Las Vegas: Day #04 - August 13

Well... The end of our trip finally came upon us.

We woke up and packed our suitcases, checked out, stored our luggage at the hotel, and headed to breakfast. After we ate, Janet, Rhiannon, and I walked around Excalibur to look through the little gift shops to kill some time before heading to the airport.

We met up with Mary and Becky in the casino and gambled for a bit. I played one dollar on a old-time slot machine, complete with the pull-down thing...

I lasted quite a while on that machine and on that dollar. It was kind of exciting! I ended up losing it, but it was still fun pulling down on that thing, rather than hitting the button. (That "thing", I'm sure, has a name, but I can't think of it!)

We picked up our luggage and met the shuttle bus in the back of the hotel and headed to the airport. We got checked in rather quickly and had plenty of time to kill. Mary and Becky got their "Pre Boarder" passes for their "claustrophobia". They are now known to us as The Las Vegas Con Artists...

Rhiannon and I grabbed some chocolate lollipops from Ethel's Chocolates, which I hear is quite the treat in Las Vegas, and some Sbarro for lunch. We ate and sat around waiting for our flight.

We boarded around 03:30 PM and, like I mentioned in a previous entry, Southwest only gives you a zone letter and a number in line. This time, Janet, Rhiannon, and I were in the last zone, so we were the last to board.

There were no seats together. The only openings were middle seats. Every aisle and window seat was taken.

SO... For the five-hour flight home, Rhiannon and I were in separate rows and had to sit in between two complete strangers. How awkward is that?! (Janet got to sit with Mary and Becky. Lucky!)

I tell you once again... I'm not a fan of Southwest. They lost me as a future customer because I will be booking with airlines who actually designate seat assignments.

We landed around 11:30 PM in Fort Lauderdale, grabbed our luggage, and headed home. We dropped off Janet, drove through the Taco Bell drive thru, and started catching up on TiVo immediately as we unpacked and unwound.

We finally fell asleep around 02:00 AM and realized that our fantastic and extremely memorable trip to Las Vegas was officially over.

Looking back, the five of us had a blast! We laughed and laughed throughout the entire trip, and I feel so much closer to Rhiannon, obviously, since we're now engaged, as well as my three co-workers. Janet, Mary, and Becky will forever be my Las Vegas buds, and we will always share so many memorable moments together. I love you all!

Thanks for reading all of these posts about this trip! It really was absolutely wonderful; I look forward to my next vacation to Las Vegas!

Who knows?! It could be next summer! The five of us did discuss making this an annual trip! :-)

Las Vegas: Day #03 - August 12

On Wednesday, Mary and Becky went to Eleven Spa to get massages and manicures. (The owners of Eleven Spa are parents at our school, so we were given a discount.) Janet, Rhiannon, and I didn't want to spend over $100 for a massage, so we had a quick McDonald's breakfast again and headed downtown. WAY downtown...

After a $25 cab fare, we arrived at one of the oldest and dirtiest destinations in Las Vegas. I must say, it was pretty neat to be in "old" Las Vegas, but it certainly wasn't worth the round trip cab fare.

We walked around and saw some sights...

Then, we came to Mermaids, a super-old casino. I knew of it from watching Kathy Griffin: My Life on The D. List. In the season premiere of the current season, which actually just ended, Kathy Griffin met up with Bette Midler in Las Vegas. For dessert, Miss Griffin brought Miss Midler to Mermaids for their "reasonably priced" dessert items...

Being that Bette Midler stepped foot in this casino, I had to do the same!

Let me tell you...

It was so small and so dirty! Our feet were sticking to the floor, but I didn't care. I had to try fried oreos and a fried twinkie, just like Bette Midler and Kathy Griffin!

We ordered our deep fried goodness, and I recognized the gentleman who worked there from his appearance on the episode. I asked him if he was there when Kathy Griffin brought Bette Midler, just to make sure. He said that he was, and he pointed to the table where they sat, or stood, I should say...

Of course, as my luck would have it, another couple grabbed that table by the time our food was ready. Rhiannon and I went to another table and enjoyed our treats...

However, as soon as the other table opened up, I moved our stuff over there and finished it up at the same table where Kathy Griffin and Bette Midler enjoyed theirs!

