Is This a Really Dumb Time to be Visiting Vegas? Chapter 6 Sunday October 8

 

I woke at 6 am this morning after falling to sleep around 11 pm the night before so I had a decent sleep. I went downstairs at 9 to locate some coffee. The line up at Snacks wasn’t as horrible as usual so I stopped there. I ordered a yogurt parfait, a muffin and a small coffee.  When they presented me with my purchases I had a large orange juice and and enormous latte.  I told them I hadn’t ordered those and they said “they are yours if you want them”.  So score!  I have never had a latte before but it was good. Just a milky, frothy coffee.  I had to sweeten it myself.

Then I went over to the video poker corner to amuse myself for awhile.  It is probably the quietest corner in this place.  I didn’t come out ahead sadly.  I came back to the room at noon to just chill and put my feet up and rest before the day’s adventures.

 At 4 pm I met Mike and Terin at Zak Bagan’s Haunted Museum to do the RIP tour.   It was very different.  I have never been to anything quite like that before.  I spent a lot of time wishing there was more light in the building so that I could read the plaques and observe the artifacts more carefully.  My favourite room was the serial killer room that had mementos from Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Manson and the like. Of course there is no way for us to know if those articles are really former belongings of these people, but it was interesting.  There were certain things I couldn’t do like go down into the basement or go upstairs but they gave me an IPad that showed me what the others were seeing on the second floor.  The tour was over two hours long.  I was happy I had my walker to perch on at times.  We RIP people were given Tshirts and neck lanyards and some extra rooms to tour.  Hopefully no evil spirits followed us home!

It was almost dark when we got outside.  We Ubered back to the Linq with the intention of going to Guy Fieri’s but there was a 45 minute wait.  I caught a glimpse of the Sphere as we drove down the Strip.  The kids have been able to see it from Flamingo.  We ended walking all the way down the Promenade to Yard House.   I really like that place. It has such a wide assortment of food.  I had macaroni and cheese with chicken in it.  Mike had Cobb salad with chicken and Terin had Jambalaya.   I was so tired and hungry I forgot to take pictures of it!  Gasp.  I am enclosing a picture of our bill. The prices aren’t bad in my opinion.  I also included Mike’s bill from their visit to Ocean One. He liked that place.

Then I had to say goodby to Mike and Terin because they are flying home in the morning. They did four escape rooms on their trip! And they escaped them all!  I am switching hotels to the Plaza tomorrow.

  I staggered back to the Mirage after saying our goodbyes.  I played for awhile but I shouldn’t have.  I was too tired to enjoy it and just lost. Finally I gave up at 11 and went upstairs to bed.

Pictures are from Zaks Bagans.

Is This a Really Dumb Time to Be Visiting Vegas? Chapter 5, Saturday, October 7

 Chapter 5, Saturday, October 7

I didn’t come back to my room until 11 pm last night and stayed up until 12:30 writing my trip report. Imagine my shock when I woke up this morning and checked the time.  8:30 AM!  Wow.

I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted to do today.  I considered going to ROSS but I don’t really need anything.  Since Covid I have taken to ordering my clothes from online businesses with varying degrees of success.  My favourite company is one called Bloomchic and their clothes always fit.  I also knew that Peppermill would be mobbed and I need coffee and a meal.  I thought about visiting Resorts World but there is really nothing that entices me to go there.  Mike had mentioned TI and I realized that I had not set foot there in a million years.  I tend to forget it exists.  So I decided I would go next door.  The kids were downtown eating PinkBox doughnuts and doing another escape room.  They have the PINK show tonight.

