The Mirage 9/27-9/30 with my bestie and unforeseen drama!

Hey all, I have been reading TR's her for a long time but never posted myself til now. I have been going to LV since I fell in love with it in 2001 for the first time. Usually with my hubs or us and another couple. Last yea r and this year though my bestie of 40 years ( we are 45 now) have met up for a girl trip.

A little background, we grew up together in NJ, after high school I moved to Colorado with my mom and her new hubs to go to college while Al stayed in NJ. We always stayed in touch and spent time together when I'd come home to nj yearly for visits. Been there for each other always, with our kids getting older and $$ less tight we commit to meet somewhere yearly for a girl trip, it just so happens we met up in LV again this year.

Hubs and I went in May and stayed downtown which we love. While there I saw ads that Don Rickles was going to be at the Orleans inSept. Could I convince Al to go to LV again? Knowing seeing him was a bucket list item for her it was ON! VEGAS HERE WE COME!

The trip started a bit stressful for me, hubs couldn't take me to the airport and I made the hour long drive in what I thought was going to be plenty of time. Unbeknownst to me there was serious construction right on the main road into the airport and I barely made it on time, 30 min ahead of flight. I was freaking out since I am seriously anal about getting to the airport always 2 hours ahead, I cannot stand the idea of me getting to LV and my carefully selected wardrobe, blingy shoes and booze does not.

Fast forward I am on the plane, happy and the wifi on SW is down. Damn. Forgot my drink tickets, double damn. then you hear the dreaded announcement about 45 min into the flight 'is there a doctor on board? We are having a medical emergency!' -flight attendants racing down the isle. Crap. Now before I get flamed for insensitivity, obviously I was hoping they were ok and sending positive thoughts but you know you can't help it, 'please don't divert please don't divert' going through your head. Luckily the defibrillator was put away, they were fine after some oxygen, turns out they had low blood sugar or something. Whew!

Landed, bags with bling and booze came right out, cab line manageable and off I was to the Mirage- ' no tunnel please' !!


Arrive and check in, very pleasant front desk gal. I didn't try $20 trick, no luck historically but the only upgrade would be a king deluxe, no thanks I want that bed all to myself!
Room was great, awesome view. I got settled since Al's flight would arrive at 630 and it was only 130. No drinking yet, gotta be able to hang. Headed out to Fashion show mall to get a Showgirl Minnie Mouse from the new Disney store. I'm a WDW FREAK also I'm afraid. I'm told I'm 'like an idiot savant' of LV and WDW. anyway I didn't get it. It just didn't 'move' me like I thought. Oh we'll, I'm freakin starved so I headed to Stripburger, one of my faves and had their blue cheese bacon and grilled onion burger and it was Happy Hour! Yay, first couple Vodka club sodas of the night! Went back to the Mirage and played VP at the Lobby bar I think til she got there. No luv on VP

Al arrived on time! Yay we head up to the room and got dressed for the night. Now, my girl Al is somewhat 'crunchy' .... We are opposite in so many ways but I am her ying and she's my yang. She's a Conservative Lib and I'm a liberal conservative. I pack bling, she packs..... No bling. What? Not happening. Made her wear sequin wedge heels and bangles with her tee and jeans. Off we go.....

We head to the Venetian and Postrio for some dinner. Not impressed, the food was ok but the service pissed me off. I CANNOT STAND poor service. Waiter took his time acknowledging us and then gave our order to another table, I thought the table next to us looked confused as they ate OUR pizza. Manager came over and apologized which was nice but no offer of gratis anything. I'm not a cheapie or anything but you want the customer to feel good about your place of business. Waiter never acknowledged the mistake and took his sweet time with the check too. I always tip 20% min. Not tonight.

Shake. It. Off. We headed to our fav- Michael Kors for retail therapy then to the Bourbon room and the rest becomes a bit foggy, I switched to bourbon and diet coke, we met all kinds of fun peeps and a group of 20 something lads from England. What a hoot! Music of our youth. No clue how or when we called it a night, but we made it to our hotel in one piece!

