Saturday, April 18th.
So, Starbucks tried to kill me. Just got to the airport and were heading over to chill out at the Passport Club prior to boarding and they ALWAYS overfill the cup. I may be a dainty flower, but I gesture too much and always ask them to leave PLENTY of room for milk. I turned around to doctor up my coffee prescription and SPLASH boiling hot coffee all down my right hand. OUCH. Cool water and a little time in the lounge helped but nothing is getting this trip started off wrong. I’m ready to roll. Took a few photos of Daryl unwinding and soon it’s time to board. Of all things, we ran into someone he hadn’t seen in years, say hi, and we’re off to Atlanta for the first leg.
Make the connector just fine with plenty of time and luckily Daryl suggested splitting a snack or mini-lunch since it would be a while before boarding and getting lunch. THANK GOODNESS. We split a sandwich and due to turbulence didn’t get our Delta lunch for around an hour. (We don’t normally fly first class, but had the miles to do it this trip. Yea!) I do NOT do well hungry. But the lunch was a chicken enchilada that was actually pretty good. The side plate had cheeses, crackers, and grapes and one little piece of precious, tiny, delicious apple pie. Mmmmm. Pie.
Arrived and had a pretty easy landing. Yay! We took some obligatory “Welcome to Vegas” shots. Don’t they make you do that? I like asking couples if they want me to take their pics together. ?
Picked up our rental at Dollar. Easy there too. Got a red Dodge SUV that was a decent ride for the week.
MONTE! Quick check-in, but without the typical happy go lucky Monte attitude. Now we see why. Room 3-302 is a low room with a view of construction. For the first time ever, I said no, I want another room. They couldn’t switch us on the first day, but would on Sunday. Okay, we can handle that.
Dinner? Battista’s Hole in the Wall. https://battistaslasvegas.com/ Wonderful and filling. If you go, be on the lookout for the adorable man with the accordion. He’s a gem. The food was great and the cappuccino at the end, excellent. I would gladly eat there again. Go hungry!
Gambling? I was up a total of $10 after a bunch of gambling. Daryl was not.
Pedometer check for the day: 8.5 miles
Sunday, April 19.
Our first full day in Las Vegas. Hurray! So the plan is breakfast at Peppermill. Love that place. Split a breakfast since portions are huge and Daryl also got a fruit “cup” that was a meal in itself. After eating we trot next door to take a peek at the Riv before it’s gone.
Riviera: so desolate, so sad already, we didn’t stay long but took a few pictures before it’s just a memory. Our first trip to Las Vegas was actually for a retired racing greyhound convention that took place at the Riviera (we stayed at Mandalay Bay). It seems so forlorn that we quickly left. You could smell the sadness, or was that mildew in the carpet?
Back to park at Monte and head over to Aria. At the Spa, they offer a body fat analysis with Sergio, the same trainer we had for a previous Art Hike. It was really interesting and we got printouts showing where we are. Good results. Yes!! If you ever want a great spa or to do some one-on-one training, I can heartily endorse Aria.
A short nap and then set out for a really great day.
Much earlier, we had made plans to meet friend and Las Vegas for Beginners superfan, Brian Kay, over at Five50. We’d known each other a long time online, but finally had the chance to meet. I spotted him from a mile away and ran up with a great big hug. Just like meeting someone I’d known forever. So happy! We sat at the bar and Daryl, Brian, and I split a fresh Gotham pizza and had a couple of beers. It was a great leisurely lunch chatting and enjoying each other’s company. There is nothing like time with great friends. I was feeling relaxed, full, and happy. Great lunch! After we finished up lunch, we decided to make our way up the strip.
This part was really quite funny to me. Brian walks quickly, Daryl walks slowly, and I was the bridge between. We were like a little parade meandering through everywhere. We went to the Grand Bazaar Shops. We made a stop or two there. There was a funny BBQ place (we all took pics of the funny sauce names), but then there was the Honolulu Cookie Company. OMG. They have samples, get some! I had to buy something there while we were there. We talked about some of the shops, but mostly wandered around the storefronts with few stops along the way.
