Viva Las Vegas

Okay, so I had that quick little trip to Las Vegas. It was a lot of fun. Moreso than the last time I went, because the last time was about the skincare convention and I was taking classes and had to be up early, etc. This time it was just to do what I wanted to do! I mean, once the birthday girl had her say.

First off, I got SO lost on the way to the airport. An airport that I have been too at least three times already. I think the instructions that I printed off were wrong because I was looking for an exit that wasn't there. I had to pay three tolls. Pay a toll, turn around, pay another toll, try to get out of the freaking neighbourhood pay another toll. Holy smokes. I turned on my phone's GPS and we were doing fine until it changed the destination on me. I actually drove past VCU in downtown Richmond. That's not the airport, folks.

Oh, and the worst snafu I hit was actually locking Pedro's keys in the car while it was running. VWs are supposed to have this gizmo in the door that will never let it lock without using the key to lock it, or the FOB thing. But his door wasn't closing properly so it half closed the last time and I saw the lock down and I thought, well it's supposed to pop right up if I push it. No. It locked so at 3:25am I was throwing all of Pedro's stuff out of his drawer trying to find the spare key. I did find it but I left an unholy mess. Oh well.

Okay, so I finally make it to the airport. I had time, because I try to always give myself enough time. I was lost for about 20 minutes. Jeez.

The flights were fine. I usually never have problems with United, which is now Continental. Actually, the flight from Cleveland to LV was fun. There were three of us ladies in a row, all with varying shades of red hair and all kind of artsy fartsy. We were all super nice to each other too. It was funny. :)

However, do not take the shuttle from the airport. It was the cheapest option ($6) but we had to listen to a guy trying to sell cheap tickets to shows if we went and checked out some time-shares. One guy got off of the shuttle and they saw him get into a cab. They didn't understand why he did it. I did, because I was about to do the same thing. Longest trip of my life. On the way back, I just took a cab. Better for my health. *rolling eyes*

The Monte Carlo is maybe a shade better than MGM. If you haven't been to the MGM in a while, it's smoky, loud and filled filled with yelling drunk people who then have loud sex in the next room. Or so I noticed the last time I was there. Monte Carlo was a little bit nicer, but the rooms were kind of shabby and in need of some fixing. Karie's sofa was downright terrifying.

I did actually sleep like a log on the last night that I was there. I was STILL tired when I got up.

I'm trying to think of the highlights. We did go out on Friday but even with a nap I was still exhausted from getting up at 3am and then doing all that traveling. So we had a nice dinner and went to a piano bar. Which was a little divey. When did I turn into such an old woman? :)

My friend Lynn and I were really tired so we went back to our room after trying to find me flip flops. I already had blisters. If there's one thing guaranteed in Las Vegas, it's expensive drinks and lots of walking.

So the next morning, I see Lynn off and since she got a text from Karie at 9am, I figured that Karie and Corey were awake. I text them, "I'll be there in two minutes" which was more like 30 seconds. I knocked once and heard something mumbly, so I banged harder on the door. :) Basically, I woke them up and made them get up and have breakfast with me. *snort* Then we all got ready and went to the shooting range.

There were five of us and Vegas cabs are only allowed to take four passengers. There were two stretch SUVs out in the middle of the taxi parking lot so we waved to them and asked how much. One guy held up six fingers, so we hoped it was $60 and not $600. Yes we rode in a stretch SUV (I thought it was a hummer) to the range. We laughed the whole way there. :)

The range was expensive but few ranges offer the chance to shoot fully automatic weapons. Fully automatic means you hold down on the trigger and shoot all of the rounds at once. My FN is semi-automatic, so I have to pull on the trigger each time for each shot. Anyway, I got to shoot a 1911, shotgun, Uzi and an AR15. I fell in love with the last gun. So easy to shoot, didn't kick like the shotgun and easier to handle than a handgun or the Uzi. Sigh.

So we all had a blast. :)

After that we went to Hooters, because I'd never been to one. I can't say it was all that and a bag of chips. The wings were greasy and the waitress seemed barely functioning. She came to me with ALL of the food. Every time. Like, I know I'm fat but don't you think other people at the table are eating too? *eyes*

So, I had raspberry lemonade. I was so thirsty. lol Then everyone else kind of pooped out. It's like someone dragged them out of bed early or something. *cough* I dressed up a little and bought some cupcakes and wandered around the casino. Some weird guy with a weirder eye sat beside me. Most of the slot machines were empty so I wasn't too impressed. But I ate my cupcake and found somewhere else. I actually won $125 which put me about $100 ahead. I cashed out immediately and then found a $10 store in the hotel. I got Lily an awesome tiara. Unfortunately, she now thinks she's royalty. She told me I don't have the same ears as she does because I'm not royal. She's about to get a royal butt spanking.

Anyway, the trip back was mostly uneventful. Both flights were early - hence why I like United. Usually half my flights are early. :) I had a safe drive back and both girls were still up when I got home. :) So it was probably shorter than it should have been. I mean, my body just feels sore. Sitting in airplane seats with only a one day break was kind of a lot to deal with. Oh well.

I hope that Karie enjoyed her birthday. I had fun being on my own. I shouldn't admit this but I was walking around my room naked quite a bit! LOL With the curtains shut. It just felt so nice to be ALONE for the first time in ages. :)