I Call Him....Number 2

The next thing I am looking forward to with this Vegas trip in April is LM showing ME something about the town that I am new to. In this case, The Deuce. I have seen these buses dozens of times, but have never been on one. With just her and I, it will be a little more economical to take the bus to and from places on The Strip instead of popping for a cab for every ride, everywhere like when I am with a group of people.

I was happy to hear that these buses run 24/7, because I know that one night out there LM and I will both hit a wall with fatigue and lack of sleep, and it'll be nice to have a ride back to the hotel instead of wandering back all that way on foot. The one thing we will have to keep in mind is which side of The Strip we are on as we are approaching that fatigue wall. Having to cross the street to get to a stop and then having to cross after getting off the bus may be just as long of a walk as it is back to the hotel, negating any benefit of the bus.

Whether we are riding the bus for need or for novelty, though, I'm sure it'll be quite an experience as I try and get LM to laugh out loud at some of the observations I make about our fellow passengers. I foresee a lot of video footage being recorded on this trip. :-)

84 Reasons I Miss Vegas, Redux

Last Tuesday, LM and I booked our first trip to Vegas in early April. This will be my 14th time to Vegas, or somewheres around there anyway, and her second, but our first time together. Now, a little over 5 years ago I was in a similar position as I am right now in terms of number of days before Vegas. Then I had 84 days, now I have about a week longer.

The reason that the 84 day thing is significant is that, in my pre-Vegas excitement, I decided to list 84 things about Vegas I was missing. One for each day between the first post and setting foot back in Vegas. I think I made it to number 9 before abandoning the idea. This time, I'm going to attempt to make it a weekly thing instead of daily, and broaden the scope from things I miss about Vegas to things I am looking forward to on this trip. I'm also going to be more flexible about the posts, because with rigid rules it's easy to just stop after you miss one or two. This time, not holding myself to anything strict, I will be more likely to carry on with it between now and our trip.

So to start this one off, here are the 9 things I used the last time. I won't expand on these, since there are explanations with the old posts, but I may refer to some of these and how they will affect this trip.

1. Cafe Gelato inside Bellagio
2. Sports books
3. Free drinks &
4. The waitresses who bring them to you
5. 25 cent video blackjack at
6. O'Shea's
7. Crazy cab rides
8. Where you are allowed to take your drink with you
9. Yearlong dry air = no sinus problems

I do have to mention that #1 on this list is ALWAYS number one on my list of things to do in Vegas. Every trip I have taken to Vegas since my second one when I found Cafe Gelato, I have gone there immediately after checking into my hotel. This will not be the case on this trip though. I usually take morning flights to Vegas to maximize my time there, but this time we'll be landing at night, after the cafe is closed. Big changes, but I am happy with both. At first we wanted early flights, but found out how much more expensive they were to book. So instead of maximizing our time there with an early flight, we decided to take a cheaper night flight....one day earlier. This will give us about 12 more hours in Vegas, and saved us a few hundred dollars. We are actually landing 2 hours later than originally planned, because I waited a day too long to book the trip, but that will actually make it easier to get everything together before we take off.

I'm also fine with breaking the tradition of hitting Cafe Gelato immediately upon my arrival, because this is a very different kind of trip for me. Going with LM, and only LM, will make this different and a little more special because I usually went to Vegas in a group of three or more. This one will be just for us, and we can do whatever we want, when we want without worrying about anyone else. That alone will be nice.

So on to the new list. First and foremost will be flying into Vegas. This will be the first time my plane approaches Vegas at night since my first trip in 1997 and the first time LM will see the lights of the city as she lands. Like I said earlier, I prefer morning flights so I can maximize my trip time, but anyone who flies into Vegas absolutely HAS to do it once when the lights of the city are shining. It's a completely different experience.