Vegas Vacation
Sat. 2/8/2003
We had both worked- on Friday… I spent Friday eve packing, and taking Sam to Janice’s. It was 2am when I finished packing- Scott Thompson took us to the airport- We stopped for breakfast on the way at Steak n Shake… The airport was an experience! I was like the airport embarrassment- I had locked our luggage only to find that I had to crawl around on the ground unlocking them all for the baggage women… I was under the impression they would relock them- but was informed they wouldn’t so… there I was again groping along the floor of TIA removing my locks….
The travel warning was the 2nd most severe state of alert- so security was tight. John and I each beeped- had to unload our carry-on stuff into the x-ray machine….. We were herded to the left and violated with wands- They took my shoes- carried them away in a bucket for examination- Then in the mean time a woman wanded over me suspiciously… Any time the wand beeped she had to lift the clothing…. I survived- even got my shoes back! Not to soon, to be herded into a holding pen to wait to be able to move into the airport gate…. There was a creepy guy- trench coat, blank stare… looked like a Nazi something… and I was relieved to see him searched with a great amount of thoroughness at the boarding gate… Guess he “creeped out” security as well.
We had officially been awake 24 hours when we boarded the plane. It was rough- My eyes were so red. The plane was near empty as we took off- and No this statement is not a pre-conclusion that that the plane magically filled itself mid air… but we did have a 1 hour layover in Atanta… I was nearing major sleep deprivation and severe crankiness as we arrived in Atlanta…. We had a choice of staying on the plane or getting out in Atlanta… We chose to get off… I slept on John’s shoulder- he played with his Gameboy. We got called for re-boarding, the lady had called First class, priority seating and the Tampa folks…. John was ahead of me…. The gate-keeper let him by- NO PROBLEM. I give her my ticket and license- She tells me to go sit down, It’s not my turn, I have not been called (Very rudely, of course)… So I raised my voice in complete sleepness night attitude and told her (meekly) You called Tampa- I’m from Tampa (sternly). She apologized and let me by…
Our plane trip had a snack and breakfast-although we originally were not getting breakfast… John and I brought out our lap-top and watched Kate & Leopold for the remaining of the trip. I forgot to mention that the seats were really cramped- It was a huge plane though- It had 7 seats to a row- and many-many rows…. Unfortunately, I had to pee three times- and I was next to window- I had to climb over John- while attempting to not pull anyones hair, wack them in the head, or kick them…. The ride was also rather turbulent…. When we neared Las Vegas- the view outside the airplane window was breath-taking. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing - I do not see how people can not believe in God. It was amazing.
Arrival at the Las Vegas airport was interesting, there were slot machines galore. It was like its own shopping mall… We went to the bathroom- (for me like the 10th time of the morning)… You’d think I was on a “Tour the Potty Tour USA”. We then headed to the baggage claim, wich was crowded, but uneventful…. We then went to the car-rental place…. We received a Dodge Neon with only 1 mile on it…. This car is so sluggish, I recommend nobody ever under any circumstance buy one… Ever. We barely fit our luggage in it…. We arrived at the hotel feeling rather dead. We bargained for early check-in We had to give up our King bed room in exchange of two doubles. We went up-stairs and fell asleep in separate beds… for five hours. We woke up showered and headed onto the strip around 6pm… We went to New York New York, then to Excalibur – Where we dined at a rather yummy buffet. This was the ultimate feast of gluttony. We then headed to the Luxor- which is where I put Sandy’s money in the Playboy slots and she won $100… We gambled some, but we lost our money… Then headed over to Mandalay Bay… We were going to see the shark reef, but opted not to since it cost $15 a person. We then went to MGM and saw Siegfreid & Roy lions habitat… This was cool, but crowded…. We then walked back our hotel.
