Day 13. My goodness time is flying. It is just going to darned fast! Time waits for no-one. True dat.
It’s hard for any mother to hear that her baby is in pain – let alone when she is out of the country and cannot be there to kiss it better. My fearless daughter was doing a “Warrior Dash” (an unbelievably hard obstacle course which tests a number of things including endurance and patience) despite her specialist telling her to cease all physical activity (long story). My head strong daughter had to dive in and do it anyway just to try to prove to herself that she could do it. And do it she did! She completed it through wet weather and in terribly muddy conditions. She had to go to the first aid tent afterwards, and subsequently to the hospital because she had taken a fall and split her knee/leg open in a couple of places. She had crawled through mud and under barbed wire that way. Several stitches later.....*sigh* Mummeh wishes she was there to look after you Eamsikens! I send a huge thank you to those that are looking after her. :-)
Well today was our last day in Las Vegas. Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon (speaking of which...I may not have internet connection there) where we are for one night. We thought on our last day we would do the one thing that still needed to be done from Alyx’s request list...and that was to have a gondola ride at The Venetian.
Oh by the way...today’s tip: Do not reach down to pick up your mobile phone (if you have dropped it) when you are on an automatic flushing loo. It is meant to flush automatically when you get your big butt off of it...however as it turns out, if you lift your “cheeks” off of the seat with some of them, whether it be to disembark from the throne, or simply reach forward to pick up your phone....your loo will turn into a bidet. And of course given that you have just had a heart attack because the noise is like a jet taking off.....you are in the right place if you have just cr@pped yourself. *sigh* America’s toilets are seriously out to get me. My mission is to sort them out before leaving this country. Just as a footnote: if there had have been a camera in the toilet the first time I discovered that there are in fact toilets that flush themselves, it would have been a scene that could have been used in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I dead set shit myself whilst launching a blood curdling scream.
I am somewhat intrigued by the differences in every casino – their theme, their entertainment, their food and their hassling. The Venetian was again different to any that we had been to previously. This one was simply stunning. Just beautiful. We set out to find where the gondola rides took place – and we walked down the streets in Venice to get there. The shop fronts were so realistic as was the “sky” up above. As we walked it was like the clouds were moving! Very, very clever. There was a canal that ran through the casino and amid the venetian stores. There were a number of gondoliers that manned the gondolas that were there.
It wasn’t a cheap thing to do - $16 per person or $64 if you wanted a private ride for two people. We chose the cheaper option thinking that the $64 option was for those that wanted to take a ride in non-business hours. Mind you, I don’t think I thought that quite through as the casinos never close. After the Bear purchased the tickets we were advised to go to the boarding dock where we waited for our turn. A gondolier came up and said that he would be taking the four of us out together. Four? I know that I might look big enough to be two people, but add the Bear and we still do not have that head count correct. The gondolier advised we would be going with another couple who had also purchased tickets. The male who was half of that couple, expressed his opinion on this. He, like us, thought that when we purchased the tickets, it was to go out by ourselves in the gondola. He was advised “no” and was told if he wanted a gondola for him and his partner alone, he would need to pay the larger sum of money. Rip off I say! He advised him and his partner would board the gondola with us.
Stepping into the gondola was like a baby elephant trying to walk after its back legs were paralysed. It rocked violently and I am fairly sure that I stuck my butt in the face of the other man. I sat down – and put on my seat belt - yes seatbelt – and we were off. The other couple were very nice and the gondolier’s singing was absolutely beautiful. It was a lovely ride and worth every bit of the $32 plus tax. The other couple were lovely to talk to...and as a bonus we found out where to go in Memphis for the best BBQ ribs.
