I brought my laptop to Vegas— Yes, I did!— with the intention of blogging every night. However, when I got to my room, I discovered that a wifi connection would cost $12.99 a day. I wasn't going to pay that— not even for a day— but things changed a bit, and here I am.
Even if you don't know me well, if you've read my blog, you should know me well enough to guess that I'm not a party-Vegas person. I enjoy some slot machine action, a little bit of drinking, a little bit of sightseeing, a nice hotel room, and some good meals. I leave the wild nightlife to the frat boys who seem to be as thick as weeds in this town every Friday and Saturday night. I don't have any need for showgirls, and I can take in a nice show or not, it's all the same to me. One of the best times I have on any Vegas trip is kicking back in my hotel room and staring out the window. Unfortunately, I booked the Tropicana this time and my view is of the Las Vegas airport. If I look extremely leftward out my window, I can see the Hooters hotel. :-/
My flight up was pleasant and quick. I dislike flying Southwest because of their seating policies, and their new method is more humiliating than the old one. Now, instead of first come-first served, you have to line up like school children. Fortunately the flight was not booked solid and was quick. I grabbed an aisle seat and had no one in the middle seat to contend with.
After checking in, I threw down my bags, changed into some walking shoes, and headed off to the Bellagio to meet my family. In all, there were 7 of us: myself, my parents, my brother and my sister-in-law, and her parents. We all found deals in different hotels, including the Monte Carlo, Harrahs, and the Bellagio. OK, so, my brother and sister-in-law weren't exactly saving as much money as the rest of us by staying in the Bellagio.
The highlight of the trip was on Sunday night when we all went to see Love, the Beatles show by Cirque du Soleil. It was simply amazing. From the first moments of the show I was swept up in it, and I even found myself crying with delight several times. If you've ever seen a Cirque show, you pretty much know what you're in for— a lot of aerial work, acrobatics, and physical agility. If anything, Love is much less about the feats and more about dance and costumes and a dollop of interpretation of the songs. It's a feast for the eyes and ears. It's also the single-most three-dimensional show I've ever seen. If you only watch the stage floor, you're going to miss half the show because the entire volume of the theatre, from stage floor to ceiling, and extending out on all sides even over the audience, all of this volume was the actual stage for the show. The floor was a mechanical wonder, with portions that skid back and forth and other portions that raised and lowered. At any time the performers were entering and exiting the stage by the 8 floor-level ramps, by riding a section of the stage floor up or down, or by being lowered from or raised into the ceiling. Some songs leave you completely boggled by the amount of synchronization involved in moving the performers around. And all of this is set to a fantastic selection of Beatles music, played loud in a beautiful sounding theatre. My seat, up near the top of the theatre, was $150 and worth every cent. My brother was kind enough to buy the ticket for me, and I would let him buy me another ticket for that show any time! If you enjoy the Beatles, this show is a must-see!
Unfortunately, something hit my system pretty hard just as the show was starting. Had I not been so captivated I would have started taking care of myself earlier. By the time the show was over, I was well into a headache brought on by a touch of diarrhea. That night and today, Monday, I was pretty much under the spell of the diarrhea completely. I had to sit out most of today's activities, which is why I bought the wifi access for today. I did join most everyone for dinner at Battista's Hole in the Wall restaurant next to Bally's. (My sister-in-law's father was also under the weather and didn't make dinner.) I'm now sitting here with a belly full of Italian food, wondering what tomorrow is going to bring...
Well, that's it until next time!
"And life flows on within you and without you."— George Harrison
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