Sun. 2/9/03
We awoke and headed out for lunch- We decided to eat at the Caeser’s Forum shopping mall…. We walked through the Bellagio to get there… How beautiful. But Caeser’s was by far the prettiest. It had painted ceilings and they went all through Caeser’s and the Forum… In the forum the skys looked like day skies in a fantasy land- at night they become evening starry skies in a fantasy land. There were moving fountains, moving statues, very impressive restaurants etc… We ate at Planet Hollywood. We left here and went to Treasure Island. I actually won some money here, $45…. But not enough to put a dent in my losings…. John & I are envious of Sandy! ; ) We then went to the Venetian. The canal shops had skies like Caesar’s. It was gorgous! We almost took a gondola ride, but the line was very long….
We left there and headed out to the Treasure Island Pirate show- The pirate show was neat, but extremely crowded. We left there to arrive just in time for the Mirage’s exploding volcano. This was really cool! Next was the dancing fountains at Bellagio. This was our favorite of the shows. They danced to the Pink Panther song…. We headed away to get warmer clothes so we could ride the NY NY rollercoaster! The rollercoaster was a lot of fun- though rough on the body! It was also rough on the wallet- $12 bucks a person for like 4 minutes of ride-time… But once again- VERY COOL. We then ate at some really expensive Italian restaurant at the NY NY that was so expensive I never learned how to say its name it was so complicated looking.
We then went to Gameworks where John played video games while I slept near a bunch of vagrants in the upstairs lounge/hangout area. I finally woke up to search for John, but my contacts had dried out so much I could not see straight- So I wobbled around, blindly looking for a restroom to fiddle with my eyeballs. I finally found one then looked for John again. I found him, and decided to return to my over-stuffed leather chair hide-away… but was followed by three large black guys talking about Michael Jordan, asking me for cigarettes, Observing that I do not smoke, if I was COOL, Etc… They finally left me alone- when I was just on the verge of telling them my big husband was going to come save me. Or perhaps it was the glazed over look on my face from my fatigue that I was able to pretty much ignore them as they sat around me- trying to talk to me. I fell back asleep when they left…. Then woke up when they called closing time……. John and I went to Walgreens for water and back to hotel for sleep!
Mon. 2/10/03
We woke up and got ready for check-out. We went souvenir shopping…. Then left. Our Vegas hotel the Boardwalk, was really nice considering that it was a cheaper hotel. We headed out toward the Hoover Dam…. The interstate was bizarre. It would suddenly have stoplights, stop signs etc… We ate at a Jack In The Box. Yum! The drive to the Grand Canyon was amazing. Hoover Dam area was congested, but really neat! I cannot describe how beautiful the drive was… It was really pretty. The drive took longer than we planned- We had left Vegas at 11:30ish and didn’t arrive at the Grand Canyon till 6pm…. However we made it just in time for sunset- This was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, it was better than I ever imagined. “WOW” has been my word of the day. If you’ve never been here, Please come. It is amazing.
We saw deers, and larger deers which are known as elks, or moose. It is very cold and ice is on the roads here in the park. It was dark after we viewed the sunset and checked into our hotel… Which our hotel is cheap, but neat! It is rustic as described- It has ledges that requires you to step down to be able to enter it… Then we are upstairs. As we were coming up to get our first peek of our room, we spotted a giant moose about 20 feet away- The thing was taller than John (6’4)! It came even closer and was shaking a tree with its antlers right in front of us to get food! We then headed out to dinner….The hotel reminds me of church camp…..
We decided to eat at the cafeteria of our hotel. The food was quite affordable and quite abundant- It has different stations to order different types of food. I ordered a roast ½ chicken dinner, with a baked potato, corn and a roll- It only cost $6.75! John ordered Mexican food. I think he did this unconsciously. See, as we were driving through the desert, we were limited on radio stations. So were were listening to Mexican, sombrero and mule music… for a while. It really was music for the moment. I had been in disbelief as to how the desert was ever made livable….. Don’t get me wrong… The desert is so beautiful, I would love to live out here…. If it wasn’t so hot, so cold and so far from everything I’ve ever known.
