Thursday, Day 2, was a better day, but I still felt a little queasy and my headache was echoing in my head, so I decided to take it easy this time around and stay on the Strip. I woke up early, and outside my hotel window I had the perfect view of the airport, which is practically right across the street, but there's not a lot of noise. I remember this from when I was a kid and my parents took us up to the observatory deck at the Minneapolis airport. It's fascinating to watch the planes take off and land, and to see it amidst the hotel strip and those gorgeous mountains highlighted in the sun was just gorgeous!
(I'm warning you now, the following is boring and tedious and not exactly what I had originally planned for my vacation - remember the helicopter ride? - so stop now if unless you are suffering from insomnia).
After taking a shower, I headed out to breakfast to fuel up for the day ahead of me. The buffets are amazing, with all that food and drink at your fingertips. I ate enough to last me for most of the day - french toast, omelette, bacon, coffee, fruit...it was heaven. One could gain some serious weight if they're not careful. The trick is to keep moving.
Which I did. The weather was pretty cold for Vegas, in the 30's, but the sun was shining and there's this monorail that takes you along the Strip. After catching the tram from the Luxor to Excaliber, I did a little exploring, then walked over to the MGM Grand. Saw the lions there, which gives me mixed feelings, especially when I think of Siegfried and Roy. Part of me loves to look at these beautiful animals, while another part wishes they were free. Considering how unsafe it is for these animals in the wild, I guess I'm a little grateful they have some type of sanctuary, but still....okay, I'm a sucker for the movie "Born Free", what can I tell ya.
Another thing I did at each hotel I came to was to sign up for the Players Club cards. For those who don't know, these cards work at the slot machines as well as at the tables and you can earn points towards free stuff, like dinner or hotel stays. Me, not being much of a gambler, at least spent some time (and money) at the slots, hoping to earn points for cool stuff. Sadly, I only made a few measley points for each card, but that's okay. It's incentive to go back, right?
I must have stopped at 10-12 hotels, did so much walking I could actually feel the blisters developing on my feet - a very strange and uncomfortable feeling, let me tell you. No matter how comfy your shoes are, if you walk a lot, eventually it's going to catch up with you. The hotels are gorgeous. I had to check out the Wynn, which is incredible. I would love to stay there. And the Bellagio too, though someone (Lynda) mentioned that Aladdin has these awesome sunken tubs that are incredible to soak in...sounds perfect, especially after a long day of walking and sight-seeing.
They had the rodeo in town, but sadly I didn't see any hot cowboys, just older ones. They did have a cool thing going on for Breast Cancer - the cowboys were wearing pink shirts to support the cause, with the concept that they are manly enough to wear pink - it was cool, and kudos to the cowboys for supporting such a worthwhile cause.
Now I'm pretty much a loner when I take these trips. I usually don't strike up conversations with strangers or try to ingratiate myself with a group of people. It's just how I am. I like to do my own thing, see what I want to see, and move on. Of course not everyone is like me, and I ended up talking to people whether I wanted to or not. Some people are like that, I guess. The hostile, unfriendly look on my face obviously doesn't intimidate everyone LOL.
So that was Day 2. It doesn't sound like a lot, and that's mostly because I am a horrible storyteller - it's why I read and not write. I did have lots of fun - there's just such an excitement about Vegas, the idea that you could see someone famous at the tables or in the lounges is pretty cool. They have so many performers there, from the well-known Vegas guy Wayne Newton, to comedian Danny Gans (who apparently isn't very well-known outside of Vegas but is one of the top acts there - and there's a waiting list to see him for about a year!) to the original "CSI" to the adult shows like "Zumanity". I can't wait to go back again and see what new hotel attraction is there, what new performances, and hopefully, I'll go on that helicopter tour after all.....
posted by Stacy~ at 12/02/2006 10:23:00 PM
