House of Eight; Home of Love: Las Vegas

Monkey Toes and I returned this evening from a trip to Las Vegas. Monkey had been out there since Monday on business. His company bought me a ticket to join him on Wednesday, so we could spend our 10 year anniversary together. It was a fun trip, although short. It was my first trip to Vegas. I'm still processing my thoughts about Sin City.

I haven't flown by myself in over 10 years. I use to be a very confident traveler, usually enjoying my experiences. But since 9/11, air travel leaves much to be desired. I had some anxiety, but thought to myself, "how hard can this be?" All I can say is that if Monkey Toes had been with me on my trip out to Vegas, his eyes would have been rolling!

We decided that I should drive the van and park it at the airport, so we (Monkey Toes, me, and co-workers) could all ride together when we returned. I went into General Parking, swiped my Debit card, and drove into the parking ramp. Somehow, I decided to take an immediate left turn, instead of staying straight, and wound up in some lot that one cannot escape. My guess is that it is where rental cars get inspected and washed. Honestly, there is no EXIT. So I sat in my van, clueless as to what to do next. A non-english speaking gentleman approached me and I tried to explain that I took a wrong turn. He communicated to me to follow him. He led me through an Emergency Only Exit and motioned for me to keep turning left. I made it out, but had to go all the way around the ramp and once again had to enter through the main gate. So out came my Debit card again, however this time, the machine rejected it, saying I was already in the system and couldn't use the same card. Well, it is the only card I have. I was forced to take a ticket, praying that I wouldn't be charged twice.

I eventually made it inside, checked-in, and awaited my flight. People watching is one of my favorite things to do, and this trip did not disappoint. There are as many colorful personalities as there are colors of the rainbow and then some. It truly fascinates me. Vegas did not make a very good first impression on me, as even the billboards are a bit risque. My first thought was that I would never bring my children here, but my own personal experiences were great.

Out of the generosity of Monkey Toes company, they treated us to a suite at the Palazzo Resort. We stayed on the 47th floor and the suite was comparable in size to the main floor of our home. There were two bathrooms, a dining room, living room, bedroom, vanity room, and workout room. The views from the suite were impressive. While Monkey Toes went to work, I stayed in the suite - ALL DAY and absolutely was content. I had no desire to leave and explore. I blogged, I swam in the tub, I napped, I prayed, I read a magazine, I watched t.v. I felt like Pretty Woman, without the hooker storyline. Then later that evening, we went to dinner at Carnevino - one of Mario Batalli's restaurants. The food and ambiance were amazing. In celebration of our anniversary, they gave us complimentary champagne (it was delicious) and wrote in chocolate sauce, "Happy Anniversary" on our dessert plate. After dinner, I took 5 dollars that was given to us and played roulette on a slot machine and tripled my winnings. Yep - I came home with $18.50 more than I left home with. Impressive to me - someone who is not a gambler by any means of the word. We went back to our suite and Monkey Toes was snoring my 9:30 P.M. I followed shortly.

On the return trip home, it felt as though I had been gone for a week, instead of just 2 1/2 days. I welcomed the "break from reality" I was given. I had a little time to relax and rejuvenate and celebrate with my husband. Las Vegeans, Las Vegasans - you know, the people from Las Vegas, were all very nice and hospitable. If I were ever to go back, I would love to have a similar experience of staying in a resort, maybe adding a spa treatment, taking in a show and just one more day to relax. All in all, it was a special treat and I am thankful to have been on the receiving end of such generosity.