We are back in our hotel now…. Due to the terrain and ledges and staircase to our 2nd floor hotel room, we opted to go through our luggage in the freezing cold and only bring minimal clothes and personal need items upstairs… It took forever to find everything – so we weren’t sure if this was the wisest thing to do- but despite the cold- John went off to get us ice cream! Yum! The only complaint I have about our hotel room- is the shower smells a little musty like locker-room feet (Not that I have smelled this smell often)…. So…. Now that I’ve caught up on my journalism…. I can finally sleep!
Tues. 2/11/03
Today we woke up and went to eat at the Maswik Lodge Café… It was snowing!!! Then we walked to our car and drove to some of the gift shops. Hopi House was neat, it is filled with Indian crafts for sale. We then walked along the rim trail… It was snowing quite a bit as we walked along looking at the canyon! I tried making snow angels… The snow wasn’t real deep yet, so my first attempt was rather messy, canyon clay in my hair- I slipped in the snow once too! I had to pee along the way, so I climbed into some bushes and melted some snow! It was weird watching it melt and while in mid-pee a hawk flew by me! Then along the walk we were within a few feet of a deer! She was grazing on the canyon edge.
The beauty here is almost unbearable. My most used word this vacation has been “Wow”. John and I decided that the best way to murder some one is push them off the edge of the canyon… and pretend it was an accident. Only the official viewing areas have fences or bars to keep you from falling off, but hiking around – you have to rely on common sense… The views along the trail were amazing. We would have hiked down into the canyon, but we decided not to since it was snowing. We spotted a whole herd of deer and stopped to take photos!
We went back to our hotel for a quick rest, and then headed back out to drive on Hermit’s Road… Which is an 8 mile trek by car with viewing points along the way- The miles there and back took 2 hours. It was worth the time. We then headed to the Canyon Village grocery store, and bought some water… Then back to the Maswik Lodge Café for dinner. We ate and came back to our room to relax…. John is going to be going back out for ice cream. Last night the low had been 12 degrees! Tonight it is supposed to be 28 degrees. The high today was 49 degrees….
We had both worked- on Friday… I spent Friday eve packing, and taking Sam to Janice’s. It was 2am when I finished packing- Scott Thompson took us to the airport- We stopped for breakfast on the way at Steak n Shake… The airport was an experience! I was like the airport embarrassment- I had locked our luggage only to find that I had to crawl around on the ground unlocking them all for the baggage women… I was under the impression they would relock them- but was informed they wouldn’t so… there I was again groping along the floor of TIA removing my locks….
The travel warning was the 2nd most severe state of alert- so security was tight. John and I each beeped- had to unload our carry-on stuff into the x-ray machine….. We were herded to the left and violated with wands- They took my shoes- carried them away in a bucket for examination- Then in the mean time a woman wanded over me suspiciously… Any time the wand beeped she had to lift the clothing…. I survived- even got my shoes back! Not to soon, to be herded into a holding pen to wait to be able to move into the airport gate…. There was a creepy guy- trench coat, blank stare… looked like a Nazi something… and I was relieved to see him searched with a great amount of thoroughness at the boarding gate… Guess he “creeped out” security as well.
We had officially been awake 24 hours when we boarded the plane. It was rough- My eyes were so red. The plane was near empty as we took off- and No this statement is not a pre-conclusion that that the plane magically filled itself mid air… but we did have a 1 hour layover in Atanta… I was nearing major sleep deprivation and severe crankiness as we arrived in Atlanta…. We had a choice of staying on the plane or getting out in Atlanta… We chose to get off… I slept on John’s shoulder- he played with his Gameboy. We got called for re-boarding, the lady had called First class, priority seating and the Tampa folks…. John was ahead of me…. The gate-keeper let him by- NO PROBLEM. I give her my ticket and license- She tells me to go sit down, It’s not my turn, I have not been called (Very rudely, of course)… So I raised my voice in complete sleepness night attitude and told her (meekly) You called Tampa- I’m from Tampa (sternly). She apologized and let me by…
Our plane trip had a snack and breakfast-although we originally were not getting breakfast… John and I brought out our lap-top and watched Kate & Leopold for the remaining of the trip. I forgot to mention that the seats were really cramped- It was a huge plane though- It had 7 seats to a row- and many-many rows…. Unfortunately, I had to pee three times- and I was next to window- I had to climb over John- while attempting to not pull anyones hair, wack them in the head, or kick them…. The ride was also rather turbulent…. When we neared Las Vegas- the view outside the airplane window was breath-taking. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing - I do not see how people can not believe in God. It was amazing.
