Two Pilots & an LSW: Sometimes Those Who Wander Really Are Lost

(These are broken up by day, so you might want to scroll down to find the beginning before reading this.)

The one less than great thing about our hotel was the shower temp. The bathrooms didn't lock, which is fine if you're with your spouse, but in my opinion bathroom doors should always have a lock. They just should. The whole bathroom was walled in by frosted glass. You couldn't see through it at all looking into the bathroom. Looking out from the bathroom you could see someone if they got right up on the glass. So of course that was the catalyst for some mild entertainment. ;) The first day, the shower was warm. Not hot, but warm. I commented I wished for a couple degrees, but I was okay. The second day it was tepid. It wasn't full on cold, but it sure wasn't hot either. Tepid. I didn' linger. Sunday morning, which I know I haven't gotten to yet, but the water was cold. Not tepid, no real hint of warmth, it was cold. I got in, regretting my long hair and excessive required time spent in the shower, got out shaking, and let's just call that invigorating. But other than that, the hotel was great. You couldn't really hear much outside noise, even though it was a busy city during a busy time. Most of us slept really well while we were there. I just had one wakeful night, but it wasn't the hotel's fault!

Saturday morning, Steve and I got ready early, as we were trying to get up early-ish out there so we wouldn't be too messed up when we got home. So we decided to find another breakfast place. I found the "Hash and Go", in a hotel next door to us. It got 5 star reviews, so we walked over, texted the others and let them know where we were, and were seated within 25 minutes. The place had really good food, and reasonable pricing (which is unusual in Vegas). The weirdest thing was that they had "Indiana Favorites" and "Indiana Specials" on the menu. They even have a "Kokomo Sandwich!" We're in Las Vegas! Where did Indiana come from?! But their Indiana specials were for the most part things like "chicken and waffles" (which I've never seen for sale in Indiana, just down south), meatloaf, etc. But what are the odds? We both got the "Farm Tractor Driver" breakfast. By then, Kevin joined us, so he ordered the same thing. It's meat, eggs, and the bread product of your choice--pancake, waffle, french toast. Kevin says "Just one pancake? I'd like to add another." The waitress hesitates and says "Have you ever eaten here before?" He says "No, why?" She says "You might want to start with one. Pancakes are This Big." Holds her hands out to a huge size. I got a red velvet pancake, bigger than a big plate, and thick, eggs, and bacon. I couldn't even eat 1/3 of my pancake. Unreal. And tasty. Really tasty. Steve got a BLT Bloody Mary. It literally had lettuce, tomato, and bacon sticking out of the glass, and a piece of toast and packet of mayo on the cup holder plate. He said it was incredible. Nobody ate the mayo, of course, that would be gross. So once again we are stuffed. S-t-u-f-f-e-d.

We decided to walk it off, so the four of use went to the shopping forums. Hugely expensive, big dollar stores only, and great scenery. The ceilings are painted to look like the sky, and the whole thing was decorated up like Caesar's Palace, with statues and fountains and marble and shows and displays inside. You couldn't afford to actually buy anything there, well, I couldn't, but it was great to walk around and check out how the other 1% lives. ;) We walked around some more from there, and then Kevin and Nathan decided to go do play blackjack for the day, so Steve and I took off on our own. We kept walking, and decided our end goal would be to get on the monorail. Things went a little off the rails there. Steve said "it's just behind the Wynn there". So we walk all the way there, which is farther than it looks from where we are. We walk into the Wynn, to go out the back to the monorail. Nope. You can't. So we have to walk all the way back out of it and back to the main street, and keep going, trying to find a road to go over to it. Steve's phone dies. I pull out mine. My directions say it's .6 miles away. We keep hiking, but suddenly we are on the outskirts of town, and things are a little shady there. Bars on the windows, sketchy people lounging around, grass growing up amongst the concrete, zero sidewalks or anywhere to walk. Nowhere. Steve and I look at each other, and he says "Wanna Uber out of here?" Yes, I do. Except the Uber is on his phone, and his phone is dead. I've never used it on my phone. Fortunately, at some point I must have downloaded the app, because it was there, and I was able to get us a car. We weren't waiting long, standing in the middle of a sketchy parking lot practically with our backs to each other, and along came the Uber driver I was happiest to see all weekend. ;)