I didn’t leave my room until 11:30 am today and this was the only day my room wasn’t made up.  Mike said their Flamingo room is being serviced daily as well.   I went to go get on the tram to TI but discovered it doesn’t start until noon.  I decided to hoof it.   Omg, did someone move TI???   It seems so far when you are as gimpy as I am.  Finally got there and I was impressed.  The first thing I encountered was a large attractive restaurant with the unassuming name of the Coffee Shop.  I really like that.  (I wish Mirage had a restaurant like that.  Their Pantry closes at 3 pm.)It was huge and very busy. Everything was very efficient.  I wanted to order breakfast but changed my mind when I saw they had Clubhouse sandwiches.  That sandwich had more meat in it than any other Clubhouse I have ever seen. It was $19 but it was so huge it will work for both lunch and dinner for me today. The coffee was delicious and they put an entire pot on every table!  
Another thing I liked about TI is that they had more than one sundry shop where you could buy drinks and snacks etc. Mirage doesn’t have the same selection. 

I got myself a new TI card and I was surprised that I was still in their system.  I wandered around checking everything out, trying to decide what to play. I briefly tried the Frankenstein machine but I don’t like that you have to play three dollars or over in order to qualify for the jackpots.  Next I moved over to a new slot that I can’t remember the name of.  ( pictures of it below) It had a million different bonuses and was super fun when it was hitting. ( As they all are) I played that machine for around three hours.  Unfortunately it is not at Mirage.  Around three I decided to come “ home” and rest awhile.  The tram was running so getting back was a lot less ouchy. 

I went back downstairs around 5 pm to play some more but my Buffalo Lightning Link wasn’t being very kind.  I was betting $2 a spin and you can get some decent bonuses that way.  I was running out of money so I lowered my bet to $1 and the bonuses are not as good at that level.  I particularly hate it when you get a $2 bonus!   That is not a bonus!  I went back to my room at 7 pm tonight.

Is This a Really Dumb Time To Be Visiting Vegas? Chapter 4 Friday October 6 th.

Chapter 4, Friday, October 5

You all will be happy to know that I woke up at 6 am this morning and came back to my room at 11 pm,  just like a normal person! Ha!

I came downstairs to the box office at ten am to pick up our tickets for LOVE tonight.
Then I went in search of coffee, but everywhere had huge line ups.   I didn’t want to stand in them so I slunk away. I decided I wanted to play some VP if I could locate any here.   I finally found some way off in a corner. I despaired of ever getting a coffee in such a remote location but no sooner had my butt hit the chair when waitress appeared at my elbow.   I could have kissed her.   On Thursday night when I won the 500 in free play I had played away a hundred of it, so I still had 400 in free play left. ( If it didn’t disappear overnight)
So I settled in and managed to turn the free play into real money, $414.00. Yippee!
Next I took that money back over to the Buffalo Lightning Link that I have fallen in love with and played for hours.  I wound up with $800 at the end of that session.

I must comment on how the music has changed since Hard Rock took over.  I guess it never really dawned on me that there would be such a noticeable change in the music blaring in the casino.  For one thing it is louder than it used to be.  Also I have been here four days and I haven’t recognized a song yet!  Sometimes what they are playing sounds reminiscent of “music” and sometimes it is just screaming! So I have taken to doing what I always do in all the Steven’s properties downtown, I wear foam earplugs.   I used to enjoy Mirage’s music. It was usually a lot of classic rock, but I really kinda hate this.   I noticed when I was waiting for the kids last night at Harrahs (or as Terin calls it, Hurrahs!) I recognized every song they played. Much nicer.

I was meeting the kids for dinner at Ramsey’s Kitchen at Harrahs at 4 pm.  We had studied the menu before we left home and decided to do the 5 course tasting menu for $119. But when we got there I saw that it wasn’t on the menu in the restaurant , instead there was another tasting menu for $150.  I asked our waiter about the one that is featured online and he went and got a copy of it.  I find that odd and fairly deceptive.  Mike and I also decided to do the wine pairing. I checked with our waiter to ascertain that the servings of wine were fairly small. Five full glasses of wine in a hour would be WAY too much. I had no desire to be plastered.  But they give you about an ounce and a half so that was ok.  We could feel it but still walk, lol.  Terin is not much of a drinker so she skipped that.