After our deep fried good time, we made our way to The Golden Nugget and walked in, turned around, and walked out. We just wanted to say that we've been there! :-)

We walked to the end of Fremont Street, turned around, walked back, and got a cab. Another $25 was paid to get us to Caesars Palace, where we walked around The Forum Shops some more. I had to stop and pose with the newest poster for The Showgirl Must Go on...

Then, we ventured down The Strip to Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile Shops and walked around there for a bit to kill some time.

On our way back to Excalibur to get ready for our evening, we stopped by MGM Grand to catch the lions actually in The Lion Habitat.

The plans for the evening were that we would all get ready and meet downstairs. The five of us would head to Caesars Palace for dinner and split up to see our respective shows: Janet, Rhiannon, and I were seeing The Showgirl Must Go on while Mary and Becky were seeing Cirque Du Soleil's O.

However, I had something up my sleeve before we met up with the ladies for the evening. They were "in the loop", so they knew that we'd be a tad late meeting them downstairs.

After I quickly got ready, as most men do, I waited for Rhiannon to finish. She came out, looking beautiful as always, and gave me the look that asked, "How do I look?"

"I think that you're missing something," I said.

Her look quickly became kind of disgusted, like, "What do you mean?!"

I showed her a box and said, "Perhaps, that something's in here."

I opened it, where an engagement ring was waiting, dropped down on one knee, and asked her to marry me.

She immediately said, "YES!", and I slipped it on her finger. The best is that she had NO IDEA!

Let me back up and give you a little bit of a back story on this aspect of the trip...

Once I knew that this Las Vegas trip was happening, I planned to propose there. Rhiannon's only request about the proposal was that it happen somewhere that means something to the both of us. (She told me that a long time ago, so I stored it for later use in my brain.) Las Vegas is like "our place". We took our first "big" trip there and have now been back twice after that. We just love it there!

I bought the engagement ring in June, had it sized, received it in July, and kept it hidden until August. Whew! Of course, my fat mouth unloaded to almost everybody what I was planning to do!

A week before the engagement, I asked her dad for his blessing, which he replied, "You have it! It's about time!" Her stepmother even called me and gave me her blessing. :-)

I asked Janet to hold the engagement ring through airport security on the way to Las Vegas because, with my luck, they would've searched my backpack and taken it out right in front of Rhiannon! Janet and I were so swift with passing it back and forth that Rhiannon never had a clue.

I was so glad that it was a shock to her... That made me so happy!

Now, we were engaged! I had to tell her the next part... I passed a note to the gentleman who escorted us out of Bette Midler's green room the night before. In it, I asked Miss Midler if she could congratulate us on our engagement during her show. I knew that it was a long shot, but I wanted to try. I mean, after all, she had just met us, so she had faces to put with the names on the note.

We made our way downstairs where the ladies were waiting for us. They screamed and ran towards us... "CONGRATULATIONS!" We were floating on that cloud again!

We grabbed a cab to Caesars Palace for dinner and called our parents on the way there. Then, we each made several other phone calls. I had to call all of the people who already knew because they'd been waiting SO long to hear that it was finally official: my best friends, Sarah, Nikki and Paul, Becc, and Al, my boss, Tami, and my brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law, Jeff and Lina.

I sent out a text message to several other family members and friends while we were at Trevi, an amazing restaurant in The Forum Shops for dinner.

We enjoyed our meal and the excitement of being engaged! Now, it was time to see Bette Midler for the second night in a row!

I showed Mary and Becky how to get to Bellagio to see their show and met up with Rhiannon and Janet in front of The Colosseum. They gambled for a bit while I perused the Bette Midler souvenir shop one more time. It was weird walking through there, looking at her pictures and such, and thinking to myself, "I met her last night!"

We took our seats, which were about twelve rows from the stage, and I was almost more excited that night because Janet had never seen Bette Midler in concert before. I always love going with "newbies" because I know that they're in for a real treat!

The show was absolutely amazing! Miss Midler sounded great, and made the show so memorable. During the Soph segment, she messed up on a joke. It was priceless! Most entertainers would just continue on without admitting their mistake.

Not The Divine Miss M.!

She immediately dropped to the floor after realizing that she messed up the punchline and said, "If I have to tell that f***ing joke again, I'll kill myself!" The entire place was dying laughing at this point! She retold it, got the punchline right, and was met with thunderous applause and laughter!

