TR 2/24-2/27 Me, Capt. Morgan and the ';Rainman';

This is my first TR. Guess I%26#39;ll post as a reply as thats what I see others do.

TR 2/24-2/27 Me, Capt. Morgan and the ';Rainman';

Day #1

Left Seattle about 7:00 a.m. and because this was such a cheap flight we had a 4 hour layover, yep 4 freaking hours in Salt Lake. Hubby, who I will refer to as the “Rainman” hadn’t flown since 9/11 so the whole airport security deal was new to him. Rainman decides that everyone should travel nude and that would eliminate the disrobing at Security. We have lunch and the time goes by fast. Take off from Salt Lake and land in Vegas an hour later. I’m like a kid on a candy high, eyes dilated and nose running…. can’t wait to get to the MGM, get unpacked and hit the machines.

Had a little scare with the luggage...only one bag makes it. I’m outside smoking so I don’t know about the missing bag until I go to check and see what is taking so long. Because our bags look the same I immediately freak. Oh Lord, please let it be the Rainman’s bag that is missing and not mine. I know that’s not nice, but girl things are much more expensive to replace and the trauma that would have gone with it would have scared the Rainman for life. Anyhoo, we eventually find it and off to the Taxi line. Rainman is impressed how fast the long line goes, and figures all the cabbies are practicing their pit stops out of respect for the big NASCAR weekend coming up.

Taxi ride is quick and no tunnel. I was so curious about the tunnel, more about the tunnel later. We arrive at the MGM quickly, pay the man and off we go to check in. No waiting and off to our room in the Grand Tower. We were on the 24th floor, looking at NYNY and that monstrosity they are calling City Center. Get unpacked at a furried pace, Rainman of course is checking out the TV and remote control. The room was nice, I know there are much nicer places but this was good for us. Very clean and I loved the large bathroom. I would have loved a large soaking tub, but there is always next time AND there will be a next time!

Hmm, what to do first? A little WWE on the marvelous bed or shower? Use your imagination, we are celebrating our 26th anniversary and yes still very much in love. Eventually we are ready to explore. Rainman hasn’t been to Vegas since 1997, the sun is out and off we go. We explore the MGM minimally, actually just enough to get out the door and on the strip. Oh, we stopped to get his players card first. I already have one. There were only a couple of people in line, but the gal in front of us was taking forever, like she was buying the place. Oye! Thank Goodness this is a 24 hour town, that was the only thought going through my head….come on lady, you are taking precious time! Get the card and off we go.

Now remember Rainman hasn’t been to Vegas since 1997. I had to rescue him from more than one timeshare alien within a couple blocks. I knew the porn slappers would catch him off guard and I kinda set him up. Oh this is gonna be fun! So I say...hey these guys up here in the T-shirts, they collectable cards and they are free! Well, Rainman likes free. So, he starts taking hands full of these cards.

We are popping in and out of places, my destination was Bill’s as I wanted to see Big Elvis. We stop at the Paris and decide to play a little there. We get players cards, and I think we got some ½ price or free something. But darn it, it was time for some play and some drinks. I love that big WOF game, and immediately donated $40.00, no biggie I’m sure I will be creating my own stimulus package for Las Vegas before our visit is done. Rainman is bouncing around from machine to machine. He is so conservative. He is so darn lucky on those machines, but won’t bet enough to make the wins count. Alright, we’ve been here an hour and not one CW in sight. This blows…I need a drink! It’s about 5:00 now and we take some pictures, Rainman is bonding with the porn slappers and we head over to Bill’s. I can hear Big Elvis as we enter. Tables are full, that’s okay I need me some VP at the bar and a few Capt. Morgan’s. Rainman heads off to find the .99 Marqueritas. Immediate friendship with the bartender and he and Capt. Morgan don’t let me down. I’m up on the VP machine and the drinks keep coming. Rainman is exploring and every time I see him he has a new little marguerita. We get a table for the next Big Elvis show. By now I’ve got quite the buzz going. Oh how I love the Captain! Next thing I know Big Elvis is asking for ladies to volunteer. Rainman shoves me up there and now I’m standing there with 4 other ladies holding a maraca. The music starts and Capt. Morgan takes over! Apparently there was a contest (Capt. Morgan didn’t tell me that). I didn’t win, came in second and the Rainman totally enjoyed making it a Kodak moment. Oh, did Capt. Morgan make a fool of me? Who cares, this is Vegas! I collect a certificate that says thanks for performing with Big Elvis.