 I forgot to take a picture of the first course which was a bite of raw salmon.  I could have lived without that, but everything else was very tasty. The second course was crab cake, then risotto, then Beef Wellington, then Sticky Toffee Pudding (which is actually cake). Delicious!

I paid with my Total Rewards credits that I had been hoarding for this reason. They take your points one to one which is great.

After we were done eating we took a little rest in my room at Mirage and then it was time for LOVE.  I have lost track of how many times I have seen it, but I enjoy it every time. It is my favourite Cirque, especially Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Mike and Terin really had a good time too.  Mike was singing along just like I was.

Earlier in the day the kids had done another Escape Room thing at Caesars. Apparently there was a big discount if you did it twice in the same day so after Love ended those crazy kids went to do that. They really get a kick out of those things.  

 I decided to return to my beloved Buffalo Lightning Link after the show but there is another fella here who fights me for this same slot.  Sadly he was already there and never moved. Isn’t it funny how quickly we come to think of certain machines as MINE! So I played a different one but didn’t have a lot luck.  At 11 pm I threw in the towel and came up to bed.  What a fun day!

 

Is This a Really Dumb Time to be Visiting Vegas? Chapter 3 Thursday October 5, 2023

Thursday, October 5

 I woke up at 3 am again but managed to fall back to sleep until 5 am. 

Yay for extra sleep!

I decided to be all wild and adventurous this morning and finally go visit Southpoint.  And to all the people who have been yelling at me to go there for years YOU WERE RIGHT!

I LOVE IT!   OMG I never wanted to leave.  

It is beautiful. It is enormous.  It is like heaven for seniors!  The first thing I did was go get a players card.  I was desperate for coffee so I decided to try the Coranado Cafe.  I was a little concerned because there was 75 people lined up at the cash.  I asked the woman who seated me what was going on. Apparently it was a bus trip that was supposed to be on one bill but they decided to pay individually, hence the line up.   I ordered coffee, French toast and bacon.  It was delicious and so cheap, compared to the places mid-Strip.

I gave myself a stern talking to. “Don’t plop down at the first slot you like. Survey the entire floor.”  So I forced myself to walk all the way around the place.  I was watching for the Wicked Wheel that has the red and blue devils.  I didn’t find that but I did find a new Phoenix version of Wicked Wheel.  I played that for awhile but wasn’t winning enough to stay afloat.   Next I moved to a traditional Wicked Wheel but the fella next to me smelled awful so I moved again.  I managed to get on one that was nice to me for awhile.

I tried the new Zone Boost version of the firecracker slot.  That was fun.
I was astonished at how many different kinds of video poker there was so I had to play that for awhile too.   No big wins so eventually I ran out of the funds I brought with me.

That place was amazing. Every single person was so nice and friendly. There was someone cleaning everywhere.  So many washrooms!   I played for four hours and earned 4300 points.  I would sure love to earn comped rooms there even though it is so far from everything.

I took a Lyft there at 8 am which was rush hour.  It was a little cheaper if I chose to wait twenty minutes so I did.  It came to $30.  On the way back to Mirage it was $25.  Both drivers were super kind and talkative.  I loved them. They also mentioned that they had no intention of working on November 16, 17, or 18.  So that should be interesting.  Good luck getting around on those F1 days.

I made it back to Mirage around 1:30.  I was trying to talk myself into hitting the pool but once I got in my room laying down for awhile seemed more appealing.

Mike and Terin apparently went to some kind of IT Escape room where they were chased by Pennywise.  Terin loved it.    They are doing another exhibition hockey game tonight.

I went back downstairs to play around 4 pm.I decided to try the pig games that gave me a hand pay last year.  The pigs are not my friends anymore.  I saw a fella doing well on a Buffalo Lightning Link. When he left I took over that machine and it let me play for a long time.  Those are the slots I love.