She's certainly one of a kind!

You may be wondering if she congratulated me and Rhiannon during the show. Unfortunately, she didn't. However, I'm not blaming her. From the look that the gentleman gave me when I handed him the note the night before, I truly feel that he didn't give it to her. He probably read it and threw it in the garbage on his walk back to escort the other V.I.P.'s out.

Oh, well... I tried.

Janet LOVED the show and thanked us for recommending it to her.

We headed back to the hotel, Rhiannon and I grabbed a milkshake from McDonald's, and headed back to our hotel room for the night.

Las Vegas: Day #02 - August 11

We started the second day with a healthy breakfast at McDonald's. (Nothing like eating like absolute crap when you're on vacation... I'd rather spend money elsewhere than on expensive meals in Las Vegas.)

We ventured to Bellagio, where we took in The Conservatory, which is a beautiful area adjacent to the lobby of the hotel. Each season, this sun room-type space houses a themed display. For now, it has a garden theme, which is absolutely beautiful! Take a look for yourself...

After walking through The Conservatory and admiring its beauty, we walked around Bellagio. Mary and Becky picked up their tickets for Cirque Du Soleil's O. (It's an aquatic show that's filled with acrobatics and things... Not really my cup of tea.) We continued on to Caesars Palace...

As I said in the previous entry, Caesars Palace is my favorite casino and hotel. For one, it's absolutely beautiful! The sculptures, the colors, and the headliners! :-)

After gawking over Caesars Palace, we moved on to The Forum Shops. Being that nobody wanted to spend an arm and a leg at any of the extremely expensive shops, we just window shopped. We were pretty hungry, so we stopped at Planet Hollywood for lunch.

Being a movie lover, I always enjoy walking around and looking at the plethora of movie memorabilia that's housed in Planet Hollywood. I even snuck upstairs and got some pictures of celebrities' lip prints that were framed on the wall...

After filling our tanks, we headed to The Mirage to experience Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. For just $15, you enter an amazing attraction that is pure educational. There are no "live shows" or anything along those lines. You get to be a fly on the wall as the trainers interact with the animals without putting on a show. It's great!

After a brief introduction, you can walk through an underwater tank and see the dolphins up close and personal. I was surprised to see how friendly they were, and they certainly weren't afraid to smile for the camera...

From there, you return to the ground level and cross a bridge where you can see the dolphins from above. This time, there was an eleven-month-old dolphin named Bella in the tank with her mother and grandmother.

After being awed by the dolphins, you continue on to the next phase: The Secret Garden. Before entering, you pose for a picture. (We didn't care for how it turned out, so we didn't buy it.)

Upon entering, you can make a wish on The Wishing Tree and touch the water from a fountain of youth-type thing. (I don't remember the "official" name.)

Some of the beautiful animals that you'll witness at this attraction are alpacas, leopards, lions, striped tigers, and white tigers. Here are a few shots...

After being outside in this attraction, we were desperate to get inside and cool off. We crossed the street and made our way to The Venetian to take in Madame Tussaud's, which has become one of my favorite attractions in Las Vegas!

For $25, which is a little pricey in my book, you are able to take pictures with celebrities from the past and present. You're even told as you enter to touch and interact with the wax figures. How awesome is that?! Usually, you hear, "Please do not touch anything!"

(An interesting side note... You can buy your tickets online and receive 10% off. I'm always up for ways to save money, so I figured that I'd share it with you. Click on Madame Tussaud's above, and it'll take you to the site. I'll be doing this next time for sure!)

Paris Hilton greets you as you enter, so we had to have our fun with her!
As you ascend up the escalator, you are greeted by Harrison Ford dressed as Indiana Jones and a room full of celebrities young and old! You have talk show hosts ready to interview you, including Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Springer, and Larry King...

You have some of today's biggest movie stars waiting for you to pose with them, including Meryl Streep, Daniel Craig, Johnny Depp, Julia Roberts, and Cameron Diaz...

You turn the corner where George Clooney is ready to marry you with Reverend Robert Schuller presiding! Madame Tussaud's even has a one-size-fits-all wedding dress that you can put on for your picture! Mary had a ball with this!