Now we’re off to see the fountains at the Bellagio. More pictures, more porn cards! At some point I say to Rainman, here let me put those cards in my purse. He kept putting them in this pocket and the bulge they were creating was attracting attention. So, now I have the cards. We walk and walk and walk. The fountains don’t let us down. All of this is new to the Rainman and he can’t believe the growth in Vegas.

We decide to head back to the MGM. Capt. Morgan and I are talking to people along the way and having a good time. We stop at several places on the way back, can’t tell you where cuz Capt. Morgan doesn’t have onstar! We play for a few hours and realize we have now been up in excess of 24 hours, head to the room. Oh, I loved that bed.

TR 2/24-2/27 Me, Capt. Morgan and the ';Rainman';

Love your tr!You are a great writer.Lol on hubby collecting porn cards !

racinaround,

Please keep it coming!

sounds like the captain, you and I could be best friends forever!

as for the rainman and his friends - the cards pile up quickly.

QUICK - next fix!

I%26#39;m loving this trip report! Keep it up!

LUV your TR - next please!

Day #2

Up early and ready for a full day. Must have coffee and guess what, we haven’t eaten since yesterday at Salt Lake. No buffets for us, too much food and no self control. We decide to have breakfast at the Studio Café. Not bad, excellent service and coffee, coffee, coffee. We chat with some very nice gals from Chicago and apparently Rainman had a little too much to drink the night before, as he attempts to put the little butter packet in his coffee, thinking it was cream. No better way to start the day than with a good round of laughter. Usual breakfast – eggs, hash brown, pancakes etc. about $45.00, with tip.

Let me back up a bit. Before we leave the room, I’m cleaning out my purse and going to stash my extra cash in the room safe. I come across the porn cards and start leaving through them. I say to Rainman, hey you have no duplicates! I’ve got about a 4 inch stack of this crap. About that time he reaches in to his jacket from the night before and produces another stack about the same size. Extreme laughter. Hey Rainman, where did you get those? While Capt. Morgan and I were bonding with people on the strip, Rainman was adding to his collection! Too funny.

We’ve got to pick up our rental car this morning. We decide to make the walk to Paradise road, map quest says its only 2 miles and the weather is beautiful. Rainman says those are driving directions and figures it should be shorter. Nice walk and we needed the exercise after our big breakfast. Got a 31.00 rate from Advantage, which in comparison to the other rates was good. Off we go in our Dodge Calibur. We’ve got tickets for Wednesday %26amp; Thursday night at the dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Yep, we are huge race fans. We follow NASCAR, but are mainly fans of the World of Outlaw Sprint Cars, which was part of our purpose for being there.

Vegas is excited about the NASCAR weekend and their economy obviously needs it, so I won’t be too hard on the overkill and the fact that my beloved Sprint Car Racing isn’t getting any PR whatsoever! We are on a mission now to find a liquor store so I can have a private date with Capt. Morgan. Rainman has a good memory; he remembered there was a place down by Circus Circus. We decide to head out to the Speedway so we know where the dirt track is and how to get there for later tonight. We drove down Las Vegas Blvd instead of getting on 15. Got to the track and obviously some of the employees or temporary weekend help don’t know there is also a dirt track there. Anyway, we make a lot of u-turns and eventually find out where we are going for the night. Head back to the MGM for some gambling and to change clothes. We play for a couple of hours, no earth shattering jackpots, but we come out ahead. I’m suppose to play 20 all black on Roulette for our boss. Never did do it. I know, silly. Roulette scares me and I don’t understand it. I really wanted to play BJ, but I’m low budget and without Capt. Morgan by my side I can’t muster the $15.00 minimum. Maybe later. We wanted to have a little time in the pool, but the weather is a little overcast today and not as nice as yesterday. Maybe tomorrow.