We finished the shopping & then toured through the Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat. Somehow, we had never done that before. I was incredibly glad Brian took us through. That was very pretty and a nice break. I’m always up for birds, flowers, and wildlife (and I’m not just talking about the tourists).
The finish line was ahead. Ahhhh, Rhumbar. https://rhumbarlv.com/ Daryl got a frozen drink. Brian and I had Old Cubans, which sounds like a cigar, but is a drink. I’ll just say it makes you so relaxed you want to kick your shoes off and stay a while. Possibly literally! We had the perfect spot. It was a nice shady corner under a palm tree. Stayed there and lazed the afternoon away chatting, sipping, and enjoying the scenery. It was an absolutely perfect afternoon. Daryl got a text that we could move our room at Monte out of the third floor to the 16th. We had already packed our bags earlier & I was so content and lazy he said to stay and chill and swapped the room over. Brian got a cigar, I decided not to. LOL. Time flew by. It’s a great place to relax and solve the world’s problems. I could have easily closed the place down. It was idyllic. If you have a chance to go to Rhumbar, be sure to make a stop there.
Long story short, Daryl & I had a double booking due to an offer from SLS. We were going to try them out too. Daryl called and wanted to check in at SLS then so I said goodbye to Brian and walked to SLS. We hit Northside Café for a burger. Tasted like sawdust. Oh well. The room was smallish but VERY pretty and artsy looking, in a good way. It’s a very boutique feel, but I would knock them down a peg for not having a dresser. The room only had hangers. That was a bit weird. But we did like the room.
Pedometer: 8 miles
Monday, April 20
Breakfast at SLS. Went back to Northside and the food was way better than the service this time. I won some money playing Batman. We then went to Venetian to pick up the Rock of Ages tickets for later that night. Hurry back to Monte Carlo and spent some time at the pool. Hurray! Cleaned up and met Andy Hoffman at Mandarin Oriental’s bar for drinks and eventually a couple of orders of their phenomenal sliders. You don’t think of getting sliders at an upscale bar, but oh myyyyyy, they were delicious. The barbecue sauce was perfect and I wish I had some about now. Truly, save a few extra dollars and treat yourself to a drink and some sliders. This was a big highlight of the trip. It was great meeting Andy after being online friends and chatting before the show. After a couple of rounds… it was time to head for Rock of Ages. The show was good & fun, but to this east coaster who likes to go to bed early, it went a little long. I sang all night though. Some of the music will get stuck in your head, but in a good way. Remind us to never, ever gamble at Venetian. UGH. Glad we didn’t waste much money.
Pedometer 4.5 miles
Tuesday, April 21
Breakfast: we weren’t terribly hungry so we just grabbed something at the food court so we could have a nice lunch at Grouchy John’s. A smart plan since we normally are too full for lunch.
Redeemed the $50 myVegas reward. Made that into $100 real money. Whoo hooo!
Headed to Grouchy John’s for an excellent wrap and Lando smoothie. Also, while we were there, we bought two small pieces of Tommy Vinci art. We loved it all! The food, the place, the company, & the art. Grouchy John’s is the whole meal deal. Well worth a visit or two every trip for sure.
Planned ALL DAY for an advertiser meeting and hauled our butts out for nothing. ARG!!! The only person left in the building was the secretary. VERY lame. Since we had plans to be there, we had not made any other plans and everything we tried, everyone was busy. CRAP. Stood up in Vegas. So we headed over to try out Umami burger which was absolutely excellent.
On Umami: One of the funny moments here…. They got everything “wrong”. Someone got a beer and someone got a diet drink. They go with the stereotype and I roll my eyes at the nice server & with a grin say, “try again.” I (Ashley) got the beer and Daryl got the Diet Coke. Same with the food. A Cobb salad and a Manly Burger. The person who brought the food had to swap out for us. We’re used to it. It was hysterical though.
This kind of meal makes me way happier than some $200 frou frou fancy meal. An incredible burger, tots (not on the menu-ask for them), beer, and a free coupon for dessert is my idea of a great time. PLUS, when you eat there you can watch any sport imaginable.
Since we were at SLS, we stayed the night there.
Net for the night for me was -$10 gambling.