We got back to the hotel and crashed for awhile, hung out in the hotel. Then I wanted to go to the Stratosphere. Steve agreed to go with me, even though he hates heights. We got a cab from the hotel, as 1) our feet hurt and 2) it is on the other end of the strip, and we got in and got hit in the face with pot smell so strong that I hoped that I didn't get randomly drug tested any time soon, because I'm pretty sure I inhaled whether I meant to or not . I mean, it was RANK. The driver was super nice, and he turned on Christian rock music to go with the pot. I don't know if it was his pot or a former customer's, but it didn't smell like the only time anyone had smoked in there. That was rank. Anyway, he drops us off at the Stratosphere, and we buy tickets, but we don't have time for me to try one of the rides at the top. Steve was horrified at the idea anyway, but he agreed to go up with me. We get on the elevator, and we are let out in a fully enclosed glass room to look out. The windows tilt outwards, and he even put his finger on there. He was okay until he turned his back to the window so we could do a selfie, then got a little wonky. He was still doing okay, until we saw the "Sky Jump", with a woman hanging out of the open door wearing a harness, where they were going to let her jump. Steve promptly started backing up against the inner wall with a "HECK NO" look on his face. I ran around and took photos, and loved it, and then took the stairs up to the open deck. Steve followed me up there, but couldn't get close to the doors to go outside. It was SUPER windy that day, and up there it was blowing like crazy. I stepped up on one of the viewer bases to get a better view, and Steve says that's the point he had to quit looking at me. lol I was alone up there, because it was windy and cool, and that was perfect for me. Loved it. I didn't want to come down, but we had a dinner to get to, and Steve was ready to get down.

Dinner was at a restaurant right on the strip. We had a good view. I got a sushi grade tuna with three different sauces, on rice, and again, it was fantastic. I could eat that about once a week and be really pleased with life. Except for the price tag, of course. But wow it was good. And because I'd always been too full for dessert, this time I got creme brulet with fresh berries, and it was Awesome. We ate well, man.

After dinner it was time to go to our next show! We went to "Mystere", a "Cirque du Soleil" show, which I cannot pronounce to save my life, for the record. How do you describe that show? Well, it's basically a high end circus with costume designers who were on drugs, but it still works, like magic. :) You have a clown, a ring master, and different acts. Trapeze artists, strong men, flying people on bungees, dancing, audience participation. Our tickets were first row, dead center, no lie. So we were RIGHT THERE. I threw a ball back on stage, and Nathan got to be part of the show, like actually part of the show, in a bit of a costume and everything. I have to leave that story for him to tell though. It was really funny, and worth the whole trip right there in one swoop. It was a magical journey of light and music and amazing feats of skill, agility, strength, etc. There wasn't one person there with an ounce of body fat on them. The strong man duo were almost scary. The one guy would balance himself completely, straight out, with one hand on the other guy's head, and then the other guy STANDS UP from a seated position with this whole other person on him. He rests the weight of the other guy on one arm behind his back, bent backwards. I mean...yikes. A group of people climbed up a cage of poles like little monkeys, like it had stairs in it, and did tricks up on the poles. The bungee people were a man and a woman who flew all over the auditorium with one hand or sometimes no hands hooked through the straps, way up high, no safety net. The trapeze artists were on the roof, waaaaay up there. It was a magical, festive, colorful, fun experience. Again, Kaylee and her friends would really enjoy that one, too. I didn't try to sneak many pictures on this one after my last experience. But I'm really glad we got to do these shows and see a bit more of Vegas than I ever have before. I appreciated it...