So Day 1 was pretty bad. As I had foreshadowed, Day 2 didn’t start off all that much better.

Saturday. The day of the Big Game (Cubs vs. Padres live from Las Vegas!). We had checked multiple times that we had the tickets, so the problem wasn’t there. We knew where we were going (Cashman Field is about 2 miles north of the Strip, on Las Vegas Blvd) and we also knew to leave early as we had no idea what traffic was going to be like (and it was a good things as there was a broken down car blocking the left lane and had traffic tied up for a bit).

We stopped for a quick (and not very healthy) breakfast at 7-11 (it was on the way) and made it to the park with time to spare. Margaret and I decided to hit the comfort facilities and then meet up at our seats. Good plan, poor execution. It turns out that I don’t know how to read tickets and spent 20 minutes in the wrong seats, until I went to double-check with the user where I was sitting.

While I was spending my time in the wrong location, Margaret decided to check out the camera and take some shots of the Cubs as they warmed up. I knew the batteries in the camera were low, so when we packed I put the charger on the bed to bring it with. At the field we realized I had never charged the batteries. And the batteries weren’t low, they were dead. So we were unable to get any pictures from the Cubs game.

But at least the game was exciting! Being the last spring training game before the real season starts, the starting lineup had been decided and were going to start that game. Margaret’s favorite Todd Walker got the starting 2B spot, so she was very happy. Dusty kept the starting pitcher (Las Vegas hometown boy Greg Maddux) in for 2 innings, and then rested him for his next start later on that week. The rest of the starters stayed in for about half the game (with the exception of Derrek Lee who needed a few more at-bats to get ready).

The Cubs were up towards the end of the game when things got really exciting. They had a backup player playing right field who missed a popup that he probably should have caught that allowed the Padres to tie it up and sent the game into extra innings. But in the land of luck, Karma is king and the right fielder got to make up for the error in the bottom of the 10th by getting a hit that started the rally for the Cubs to score and win the game. A very exciting ending to the game!

After the game we drove back to the Hotel (The Luxor) and had plans to park the car and grab some dinner. Problem is that is was like 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon which seems to be a high time to be at a casino, so there was no parking in the Luxor parking lot! There were about 10 cars circling the lot looking for people leaving. A mad race when people left the casino to follow them out to their cars to try and get their spots. I ended up dropping Margaret off at the hotel and parking at the Excalibur next door and walking over (it was a short walk and they had plenty of parking).

Dinner is when things started going better. We decided to have some Mexican at La Salsa, a restaurant up the strip from our hotel (turns out there is one at the Luxor as well, but we wanted to see the strip). The food was great, but the best part was by far the Margarita’s. I have never had Margarita’s this good. We declined the 3-foot ones and just had normal sized ones and boy were they delicious!

Sidebar: Apparently Las Vegas doesn’t have an open container law as you can walk down the street drinking your cocktail/beer/yard of beverage without any problem. And lots of people do that, even walking down the streets getting loaded with their little kids walking next to them. I have never seen anything like it.

Back to our intrepid heroes: La Salsa is just a little chain restaurant, little did we know that there was a floorshow as well. It turns out that two women there were celebrating their birthdays. So in the usual restaurant fashion they brought out the entire wait staff while banging on pots and pans and had the whole restaurant sing “Happy Birthday”. But the fun didn’t end there. They brought the women out to the middle of the dance floor and sat them down on two chairs. After queing up some dance music, one of the waiters came out and “danced” for them. And then another, and another. And finally, their boyfriends came out and “danced” for them as well. All in all, everyone involved was a really good sport, and provided entertainment for everyone else.

Following our meal, we headed up the strip to the Bellagio to see the fountains (If you’re in Vegas, the fountains are a must see: 1,000 Places to See Before You Die). All I can say is: Amazing. The best thing you can see in Vegas that costs you no money whatsoever. Since we were already at the Bellagio, we had to go inside. I mean, this is the place where Ocean’s Eleven (Widescreen Edition) (one of our favorite movies) was filmed! It was legendary in our minds.

If you’re in a casino, you might as well gamble a little bit. So we played some slots and video poker. Since I find slots totally mindless, I actually prefer to play Video Poker, and I think I got Margaret hooked on it. She was able to play for hours on $5. It was amazing to see (especially since I could blow through $5 like it was nothing). I did end up leaving that night with $7 more than I came in with, so our luck had turned around.

We were tired, so we decided to walk back to the Luxor to catch some sleep so we would be ready for Day 3.