Pedometer: 4.5 miles
Wednesday, April 22nd
Administrative Professionals Day, too! What a place to celebrate. Happy Day to me. ?
Head to Monte. Daryl and I swapped MLife cards since he was not doing well. Amazingly, he went on a very positive run. He got up on HooDoo (Hexbreaker).
Peppermill breakfast – same as before and delicious.
Downtown: Rockin’ Bettie – bought a dress https://www.rockinbettie.com/
Got downtown waaaaay too early and walked around. Gambled a little bit and had no freaking luck. Hell with all of the people that tout loose slots downtown. I say BAH.
Las Vegas for Beginners (www.lasvegasforbeginners.net) Meatball Meetup at Pizza Rock: one of the GREAT highlights of the trip. I worried we would get there stupid early but walked in and our greyhound friend Lee was already there and had brought a friend along. Hurray! Bonnie and Sandy showed up. Great ladies. Then the big crew started coming… Craig Kunitz, Dan Woodruff, Elaine and Tony. Got a text that Brian and his roommate Janeen had gotten there and ran outside to meet them. Hugged them both and next thing I knew Janeen and I were fast friends and doing shots of Fireball. Gotta love making friends. <3 Then we had Scott Roeben and Scott Whitney. Patricia Corwin was great and put up with me and Janeen running our mouths wide open. LOL. Somewhere at this point I think Daryl was at the Scott(s) end of the table having fun and chatting. The pizza that Craig got was good and there was second one floating around too. I picked and shared some of mine with Brian. BUT THE MEATBALLS. I wish I had some now. They were so good. I had one but could have had a bucketload all to myself. I had two white sangria drinks and two Fireballs at this point so everyone got lots of hugs. *A warning to people who have yet to meet me in Vegas…very happy, very huggy. I should come with a warning label.* As an aside, I apologize to Scott Whitney for calling his choice of drink a “pussy drink”. I mean it, but didn’t keep my mouth shut. *Insert crazed laughter* You know you’re having a good night when you’re in the ladies’ room, sharing way too much information and slathering on each other’s lotion. Seriously, it was a great night. I felt like we had all been friends forever, we had, just on the internet. It was a blast. I could have done the Snoopy happy dance.
When we started entertaining the idea of people getting together since so many were in town at the same time, I had no idea people would actually show. As big a softy I am, I’m surprised I didn’t mist up, but I was too busy having fun. Tried to make sure I talked to everyone and that everyone felt happy and comfortable. Daryl worked the table and socialized having as much fun as I was. It was so much fun I didn’t want the night to end.
Gamble at Monte: -$100 D -$35 A
Happy meter for the day: PEGGED
Pedometer: 4.5 miles
Thursday, April 23
Cravings buffet at Mirage. I forgot to get a myVegas deal so I used a Las Vegas Advisor BOGO coupon. Their breakfast is always wonderful. You can get beer and wine, too. Daryl and I didn’t drink, but made up for lost time later. AND THEN SOME!!!
Back to the hotel for a short time and a little bit of gambling, and then our very special pool day.
Thanks to our casino host, we had plans to go to Bare at the Mirage (yes, we were staying at Monte). Bare is toptional. Top on or off, it’s up to the ladies there. It’s not cheap, but there are several options. We opted for a daybed. The deal is this: it’s going to cost $200. You can spend it all in food and beverage or just for the bed, so it’s in your best interest to eat and drink a lot during the day and pay “nothing” for the daybed. We started off with the big collectible cups with piña coladas. Yum. It was borderline between hot and cool. The sunshine was perfect, you’d get hot, jump in the pool, the breeze would hit and you’d be a bit cool until you’d dry out again. If it were much hotter though, it probably would have gotten uncomfortable to spend the whole day there. Bare looks much different than in the photos. It consists of a bar on one end, VIP on the opposite end with a glass pool, the middle was beach chairs, daybeds, DJ booth, and a really nice restroom area. The pool is similar to a lap pool but at each end has a shallow section you could lay in about a foot or two of water. Let me tell you a bit about the restroom. It was immaculate, with lots of candies, lotions, sunscreens, and a very helpful attendant. When I went in and used the sunscreen, she even offered to get my back. Whoa! That was a nice touch. I made sure to tip her a few times. When a very drunk girl entered she very politely asked, “Are you okay?” The girl muttered something in the affirmative. The attendant answered “I don’t think so.” It wasn’t mean; it was very motherly and in a concerned tone. It made me smile.