From there, you enter the sports zone, where athletes of all realms are ready for you to interact with them. From Tiger Woods to Shaquille O'Neil to Evander Holyfield to Andre Agassi to Evel Knievel, they're ready for their close up!

Then, Jessica Simpson welcomes you to the pop stars room with the likes of Britney Spears, Madonna, Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and so many others.

Then, you descend down a staircase where the truly interactive section is waiting for you... SCREAM! In this part of the attraction, you get locked in a maximum security prison where the inmates have taken over. Live actors portray these inmates, and, from what it sounds likes, it's very Halloween Horror Nights-ish. As the official Madame Tussaud's site taunts, "Who’s that lurking in the shadows? They won’t leap out at you... Will they? They can’t touch you... Can they? In the chamber, anything can happen."

Personally, I have no interest in experiencing this part of Madame Tussaud's, so I always bypass it. This time, an actor portraying an inmate stared me down as I passed. My heart was beating pretty frantically... :-) I love watching horror movies, but actually being apart of the craziness is another thing.

After walking briskly past that insaneness, you walk into the Las Vegas room where the Mayor of Las Vegas greets you with another hilarious interactive opportunity. Get a load of me on the left! Don't get too jealous!

In that room, you have the opportunity to pose with the likes of The Rat Pack, Shirley MacLaine, Judy Garland, Liberace, Blue Man Group, Criss Angel, Debbie Reynolds, and, of course, Bette Midler!

The last room that you enter is the "educational" aspect of Madame Tussaud's. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin welcome you. Along with them, you'll be able to stand with Princess Diana, Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Barack Obama.

It was extremely crowded in there, so we didn't stop to pose for pictures...

At this time, Rhiannon and I headed back to Excalibur to get ready for our exciting evening: We were going to meet Bette Midler!

Let me give you a little bit of a back story...

I have been quite the Bette Midler fan for fifteen years and counting. When I was eight years old, I saw Hocus Pocus and was in awe of the actress who portrayed Winifred Sanderson, the bucktoothed witch, especially during her performance of "I Put a Spell on You". I immediately began renting and buying Bette Midler's movies and buying her albums. It just grew from there... I own every DVD/VHS, album, book, etc. of hers that I possibly can. Being that I became a fan so late in her career, it took a lot of time to build up the collection that I have now! I saw her in concert for the first time in 1999, which was a dream come true, and I even went to Las Vegas right after her show, The Showgirl Must Go on, opened in February 2008. Some would consider me obsessed, but I'm truly an admirer. She has been through so much during her life and career and has still maintained to stay positive. She hasn't had the success as some of her peers, like Barbra Streisand and Cher, but that doesn't stop her! She is truly a legend! Now, with the fact that I was going to meet her, this whole part of my life was coming full circle. I really never thought that I'd get to actually hold a conversation with her.

Well... That was about to change!

Rhiannon and I got ready, ate something quickly because my stomach was a little on the nervous side, and headed to Caesars Palace. Being that we ordered the Smug Mutha package, we were escorted into The Colosseum and were treated as V.I.P.'s all night! A nice gentleman brought us to our seats, which were front row/center... I was in awe of how close the stage was and how close The Divine Miss M. would be to me!

(Let me address something quickly... Cameras are not allowed in The Colosseum, so I couldn't take any pictures of the show or anything that I saw that night. I learned that lesson when I went in 2008. My camera was confiscated, and I had to pick it up after the show. I left it in the hotel room this time!)

Once we got to our seats, a photographer came and took a few pictures of us with the stage in the background. Being that this was such an exciting experience, we had to purchase one of the pictures. We couldn't pick it up until after the show, and the photographer wouldn't disclose the price. (If you ever do this, please keep in mind that it was $45 to get the picture. Before you flip out, it is packaged very nicely in a book-like case with a picture of Bette Midler. It's very nice!)

The show began, and I immediately teared up when she appeared on stage. I couldn't believe how close she was! It was an AMAZING show! Besides singing, Miss Midler tells jokes and interacts with the audience. It's truly a show, not a concert. Here's the set list of songs for those of you who are interested:

• "Big Noise From Winnetka"/"The Showgirl Must Go on"
• "In The Mood"
• "The Rose"
• "Do You Want to Dance?"
• "From a Distance"
• Delores DeLago Segment: "My Kind of Town", "Play That Funky Music", "Bad Girls", "It's Now or Never", "Luck Be a Lady", "Viva Las Vegas", and "My Way"
• "Hello in There"
• "When a Man Loves a Woman"
• Soph Segment: "Pretty Legs and Great, Big Knockers" and Dirty Jokes!
  
