Living it Up!

Vegas was amazingly fun and I wished we could have stayed another couple days.  Our trip started out not so great - our Spirit airlines plane out of Oakland had mechanical problems.  Our 12:52 departure was delayed until 2PM....then 3PM....then cancelled altogether around 4PM.  I know that kind of stuff happens...still hugely frustrating.  Their was a bridal party on the plane and by the time the flight was officially cancelled, the bride was a little bit upset.

I don't like Spirit and I don't think we will ever fly them again.  Not because the plane had mechanical issues....but mostly because their employees were so ill-prepared for the consequences of having a flight cancelled.  150+ people want to get to where they planned to get to - Vegas!  And to constantly ask those 150+ people to be patient instead of thanking them for being patient just seemed hugely wrong.  They practically begged us to just take refunds - 'cuz then they were done with their responsibility to transport us to Vegas.  One employee even implied to a guy that 'you'll be responsible for the difference'.  True - if you allow them to refund you.  So most of us didn't - and we all trekked back to the ticket counter to be put on other flights - which Spirit did not have leaving Oakland for Vegas.  So it was Southwest.....and they trekked us from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 in small groups.

Our flight was a one-stop - in Reno.  So 28 minutes in the air and then we landed - in 30MPH cross winds.  I have never been more scared in my life.  Ever watch those 'landing in cross winds' videos on You Tube?  Go do that.  I'll wait.....

THAT was what it was like.  The pilot said 'approach courtesy of Great America and landing courtesy of Land 'o Lakes butter'.  It was a smooth landing - as long as you didn't pay attention to the fact that the plane was coming in sideways and he touched down on the left wing wheel only at first - J. said I hadn't squeezed his hand that hard since giving birth to B. .

We arrived at the hotel close to 10PM...the check in clerk took pity on us and upgraded us to a larger room, which was very nice.  It's the Bellagio - and it's great!  We missed our Carrot Top show - which we had prepaid for and can't get a refund...so that was a waste of $100.  We did buy insurance for the flight - not sure why 'cuz I never do that but I did - so we are going to submit that and see if we can get that money back.  And also get back the meal we ate while we waited for our Southwest plane to depart - it was a long, long day and we were just glad it was over and we were finally in Vegas.  TWELVE HOURS total is too long to be sitting in airports eating bad food.

The next day things greatly improved.  We spent the entire day in a pool cabana and it was awesome.  A waitress who checked in periodically.  A stocked refrigerator with sodas and water, snacks, fruit plate included.  TV with music stations and others.  We lounged all day and I even got in the pool several times.  It was heaven - and so nice to do absolutely nothing.  We ordered many refreshing beverages (which were so obviously watered down 'cuz we never got even slightly buzzed) and lunch, too.  It was delicious.

Yesterday we visited the Grand Canal Shops at the Venetian.  Two 50% off Dooney & Bourke purses made their way home with me - J. got a shave at The Art of Shaving.  I also bought a Brighton bracelet which I really love - 


Last night, we went to see Absinthe - and I can't recommend it highly enough.  I do have to say it was more than a little raunchy - but sexual innuendo [it wasn't even innuendo, really - it was flat out sexual topics] and colorful language 'sells'.  The acrobatic acts and other 'variety' acts were amazing and we really loved every minute of it.

I tried really hard to win a $25K jackpot on a penny slot machine (2.00 a pull) so we could stay another night and day - I truly wanted to spend another day pool side and just do nothing but read, enjoy people watching and vegging.  But we'll save that for next time. 

We arrived home to a house that was being tidied in a hurry.  Want to clean out your pantry, fridge and freezer?  Go to Vegas for a few days, tell your kids it's OK to have a 'few' friends over - and viola!  You'll come home to barren cupboards, an empty fridge and not much in the freezer either.  We stocked up before we left - and all that is gone.  Unbelievable - but true....  B. mopped the floors!  With Simple Green!?  WTF?  There's Mr. Clean under the sink and 409 and Clorox Clean Up in the kitchen, too....and he uses Simple Green?  and even with that cleaning effort, the kitchen floor is so sticky you can't walk on it without getting sticky shoes.  We know a 2 liter bottle of ginger ale exploded upon opening (that happened after we were home) but we're pretty sure other stuff happened 'cuz the floor is a mess.

We are home and looking forward to our next get away.  J. and I are enjoying spending some time alone and living a little....something I'm confident we'll be able to do more often. 


OH - and one final newsy item.  H. is now officially spending his days driving a fork lift!  After one week at 'regular' pay, he got a $2 an hour bump in pay and is now driving 'heavy equipment' daily.  He is tired and adjusting to the life of a 'working man'.

UPDATE:  It's Friday now and H. got his first paycheck and he is 'stoked'!  Bringing home more than $300 a week (and that was at the lesser pay rate - he will be at $11 an hour going forward - so another $80 a week before taxes) is pretty exciting when you've been working for your parents for a long, long time.  We had to give him a $100 advance on his first check to pay for gas, etc.  - he paid us back right away and has $200 burning a hole in his pocket.  He feels rich - and we are trying to remind him to budget appropriately - he needs to fill his gas tank, get an oil change, etc. .
I have some pictures I will attempt to post later this weekend.  We are still undigging from a mountain of laundry (beer pong uses a lot of towels to clean up - and we know they played beer pong 'cuz there was a folded up folding table in our living room and B. said he borrowed it for beer pong - J. has washed virtually ever towel (bath or beach) we own today).  Work is looming large on Monday but it has been a hugely relaxing week of me working very hard at NOT working.  Glancing at emails occasionally and responding as little as possible.


The weekend will be largely errands and house stuff - but I am hoping to also pretend to be in Vegas by lounging by our pool for an afternoon.

It's great to be home -