Leaving Las Vegas

So I just spent a fantastic week in Las Vegas, completely unexpected and last-minute, an amazing gift from my incredibly generous and thoughtful friend, Jill.
We saw all the sights, as you do, even though we have both been there before. We shopped until we really were about ready to drop….and I’m wondering if there is anything left in the stores for other punters to buy.
We got in last Thursday evening after a delayed flight in Atlanta. We had all been boarded on time only to be informed that “in case we were wondering why the Captain was standing outside of the cockpit” it was because they were replacing one of the windshield panels. Um. WTF????? Two HOURS later….with no offer of water, or snacks, or ALCOHOL!!!!!...we were finally off. Funny thing through this trip, on all four flights I was unable to sleep. Usually I’m out like a baby being rocked in a cradle. Not this time and that really sucked on the red-eye coming home!
Anyway, we hit the ground running with David Copperfield at the MGM Grand…literally straight from the airport to the show!...and he was seriously amazing. His last ‘trick’ was one I’d seen on TV and I was thrilled to see it live and be even more stunned, wondering how the hell he does it all!!
The next day Jill and I left Craig, our fellow-Bermudian-LV-vacationer (sorry Skippy, but denial is not just a river in Egypt, it was vacation), in the condo, ‘working’, and hit the shops. Much damage was done and I was totally exhausted, not being used to power-shopping! Having never been to Target before, I found a new love….Hello Target! Miss you!
That night we went to a ‘local’s only’, off-strip tapas bar to meet a new on-line friend of mine, and thus I met the most wonderful man in the world!!! We’ll call him Scott….‘cause that’s his name (lol). I will refrain from gushing about him to spare you all indigestion, but trust me, it’s not because I don’t want to gush!
From Fireflies, which I highly recommend, we headed to the Palazzo to meet up with Lanie and how great it was to see her again!
That night Jill and I learned a new lesson in friendship. Now, the internet doesn’t need to know the details of that, the important thing is that we had an issue, we faced it, dealt with it and moved on with a better understanding of each other. Go woman-kind!
I was a tad tired on Saturday morning having talked with Scott until sunrise, and so I skipped joining Jill and Skippy’s venture to IHOP, and beyond. Later in the afternoon Scott picked me up and took me to explore the Wynn, which was fabulous…we wandered around inspecting the lounges and finally settled in one of them for a cocktail and some particularly delicious potato chips…too many of which ended up on the table and bench, designating us both as people who should not be allowed to eat in public!
That night Jill, Skippy and I headed out of town to Prim to see (woo hoo!!!) Foreigner (YES!!) at Buffalo Bill’s Star of the Desert Arena. They were AMAZING!!! And Kelly Hansen’s voice is just as GD wonderful as Lou Gramm’s on the classic ‘I want to know what love is’ which brought the arena to its feet and lost me my voice!
Driving back into LV we were all looking for excitement….and in fact the drive itself pretty much did it as Jill went over the 100mph mark! My choice was the Lt. Col….Jill and Skippy chose the roller-coaster at New York New York.
I waited in the bar for all of them and got chatted up by some random who ticked me off just a small bit.
On the way home Scott gave me my first introduction to IHOP in the USA….more food than you can eat in three meals. And the next day we went around some of the shops (I finally got my first pair of proper cowboy boots…love you Boot Barn!), had cocktails at Blue Martini, BBQ’d some dinner, hung out with Cricks and Talos (Scott’s greyhounds), and headed to the Strip for some serious photoging!!
Monday and Tuesday found us heading out to Denny’s or IHOP for breakfast, then dropping Skippy off at Borders to ‘work’ (OK, I’m tearing the ass out of it, he really did work) and Jill and I hit the shops, credit cards a’smokin’!
On Monday night we headed in to Planet Hollywood hoping to catch a band I had heard the previous evening…they weren’t playing but we decided to stay for dinner and drinks, sitting on the Strip, watching the world go by, and I do mean THE WORLD…in all its gaudy, glorious, fantastic glory. Scott joined us and after dinner he and I headed over to watch a couple of the Belaggio fountain shows while Skippy and Jill headed inside to drink and gamble, respectively.
Tuesday brought the same day-time scenario. Truth is it was a blast just driving around with that pair. Jill and I could have fun in a barrel by ourselves but Skippy added just one more blonde to the mix for added comic confusion.
Since Jill and Craig had a conference reception to go to on Tuesday night I made plans to meet Lanie for a drink and gossip and then Scott picked me up for dinner at another local’s-type place called Bootleggers. Unfortunately knowing I was leaving him the next day I was unable to eat much and I think Scott has been eating doggie-bagged chicken fettuccine alfredo ever since! In the morning I was very brave saying goodbye to sweet Cricket and proud Talos, and even braver saying goodbye to Scott as he dropped me ‘home’.
Arriving back at the condo I found my flat-mates ready to head out for a day at the conference they had actually come for. Whoa. A day to myself. In Vegas.
I headed to the Fashion Show Mall, did a little more damage to the Mastercard and added a little to the wardrobe, ran into a couple of Bermudians in the Food Court, then headed over to the Wynn hoping to get more photos. But Scott is correct, it’s no fun doing that on your own. I sat and had a drink in the pool bar Scott and I had looked at on Saturday, where little misters installed in the table umbrellas spray fine bursts of water into the air, making it a virtual oasis in the desert. I could practically hear my skin sucking in the moisture!
Afterwards I went back to the condo and packed and tried to relax….I had hoped to hit the pool but some fat slob was hogging the patch of sunshine coming through between the neighbouring buildings. Jill and I had tried once before to do the pool thing, but by the time we got there the sun was gone behind buildings, and the water was bloody freezing. Again, WTF???
Our flight out of Vegas wasn’t til 11.30pm and Jill told me in the morning that she wanted to go to the conference’s evening presentation. A quick call to Scott had him skipping the gym and coming instead to pick me up at Harrah’s. We went to Paris and sat off in the bar for a couple of cocktails and laughs before heading into the Planet Hollywood mall to look at the shops and stroll around eating Italian carry-out before heading back to Harrah’s to meet Jill and Skippy. Scott and I said goodbye again and I was able to do it with minimal tears knowing…KNOWING…that I will see him again soon. We left Skippy for a day on his own in LV where I am SURE Hooters was on the agenda but I’m really interested to know if he made it to the indoor sky-diving place!!
Jill and I had an uneventful trip home, despite being so cold in the Atlanta airport! Considering our week’s shopping expenses we were loathe to spend $50 on Georgia Tech sweatshirts so I shivered it out and Jill bought an ‘Atlanta Diva’ long-sleeved t-shirt to help insulate….which she just remembered to take off before landing and stepping into the sauna that is Bermuda air.