We MEANT to get back to our room about 3 at the latest so we could clean up quickly and change for Bonnie’s Meet Up… but had such a good time at Bare, we didn’t leave until the last minute. Daryl looked fine in his board shorts and t-shirt. I looked like hell on a stick with my cover-up and half wet, put up hair. Oh well, sometimes you just have to roll with it. I smelled like a Hawaiian Tropic vat and like sweet summer drinks though. ?
Off to El Cortez Parlour Bar/Bonnie’s Meet. Got to meet some more great people and see a few from our Meet Up. Yay! We finally got to meet Tom. I was glad we finally had the chance. Sat by Dan and chatted a bit. Daryl got me some food. Thank goodness. It had been quite the day and needed a little sustenance at this point. Some of the Tez owners came by and since I wasn’t in peak Meet & Greet mode shoved Daryl off to schmooze. He’s great at being sociable so he strolled right up. There were many pics taken OH doG! Not happy about parading around before fluffing up but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Enjoyed my little booth spot, chatted, and had a nice time.
I had evening plans that didn’t pan out. Since my plans were a bust, we tried to get together with other Vegas folks in town and that didn’t work either. Stood up. SIGH. Back to Monte.
Mileage? I dunno didn’t wear a pedometer at the pool. Probably pretty low this day.
Friday, April 24 – last full day. WAH!
Breakfast at Blueberry Hill. The French toast was great, as was the coffee. A nice place to linger and get good service. We would both be glad to go back. Thumbs up.
Elvis at the Hilton: inexpensive and worth it. Not an overwhelming display. A couple of cars, a motorcycle, some jumpsuits. The thing that was really weird was that they had his parents’ pay stubs, little odd papers and family artifacts, a weird collection of items, but the video parts were good. As a whole it was just underwhelming.
The gift shop had a lot of Elvis merch, but also odd things like comic books, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and Walking Dead. Huh? At an Elvis museum display? I didn’t get that.
Had some Monte coupons to use and took one to Sambalatte. Tried out a cappuccino since they were so good at Battista’s. It was good, but not Battista’s good.
Talked to Hank the security guard at Monte. You know you’re a pistol when the security guy remembers you dancing at the Monte Plaza from back last September. Wow! I hugged his neck and we took his advice and tried out Shake Shack for dinner.
Shake Shack: Affordable and good food. Sit outside and watch the people and street performers. A nice evening. Daryl got a bacon cheeseburger and I got a regular cheeseburger. We were full enough we didn’t need fries. I got a little misty (okay a lot) at the prospect of leaving. That always happens after a nice vacation. SIGH!
Used another Monte coupon for a Whiskey Sour at Ignite Lounge. Nice! Coupons rock.
Also went to Hit for a real Moscow Mule by bartender Ronni, that was a great show. I’m glad that Steven Brown told me about it!! Between the good drink, atmosphere, and bartender’s “show”, it was a nice time. Drinks aren’t cheap, but are very good. The company at this particular bar was fun too.
Hit gold status on MLife and saw our host Ryan before bed
Since it was our last night we packed early and went to bed early.
KNOCK! KNOCK! Who’s there? Monte Management, when are you checking out? Are you serious?
I stomped to the door wearing (seriously) my big pink Monte nightshirt, hands on hips, trying not to rage with madness. I probably stomped my feet and flounced my hair too! We had a 3:15AM wake up call for Saturday and the gentleman at the door certainly understood how upset I was. No doubt at all about that! Daryl was much nicer than that. I kept telling him to call our host and seethed.
Saturday, April 25
Standard rental return, off to the airport and flight home.
Tried a lot of new things, & as usual didn’t get everything done that we wanted to but that leaves something for next trip.
The highlight was meeting so many great friends in real life.