On the way back to the car we stopped at a photo place which advertised gimmick photos where your head/face is super imposed onto the body of another person. Given that I would sincerely love to have my head on the body of another person, this concept sincerely appealed to me. The Bear thought it would be a lot of fund too! We sifted through the templates and decided to settle on a joint photo with me as a “show girl” and the Bear as Elvis. The lady took a photo of our heads and placed them in the space for a head on the template. After this she wanted to show us how these turned out before she actually printed them. In an up-sell which I can only describe as sheer brilliance, when we went to look at our photos on the computer, she had put our heads onto another “body” and asked if we wanted them too. She had placed my head on the body of some extraordinary chick whose body was beyond stunning, and the Bear had his head placed on an old time gambler who was dressed in a suit. His looked awesome. Mine looked....*cough*....tartish although I secretly was chuffed that there was someone out there that could give me my old figure back in a millisecond. Given that our joint photo had me looking like I was the end result of a peacock and giraffe mating, I figured yes I would like to have another photo. I settled on a template where my face was put onto Marilyn Munro just so that I could see what I would look like as a blonde. Damned disgusting I tell ya! But...given that we were in Vegas...we figured it would be nice to have those as souvenirs to take home.
Our last stop for the day was at the Bellagio where every half hour their fountains come to life, and they are choreographed to move in time with the music that is played through cleverly hidden speakers. Facing Las Vegas Boulevard, we were facing the huge Eiffel Tower that was lit up in all of its glory. It made a stunning back drop as the jets of water burst into life and danced to “Luck be a Lady Tonight”. As it was nigh time, the lights beneath the water shone up through the jets and allowed the fountain to “speak”. I couldn’t quite see clearly enough to watch it at the time (the Bear videotaped it though) so I just shot away with my camera hoping that I would have more hits than misses. I was jostled around by the Chinese who also kept trying to photo bomb each shot by sticking their big, fat heads in front of the camera!
We walked back to the car through the hotel. The foyer/entry/reception desk is absolutely magnificent. It was done up in autumn colours and flowers; pumpkins were a main feature of their displays and I can only assume this incorporates Thanksgiving. When we were at the Venetian and the Palazzo today we found that the area joining the two casinos also had an autumn display which was breathtaking. It is sometimes hard to remember you are in a casino! A trip into Fremont Street and a look at the old time casino days finished off our night.
Tomorrow we leave Las Vegas and drive the five or so hours to the Grand Canyon. It is mean to be cold there however nowhere near as cold as Durango (Colorado) where the temperature has been as low as -14 degrees this week. Brrr! We will head to there on Tuesday. We may not have internet available to us at the Grand Canyon and may not have mobile reception for a day or two depending on what is available there.
It’s hard for any mother to hear that her baby is in pain – let alone when she is out of the country and cannot be there to kiss it better. My fearless daughter was doing a “Warrior Dash” (an unbelievably hard obstacle course which tests a number of things including endurance and patience) despite her specialist telling her to cease all physical activity (long story). My head strong daughter had to dive in and do it anyway just to try to prove to herself that she could do it. And do it she did! She completed it through wet weather and in terribly muddy conditions. She had to go to the first aid tent afterwards, and subsequently to the hospital because she had taken a fall and split her knee/leg open in a couple of places. She had crawled through mud and under barbed wire that way. Several stitches later.....*sigh* Mummeh wishes she was there to look after you Eamsikens! I send a huge thank you to those that are looking after her. :-)
Well today was our last day in Las Vegas. Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon (speaking of which...I may not have internet connection there) where we are for one night. We thought on our last day we would do the one thing that still needed to be done from Alyx’s request list...and that was to have a gondola ride at The Venetian.
Oh by the way...today’s tip: Do not reach down to pick up your mobile phone (if you have dropped it) when you are on an automatic flushing loo. It is meant to flush automatically when you get your big butt off of it...however as it turns out, if you lift your “cheeks” off of the seat with some of them, whether it be to disembark from the throne, or simply reach forward to pick up your phone....your loo will turn into a bidet. And of course given that you have just had a heart attack because the noise is like a jet taking off.....you are in the right place if you have just cr@pped yourself. *sigh* America’s toilets are seriously out to get me. My mission is to sort them out before leaving this country. Just as a footnote: if there had have been a camera in the toilet the first time I discovered that there are in fact toilets that flush themselves, it would have been a scene that could have been used in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I dead set shit myself whilst launching a blood curdling scream.
I am somewhat intrigued by the differences in every casino – their theme, their entertainment, their food and their hassling. The Venetian was again different to any that we had been to previously. This one was simply stunning. Just beautiful. We set out to find where the gondola rides took place – and we walked down the streets in Venice to get there. The shop fronts were so realistic as was the “sky” up above. As we walked it was like the clouds were moving! Very, very clever. There was a canal that ran through the casino and amid the venetian stores. There were a number of gondoliers that manned the gondolas that were there.