Funny thing is that at some point on Tuesday afternoon I think Jill and I reached ‘vacation relaxation point’ and everything was hilarious. I wish we had been able to stay longer and have more of that. Sometimes it just takes time to let go of the everyday reality we’ve left behind and let loose and have FUN.

We arrived back in Bermuda safely and I enjoyed the approach and landing as much as I always do. All the tourists looking out of the windows for some kind of land to touch down on, and all they can see is water…..the Captain is saying ‘We are making our final approach to Bermuda’ and they are straining to see out of both sides of the plane to see what the hell we might actually land on, and only seeing ocean!! Until….until….suddenly a coral athol or two, then a bit of land with some trees…and….all of a sudden you’re on the ground!
It’s always a thrill landing in Bermuda. Just SO beautiful. And always home.

On the drive back Jill did have a hard time with the speed limit but we made it without a speeding ticket!

And on that drive we discussed the fact that we both SO did not want to be home, here in Bermuda.
Jill’s been lucky enough to be away a few times recently and take care of her ‘rock fever’ and she has her plans for the big move to New Zealand next year.
But on leaving Las Vegas, we realised finally, completely, totally, that neither of our futures are here any longer. No more fish bowl. No more limitations. No more lack of choice…in everything/anything.

For me? Change. Big change is a-coming. How and when? Who knows. But it’s a-coming.

R.I.P.

This evening I called Bruce's housesitter who was also kindly feeding Sneaky Pete III while I was in Las Vegas.
He was very sketchy on the details but basically he informed me that SP had passed away.
I know he's just a fish, but he was my little buddy.
The very first and very last living thing that I spoke to each and every day.
And I'll miss his beautiful little self.

What's for dinner darling?

Mmmmmm! Tonight I made chicken tender strips with a garlic, teriyaki and sesame dipping sauce, and a tomato, avocado and alfalfa sprouts salad with a red wine vinaigrette dressing. Sooooo good!
The only thing that could have made it better?
A ‘darling’ to share it with.
His name begins with Scott.
((((SMILE))))