So far, I think the slots are TIGHT and in order to come out a little ahead you have to be conservative like the Rainman. He’s happy if he leaves a machine 5.00 up. So, back to the room for a little more WWE and to get ready to head back to the track. While his bride is getting beautiful he goes down to do recon at the pool area. I’ve heard a lot of people on here say how large the MGM is, too much walking and getting lost. I absolutely loved the place and when I go to Vegas I considered it like a fat farm. A lot of walking and usually have my Capt. With me so I forget to eat.

So, off to the races. Imagine our surprise when we run into some old friends from Alaska that we haven’t seen since we left 4 years ago. We totally enjoyed the races and are looking forward to the big show the next night. We talked to a lot of really nice folks from all over the country, like us who traveled in for the dirt races and getting the heck out of Las Vegas before the NASCAR races. We make plans to hook up with our Alaska friends the next night.

Back to the MGM, change and crack open the Capt before we head out for some more gambling. Several stiff drinks later we are headed to NYNY. I tell the Rainman, lets come back on our way home. I’m eager to get to the Excalibur to find the special machine that was so good to me last year. It’s about 1:00 a.m. and the place is very quiet. No wait for a CW here, I’m thinking she gave us the Capt’s. ugly stepbrother cuz it sure wasn’t that warm comfortable taste I’ve grown to love. Disappointed, but it didn’t stop us from drinking. The slots were very tight, although I managed to win $100.00 from $5.00 so that was good. I look over at the Rainman and he is arguing with the Monopoly game. I’m the drinker in the family, so I’m a little concerned that the CW and Rainman are now best of buddies! Great, who is gonna take care of me when the Capt. and I get out of control? Hmm, might be time to stagger back to the MGM. But No, Rainman says he is gonna win the big one. I tell him, you keep pounding on that bet button like that and you’ll win big with Security or the Las Vegas Police. Leave the Excalibur and head to NYNY. Well, we should have just gone out to a storm drain and started feeding bills through the grates. Nothing was paying and no CW service. I check the time….Oye 6:30 a.m. The Rainman has a buzz and is now singing New York, New York on the walkway.

Have we eaten today? Room service. Rueben and garlic mashed potatoes for Rainman and a big fat burger for me. Obviously we are not foodies, but this was the only jackpot we hit for the night and loved every minute of it. $$ Can’t remember what it cost another $45? Not sure, as I think the Capt. or his ugly stepbrother signed the ticket.

Bed…oh I loved that bed!

Day #3

3 hours sleep. I better let the Rainman sleep a little longer. I could have caught a glimpse of the NASCAR hauler parade from the room, but didn’t remember until about 11:00. Crap! Not that I haven’t seen a NASCAR hauler or been in a hauler, I just wanted to be a part of the pomp and circumstance. I blamed that one on Capt. I do my girl stuff and while I’m putting on my makeup I can hear the Capt. calling me. Must resist, too early. No darn it, you enabler. Alright! I go get ice and pour a little morning wake up. Time to wake the Rainman. Poor thing, the Rainman is not feeling so good this morning. Wonders why I only fed him mashed potatoes as he completely forgot about the Rueben! I’m thinking if only 1 toothpick fell on the ground he wouldn’t be able to count it. 