The Unity rewards were doing a Hot Seat Free Play giveaway every hour.  I wasn’t really paying attention but around 6 pm I heard them announce, “This hour’s lucky free play winner of $500 is Bonnie F!”

I was like WHAT???   That sounded a lot like my name!

I asked a slot person if they came over and spoke to you and he said no, they just put the free play in your account.  And sure enough, I looked and I had $500 in my account!  That was a great surprise.

I was getting tired so I went over to Snacks and ordered some chicken strips.  They were ok but they give you way too much.  I would rather have half the food for half the price.

I am back in the room by 7:30 pm.  

 Late night…ha ha.

From Katy Perry’s show

Is This a Really Dumb Time to be Visiting Vegas? Chapter Two

 

Weds October 4

I had fallen asleep around 9 pm Tuesday night so I was wide awake at 3 am this morning.  I tried to go back to sleep but it just wasn’t happening. I turned on the light and began writing the first instalment to my trip report.

I managed to shower without falling, thank goodness.  I am happy for the one bar in the tub. I ate an apple, got ready and began a slow walk over to Flamingo.  I wanted to give them some decent play to thank them for the room.  Sadly my favourite machine, Wicked Wheel, is not cooperating with me this trip. I gave up on it and went to the sparkly firecracker machine.  It was nice for awhile.  All together I gave them four hours of play.

 Then I staggered back to Mirage and played there from about 1 pm to five.  At one point the kids appeared beside me.  They had walked about 4 thousand miles.  I can’t get over how much running around they do.  Mike took Terin to Hash House A Go Go for breakfast. She was amazed at the size of the portions. The kids continued on their way. They are going to the Katy Perry show tonight.  I returned to gambling.  Wicked Wheel was still not being generous so I tried a Chica Bonita.  I was playing two dollars a spin and nothing was happening.  I decided to up my bet to four dollars and the machine went crazy. Bonus
after bonus.  I know it is supposed to be random but it sure doesn’t seem that way sometimes.  To me it seems like there are winning cycles and losing cycles.
Anyhow, it was fun to win for awhile. 

By five I was really hungry. I had only eaten an apple and a protein bar all day.   I have never liked the burgers at SNACKS but I saw that they had grilled cheese so I ordered one of those.  It was good but not as good as The Henry’s.  I also got an enormous piece of carrot cake that will likely last three days.

And now I am in bed. 
At 6 pm. 
Even earlier than yesterday. 
Don’t kill me!
I think I am done for the day.

My Mirage room…

The kids at Hash House.

Is This a Really Dumb Time to be Visiting Vegas??? Chapter 1 October 2023

The day is finally here. Tonight my son Mike, his girlfriend Terin and I are being driven across the border by Terin's kind mom to the fabulous, luxurious Comfort inn.  (not) It is really a dingy place but it is five minutes from the Detroit Metro Airport so you would actually have to be TRYING to miss your flight in order to miss it. It also has a free shuttle to the airport and a free breakfast so you can grab a bite as you run out the door.  I don't love doing this but it is nice not to have to worry about how congested the border will be.  One time we were held up at the border by bomb sniffing dogs and I sure don't want to experience that again when we are heading for Vegas.

I was very relieved to hear that the air traffic controllers and the TSA security dudes will be getting paid normally for the next while.  That is one less thing to worry about. However I am still plenty worried about the possibly of the hospitality workers going on strike in the near future. I have no desire to cross a picket line.  I have never crossed one in my life before, but how do I get to my comped room if I don't?  I am also worried about just trying to get around in Ubers and Lyfts with all the blankety blank construction and F1 crap hindering our every move.

I probably would not have visited at this time but the kids have bought expensive show tickets so we will do our best to make it a good trip. Fingers crossed that it all goes well.

