One of the things that I was most looking forward to during Christmas break was our family vacation to Las Vegas. Mom had been planning it for weeks and weeks, and neither Stacey nor I had been there before. At first, we weren't excited to have our first trips to Vegas with our parents, because one can't get quite as crazy with the parents around, but as the trip got closer and closer and the details became more clear, we got more excited.
It was our first family vacation in years.
We were scheduled to leave on January 1st from Fargo, arriving in Vegas in the late evening, then returning to the Northland on the 4th. The flight to Vegas was one of the most amusing (and annoying) parts of the trip. The kids next to us were from Canada, and were headed to Vegas to have a good time. If their attitude on the plane was any indication of the rest of their trip, they would succeed. During they flight, they drank a lot, and were fortunate enough to win a little lottery during the flight. Their excitement, unfortunately, was a little annoying to us mellow people, but it was fine.
We landed, were shuttled to the hotel, and were met by interesting hotel issues. They hadn't cleaned our rooms yet (yes, at 10:00 pm), due to New Year's Eve being the night before. Because of their error we got 2 queen-sized rooms on like the 35th floor. It was the older part of the hotel, where the famous people used to stay before they added the new wing. The paint was fantastic, the bathrooms were amazing, and the beds were beyond great. The only bad part was the lack of a view, but we survived.
We were all hungry and itching to gamble, so after settling into our rooms without a view, we grabbed a late, late dinner and set out on the playing floor for a bit. We were all exhausted. Stacey and I managed to get to bed before Mom and Dad, but not long after they went to bed, we received sad news. I don't want to go into details here, because there may be a blog on this topic later, if I can write it.
The news that my Grandpa had died, although not a surprise, was still difficult, and issues surrounding his death had us changing our vacation plans. We would have to leave Vegas earlier than intended, but did our best to enjoy ourselves while we were there.
That day, we walked a lot, and even ran into those kids who sat beside us on the plane. We saw the fountains at the Bellagio and gambled and gambled and watched people take pictures with homeless people (probably the true low point of the trip). If there could be a high point, it was definitely this:
A lifelong Gwinner-ite had moved to Vegas, but was at home in Gwinner for a large bit of time around Christmas. He had been raving about this place called "Bill's," which served really cheap steak and eggs or something after midnight, and Mom was determined that we go there. So before we headed to the Venetian for the Blue Man Group, we sought out to find Bill's. Finding Bill's was not hard, nor was finding a restaurant in Bill's.
We walked up to the first restaurant we saw, and had enough time to literally glance at the menu on the wall before a hostess came out and said, "Four?" Now, please let me say that our first hint that this was not the place that we wanted to be was the fact that she was wearing a red dress with tassels, a la the Old West. We didn't take the hint, though.
We were escorted into the place, and knew immediately that this was not the place for us. The waiters were all in full-length coats, the walls were all covered in mirrors and red velvet, and the chairs (which were pulled out and pushed back in for us as we sat) were all high-backed and upholstered. The table was set for a fine meal, with 3 forks, several glasses, and fabric napkins, which were laid upon our laps for us.
We felt a little awkward in our jeans, casual shirts, and fall jackets.
As the waiter took our drink orders, we slowly took in our surroundings and the menu. Mom and Dad each ordered a whiskey drink, and the waiter ran off to get them. When we looked at the menu and saw that the least expensive item, a plate of pasta, was $20, we debated whether to stay or to go. And if we decided to go, how does one leave such a place tactfully?
We decided there was no tactful way, but that we had to leave in order to save our sanity and a little money. Small-town folk really don't belong in a place like that. Our waiter was taking a while to get our drinks, so we told the man who was filling our glasses with water that we were leaving. He gave us the evil eye, and told our waiter, who came. My mom's words to him were, "I'm sorry, but we've made a mistake." Mistake. Yeah, a big mistake.
He begrudgingly brought our ticket, the one with 2 whiskey drinks on it. Our total was near $20. Not kidding. For 2 drinks. We left money for him and escaped out the front door, leaving our dignity behind us.
Never before I have I been so embarrassed, yet so entertained. Ever.
We walked around a corner to the place with the cheap steak and eggs, and enjoyed meals of chicken strips and kung pao chicken, then headed to see Blue Man Group, which was entertaining, but not as entertaining as our adventure in Bill's.
When we returned to the hotel, we stayed awake as long as possible, until we had to be at the airport at 5:00. We headed home a day early, but enjoyed our time nonetheless.
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