We are not moving fast, I find the housekeeper and say no service today. Rainman doesn’t know the slower he moves the faster the Capt is blending with my Coke Zero. Rainman completely forgets that we found a smoke shop the day before. He thinks I won a carton of cigarettes instead of a car on the slots. Do you want to lay back down I ask? I also have to remind him of his very low quality Frank Sinatra routine he did on the boulevard the night before. Do you want me to go down and get you some coffee? About that time he takes a big swig of my Coke Zero and finds out I’m cheating on him with the Capt. again. Oops!

Another beautiful day in Vegas. We have to nix the pool idea. We had agreed to meet our Alaska friends about 3:00. They are on a winning streak at the Sahara so we head to the track. Because Rainman is convinced he only got mashed potatoes he is hungry. Should we stop downtown, nope we must get close to the track. So we hit the truck stop, Iron Skillet. I know you foodies are thinking we are insane. Plus, I already had a mini buzz going and nothing soaks up the alcohol like some good chicken fried steak and eggs. WAY too much food. Rainman thinks we’ve scored, a meal for $20 bucks, yep he is a big winner.

The NASCAR fans are streaming in with all their swag. Setting up there camp sites and getting all excited about their upcoming weekend. I tell them, you want to see real racing – be at the dirt track tonight. Eventually I make my way to the souvenir trailer for my annual T-shirt fix. Isn’t it pathetic of me to point out all the NASCAR “swag” being seen and consider my annual sprint car T-shirt a necessity? A good race of any kind is a thrill, so NASCAR fans please don’t hate me. I love NASCAR on TV…I am not capable of attending an event that large with that many loyal over eager fans.

Excellent racing and more really nice folks from all around the country. Some who flew in for the NASCAR race and didn’t even know about the dirt races. By the end of the night we had some real converts. My mission was accomplished. Got my picture taken with the winner Donny Schatz and his autograph, so I am one happy camper. We say our goodbye to our Alaska friends, they are leaving tomorrow also. I forgot to mention that our friend took his wife to see Cher. Of course he never had the desire for a Vegas show, but said it was phenomenal and he is glad is bought the tickets.

Back to the MGM. The first thing we see in the Main lobby is a guy going down in the center of the lobby in that big marble area with all the plants and flowers. OMG, it was hilarious. He tumbled not once, not twice, but three times and never spilled a drop of his drink. Rainman and I hold up invisible score cards, rating him a 10! We play for a couple of hours and Rainman gets lucky. Something about slot machines and Vegas. Rainman has so much self control in real life and is usually very thrifty; he just kept saying…its only money. Minimal drink service, so up to the room for a little Capt. The Casino floor was much busier than previous nights, which is good. I thought kids weren’t allowed on the Casino floor. I made more than one comment in passing to women mesmerized by the slots with strollers and sleeping babies parked next to them. One lady with a sleeping kid sat down next to us and had the kahuna’s to ask me to put my cigarette out. You have got to be kidding me! No she was serious. I told her my smoke wouldn’t affect her or her baby if she’d “mom up” and take that poor child to her non-smoking room! In a situation like this both Rainman and the Capt let me go…totally on my own. She kept sitting there and I kept chain smoking. Eventually we moved on as I have no tolerance for people like her and frankly I was getting dizzy from chain smoking.

So, Rainman is settled at another slot and not doing too badly. I go back upstairs for a little Capt refresher and realize there is a message. Oh crap! No late checkout for tomorrow and its now 5:30 a.m.! I go tell the Rainman I’ve got to get us packed. We both come out ahead tonight. I had the ticket to my collection. I like to cash them out at the end. Some stupid superstition I have. So back to the room, get packed and crash. Oh I loved that bed!

That was the best story. We loved reading that one. Sounds like an awesome time.

Your TR has been soooo great I made a bloody mary before reading that last installment to make sure I got the max lol from it. I wish you could have stayed 2 weeks just to have a longer TR.

A little WWE...... yeeeaahh !! that a girl! Giddie up and have a good time.

I%26#39;ll have to try that tonight....I hope it%26#39;s not the WWE %26#39;smack%26#39; down version!

Enjoying your report....thanks!