• "The Glory of Love"
• "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
• "Wind Beneath My Wings"

As you can see, she sings all of her big hits, as well as songs that her hardcore fans are delighted to hear! If you've never seen her live, you'll be wondering who Delores DeLago and Soph are. They're two characters that she has included in her shows for over twenty years. Delores DeLago is a mermaid who has dreamed of making it big in the entertainment world. By the way, she transports herself in a wheelchair. It's priceless! Soph is billed as "the oldest living showgirl". She tells dirty jokes about herself, her boyfriend, Ernie, and her best friend, Clementine. They're hilarious and a highlight of the show for sure!

After the show was over, we were asked to wait in our seats until someone could bring us backstage. It didn't take long, and we were on our way! We were led into Miss Midler's official green room, where everyone who is waiting to see her after the show waits. For instance, I noticed immediately that Kristin Chenoweth (The West Wing/Pushing Daisies/Broadway's Wicked) was standing right there!

As we were waiting, I recognized a lady's voice behind me. When I turned around, I was shocked to see Lily FRICKIN' Tomlin talking with Toni Basil of "Hey, Mickey!" fame. (She also choreographs all of Bette Midler's shows!) I was now completely starstruck! Lily Tomlin flashed me a smile, and I could've died! I wish that I could've spoken with her, but I seriously think that she thought that we didn't know who she was...

I also saw Adam Shankman, the director of one of my favorite movies, Hairspray. (He was also in the line for a taxi when we were, and I contemplated walking up to him and singing a line from "You Can't Stop The Beat" or "Ladies' Choice". I resisted the temptation...)

We were delighted to find out that us "Smug Muthas" would be the first to see her, so we continued to wait for a bit and were given our autographed programs in the process! I've been waiting to get something actually autographed by Bette Midler herself and not something that's been printed with it on it for a while!

Then, it happened...

Bette Midler walked through the door!

She asked, with a smile, "Where are my V.I.P.'s?"

Rhiannon and I were the first ones up. "I saw you!" she said as she shook our hands. We introduced ourselves, and she started singing Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" after meeting Rhi. It was amazing! :-) We posed for a picture with our V.I.P. stickers on because, as Miss Midler said, "They could use this for their Christmas card!" (She's on the right track... I'm trying to talk Rhi into it.)

We posed for another picture without our stickers. Before we left, I asked Miss M. if I could show her a picture. She agreed, and I showed her this picture...

It's of me when I was eight or nine years old. I'm wearing a shirt that my mom had made for me that said, "Kyle Loves Bette". I'm standing in front of an attraction that used to be at MGM in Orlando about using stunts in movies. Bette Midler was the star of a short film that shows how stunts are added in movies, and the viewer can't even tell that the real actor/actress isn't doing his/her own stunts. It was quite interesting as I remember.

Miss M. took the picture from my hand as I was describing what she was looking at. "Thank you for bringing this," she said. She was really sweet about it and smiled as I told her that I've loved her for fifteen years.

She asked us to come back to the show. When I told her that we'd be coming back the following night, she asked, "The same seats?!"

"I wish!" I said.

"Wave to me; I'll see you!"

We were escorted to the elevator and shown our way out. I was floating on a cloud... I couldn't believe what just happened, and I was beaming from ear to ear! She was so sweet, so kind, so warm, and so welcoming! The experience exceeded all of my expectations!

(I will post the pictures with Bette Midler as soon as I receive them... They're being mailed, so let's hope for a speedy delivery!)

We met up with Janet, Mary, and Becky, who had seen Jubilee! at Bally's and loved it. We told them all about our evening, got some food, and hit the bed for the night!

I still couldn't really sleep just thinking about my dreams that came true that night.

I met Bette Midler, someone whose career I've followed for fifteen years. She became so "real" to me when we met. She wasn't just an actress, a singer, or an entertainer anymore. She was Bette Midler, the person. I couldn't believe that I was given this chance.

Thank you, Rhiannon, for purchasing the $1000 package. I'll try to pay you back over time! :-)