*Pictures are coming…
Thanks for reading. Ashley & Daryl
So, Starbucks tried to kill me. Just got to the airport and were heading over to chill out at the Passport Club prior to boarding and they ALWAYS overfill the cup. I may be a dainty flower, but I gesture too much and always ask them to leave PLENTY of room for milk. I turned around to doctor up my coffee prescription and SPLASH boiling hot coffee all down my right hand. OUCH. Cool water and a little time in the lounge helped but nothing is getting this trip started off wrong. I’m ready to roll. Took a few photos of Daryl unwinding and soon it’s time to board. Of all things, we ran into someone he hadn’t seen in years, say hi, and we’re off to Atlanta for the first leg.
Make the connector just fine with plenty of time and luckily Daryl suggested splitting a snack or mini-lunch since it would be a while before boarding and getting lunch. THANK GOODNESS. We split a sandwich and due to turbulence didn’t get our Delta lunch for around an hour. (We don’t normally fly first class, but had the miles to do it this trip. Yea!) I do NOT do well hungry. But the lunch was a chicken enchilada that was actually pretty good. The side plate had cheeses, crackers, and grapes and one little piece of precious, tiny, delicious apple pie. Mmmmm. Pie.
Arrived and had a pretty easy landing. Yay! We took some obligatory “Welcome to Vegas” shots. Don’t they make you do that? I like asking couples if they want me to take their pics together. ?
Picked up our rental at Dollar. Easy there too. Got a red Dodge SUV that was a decent ride for the week.
MONTE! Quick check-in, but without the typical happy go lucky Monte attitude. Now we see why. Room 3-302 is a low room with a view of construction. For the first time ever, I said no, I want another room. They couldn’t switch us on the first day, but would on Sunday. Okay, we can handle that.
Dinner? Battista’s Hole in the Wall. https://battistaslasvegas.com/ Wonderful and filling. If you go, be on the lookout for the adorable man with the accordion. He’s a gem. The food was great and the cappuccino at the end, excellent. I would gladly eat there again. Go hungry!
Gambling? I was up a total of $10 after a bunch of gambling. Daryl was not.
Pedometer check for the day: 8.5 miles
Sunday, April 19.
Our first full day in Las Vegas. Hurray! So the plan is breakfast at Peppermill. Love that place. Split a breakfast since portions are huge and Daryl also got a fruit “cup” that was a meal in itself. After eating we trot next door to take a peek at the Riv before it’s gone.
Riviera: so desolate, so sad already, we didn’t stay long but took a few pictures before it’s just a memory. Our first trip to Las Vegas was actually for a retired racing greyhound convention that took place at the Riviera (we stayed at Mandalay Bay). It seems so forlorn that we quickly left. You could smell the sadness, or was that mildew in the carpet?
Back to park at Monte and head over to Aria. At the Spa, they offer a body fat analysis with Sergio, the same trainer we had for a previous Art Hike. It was really interesting and we got printouts showing where we are. Good results. Yes!! If you ever want a great spa or to do some one-on-one training, I can heartily endorse Aria.
A short nap and then set out for a really great day.
Much earlier, we had made plans to meet friend and Las Vegas for Beginners superfan, Brian Kay, over at Five50. We’d known each other a long time online, but finally had the chance to meet. I spotted him from a mile away and ran up with a great big hug. Just like meeting someone I’d known forever. So happy! We sat at the bar and Daryl, Brian, and I split a fresh Gotham pizza and had a couple of beers. It was a great leisurely lunch chatting and enjoying each other’s company. There is nothing like time with great friends. I was feeling relaxed, full, and happy. Great lunch! After we finished up lunch, we decided to make our way up the strip.
This part was really quite funny to me. Brian walks quickly, Daryl walks slowly, and I was the bridge between. We were like a little parade meandering through everywhere. We went to the Grand Bazaar Shops. We made a stop or two there. There was a funny BBQ place (we all took pics of the funny sauce names), but then there was the Honolulu Cookie Company. OMG. They have samples, get some! I had to buy something there while we were there. We talked about some of the shops, but mostly wandered around the storefronts with few stops along the way.