Arrival at the Las Vegas airport was interesting, there were slot machines galore. It was like its own shopping mall… We went to the bathroom- (for me like the 10th time of the morning)… You’d think I was on a “Tour the Potty Tour USA”. We then headed to the baggage claim, wich was crowded, but uneventful…. We then went to the car-rental place…. We received a Dodge Neon with only 1 mile on it…. This car is so sluggish, I recommend nobody ever under any circumstance buy one… Ever. We barely fit our luggage in it…. We arrived at the hotel feeling rather dead. We bargained for early check-in We had to give up our King bed room in exchange of two doubles. We went up-stairs and fell asleep in separate beds… for five hours. We woke up showered and headed onto the strip around 6pm… We went to New York New York, then to Excalibur – Where we dined at a rather yummy buffet. This was the ultimate feast of gluttony. We then headed to the Luxor- which is where I put Sandy’s money in the Playboy slots and she won $100… We gambled some, but we lost our money… Then headed over to Mandalay Bay… We were going to see the shark reef, but opted not to since it cost $15 a person. We then went to MGM and saw Siegfreid & Roy lions habitat… This was cool, but crowded…. We then walked back our hotel.
Sun. 2/9/03
We awoke and headed out for lunch- We decided to eat at the Caeser’s Forum shopping mall…. We walked through the Bellagio to get there… How beautiful. But Caeser’s was by far the prettiest. It had painted ceilings and they went all through Caeser’s and the Forum… In the forum the skys looked like day skies in a fantasy land- at night they become evening starry skies in a fantasy land. There were moving fountains, moving statues, very impressive restaurants etc… We ate at Planet Hollywood. We left here and went to Treasure Island. I actually won some money here, $45…. But not enough to put a dent in my losings…. John & I are envious of Sandy! ; ) We then went to the Venetian. The canal shops had skies like Caesar’s. It was gorgous! We almost took a gondola ride, but the line was very long….
We left there and headed out to the Treasure Island Pirate show- The pirate show was neat, but extremely crowded. We left there to arrive just in time for the Mirage’s exploding volcano. This was really cool! Next was the dancing fountains at Bellagio. This was our favorite of the shows. They danced to the Pink Panther song…. We headed away to get warmer clothes so we could ride the NY NY rollercoaster! The rollercoaster was a lot of fun- though rough on the body! It was also rough on the wallet- $12 bucks a person for like 4 minutes of ride-time… But once again- VERY COOL. We then ate at some really expensive Italian restaurant at the NY NY that was so expensive I never learned how to say its name it was so complicated looking.
We then went to Gameworks where John played video games while I slept near a bunch of vagrants in the upstairs lounge/hangout area. I finally woke up to search for John, but my contacts had dried out so much I could not see straight- So I wobbled around, blindly looking for a restroom to fiddle with my eyeballs. I finally found one then looked for John again. I found him, and decided to return to my over-stuffed leather chair hide-away… but was followed by three large black guys talking about Michael Jordan, asking me for cigarettes, Observing that I do not smoke, if I was COOL, Etc… They finally left me alone- when I was just on the verge of telling them my big husband was going to come save me. Or perhaps it was the glazed over look on my face from my fatigue that I was able to pretty much ignore them as they sat around me- trying to talk to me. I fell back asleep when they left…. Then woke up when they called closing time……. John and I went to Walgreens for water and back to hotel for sleep!