A word about the wonders of Pedialyte!! My God where have you been all my life? I had a college intern last year who told me to try it, she's in college for cryin out loud she must know her stuff when it come to hangovers right? Geez, bought the powdered, mixed up a pack for myself and Al before bed. Took two ibuprofen as well for good measure and woke up RIGHT AS RAIN! That should not be possible, I do not do hangovers well at all. Al went and did Yoga and I hit the gym.

Coming up- our first full day! A crazy night DT and- Urgent care

 

Good start, doublemom!

I was the same way with a "medical emergency" last year..."S.O.B., please don't freakin' divert!...er, I mean, I sure hope everyone is okay!" :evillaugh

 

Can't wait to read the rest.

 

I like...I like......

 

Fun report!! I am looking forward to the next chapter. Nice to have a bestie
of 40 years. Have a great time.

 

I have been singing the praises of Pedialyte for a few years now. I am vac hangover free since finding this gift!

 

I gotta tell you - I am NOT a fan of trip reports broken up in parts and always skip those. BUT I am enjoying your report so much so, I am looking forward to the next installment (never thought I'd type that). I love the background story of you and your bestie of 40 years. And I like your writing style.

So, here I am waiting for your next post. Hurry up and write it!

Thanks for the beginning of a great report.

 

I felt the same way about the medical emergency until December of last year when that became us! My DH got food poisoning on a Thursday and was "better" by Friday and thought he was good enough to fly on Saturday. So, off to the plane we went.....of course, this is the one time that the flight out is delayed by 2 hours.....crap.......An hour into the flight, he started visibly shaking for no reason and they asked if we wanted to stop in Albuquerque.......he said no and we went on to Houston. We were the first people off the flight, they stuck an IV into his arm in the airport and off he went via ambulance to the hospital. He was dangerously dehydrated. Of course, I'm sure everyone thought he had been drinking too much (he doesn't drink at all). Anyway, I have a lot more sympathy now having gone through that experience.

Enjoying your trip report.

 

glad it's held your interest! I too am not a fan of broken up reports and it annoys the crap out of me when folks DONT finish a report im enjoying. once you start writing I am finding, it's takes longer I'll finish up after work for sure

 

Please hurry - love the read so far!!

 

Part two as promised!

So after our workouts we got ready for the day. Getting hungry and I was anxious to try Olives at Bellagio, and hopefully be able to show Al the fountains, sitting on the patio dining Al fresco.... when we arrived their happened to be a table out on the patio! Yay! Right in the bullseye of the hottest friggin sun, booooo! The crotchety hostess said that was all they had, every other table had an umbrella but this one. No umbrella is this w hole damn place? Nope. Sweat was pooling down my back toward my nether region. Al wasn't having it, being a Jersey Girl through and through the F bombs started flying. We went back in, requested a different table. Did manage to sit by the window and it was LOVELY! The food was great. We had flatbreads of some sort and the olive tapenade was addictive. The waitress made up for everything, recommending an awesome martini made with grapefruit juice .

Time to shop, headed to the Forum shops and got a Fat Tuesday. A first for Al and not the last I'm sure. Hi Octane- no extra shot. I puked last time ( another trip and lesson learned) headed to Michael Kors and got myself a watch and ring I coveted for ever. Had so much fun with the sales staff here. Speaking of sales staff, we spent a pretty penny between the two of us and got the distinct feeling they didn't care, happy to show us stuff and we enjoyed that. Same with Lucky Brand Store. Had a ball there too. Al must have dropped several handy. We go to Kate Spade and you'd think they thought two homeless chicks just walked in. They looked bored and uninterested. We walked back out... Al muttering not so quietly Fuck them they don't know much fucking money we have or don't have! Off we went for another Fat Tuesday. :Þ

One thing about Al, she naps. No question she Must Nap. She's serious about it. do Not wake her before the alotted time. Bad things happen. Thus we went back to the hotel and rested up for the night.

