Vegas Baby! - January 17, 2011 – Monday

After the wedding, the bride and groom went on their honeymoon to the Bahamas. So Sunday and Monday, those of us who were left which consisted of Mom, Dad, Dad’s family, and I, had the opportunity to visit. We ate so very well and had a wonderful visit. Then Mom and I caught a plane to Las Vegas to meet up with Mom’s family who had left to visit the Grand Canyon along the way to Vegas.

We were exhausted when we arrived in Vegas, which is how you normally leave, so I was wondering how this would pan out. We arrived at the Jockey Club, which is a small timeshare , located next to the Bellagio. We had split up into two groups: Aunt Coreen and Uncle Mike were staying at the Bellagio, and Uncle Ted, Aunt Rita, cousins: Michelle, Troy, Leanne, Steve, Justin, Danielle, Kevin, cute kids: Logan, Alyssa, and Mom and I stayed at the Jockey Club. We were all on the same floor with the same view of the building next to us. No not the fantastic Bellagio building, but we had a great room rate and nice big suites, and oh...it’s right on the Vegas strip!



Cousins! We're all the oldest in our family. Funny!



We all collected in one of the rooms for a great happy hour and headed off to find dinner. I lost count of the number of time I have been to Vegas, but I think it’s around 8, so I found myself as the tour guide. It was my own fault really. Every time someone said, oh I was some pizza, I said ‘oh you should go to New York New York! They have awesome pizza!’ Silly Libby. It was great being the tour guide, almost giving credence to all of the previous trips I took. The only reason I complain at all, is because I didn’t realize until we got to a restaurant that I recommended, that I felt responsible for the enjoyment of our group and taste of the food. Silly Libby! No one complained though and there were lots of laughs so it was all good!

For dinner we went across the street to Planet Hollywood and found a great place called the ‘Earl of Sandwich’. Totally cute and yummy. Then we walked down the strip to Ceasar’s Palace and took in the great sights. Everyone was so excited and enthusiastic about the smallest things, plus there were so many of us wandering around, that I felt like I was herding the Clampets. We saw the Bellagio fountains, walked through the casino part of Ceasar’s and played a few slots, hit the Forum Shops of Ceasars, watched a really corny water show from the 90’s that I recommended (my bad!), we had Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, and walked a few miles! We returned home quite late and happily fell into bed, resolved to wear better shoes the next day!

On Tuesday, Mom and I woke up and headed to the Bellagio pool with the Boyces and Conroys. A day by the pool with Alyssa and Logan?? I’m in! It was a very nice pool area, with a 6 separate pools, more hot tubs, private cabanas, tons of sunchairs, and was decorated in the elegant Bellagio fashion. Sadly only one of the pools and one hot tub was open. The water was surprisingly cold but the pool was large enough that we could chase the sun. After a few hours we gave up looking for the hot tub, Mom broke down and asked where it was, and we had to giggle because it was just in front of our face! We had a great afternoon filled and even got gelato and this fantastic caprese salad that makes my mouth water now.

That evening we met up as the big group of 13 at PF Changs after a quick happy hour in one of the rooms. Chinese food is a tradition for us, and tonight was a special occasion. The family got together in a secret meeting in Canada months before, and decided to do something special for Mom to thank her for all she does for the family, even from a distance. After dinner, a huge slice of chocolate cake arrived for mom and Ted made a speech thanking her and presented her with a gift. The love and gratitude at the table was palpable, and Mom was certainly touched. We then split up into a few groups. Coreen, Danielle, and I went to Jersey Boys at the Palazzo (next to Venetian).

This is a story that needs its own paragraph. We left PF Changs at 630. The show starts at 7. We spent the first 10 minutes running through Planet Hollywood trying to find the taxi stand. We got a cab quickly and drove the 10 minute drive through 10 lights to go less than 2 miles. We now had 10 minutes to find the theatre and get to our seats. This would normally not be a problem, but this is a Vegas casino that is designed to disorient you. We arrived at the Venetian and had this wonderful woman give us a map and 7 directions along the lines of ‘turn right at the pink elephant’ and go past the slot machines. With Danielle’s magical direction sense and Coreen’s ability to keep up even though we were all in heels in a very fast walk, we arrived at the theatre, found our amazing seats, sat and the lights went dark! Everything just works out for me. Even though it was a huge rush, it really added to the excitement, and the first part of the show tries to get this rushed feeling, but our hearts were already thumping so I think we got more out of the first act than everyone that arrived in a relaxed fashion. The show was great! Wonderful music and a story with some dancing and costumes. It was definitely worth the wait to see it! We then had a great movie montage scene wandering around the Venetian canal, trying on silly hats, going through an art gallery, watching seconds of the now sleazy pirate show at Treasure Island, in awe of the foliage and mosaics of the Wynn and Encore, and enjoyed a taxi back to the Bellagio.

