Lucky Birthday Weekend in Las Vegas

So I've finally gotten around to posting about my birthday weekend. I must admit, half of it was because of laziness and half of it was because I actually was being productive for the early part of the week. I had been planning this trip with my friends since last year, so I was anxious to see what awaited us. Would it be really lucky, hitting sevens all the way, with us (14 total) coming home in a limo? Or would we all get super sunburned out in the 120 degree heat, watching the tourists from Alabama drink their huge margarita bongs?
Either way, my goals were to: have a fun time with my friends, gamble a bit, relax, and get a free drink at the craps table. Anyway, here's my recap:




FRIDAY - Started out wonderfully because the hubband and I first stopped off at the Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank for some coffee and donuts (mmmmmm.....donuts). The store really looks great - they even have a caricature of Principal Skinner spray painted on the side of the store, courtesy of "El Barto". We got hooked into also buying some Simpsons trinkets, so instead of us spending $5 at 7-Eleven like we usually do, we ended up spending $20. This is, sad to say, probably the end result for a lot of visitors to the Kwik-E-Mart.






When we got to Las Vegas, we found, to our great surprise, that Monte Carlo had booked up all of the mini-suites that I had reserved and instead, upgraded us to an EVEN BETTER suite. It had a seperate room with a big dining room table and a full length bar AND a guest bathroom. Woo Hoo! I was so excited I was doing laps around the room (which took awhile). After that we got to see Le Reve at the Wynn, thanks to super duper Shauna. Her friend built the platforms that the performers dance/jump/run on. The show was truly amazing. People going in and out of the water, decending from the ceiling, doing trapeeze work and contortion work IN the water AND air....my jaw was dropped the entire time and I must have kept annoying the people around me because I was gasping so much. The performers are so strong and in control of their bodies (it sounds weird, but you realize how much control they have over every little part). I highly recommend it, and don't do it any justice describing it. So just go see it and afterward, we can just smile and nod emphatically and say, "I know, right? AMAZING!"

SATURDAY - Even though it was hotter than the devil's armpit, I spent all day by the pool. How you ask? Well, let me just tell you. We got really lucky and was able to snag a cabana. And let me tell you, there is nothing like the cabana at Monte Carlo. We had our own cushy chairs, right next to the lazy river (I think that's such a funny name, but completely appropriate though), flat screen tv in the cabana, ceiling fan, misters, innertubes, refrigerator, safe, and phone. We even got free fruit and drinks! And our waiter (I think his name was Shane) was awesome! Completely waited on us hand and foot. It was totally worth the money, especially since there was 8 of us splitting the cost.

After that, we went to a yummy dinner at Fiamma! at the MGM Grand. I was in a bit of a pickle earlier in the week because I tried making the reservation at several restaurants, but they were all booked. And most of them told me, "You know, we're really busy because it's 07/07/07" in a completely condesending tone. Well, of course I know it's 07/07/07, it's my birthday for pete's sake! A) I am not an idiot, and B) Don't you think that I know when my birthday is! I should have turned around and said, "Well, all well and good for you that it's 07/07/07. But, it's my birthday, lady - it's been special for me for 30 years! So back off and give me a table!" But I didn't.

Anyway, the dinner was so good (short rib ravioli's were my favorite); they even gave us our own private room for awhile, until a bachelorette party joined us (gabba gabba hey*). After that, a couple of us went to Studio 54 to go dancing while the others went to gamble. This by far was the weirdest situation of the night. We (3 ladies) were standing in the line when this guy pulls us out and says that there was this ex-football player for the Steelers who had his own VIP booth and just wanted some "pretty ladies" around. I immediately thought A) kinda sketchy, what do you mean have "some pretty ladies around"? and B) am I a pretty lady?! That's not usually the case. I'm no troll, but getting pulled out of line for preferrential treatment is something new for me. But I digress.

We ended up going to the VIP booth (yippee, free drinks and no cover charge!). The guy said we didn't have to do anything we didn't want to and that it was basically open bar for us - just keep the guy company and hang out. The football guy was actually very nice and polite and even signed an autograph for one of our hubbands. Plus, we all felt a bit more comfortable when other groups of "pretty ladies" came up to join us. We stayed there for about 15 minutes and then went down to dance. We met some other people that were also celebrating their birthday on 07/07, but for most of them it was their 21st. And boy, did that make me feel old! On the other hand though, I was glad that I was old when I saw a couple of them throwing up in the bathroom later that night.

SUNDAY - We just hung out and kept everything real mellow until we had to drive back home. We had a nice brunch and then four of us peeled off to see the Bodies Exhibit at The Tropicana. Very strange, but fascinating exhibit. They do crazy things with the human body. The one tacky thing about the exhibit was at the end, where they tried to sell you a picture of your group in front of a Bodies exhibition sign. Kind of like when you go to Magic Mountain and get your picture taken when you're on the rollercoasters. The kicker was that above this tacky vendor cart were words basically saying, "These bodies in the exhibit were treated with the upmost respect and dignity". It kinda ended the afternoon on a funny/sad note.

All in all, this was the best trip I've ever had to Vegas, and one of the best birthdays I've had at all. I'm so glad that my friends were able to join in and that we were able to have something that felt like a "real vacation" where we could recharge and feel like we didn't have a care or thought in the world. Except to get a drink from that cocktail lady.