Vegas: 06.16.05 ~ 06.21.05

I’m a week behind, and there’s WAY too much to catch up on. So, I’m breaking with tradition and skipping a few days from early last week. Instead, I’m just doing one big update for my trip to Las Vegas. Read on…

Stef’s mom first started talking about a trip to Las Vegas on the last day of our trip to Florida in March. Tim had plans in place by late April/early May, and now here we are. The Spiros were kind enough to invite me along as Miss Stefanie’s guest on the trip, and I was obliged to accept. Of course that meant that Stef’s brother Justin had to bring his woman Mara along for the ride as well, but having her actually helped balance the room equation.

Tuesday, June 21

Our last LAST day in Vegas, but at least our flight was in the afternoon. That gave us one last morning by the pool before packing up for the day. It was an uneventful travel day back to Michigan, and that’s the way I like it. Stef and I passed the time by watching Wayne’s World on the plane, and we were home before we knew it. The Piston’s game six was already underway, so we threw that on the radio as we rode home. I was in the car with Tim and Stefy, and we decided to pick up some White Castle on the way back to the house. Somehow it seems fitting that we’d wrap up a week of extravagant meals in Las Vegas with White Castle. I’d never had it before, but as fast food goes, it sure did hit the spot after a long day in the plane.

We got back to the Spiro house just in time to catch the all-important fourth quarter. After losing that heart-breaker in Detroit, it was a nice way to recover by stealing game six back in San Antonio. Everyone was feeling pretty good as our Boys kept it alive for one more game, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect trip. I’m going to bed at about 1:30 tonight, and getting up at 6:30 tomorrow morning to drive home to Lansing. Ooooh, sounds like fun!

Monday, June 20

Our last full day in Vegas. So, we tried to make the most of it. Another beautiful morning by the pool. Another cheese Danish. More reading—I’m already more than halfway thru the book Stefy just finished, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”. More sunscreen, and more tans. It was wonderful. Stef and I got cleaned up afterwards, and then set off for Paris. Isn’t amazing how much international travel you can accomplish within a single city?

Stef made lunch reservations for us at Mon Ami Gabi, which is the French Restaurant that’s partially outdoors, and looks across Las Vegas Blvd. at the Bellagio fountain. After a few days of being shut down with high winds it was finally up and running today, so we got to catch two great shows while we ate. Miss Spiro ordered an out of this world Tomato soup for an appetizer, and we munched on some delicious bread while we waited for our gourmet orders… hamburgers. I know it’s not a particularly exotic choice, but it just sounded good. And man, I’m not kidding you, that was THE BEST hamburger I ever ate. It’s just indescribable. I’m drooling now just thinking about it. Oh man!

After a gut-busting lunch Stef and I took a cab to the brand new Wynn hotel for a little tour. For those of you who’ve seen the Bellagio, it’s basically just as nice, minus a few exterior frills, but with much brighter colors and decorations. Stef and I poked around for a while before running into her parents and chatting at the jewelry store for awhile on our way to the art museum. They have some impressive pieces on display, including originals from Degas, Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso. So, after getting artsy for the afternoon, Stef and I finally headed back to the Mirage and vegged for a couple hours before the dinner hour rolled around. Since Justin and Mara decided to be anti-social and go to their own last dinner of the trip—coincidentally, also at Mon Ami Gabi—we went downstairs for a final meal at the wonderful Italian restaurant inside the Mirage. It was actually really nice to just have it be the four of us. I feel like I’ve had an even better chance to get to know Stef’s parents on this trip, and it was especially nice to finally get a chance to talk with her dad more. Everything was fantastic, and we just had a nice, leisurely meal together.

After dinner the grown ups wanted to soak up their last night at the tables, so Stefy and I popped over to the Forum for one last round of shopping. We really didn’t have anything in mind, but just felt like getting out one last time. After walking through the mall for a while, we heard the Cheesecake Factory beckoning us, and we answered its call. Banana cream is heaven. Our original plan was to walk up to the Bellagio and catch the water show one last time, but we were pooped by then and just decided to call it a night. Stef and I came back to the room and watched some TV for a while before heading off to bed.