Meanwhile, Justin, Rita and Mom went to see Cher at Caesar’s and the rest of the group wandered through the casinos. The nomads and Cher groups met up and took a limo all over Vegas. They had a great hour trip going down to Freemont street, the old Vegas district, took a picture by the Vegas pawn shop that has a TV show (to get a picture for Scotty and Chris),and were even upgraded to a large hummer limo! The Jersey Boys crew ran into the limo crew watching the Bellagio fountain and the night continued. 

The Bellagio is amazing. The lobby opens up to a great ceiling full of glass flowers. You then walk further into the lobby to see the fantastic flower and foliage that changes each month. It is breathtaking and hard to capture the beauty through my meager journalistic skills. The theme all over Vegas was Chinese New Year – the year of the rabbit. We went up to Coreen and Mike’s hotel room and watched two different fountain shows. The highlight of my Vegas trips have always been to watch the Bellagio fountains from the road. It is about 100 jets of water that are timed to the music: Sinatra, Pavaratti, Celine Dion, patriotic music, and even Elvis. The effect is a sort of ballet that is moving and so very artistic. Having seen the fountains from the room though is a whole new experience. The road view will be so meaningless now. You get to see the entire strip and a birds eye view of the fountain, with the music piped in over the TV. I’m not sure I would leave the room.

Yea the fountain is crooked. intentially!

We left Coreen and Mike at the Bellagio, and headed back to the Jockey club to grab a sweater and wander around the strip. I didn’t even hassle Danielle for not staying out, but then that was only because her kids wake up around five, and oh did I mention, it was already midnight? I did wake mom up though, as she can’t miss a party, and she, Ted, Michelle, Leanne, Justin, Troy, and I got on the Deuce, a bus that runs up and down the strip. We took it to New York New York and wandered around eating pretzels and gambling until the early hours of the morning. A few of us serious partiers (Michelle,Troy, Ted, and I) then went back to Earl of Sandwich for a snack. I fell into bed around 3am after a long awesome day.

The next morning came much too fast, but I jumped out of bed at 9am and joined the Boyces and Conroys to walk around the strip with the kids. (I left mom in bed as I don’t think she would have responded well to me waking her up twice in such a short time period). We started at Dennys where I shared chocolate pancakes with Logan. We then went to MGM to see the Lions, Excalibur, and New York New York, as those are just fun to walk through. As I was walking back to the Jockey Club, my friend Justin called. He was in Vegas too! I went back, woke mom up (it was now 1pm and she should be up), and we jumped on the Duece down to the Wynn. After some yummy pizza, Mom and I went shopping at H&M in Caesar’s. My purse had broken the day we arrived and I was at a loss without something to carry my camera and wallet. Mom was a bit tired that day as apparently 2 weeks of non-stop activities can wear you out. That evening, Mom babysat Alyssa and Logan, and I joined Ted and Rita at Outback. I love their steaks! I then went back to the room and saw mom curled up with the kids on the couch. She wasn’t too impressed that I interrupted this Precious Moments scene. We got the kids to bed, and Coreen, Mike, Danielle and Kevin appeared. The old folks went to bed while Danielle, Kevin and I jumped on the Duece down to the Wynn. We found this fantastic dueling piano bar in the Encore and enjoyed a fine night cap or two. Oh, and we bonded. It was great! Plus this really random guy kept staring at us. I couldn’t tell if it was because we were laughing so much, someone was smoking, or he was just mean. It turns out it was for an entirely different reason! He walked over and asked me if I have seen the show Dexter; well I knew where this was going. We were all dressed up and I have been told before I look like Julia Styles. This fool thought I was. He was really friendly and funny and posed for a few pictures with me. He introduced himself and got Danielle and Kevin’s names, but never thought to ask for mine. I think he kept calling me Julia, haha. Anyway it was after one when the music stopped, so we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

The next morning everyone left and I spent the day lounging by the Bellagio pool before catching my flight in the evening to Idaho. Ahhh it was a good trip.

Summary: I ate a lot, slept a little and laughed for hours!