Monday night October 2, 2023

Our drive from Windsor to Detroit Comfort Inn turned out to be pleasant and uneventful. By 7 pm I was safely ensconced in our Comfort Inn room.  Mike, Terin and her mom went to have dinner in a restaurant and to shop, but I had no desire to go shopping so I stayed in the room.  There is a restaurant at this hotel but I wasn’t that thrilled with it the last time I was here so I decided to bring my dinner from home.  I successfully committed the crime of bringing a burger from my place to the hotel. ( You are not supposed to bring meat across the border.) I ate my in room meal and watched TV.  The kids returned at 11 pm.  I am amazed at their energy as always.  We had a decent sleep but I was woken up at 5:30 am with Mike’s coughing fit.  He doesn’t remember having a coughing fit and went immediately back to sleep.  I could not fall asleep again so I just stared at my phone until about 7:30 when I figured it was reasonable time for me to get up and get ready.

A good thing about this hotel is that they have a free breakfast buffet from 5 am until 9 am. While the kids were getting ready I went to the buffet and enjoyed a banana, a yogurt, a mini muffin and half a coffee.  I am always trying not to drink much on a day I have to fly.
Another good thing about this place is that they have a free shuttle to Detroit Metro every half hour.  At 9:30 am we headed for the airport.

When you are on a shuttle you are dropped off in the garage.  On one other trip the shuttle driver called ahead and had a wheelchair person meet me at the garage.  That didn’t happen this time so you just have to mosey up to the baggage area.  Thank goodness my suitcase fits on my walker so I can just roll it around.  Once at Delta’s counter they now insist that you ticket your bags yourself and then drop them off at the counter.  Another new skill to learn.  I don’t know what was wrong with the old method where they ticketed your bag. Then I asked where I could obtain wheelchair assistance and they pointed to a phone on the opposite wall.   I tried five times to get through but it would just ring and disconnect.  Finally an airport staff person walked by and I asked for help.  I saw her call someone on her private phone and then miracle of miracles, there was suddenly someone talking to her on the phone I was told to use.  We sat there for a few minutes waiting for a wheelchair and a staff person went by and said that they were too busy but that she could get us a wheelchair if Mike could push me. So that is what happened.  Terin pushed my walker and Mike pushed me.  Of course we don’t know where we are going.  It is a very confusing area.  We located security and a kind gentleman helped us work our way through that.   It is always a tense time because you are trying to take off stuff while watching that your stuff doesn’t disappear!  We successfully completed that and then, of course, our gate was 45 miles from where we were at that point.  Even locating elevators was a challenge in that place.  I love flying Delta because of their seat back TVs but there seems to be a world of difference in how organized they are at Detroit Metro compared to how organized they are at Harry Reid.  
Happily our flight was on time.  We crowded into our impossibly small, uncomfortable seats, but at least we could watch movies all the way to Vegas.  

Once in Vegas Delta had a whole lineup of wheelchair helpers waiting on the skybridge.  No wandering around trying to get assistance.  We had to wait a bit for my walker to appear because I had gate checked it and then we were off.  I really appreciated the kind person ushering us all over the airport to get our luggage and out to the ride share area.

Ride share was bedlam as usual but it only took our UberXL about five minutes to appear. Driving from the airport to Flamingo was the most stressful part of the day for me because he took the highway and changed lines about a thousand times.  I hate that but I wasn’t about to complain because I figure he must know the best way to go to circumvent the crazy traffic.  Was very happy to arrive at the Flamingo check in door and was even more thrilled to see the Diamond check in was up and functioning. There was a gigantic line up at normal checkin so I was very relieved not to have to stand in that line.  I was also pleased to get the room I had asked for, a newly renovated Premium King.  Unfortunately it turned out to be the very last room at the end of several extremely long hallways, but that shouldn’t bother the kids.   We inspected the room and made sure everything was working.  Mike and Terin were pretty thrilled with their Premium King.