Once up and dressed to kill with a few vodka club sodas we head down to Onda for apps and drinks before Don Rickles heretofore affectionately termed 'The Old Man'. Service AGAIN was starting to piss me off as once again we're ignored by waitstaff. Once acknowledged though it was spot on. I had a Arancini crab cake that was divine, Al had shrimp cocktail- with three shrimp! Alone on a huge plate but declared it yummy anyway. More vodka clubs and a limoncello ( I adore limoncello I am Italian after all) cocktail.

We head out to the Orleans, here we meet our cabbie 'Soloman' who was great and took us direct, no long haul. He was very good telling us all visitors should find a 'clean cabbie' and gave us his cell to call after the show so we didn't have to wait. Opened the door for us too! Great service or that we looked pretty darn good for old broads? Maybe both

The show was full and great. Good God though, his pics advertising him are, shall we say, from his younger days, maybe his late 70's? The man is pushing 90. Sharp as a tack and funny as hell! The Guy who opened for him singing rat pack standards was extremely good, cannot remember his name but he's a character actor in a lot of mob movies. Al was so happy, she teared up and got mad at me when I poked a little fun at Don holding himself up in the wings, literally, as they called his name and shuffled his adorable self out on the stage.

As I write Al texted me, it was Robert Davi who opened. Very good.

Anywho after the show we called our clean cabbie Solomon headed to DT hoping to catch a glimpse of Kid Rock playing on Fremont BUT the ultimate goal was to head straight to Drink and Drag, the ultimate drag queen bar. Luv! We didn't get to see any of Kid Rock as they had huge tarps up so you couldn't see and everyone was moved along quit briskly and bruskly not allowing you to EVEN STOP AND LISTEN as he sang ( the irony not lost on me) Born Free!!!!!!!!

Whatevs, off the D and D. Al and I luv theater and luv drag queens. That's just all I have to say about that. Last year we drug my 50 year old brother and his wife there and bless his heart heads a good sport but didn't want to stay saying he "wasn't the right demographic" for good drink service.

BEST NIGHT EVER. had a total ball evillaugh) we were likely the only straight people there but we don't care and they didn't either, such fun and such great staff. We were able to dance without getting sexually assaulted from behind ( is that how the kids dance these days?) we made friends with three guys ( a couple and a single)there to find 'love' for the single. We went into mommy mode trying to talk him out of the wayward looking male go go dancers with no luck.

Highlight? The bartenders! Very good looking, nearly naked and straight! At least the two we talked up. But here's the juicy part of the story, one was a gay porn star! For reals, we looked him up on the iPhone. Said its great money. Al being the ever earthy Lib asked if he was 'healthy' ... uh Al, I don't think our bartender wants to discuss his status. Now I'm going to say something wildly inappropriate for a middle aged mom so please don't hate me or just fast forward, ......I of course asked if he gave or received. He just winked. Nuff said.

Here's where things go bad for me. No not at D and D. We left at about 3am fairly buzzed but not incorrigibly so. Clean Cabbie Solomon was off at 130 so off we went to find a cab. Limo outside somewhere, can't recall, offered to take us back to the Mirage for $30. I asked him if he was a clean cabbie like Solomon and we laughed our asses off, he wasn't amused ' ma'm this is a limo'. As I stepped off the curb, somehow I completely turned my foot, in my blingy wedge heels, the wrong way and felt a distinct horrifying snap.

Uh friggin oh! Al I think this is really bad... 'Just fucking shake it off! Let's go you'll be fine.' Whimpering didn't convince her either the whole way back. She had to help me up to the room. I couldn't put any weight on it and it was hurting like hell.

TO BE CONTINUED... ILL FINISH UP SHORTLY (pinky promise) GOTTA MAKE DINNER!

 

Part three

Went to bed after taking some ibuprofen, getting ice for my foot an Pedialyte for good measure. Was hopeful I'd wake up and miraculously would be just fine. Alas Pedialyte doesn't do squat for this kind of pain. Laid around a bit trying to decide what to do while Al puked in the bathroom. Turns out three little shrimp will do little to ward off the evils of vodka soda and drag queens. Pedialyte or not.