Sunday, June 19

Another blissful morning by the pool. The highlight of my morning though was getting a massage at the Mirage Spa. I went down there shortly before 11, threw on my swimsuit, and relaxed in the hot tub for about fifteen minutes before going in for my massage. It was an extra-long 50 minute session, and I enjoyed every blissful moment of it. Good Lord, I forgot how wonderful a massage feels. I mean, I was just putty afterwards. So nice.

Stef and I were up and ready for the day shortly after noon, and started our afternoon off by taking a cab to the other end of the strip to Mandalay Bay. There wasn’t much reason to visit other than to hit up the House of Blues for some new shades. Basically the story is that Stef bought me a pair of Blues Brothers sunglasses there almost a year ago, and gave them to me on the day we started going out. I loved those specs, but they met an untimely end in Florida. So today I finally replaced them… twice. I bought two pairs for $19. What a deal! I felt pretty good to finally have that situation squared away, and of course it feels great to be in groovy shades when you’re walkin’ the strip. I also picked up my dad’s father’s day gift at Urban Outfitters while we were at Mandalay… a t-shirt that says “Local Celebrity” on it. Very fitting, I would say.

Miss Spiro and I stopped off at the Forum Shops at Caesar’s again for some late Father’s Day shopping later in the afternoon, but we were striking out everywhere we looked. The Stage Deli was calling our names for a late lunch, so we popped in there for a big-ass slice of cheesecake and a black and white cookie. It’s the lunch of champions. We eventually connected with Teri on the phone, and she told us that she’d picked out some of Tim’s favorite cologne at a store in the mall, so we figured we didn’t have to sweat it anymore, and finally left for the Mirage.

The Piston’s game five was tonight, and we decided to have an in-room basketball party. Everyone ordered room service, and we all just chilled and watched the game. We were all feeling pretty cocky after the game four destruction, but things didn’t exactly pan out the same way tonight. It was a last second heart-breaker, but at least it was an exciting game. The mood was decidedly glum when Tim, Teri, Stefy, and I had to leave for MGM Grand right after the game, but everyone perked up in the limo on the way to see “Ká”. It’s one of the newest Cirque du Soleil shows in LV, and from what everyone told us, one of the best. As we walked into the theater, the look of the set sure had us excited. The whole theater ceiling was filled with this elaborate catwalk that some of the players kept jumping back and forth on before the show started. It was a lot of fun to watch. The problem with a 10:30 show though is that nobody can stay awake through the whole thing. I mean, from what I caught it looked like a hell of a performance, but I’m not gonna lie… I slept through most of it. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. Normally I’d feel bad, but I think everyone except Stefy took turns passing out, so at least I wasn’t alone. Still, from the 15-20 minutes I saw of “Ká”, I would highly recommend seeing it… and drinking lots of caffeine beforehand.

Well, that was pretty much it for tonight. Another BUSY day, but we had such a blast.

Saturday, June 18

Same routine for the pool this morning. It was a little less windy this time, and I finally finished my Steve Jobs book. I think anyone who’s an Apple freak like me would really enjoy it. Of course, I’m still waiting for ‘Pirates of Silicon Valley’ to come out on DVD.

Our afternoon started with our requisite lunch at Margaritaville with Teri and the kids (this is how I’ve chosen to refer to Justin and Mara for obvious reasons). Stefy and I got a Cheeseburger in Paradise, and man them was good. Afterwards we poked around the gift shop a little bit, and then broke off from the group and headed up to the Aladdin to meet up with Stef’s friend Nolan.

We walked around the stores at the Aladdin with Mr. Klein for about an hour or so and chatted it up. I was glad that we got a chance to see Nolan while he was in town since the poor kid is here with his parents. After that Stef and I came back to the Mirage and took a mid-afternoon break from the sun up in my room.

Since the kids had tickets to see Jay Leno tonight, we decided to double with Stef’s parents. We went out for a nice dinner (I don’t remember where off the top of my head right now), and then took in a show at the Imperial Palace. Tim was really gung ho about taking us to see the Legends celebrity impersonation show there, and we showed up a few minutes after it started. It was honestly the cheesiest thing ever, but we had so much fun. The performers were: Buddy Holly, Donna Summer, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, Gloria Estefan (blah), and the King… ELVIS. Some of the look-alikes were better than others, but the dudes who did the Temps were by far the best.