We were all tired and hungry so I asked the kids if they would walk with me over to Bobby’s Burgers at Harrahs where I could buy us a meal with my points on a one to one ratio.  We had eaten at the Bobby’s at Paris on our March trip together and enjoyed their Crunchburgers.  Enjoyed our meal there again. The kids continued on their own way which apparently included a hockey game that night and I made my way across the street to Mirage to check myself in there. I had two three day comped stays booked.  I was very grateful I had tier matched my MGM card to a Hard Rock Icon card and once again avoided a gigantic line up.   I could have gotten one of those one bedroom suites for the first part of my stay but not the second sadly.  I didn’t want to have to change rooms.  I asked if there was another room with a walk in shower and the clerk said I could have an accessible room but that the beds are lower than normal.  I hate low anything…..chairs, toilets etc so I said to just put me in a normal room and I will do my best to deal with the shower.  Once I got to my room I was happy to see that there was at least one bar in the bath/shower to hold onto.   I had also purchased a stick on bar that someone had suggested I try but so far I am not having much luck in getting it to STAY PUT.

I dumped my belongings in my room and ate I few muscle relaxers and tried to go downstairs and play for a bit but my heart wasn’t in it.  I was just too tired and ouchy.  So by seven pm I was back upstairs and in bed.  It sounds weird but it was 10 pm Windsor time and I am normally done for the day at that time anyhow.  All in all it was a good travel day and we are all happy to be here.

A video of the Flamingo room

How do you Know When it is the Last Time?

I have been traveling to Vegas for 32 years, although my bi-yearly trips didn't start until 2005. Needless to say it has been my favourite vacation spot for all this time.  Currently it is changing in ways that don't thrill me (Too much emphasis on sports, the F1 race and its surrounding confusion etc.) but I still love it. 

As I have aged I have become somewhat mobility challenged and need a walker to get around. I long for the days when I could roam from one end of the Strip to the other without issues. But even though I have to adjust my activity levels now Las Vegas is still my favourite place, particularly downtown where I can hang out in certain casinos that hardly seem to have changed at all.

But every time I visit now I find myself wondering

"Is this my last trip to Vegas?"

There is really no way of knowing.

Life has taught me that there is no way to predetermine when the LAST TIME of anything is.

I often think about a dear friend that I lost many years ago. We used to attend a certain club's meetings together. She would pick me up and drive me home. I was actually done with the club but I continued to attend the meetings just because I loved her company so much. I got to spend time with her every week and that was so precious to me. I introduced her to our local casino and convinced her to spend a few weekends there with me.  I will never forget the time she won three hundred dollars. You would have thought it was three million.  She ran around taking pictures of the TITO and sending them to her friends and relatives. I tried to talk her into taking a Vegas trip with me but she seemed to feel like that was too much. How I would have adored showing her around Vegas.

I knew she had a medical condition but I don't think I realized how serious it was.  One night at the club meeting she wasn't feeling well. We had duties to perform for the club so I was intent upon doing my duty. She was looking for her water bottle that she left in the car. Someone went to get it for her. I should have gotten it for her, to hell with my "duties". I have always regretted that. I think she might have left early that night but I had no idea that I would never see her again.  The next week I was off to Vegas as usual.  As I was wandering through some shops I spotted a heart shaped glittery key chain that I thought she would like.  When I returned from Vegas she still wasn't well enough to return to the meetings and she wouldn't let me come see her. (Ominous)  She allowed the head of the group to come to her apartment because she was still performing paperwork for the group even during her illness.  So I sent the glittery red heart along with a note with our group leader to give to her.  She messaged me to thank me for it.  Shortly after this she passed away.

I was stunned, shocked, heartbroken.  It has been ten years but I still miss her like crazy.  Back here in Windsor I saw a red glittery key chain similar to the one I bought her and I purchased it.  It is not as nice but I will never take it off my keys because every time I pick them up I think of her.

This long drawn out story is just to illustrate, yet again, that we never know when the last time of anything will be.

So try to be present and cherish the moments.

Life is so unpredictable. 

We need to enjoy what we can, while we can.