I decided to make my way ( hopping) downstairs and to a cab. Al was of NO service and I can't really be angry about that. Like I said I cannot function with a wicked hangover and if the tables were turned, I can't say id be any different.

Here's where I get annoyed with the Mirage, prior to making my way downstairs I called the desk to see if they had crutches I could use, I got the friggin third degree and they referred me to security who did the same. Did you get hurt here? When did you get hurt? No we don't have anything to help. I get to the cab line (hopping) and beg the dude with the whistle for help. He gets me a cab and sends me off to an urgent care that's closed! Cabbie finds another In a less savory part of town. Here's where the anxiety kicks in. Phone was about to die and if I die no one will know. Urgent care takes 3 1/2 hours. I tell them to just give me crutches and I'll be on my way, they decide to X-ray .... But it's just a sprain! Uh no ma'am you have FRACTURED YOUR FOOT IN THREE PLACES!!!!

Un friggin believable. I'm crushed. Never have I ever broken or fractured or sprained anything in my life. All the planning and excitement for this trip with my bestie- poof. Done. Over

They call me a cab, cabbie asked if I got in a fight. Uh no why? Everyone I pick up here has gotten in a fight. I miss my clean cabbie Solomon.

Head back and crutch my way up to the room. Boy casinos are HUGE. Al is a mess. Feeling better though and vertical finally. I had scheduled massages at TI with a groupon and we had to go or I'd get charged almost $300. We went, taking a cab fromMirage since it was just too far to crutch. I cried like a baby while we waited in our robes. Al felt bad I had to go to Urgent Care alone, I felt sad all my grand plans for day and night were kaput. Brekkyy at mom ami ,The lions share, PH shopping, dinner and Thunder from down under. Then Al made me laugh, ' Hun there was no fucking way I was doing all that shit this hungover'.

We head back, I try to get an earlier flight tomorrow with no luck. We order room service. A first for me! It was ok. We then made the best of it and had some yummy Mojitos at the Rumbar. At least I did. Al had had enough. I needed pain killers. Urgent care gave me bubkiss and frankly where the hell was I gonna fill a script?

Al left in the am about 10. I am always sad when we part and this was no exception. My flight wasn't til 330. I called the desk and begged for a late checkout. They let me check out a 1. Whew. I was starved. Crutches my way to the coffee joint and had a sammie and java. Took forever to get back to the room, damn crutching is hard! Bought a blingy hat on the way to make myself feel better UNTIL the sales girl told me the mirage has wheelchairs for this type of thing and didn't they tell you? WHAT?!!??

Got to airport just fine, wheelchair waiting for me inLV and Denver. SW has great peeps. Hubs had to pick me up since I couldn't drive the Mustang home.

Saw the ortho dr. No surgery, 8 weeks in a boot. Seriously cramps my style

I hope you all enjoyed! Love all you VMBers !!!!!

 

Oh my, sorry for the bad breaks!

Great write up though.

 

Wow, so sorry about your ankle! I'm glad you had lots of fun beforehand, though.

Thanks for writing. Very enjoyable read!

 

Thanks for finishing up the report. So sorry you broke something. :confused2: At least you've got a story to tell. And something to hold over AL's head, a bestie letting you hobble to urgent care in Vegas...alone.

 

Damn. That's rough, doublemom. Way to hang in there, though. And thanks for the great (from the reader's standpoint, at least) story.

 

Really enjoyed your TR! Sorry about your unexpected "trip"- sounds like something I might do.

 

Glad I'm not the only one who has drunkenly stepped off a curb and broke my ankle.

 

OMG! You and Al are hilarious! Because I am your age and go to Vegas with my SIL each year, I could picture each event as you described. We talk to everyone and the younger guys always seem to talk to us. We think it is because they know we are "Safe" and not drama filled! Or, maybe, like you, these old broads dress up well! Anyway, I really enjoyed your report and you MUST continue to write them in the future! You are really good at it.

 

What a bummer about your ankle - super TR though IMO. Thanks for posting it!!!