It wasn’t a cheap thing to do - $16 per person or $64 if you wanted a private ride for two people. We chose the cheaper option thinking that the $64 option was for those that wanted to take a ride in non-business hours. Mind you, I don’t think I thought that quite through as the casinos never close. After the Bear purchased the tickets we were advised to go to the boarding dock where we waited for our turn. A gondolier came up and said that he would be taking the four of us out together. Four? I know that I might look big enough to be two people, but add the Bear and we still do not have that head count correct. The gondolier advised we would be going with another couple who had also purchased tickets. The male who was half of that couple, expressed his opinion on this. He, like us, thought that when we purchased the tickets, it was to go out by ourselves in the gondola. He was advised “no” and was told if he wanted a gondola for him and his partner alone, he would need to pay the larger sum of money. Rip off I say! He advised him and his partner would board the gondola with us.
Stepping into the gondola was like a baby elephant trying to walk after its back legs were paralysed. It rocked violently and I am fairly sure that I stuck my butt in the face of the other man. I sat down – and put on my seat belt - yes seatbelt – and we were off. The other couple were very nice and the gondolier’s singing was absolutely beautiful. It was a lovely ride and worth every bit of the $32 plus tax. The other couple were lovely to talk to...and as a bonus we found out where to go in Memphis for the best BBQ ribs.
On the way back to the car we stopped at a photo place which advertised gimmick photos where your head/face is super imposed onto the body of another person. Given that I would sincerely love to have my head on the body of another person, this concept sincerely appealed to me. The Bear thought it would be a lot of fund too! We sifted through the templates and decided to settle on a joint photo with me as a “show girl” and the Bear as Elvis. The lady took a photo of our heads and placed them in the space for a head on the template. After this she wanted to show us how these turned out before she actually printed them. In an up-sell which I can only describe as sheer brilliance, when we went to look at our photos on the computer, she had put our heads onto another “body” and asked if we wanted them too. She had placed my head on the body of some extraordinary chick whose body was beyond stunning, and the Bear had his head placed on an old time gambler who was dressed in a suit. His looked awesome. Mine looked....*cough*....tartish although I secretly was chuffed that there was someone out there that could give me my old figure back in a millisecond. Given that our joint photo had me looking like I was the end result of a peacock and giraffe mating, I figured yes I would like to have another photo. I settled on a template where my face was put onto Marilyn Munro just so that I could see what I would look like as a blonde. Damned disgusting I tell ya! But...given that we were in Vegas...we figured it would be nice to have those as souvenirs to take home.
Our last stop for the day was at the Bellagio where every half hour their fountains come to life, and they are choreographed to move in time with the music that is played through cleverly hidden speakers. Facing Las Vegas Boulevard, we were facing the huge Eiffel Tower that was lit up in all of its glory. It made a stunning back drop as the jets of water burst into life and danced to “Luck be a Lady Tonight”. As it was nigh time, the lights beneath the water shone up through the jets and allowed the fountain to “speak”. I couldn’t quite see clearly enough to watch it at the time (the Bear videotaped it though) so I just shot away with my camera hoping that I would have more hits than misses. I was jostled around by the Chinese who also kept trying to photo bomb each shot by sticking their big, fat heads in front of the camera!
We walked back to the car through the hotel. The foyer/entry/reception desk is absolutely magnificent. It was done up in autumn colours and flowers; pumpkins were a main feature of their displays and I can only assume this incorporates Thanksgiving. When we were at the Venetian and the Palazzo today we found that the area joining the two casinos also had an autumn display which was breathtaking. It is sometimes hard to remember you are in a casino! A trip into Fremont Street and a look at the old time casino days finished off our night.
Tomorrow we leave Las Vegas and drive the five or so hours to the Grand Canyon. It is mean to be cold there however nowhere near as cold as Durango (Colorado) where the temperature has been as low as -14 degrees this week. Brrr! We will head to there on Tuesday. We may not have internet available to us at the Grand Canyon and may not have mobile reception for a day or two depending on what is available there.