Mon. 2/10/03
We woke up and got ready for check-out. We went souvenir shopping…. Then left. Our Vegas hotel the Boardwalk, was really nice considering that it was a cheaper hotel. We headed out toward the Hoover Dam…. The interstate was bizarre. It would suddenly have stoplights, stop signs etc… We ate at a Jack In The Box. Yum! The drive to the Grand Canyon was amazing. Hoover Dam area was congested, but really neat! I cannot describe how beautiful the drive was… It was really pretty. The drive took longer than we planned- We had left Vegas at 11:30ish and didn’t arrive at the Grand Canyon till 6pm…. However we made it just in time for sunset- This was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, it was better than I ever imagined. “WOW” has been my word of the day. If you’ve never been here, Please come. It is amazing.
We saw deers, and larger deers which are known as elks, or moose. It is very cold and ice is on the roads here in the park. It was dark after we viewed the sunset and checked into our hotel… Which our hotel is cheap, but neat! It is rustic as described- It has ledges that requires you to step down to be able to enter it… Then we are upstairs. As we were coming up to get our first peek of our room, we spotted a giant moose about 20 feet away- The thing was taller than John (6’4)! It came even closer and was shaking a tree with its antlers right in front of us to get food! We then headed out to dinner….The hotel reminds me of church camp…..
We decided to eat at the cafeteria of our hotel. The food was quite affordable and quite abundant- It has different stations to order different types of food. I ordered a roast ½ chicken dinner, with a baked potato, corn and a roll- It only cost $6.75! John ordered Mexican food. I think he did this unconsciously. See, as we were driving through the desert, we were limited on radio stations. So were were listening to Mexican, sombrero and mule music… for a while. It really was music for the moment. I had been in disbelief as to how the desert was ever made livable….. Don’t get me wrong… The desert is so beautiful, I would love to live out here…. If it wasn’t so hot, so cold and so far from everything I’ve ever known.
We are back in our hotel now…. Due to the terrain and ledges and staircase to our 2nd floor hotel room, we opted to go through our luggage in the freezing cold and only bring minimal clothes and personal need items upstairs… It took forever to find everything – so we weren’t sure if this was the wisest thing to do- but despite the cold- John went off to get us ice cream! Yum! The only complaint I have about our hotel room- is the shower smells a little musty like locker-room feet (Not that I have smelled this smell often)…. So…. Now that I’ve caught up on my journalism…. I can finally sleep!
Tues. 2/11/03
Today we woke up and went to eat at the Maswik Lodge Café… It was snowing!!! Then we walked to our car and drove to some of the gift shops. Hopi House was neat, it is filled with Indian crafts for sale. We then walked along the rim trail… It was snowing quite a bit as we walked along looking at the canyon! I tried making snow angels… The snow wasn’t real deep yet, so my first attempt was rather messy, canyon clay in my hair- I slipped in the snow once too! I had to pee along the way, so I climbed into some bushes and melted some snow! It was weird watching it melt and while in mid-pee a hawk flew by me! Then along the walk we were within a few feet of a deer! She was grazing on the canyon edge.
The beauty here is almost unbearable. My most used word this vacation has been “Wow”. John and I decided that the best way to murder some one is push them off the edge of the canyon… and pretend it was an accident. Only the official viewing areas have fences or bars to keep you from falling off, but hiking around – you have to rely on common sense… The views along the trail were amazing. We would have hiked down into the canyon, but we decided not to since it was snowing. We spotted a whole herd of deer and stopped to take photos!
We went back to our hotel for a quick rest, and then headed back out to drive on Hermit’s Road… Which is an 8 mile trek by car with viewing points along the way- The miles there and back took 2 hours. It was worth the time. We then headed to the Canyon Village grocery store, and bought some water… Then back to the Maswik Lodge Café for dinner. We ate and came back to our room to relax…. John is going to be going back out for ice cream. Last night the low had been 12 degrees! Tonight it is supposed to be 28 degrees. The high today was 49 degrees….
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