We finished the shopping & then toured through the Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat. Somehow, we had never done that before. I was incredibly glad Brian took us through. That was very pretty and a nice break. I’m always up for birds, flowers, and wildlife (and I’m not just talking about the tourists).
The finish line was ahead. Ahhhh, Rhumbar. https://rhumbarlv.com/ Daryl got a frozen drink. Brian and I had Old Cubans, which sounds like a cigar, but is a drink. I’ll just say it makes you so relaxed you want to kick your shoes off and stay a while. Possibly literally! We had the perfect spot. It was a nice shady corner under a palm tree. Stayed there and lazed the afternoon away chatting, sipping, and enjoying the scenery. It was an absolutely perfect afternoon. Daryl got a text that we could move our room at Monte out of the third floor to the 16th. We had already packed our bags earlier & I was so content and lazy he said to stay and chill and swapped the room over. Brian got a cigar, I decided not to. LOL. Time flew by. It’s a great place to relax and solve the world’s problems. I could have easily closed the place down. It was idyllic. If you have a chance to go to Rhumbar, be sure to make a stop there.
Long story short, Daryl & I had a double booking due to an offer from SLS. We were going to try them out too. Daryl called and wanted to check in at SLS then so I said goodbye to Brian and walked to SLS. We hit Northside Café for a burger. Tasted like sawdust. Oh well. The room was smallish but VERY pretty and artsy looking, in a good way. It’s a very boutique feel, but I would knock them down a peg for not having a dresser. The room only had hangers. That was a bit weird. But we did like the room.
Pedometer: 8 miles
Monday, April 20
Breakfast at SLS. Went back to Northside and the food was way better than the service this time. I won some money playing Batman. We then went to Venetian to pick up the Rock of Ages tickets for later that night. Hurry back to Monte Carlo and spent some time at the pool. Hurray! Cleaned up and met Andy Hoffman at Mandarin Oriental’s bar for drinks and eventually a couple of orders of their phenomenal sliders. You don’t think of getting sliders at an upscale bar, but oh myyyyyy, they were delicious. The barbecue sauce was perfect and I wish I had some about now. Truly, save a few extra dollars and treat yourself to a drink and some sliders. This was a big highlight of the trip. It was great meeting Andy after being online friends and chatting before the show. After a couple of rounds… it was time to head for Rock of Ages. The show was good & fun, but to this east coaster who likes to go to bed early, it went a little long. I sang all night though. Some of the music will get stuck in your head, but in a good way. Remind us to never, ever gamble at Venetian. UGH. Glad we didn’t waste much money.
Pedometer 4.5 miles
Tuesday, April 21
Breakfast: we weren’t terribly hungry so we just grabbed something at the food court so we could have a nice lunch at Grouchy John’s. A smart plan since we normally are too full for lunch.
Redeemed the $50 myVegas reward. Made that into $100 real money. Whoo hooo!
Headed to Grouchy John’s for an excellent wrap and Lando smoothie. Also, while we were there, we bought two small pieces of Tommy Vinci art. We loved it all! The food, the place, the company, & the art. Grouchy John’s is the whole meal deal. Well worth a visit or two every trip for sure.
Planned ALL DAY for an advertiser meeting and hauled our butts out for nothing. ARG!!! The only person left in the building was the secretary. VERY lame. Since we had plans to be there, we had not made any other plans and everything we tried, everyone was busy. CRAP. Stood up in Vegas. So we headed over to try out Umami burger which was absolutely excellent.
On Umami: One of the funny moments here…. They got everything “wrong”. Someone got a beer and someone got a diet drink. They go with the stereotype and I roll my eyes at the nice server & with a grin say, “try again.” I (Ashley) got the beer and Daryl got the Diet Coke. Same with the food. A Cobb salad and a Manly Burger. The person who brought the food had to swap out for us. We’re used to it. It was hysterical though.
This kind of meal makes me way happier than some $200 frou frou fancy meal. An incredible burger, tots (not on the menu-ask for them), beer, and a free coupon for dessert is my idea of a great time. PLUS, when you eat there you can watch any sport imaginable.
Since we were at SLS, we stayed the night there.
Net for the night for me was -$10 gambling.
