casino, we checked out the lions which they keep in a large glass enclosure. I felt a little bad for them, because they were so tame. I had to wonder if they get drugged. And I would not want to be the guy who takes them in and out of the observatory every day. That's not a job I'll be applying for anytime soon. From there, we walked a few minutes north back to Planet Hollywood for dinner. On the way, mom got a foot massage and I stopped over at the sports area and watched the Knicks win a great game against Indiana. So then, came Round 1 at the casino. I have to say, I cannot make heads or tails of the slot machines. Mom's talking about how many lines to play and all this. I'm staring at the machine like I stared at the blackboard in trigonometry class. Anyway, I lost ten bucks and jetted straight to the blackjack machine at the bar. That is the way to do it, especially since they will give you free drinks if you are playing. After ten minutes, I was up two bucks and figured I'd stop there.
Pampas is one of those "all you can eat" restaurants where the gauchos bring out the huge skewers of grilled meat. It was really good, but not what Sal and Carvao was. I would say the rump roast and roast beef were marvelous and the pork tenderloin was quite good as well. I liked the ham and pineapple skewer, something I had never seen anywhere else. I'm no ham fan, but that was a good concept. The salad bar was just not great though. So then we saw Ferguson. I would say about 600 people were there and the show was very good. His bits on Sean Connery and childbirth were outstanding. After 90 minutes, we headed to the monorail, which was thankfully only about 6 minutes away from the theater. Went to bed at 11:30, I had to set my alarm to wake up at 6 a.m.
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