UPDATE: So Margaret reminded me that I forgot something! On our walk up the strip before dinner, we had to pass by New York, New York and we saw the roller coaster that runs past the mini New York skyline. The last time I was in Las Vegas (I was 16), there wasn’t much for a kid to do. My parents took us to the only thing in town: Circus, Circus. At that time, it was basically an Arcade (in both the Street Fighter and County Fair meaning). But boy has Las Vegas changed! A lot of the hotels have more kid friendly food, shows, and entertainment. (Don’t worry, they still have lots of Adult themed entertainment as well)

So deciding to act like kids, we got two tickets to ride. The line was short, so we basically got right on (after a short delay to add another car). And it was an awesome ride! The sun was just going down, so you got a great view of the strip in dusk before dropping off that first hill. Then you didn’t get to see much else except for the occasional glimpses of the New York skyline as your were hanging from your seat restraints completly inverted. The second half of the ride was a bit more tame and allowed you to really get a good view of the Strip, and also the level of detail put into replicating the New York skyline.

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For my 30th Birthday my wife and I decided to spend it in Las Vegas (much like she spent her 30th birthday at Disney World). It was basically a no-brainer choice for us. We wanted to go someplace warm and we wanted to go someplace fun. It turns out the Cubs were playing pre-season ball in Vegas the weekend before my birthday, so that sealed the deal for us.

Margaret and I have traveled a lot, both for business and for pleasure. And I can’t think of a trip that started off worse than this ill-fated vacation. In consideration of everyone’s stress level, I wish to inform you dear reader that everything works out in the end. Hopefully the knowledge of this fact will keep you from fretting throughout your reading of my little tale.

It all started out so innocently. Being concerned (as a good DC resident is) about traffic, we left in plenty of time for the airport. And amazingly enough, the trip from Margaret’s office to IAD was mainly light traffic (it helps to have dedicated Airport Traffic Lanes). That should have been my first warning that something was up.

This is the point where things just start to slide. We were on a US Airways flight operated by America West. So to which location do you go to check in? The answer is: it depends. We chose US Airways, but our flight needed to check in at America West, clear at the other end of the terminal. So we hoof it down there to check in. That’s when we found out that we will not be sitting together. And if that isn’t bad enough, we both have middle seats.

OK. So far, not all that bad. We spend a lot of time together as it is, so 5 hours with 2 people in-between us is tolerable. Even riding in the middle seat isn’t that bad since we both have plenty of things to keep us occupied. And here’s some good news! We arrived 17 minutes early! Woo Hoo! Here’s the bad news. There is another plane at our gate and we need to wait for it to leave before we can de-plane. 60 minutes later we pull up to the gate. I wonder if they get an “on-time-arrival” for that or not?

Ok. Enough airplane fun, let’s get on to the rest of the fun. I’m a Hertz Gold Member, so my name should be in lights when we get there to pick up the car (I signed up for this after wasting too much time waiting to pick up my rental when traveling…). The thing is, there is something wrong with my account, so I still have to wait in line. Bonus: It is Hertz, so they take care of me with no hassle. We got a 2006 Monte Carlo while only paying for an economy car, so who can complain all that much?

The Hotel. No problems getting there. We were staying at the Luxor (the giant pyramid) and were able to see the hotel from the airport, and almost the entire way to the hotel (there is a big light on top of it that we could navigate by). So let’s see if we can figure out where we can park the car. Valet is full (honestly, Valet seemed to always be full at the Luxor), need to find self park. 15 minutes later find it, WAY behind the hotel (after only 2 wrong turns and a couple of good guesses). After figuring out the non-obvious way of actually getting to the second level where there were actually spots, we do finally get the car parked. I run on ahead to get us registered so we can get to bed (it is midnight PST, 3AM EST).

After finding my way through the casino to registration, I am greeted with a line at least 30 people deep. So, being the good person I am, I stand in it. 45 minutes later, I’m at the registration desk and actually talking with someone. The room is pre-paid, so all I need to do is provide some ID and an Credit Card for incidentals. And my wallet is not in my pockets (I left it in the car, though I didn’t know that then). So I had to get Margaret to do all the stuff for me. And it turns out that the Pyramid room we had reserved they are all out of, so we get a tower room. After explaining to the uncaring lady that I paid more for a Pyramid room, she explains that they are actually giving me a better room than I paid for. So at that point I shut my mouth and take my room.

Thus ends the drama of Day 1. There are at least 12 more hours of drama before things starting going our way again, but I’ll talk about them tomorrow.

PS - I did find my wallet in-between the seat and the door in the car before I went to bed.

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