Pedometer: 4.5 miles
Wednesday, April 22nd
Administrative Professionals Day, too! What a place to celebrate. Happy Day to me. ?
Head to Monte. Daryl and I swapped MLife cards since he was not doing well. Amazingly, he went on a very positive run. He got up on HooDoo (Hexbreaker).
Peppermill breakfast – same as before and delicious.
Downtown: Rockin’ Bettie – bought a dress https://www.rockinbettie.com/
Got downtown waaaaay too early and walked around. Gambled a little bit and had no freaking luck. Hell with all of the people that tout loose slots downtown. I say BAH.
Las Vegas for Beginners (www.lasvegasforbeginners.net) Meatball Meetup at Pizza Rock: one of the GREAT highlights of the trip. I worried we would get there stupid early but walked in and our greyhound friend Lee was already there and had brought a friend along. Hurray! Bonnie and Sandy showed up. Great ladies. Then the big crew started coming… Craig Kunitz, Dan Woodruff, Elaine and Tony. Got a text that Brian and his roommate Janeen had gotten there and ran outside to meet them. Hugged them both and next thing I knew Janeen and I were fast friends and doing shots of Fireball. Gotta love making friends. <3 Then we had Scott Roeben and Scott Whitney. Patricia Corwin was great and put up with me and Janeen running our mouths wide open. LOL. Somewhere at this point I think Daryl was at the Scott(s) end of the table having fun and chatting. The pizza that Craig got was good and there was second one floating around too. I picked and shared some of mine with Brian. BUT THE MEATBALLS. I wish I had some now. They were so good. I had one but could have had a bucketload all to myself. I had two white sangria drinks and two Fireballs at this point so everyone got lots of hugs. *A warning to people who have yet to meet me in Vegas…very happy, very huggy. I should come with a warning label.* As an aside, I apologize to Scott Whitney for calling his choice of drink a “pussy drink”. I mean it, but didn’t keep my mouth shut. *Insert crazed laughter* You know you’re having a good night when you’re in the ladies’ room, sharing way too much information and slathering on each other’s lotion. Seriously, it was a great night. I felt like we had all been friends forever, we had, just on the internet. It was a blast. I could have done the Snoopy happy dance.
When we started entertaining the idea of people getting together since so many were in town at the same time, I had no idea people would actually show. As big a softy I am, I’m surprised I didn’t mist up, but I was too busy having fun. Tried to make sure I talked to everyone and that everyone felt happy and comfortable. Daryl worked the table and socialized having as much fun as I was. It was so much fun I didn’t want the night to end.
Gamble at Monte: -$100 D -$35 A
Happy meter for the day: PEGGED
Pedometer: 4.5 miles
Thursday, April 23
Cravings buffet at Mirage. I forgot to get a myVegas deal so I used a Las Vegas Advisor BOGO coupon. Their breakfast is always wonderful. You can get beer and wine, too. Daryl and I didn’t drink, but made up for lost time later. AND THEN SOME!!!
Back to the hotel for a short time and a little bit of gambling, and then our very special pool day.
Thanks to our casino host, we had plans to go to Bare at the Mirage (yes, we were staying at Monte). Bare is toptional. Top on or off, it’s up to the ladies there. It’s not cheap, but there are several options. We opted for a daybed. The deal is this: it’s going to cost $200. You can spend it all in food and beverage or just for the bed, so it’s in your best interest to eat and drink a lot during the day and pay “nothing” for the daybed. We started off with the big collectible cups with piña coladas. Yum. It was borderline between hot and cool. The sunshine was perfect, you’d get hot, jump in the pool, the breeze would hit and you’d be a bit cool until you’d dry out again. If it were much hotter though, it probably would have gotten uncomfortable to spend the whole day there. Bare looks much different than in the photos. It consists of a bar on one end, VIP on the opposite end with a glass pool, the middle was beach chairs, daybeds, DJ booth, and a really nice restroom area. The pool is similar to a lap pool but at each end has a shallow section you could lay in about a foot or two of water. Let me tell you a bit about the restroom. It was immaculate, with lots of candies, lotions, sunscreens, and a very helpful attendant. When I went in and used the sunscreen, she even offered to get my back. Whoa! That was a nice touch. I made sure to tip her a few times. When a very drunk girl entered she very politely asked, “Are you okay?” The girl muttered something in the affirmative. The attendant answered “I don’t think so.” It wasn’t mean; it was very motherly and in a concerned tone. It made me smile.