It was already getting kinda late by the time we got back to the Mirage after the show, but that didn’t stop Tim and Teri from hitting the floor and gambling before bedtime. Stefy and I were wimps though, so we pretty much went straight upstairs and went to bed.

Friday, June 17

Definitely confused with the time change, but I’ll get used to it. Stef and I were up bright and early at 6:45 this morning, and headed downstairs to the pool to grab some chairs before a mob of people showed up. We grabbed a light breakfast at the little coffee shop by the pool entrance, and then went outside and soaked up the sun for the next few hours. I read some more from my Steve Jobs book, took a nap, went swimming with Stef a few times, listened to music, and my biggest fear the whole time was remembering to re-apply sunscreen. It’s a rough life.

We eventually moseyed back upstairs and got ready for the day. The kids were up by then, so we had them tag along with us and Teri on our way over to the Venetian for some mid-afternoon shopping. None of us had really gotten anything until we met back up with Stef’s mom at the sunglass store on our way out of the mall. The girls each picked out a new pair of shades that were really cute, but let’s just say that you could’ve bought a LOT of Blues Brothers sunglasses for what they spent (this will make sense later).

Stef and I made our way back to the Mirage and spent a good chunk of the afternoon taking it easy in the room before our big night on the town seeing ‘O’. Everyone met up at Kokomos downstairs in the casino for dinner at around 6:00 tonight, and we had a bigger crowd than usual since Stef’s grandma and her gang joined us for a meal. The food was fantastic, and it was nice to have such a big group at the table. Stef, Justin, Mara, and I had to sneak out a little early for the show though, since we still needed to pick up tickets from the box office.

The show was amazing. Okay, I’ll admit that I was a little drowsy in there and might’ve nodded off for a few minutes here and there, but that’s just me being narcoleptic. Honestly though, the show is just mind-boggling. I think you could go see it three times in a row and still not be physically able to see everything that’s happening onstage. VERY cool.

Well, on our way back to the hotel we stood outside the Bellagio for a bit waiting for the fountain show to start, but it never did. I guess they don’t run it when it’s windy, so we eventually gave up and took got in a cab. We went back to our room and cashed in after that. It was a long day, but man it was great.

Thursday, June 16

Stef and I ran some errand this morning: dropping of Zoey at the doggy motel, taking Stef’s car to the dealership, buying stamps at the post office, and picking up some breakfast bagels for the fam at a local restaurant. Dropping off Stef’s car meant that I got to drive the two-seater for the first time, so it was a good chance to take a little cruise before taking off for the airport. I love driving it. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

On the way to Metro we saw at least seven police cars and motorcycles with cars pulled over on the side of the road over about a 1-mile stretch. This is not an exaggeration. Anyone else smell bacon?

Our flight to LV was relatively uneventful, but as the usual runway delays compounded we ended up being about an hour past our scheduled arrival time. Gotta love Northwest. Tim had a car pick us up at the airport so we could save time getting to the hotel, but that idea blew up in his face. Our driver was a really nice fellow and was trying extra hard to take care of us, but as soon as he was done unloading our bags at the Mirage, we realized that Teri’s suitcase and handbag were mysteriously missing. The dude just about shit himself right then and there. I can’t blame him for freaking out. I mean, of all the bags that could easily be replaced, Teri’s are the last ones on the list. Yikes. Anyway, I guess it turns out that another driver spotted the bags in the garage so everything worked out okay. It just set us behind even more, but it really wasn’t a big deal at all. If anything, we felt sorry for the driver because he’ll probably get reprimanded for the SNAFU. Oops.

Stef, Mara, and the folks all stayed in the two-bedroom suite up on the 28th floor, while Justin and I were together in another room way down on the 15th floor. After settling in I met up with Stefy and the rest of the crew to head over to the Cheesecake Factory inside the Caesar’s Forum Shops for dinner. Everyone was starving after the flight, so we pigged out with a big supper, and grabbed some take-out cheesecake for dessert back at the room. The Pistons game was starting by then, so we hurried back to watch the game. It was an ass pounding of monumental proportions, and we were all going nuts watching our boys obliterate the Spurs. Of course, Tim snuck out about halfway thru to go downstairs and get started on his winning streak, but those of us who stuck around had a good time. That was pretty much it for our first evening in Sin City.