So Al was done with his conference early and we explored the strip a little. He wanted to see the Venetian and Wynn so we took a walk around to sight-see. The ceiling art in the Venetian was cool; there was this ‘coronation’ mural I particularly enjoyed. If it were my casino, I would have subtly had my portrait substituted for the queen. Since the Egypt theme and Rome theme have already been done, I can’t imagine what kind of casino I would create. The fish thing has been done at Mandalay Bay, so what’s left? Turtles? Slow slots? I don’t think so. Cars? Route 66 Casino? I suppose. Maybe ancient Greece?
Soon it was time to head to the farewell festivities held at the Palms Hotel. I couldn’t believe they wanted to do something off-site. It involved bussing the 3000 attendees over to another casino across town. Al had signed me up for the event, but the event planners had no record of this. They told him he could pay $75 for a guest. I told him that was out of the question; I’d just go and if I got kicked out, fine. No loss. So we stood forever in this huge line waiting for a bus while organizers strolled up and down making sure everyone had a conference badge. I just pulled my shawl over my neck as if I was cold, and no one ever said anything. We were issued fancy printed maps of the Palms that detailed where the party venues were: pool, Buddha bar, Rain Nightclub and the Ghost Bar.
Once inside, there was food everywhere. Waitresses walked by with crab cakes, buffet tables were set up with different themes through out, and all kinds of bars serving drinks were available. Bands played, acrobats and fire-eaters performed, showgirls posed for pictures, it was quite the party. I went to this one food station where you were issued a pointy wooden skewer and marshmallows. Right as I went to toast it, the sterno died out. Turning to leave, I practically walk into a man dressed all in black speaking into a little headphone. “Fuel to Smores Two”, he says. No lie. The service was fantastic. Every time I put a plate down, a waiter rushed over and took it away.
In the nightclub there were girls dancing in cages above the DJ and projection screens created a water fall effect-when they weren’t flashing the Mercury World company logo. Hostesses were passing out glow sticks and goofy hats. Grown adults were putting on cellophane wigs, silly hats, false eyelashes, Mardi gras beads, cheap sunglasses, you name it. We decided to see what the Ghost Bar was all about on the 53rd floor. This entailed another long boring wait to get on the elevator going up, but was well worth the effort. In the middle of the modern décor was a chocolate fountain! An even better use of the little skewers! We stabbed some strawberries and pineapple chunks and coated them with the flowing chocolate for a fun treat and enjoyed some drinks out on the balcony overlooking the neon street scape. Very cool! I now wanted to buy their software with all upgrades. These folks knew how to throw a party!
We left a little early so we could catch a show over at Treasure Island, Mystere. It was “Salvador Dali Goes to the Circus” or “Dr. Seuss Drops Acid”. Very surrealistic, and some characters or costumes were right out of Dali paintings or Seuss books. I liked the acrobats and feats of strength. My favorite part was the trapeze artists doing flips while suspended from the ceiling with bungee cords. They costumes made them look like birds or leafy dragons (seahorses). One little acrobat missed her pyramid and fell down. She was rushed from the stage. For all I know, they took her out back and shot her. It wasn’t mentioned again. Ever.
The next morning we hung out by the pool a little before checking out. We enjoyed the big buffet again before heading to the airport. The airport was a mess. How any airport that busy could be that inefficient, I haven’t a clue. The lines were long, slow and confusing. It took us the whole two hours just to get to our gate. Once there, we learned that due to ‘high winds and snow’ in Chicago, our flight would be delayed. Great. I left the pool for this? I don’t ever want to go back!!
After sitting on the plane for almost two hours, we were finally given clearance for takeoff. As way of small compensation, the free in-flight movie was “Cars”. I have since been fortunate enough to score the Sally Hot Wheels toy I was so desperately seeking only a few months before. Seems they produced truckloads more for the holiday season. I would like to note that the bedding set only comes in Twin. What about us Queen size bed owning fans? And why didn’t they feature Sally on the sheets more prominently? It’s all Lightening and Mater. Two guy buddies. Oh, playing with girls is uncool… call the Christian Right. I’m sure they can read something into the relationship between the tow truck and racecar…
One other thing – what’s with the DVD release of the movie Cars? I notice that all the ad papers (Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City) do not advertise a price. What new little marketing ploy is this? How can I comparison shop? Just what I want – a flyer of unpriced merchandise. No thanks. (Although I would like to mention the movie makes a great gift idea for someone who really likes Route 66 and Owen Wilson, and little blue Porsches…Other great gift ideas include Corvette calendars and turtle calendars. Can you believe I didn’t get either last year???)
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