We MEANT to get back to our room about 3 at the latest so we could clean up quickly and change for Bonnie’s Meet Up… but had such a good time at Bare, we didn’t leave until the last minute. Daryl looked fine in his board shorts and t-shirt. I looked like hell on a stick with my cover-up and half wet, put up hair. Oh well, sometimes you just have to roll with it. I smelled like a Hawaiian Tropic vat and like sweet summer drinks though. ?
Off to El Cortez Parlour Bar/Bonnie’s Meet. Got to meet some more great people and see a few from our Meet Up. Yay! We finally got to meet Tom. I was glad we finally had the chance. Sat by Dan and chatted a bit. Daryl got me some food. Thank goodness. It had been quite the day and needed a little sustenance at this point. Some of the Tez owners came by and since I wasn’t in peak Meet & Greet mode shoved Daryl off to schmooze. He’s great at being sociable so he strolled right up. There were many pics taken OH doG! Not happy about parading around before fluffing up but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Enjoyed my little booth spot, chatted, and had a nice time.
I had evening plans that didn’t pan out. Since my plans were a bust, we tried to get together with other Vegas folks in town and that didn’t work either. Stood up. SIGH. Back to Monte.
Mileage? I dunno didn’t wear a pedometer at the pool. Probably pretty low this day.
Friday, April 24 – last full day. WAH!
Breakfast at Blueberry Hill. The French toast was great, as was the coffee. A nice place to linger and get good service. We would both be glad to go back. Thumbs up.
Elvis at the Hilton: inexpensive and worth it. Not an overwhelming display. A couple of cars, a motorcycle, some jumpsuits. The thing that was really weird was that they had his parents’ pay stubs, little odd papers and family artifacts, a weird collection of items, but the video parts were good. As a whole it was just underwhelming.
The gift shop had a lot of Elvis merch, but also odd things like comic books, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and Walking Dead. Huh? At an Elvis museum display? I didn’t get that.
Had some Monte coupons to use and took one to Sambalatte. Tried out a cappuccino since they were so good at Battista’s. It was good, but not Battista’s good.
Talked to Hank the security guard at Monte. You know you’re a pistol when the security guy remembers you dancing at the Monte Plaza from back last September. Wow! I hugged his neck and we took his advice and tried out Shake Shack for dinner.
Shake Shack: Affordable and good food. Sit outside and watch the people and street performers. A nice evening. Daryl got a bacon cheeseburger and I got a regular cheeseburger. We were full enough we didn’t need fries. I got a little misty (okay a lot) at the prospect of leaving. That always happens after a nice vacation. SIGH!
Used another Monte coupon for a Whiskey Sour at Ignite Lounge. Nice! Coupons rock.
Also went to Hit for a real Moscow Mule by bartender Ronni, that was a great show. I’m glad that Steven Brown told me about it!! Between the good drink, atmosphere, and bartender’s “show”, it was a nice time. Drinks aren’t cheap, but are very good. The company at this particular bar was fun too.
Hit gold status on MLife and saw our host Ryan before bed
Since it was our last night we packed early and went to bed early.
KNOCK! KNOCK! Who’s there? Monte Management, when are you checking out? Are you serious?
I stomped to the door wearing (seriously) my big pink Monte nightshirt, hands on hips, trying not to rage with madness. I probably stomped my feet and flounced my hair too! We had a 3:15AM wake up call for Saturday and the gentleman at the door certainly understood how upset I was. No doubt at all about that! Daryl was much nicer than that. I kept telling him to call our host and seethed.
Saturday, April 25
Standard rental return, off to the airport and flight home.
Tried a lot of new things, & as usual didn’t get everything done that we wanted to but that leaves something for next trip.
The highlight was meeting so many great friends in real life.
*Pictures are coming…
Thanks for reading. Ashley & Daryl
